March 2026: Where the Hell I've Been, 2025 Recap, Story Announcements for 2026

Heeeeyyyy friends. Welcome back or welcome here.

I'm Xochilt Avila, an indie author of speculative fiction and non-fiction. And I had a family emergency in January that's kept me largely offline for over two months. The good news is things have calmed down a bit, and while there's still a lot to do, I feel a bit more like I can breath. Writing is slowly coming back to me.

In other good news, I still have a couple of short stories coming out in the next few months, with many more I'm shopping around!

But first, a quick recap of 2025's publishing numbers:

🐈‍⬛33 Rejections, 6 personal
🐈‍⬛7 Withdrawals
🐈‍⬛5 Acceptances, one of which being my upcoming Novella Mariposa with Laughing Man House! Coming Feb 2027!

When I first began publishing, I sought to continuously "beat" my prior year's numbers. And while all of these numbers exceed those from 2024, my goal now is just... whatever's manageable, man.

If this crisis has taught me anything, it's that there will be times where writing can't be my main focus. Or even a focus period. I can't always hold myself to the same standards as I have before, and I can't beat myself up about it. Or, well, I can. But I shouldn't. So I won't.

But that being said, I am writing, albeit slowly. Current WIPS include:

✏️A sci-fi found family trauma story centered on Laika the space dog.
✏️An analog horror news article about a defunct animation studio and it's final Saturday morning cartoon block.
✏️What has the potential to be a full novel centered on a magical preteen and the legal guardians she created from her imagination.

I also have a couple of publications coming out in the next few months.

On March 13th my short story "A Witch in Robstown" will be featured in ENCOUNTERS with Cryptids. This is my first time working with editors Andrew Cull and Trevor Henderson, but I've long since admired both their works, so I'm thrilled to be in a collection they've curated. I'm genuinely excited to read all of the other stories in this anthology.

I've also just signed a contract with Cursed Morsels Press for their upcoming zine "Batshit Lockedin Posts." This will be my second publication with them. I absolutely love their work and the causes they support. Please check them out and consider buying some of their cool, cool stuff.

That's all I've got for now. Thank you for your patience. My hope is my next update will be a bit more substantial, but right now I need to focus on rest. Until next time, take care of yourself <3