Longtime readers of the blog may recall way back when (specifically July 24, 2016), I announced my neo-noir novella, The Track, had been accepted by Dark Passages Publishing:
http://mellonwritesagain.com/?p=769
And, if you go to the Dark Passages website, lo and behold, you’ll still find a listing for The Track:
https://darkpassagespublishing.com/catalogue/
Only the release date given is October 2017, over four months ago. That’s the third release date the website has listed. The Track was originally supposed to come out in spring of 2017 then summer. Finally October was announced with no further action after that. Three novellas on the website by other writers appear to be in the same situation with listings, but no actual releases and no active links to allow people to purchase the stories either virtually or in hard copy.
The Dark Passages website appears to be moribund with nothing new having been added or done to it in months. The Track is the last work in the catalog. The same holds true for the publisher’s magazine, The J. J. Outre Review. I know small press ventures have tiny staffs, but Dark Passages appears to have been a one man show, run by P. A. M. Jensen:
https://darkpassagespublishing.com/masthead/
On January 17, 2018, I sent an e-mail to Mr. Jensen that discussed The Track‘s history, asked whether he had any intention of publishing the story in the near future, and gave him one month from that date to respond with the stipulation that if he failed to answer within that time frame, I would consider any agreement between us to publish The Track to be null and void. That deadline has expired with the result that the agreement between myself and Dark Passages to publish The Track no longer exists. I’ve sent word to that effect to Mr. Jensen in a follow up e-mail.
The purpose of this blog post is to make the fact public that neither Dark Passages Publishing nor Mr. Jensen have any legal interest in or right to publish The Track, despite anything stated by Dark Passages on its website or any other medium. The Track is an unpublished, original work and I’m the sole proprietor. No other entity or person has any interest in it. It is available for publication. Any representation otherwise by anyone else is a false statement.
I’m sorry to go on like this, making a noise like an attorney (my least favorite thing to do), but I’m afraid circumstances leave me no choice. I’m dead serious about everything written above and have every confidence the law backs me entirely on this matter.