I love being published in Popshot because, alongside seeing something of mine in print, I also get to see an illustrator's interpretation of my story. Invitations appears across three pages in the Nostalgia issue of Popshot. It's accompanied by a great image from Andy Carter:

To give you an idea of the timeline of this story, I wrote the first draft when visiting Manchester in March last year. Then in August I knew it fitted in well with the Nostalgia theme of the forthcoming issue of Popshot so I tidied it up and submitted it. The issue came out late last year and today (due to some issues with the post) I finally got my hands on a physical copy. That may seem like a long process but it's a lot faster than most of my writing makes its way into the world! Popshot feels like a big deal because it's a lovely, high quality publication and, also, they sometimes stock a few copies in the convenience store across the road from my house – when I see it in there, I feel like I've made it.

Here are some notes in my notebook that later became this story. The published version changed quite a lot from my initial scribbles. I'm posting this image to remind myself that my rough notes and half-finished drafts can turn into something more.

And here's the cover you're looking for if you're in the market to purchase this issue of Popshot: