Eye to the Telescope Issue 32 and other items

Lots of things happening so far in April, so I’m providing a mid-month update this time.

Recent Publications

I volunteered to serve as guest editor for an issue of Eye to the Telescope, Issue 32, with the theme of Sports and Games. Eye to the Telescope is a quarterly online magazine featuring speculative poetry, with the theme changing with each issue. For the issue I edited, I received lots of imaginative submissions covering a variety of sports and games. Kudos to all of the selected writers, whose work you can find here:

https://eyetothetelescope.com/index.html

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Life Lessons from the Dog, released earlier in April, included three stories about Sneeks, a border collie cross with character who lived with us for just over 15 years.

Coming Soon

I had the privilege of reviewing Paul Meloy's Adornments of the Storm, a fitting follow-up to the events of his earlier novel entitled The Night Clock. My review is now written and should appear on The Future Fire’s web site on or around April 23^rd.

What I'm Working On

Just finished a second reading of Suzanne Palmer's novel Finder, published by Daw, in order to prepare review notes. Finder is an imaginative and fast-moving science fiction novel that I would highly recommend.

Next up for review writing will be Jack Campbell’s Ascendant, a military sci-fi with engaging characters and plenty of action. Then it’s on to Mike Resnick’s The Master of Dreams, a humorous but suspenseful romp through world strangely familiar—and yet, not.

Still on my first reading of W. Michael Gear's Outpost, with the action just starting to heat up a few chapters in.

More updates at the start of May . . .

Robins are Back, So Spring Must Be Here

The robins are back, so spring is officially here, even if the temperature doesn't necessarily show it on a daily basis. Looking forward to getting back out in the garden.

Recent Publications

In March, I received my January 2019 issue of Outposts of Beyond, published by Alban Lake. This volume contained four of my poems, "In the Eye", "The Strings Fall Silent", "Might There Always Be", and "Been There Before", as well as a short story titled "Missing".

Also from Alban Lake Publishing, Scifaikuest, February 2019, print edition included a joined tanka, and the online edition included three poems, [Second Great Flood], [one last building], [fifth year since they arrived], Scifaikuest online, February 2019.

Alban Lake's Orbital Hotel, a collection of drabbles, included two of my 100-word stories, "The First Shall be Last", and "Time to Go".

Space and Time, Issue #133 included my poem "Long Gone."

On April 2, my review of David M. Allan's novel The Empty Throne appeared on The Future Fire's site.

Last but not least, the April/May issue of Our Canada contained two short humor pieces, "Doggone Sneeks" and "Savvy Cat", along with a photo of the late great Sneeks, a quirky border collie-terrier cross who kept us entertained for the fifteen and a half years she lived with us.

Coming Soon

I had the privilege of reviewing Paul Meloy's dark fantasy novel The Night Clock some time ago for Strange Horizons, Meloy has now published a sequel entitled Adornments of the Storm, a fitting follow-up to the events of The Night Clock. I've completed a review of Adornments of the Storm and will provide an update on where you can read the review in my next post.

I also volunteered to serve as guest editor for an issue of Eye to the Telescope, Issue 32, with the theme of Sports and Games. Reading the submissions, making the selections for the issue, and corresponding with the poets has kept me busy for the past couple of months. I was really impressed by the range of approaches in the poems submitted, and it was a tough choice narrowing down the final few. The issue goes live April 15th.

What I'm Working On

Just finished reading Suzanne Palmer's novel Finder, published by Daw. I received a hard-cover version for review, with decent-sized print that didn't overtax my aging eyes. I really enjoyed the story, which was fast-paced with some interesting twists and a dose of humor. I'll be doing a review in the next couple of weeks, and will let you know where you can find it once published.

I'm almost finished reading Jack Campbell's Ascendant, a military sci-fi. I found it an entertaining read, and it will be next up on my list of review to-dos.

Also in the read-and-review queue are Mike Resnick's The Master of Dreams and W. Michael Gear's Outpost.

So, lots of reading to do in the next short while. But that's okay. In the long rung, I think it will make me a better writer.