Editor Pete Crowther, having allowed me to go to the Moon back in 1999 in his anthology Moon Shots, gave me clearance to orbit the Red Planet in Mars Probes, which was published in June 2002.
And yet, perhaps I never visited Mars at all in the tale “Mom, the Martians, and Me.” When writing for theme anthologies, it can often be more entertaining to examine the territory on the fringes, rather than go for the more obvious plots. So in this case, it will be up to readers to determine the truth of the protagonist’s plight. Does the story detail a case of genuine alien abduction … or not?
I certainly hope that Pete decides to move on to other bodies in the solar system! Story ideas about Venus and Mercury are already beginning to percolate …
“Mom, the Martians, and Me” was reprinted in my SF collection What We Still Talk About.