My 6,950-word otherworldly science fantasy — which some of you might consider science fiction and others fantasy — went live in the second issue of Proton Reader<\/em> during the waning hours of the final day of 2022, and is free for all to read here<\/a>. Another one of my strange love stories, which is what I think all of my stories are at heart.<\/p>\n \u201cLearning to Accept What’s to Come”<\/strong><\/p>\n My 6,350-word robot apocalypse love story appears in Apex<\/em> #134, the November issue. You can buy an electronic copy of the entire issue<\/a> or read the story online<\/a>. Lesley Connor, in her editorial<\/a>, described the story as \u201cbrutal\u201d and \u201cheartbreaking and disturbing,\u201d while I see it as a bittersweet love story. So I look forward to learning what you<\/em> think of it. <\/p>\n “The Time Traveler’s Assistant Discovers What Could Have Been”<\/strong><\/p>\n My 5,100-word tale of a visitor from the future’s attempt to fix what’s broken about today’s world leads to a startling discovery, and appeared in Underland Arcana<\/em> #7 online on the day of the Summer Solstice where you can read it right now<\/a>, but is also available in a print<\/a> and ebook<\/a> edition. <\/p>\n “What Tomorrow Has to Say”<\/strong><\/p>\n You can read my 5,000-word story of hope<\/a> in the face of tragedy in the Summer 2022 issue of Dreamforge<\/em> magazine, where it appeared first online<\/a> and was later collected in one of the magazine’s print editions<\/a>. I’m so taken by that title I’m tempted to use it the next time I pull together a science fiction collection.<\/p>\n “Lost Out There in the Stars”<\/strong><\/p>\n My 9,150-word story of deep space mission which doesn’t go quite as planned was published in the third issue of Parsec<\/em> magazine<\/a> from PS Publishing<\/a>. The story’s title was inspired by the wonderful song of that name<\/a>.<\/p>\n I also published four fantasy stories —<\/p>\n “Where You’re Supposed to Be”<\/strong><\/p>\n The anthology Abandoned: An Anthology of Vacant Space<\/em> launched December 13<\/a>, with 50% of the proceeds going to charity. I hope it’s not a spoiler for me to state that even though my story fits the theme, the message is a hopeful one.<\/p>\n “The Last Lonely Day in the Orchard of Lost Travelers”<\/strong><\/p>\n The 3,200-word story which was published in Pulphouse #19<\/a> came to me after far too much time spent contemplating my favorite shaggy dog story. When I read the piece to an audience at the 2022 Capclave, I got all choked up as I reached the final paragraphs, a thing which many of my recent stories have been doing to me. I\u2019m just an old softie, I guess.<\/p>\n “The Pillow of Disappointment and What Was Found Beneath It”<\/strong><\/p>\n This 4,275-word fantasy which to my mind seems in the Stanley Elkin vein appeared in Pulphouse #18<\/a>, and sports one of my favorite titles, which I hope you’ll feel the story will live up to.<\/p>\n “And Behold, It Was Very Good”<\/strong><\/p>\n This 5,250-word fantasy went live on New Year’s Day 2022 in the Winter 2022 issue<\/a> of Kaleidotrope. It’s a tale of empowerment which I hope turns what might at first seem a cliched situation on its head. You can read it for free here<\/a>. <\/p>\n And finally, my lone horror story of the year—<\/p>\n “The Message Behind the Words is the Voice of the Heart”<\/strong><\/p>\n This 1,125-word short, sharp shock is yet another one of my many recent stories where I hope the story itself can live up to its title. It went live December 9, 2022, and so you can read it right now<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Proton-Reader-2-cover-art.jpg\")
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