Galaxy's Edge, issue 1 - a mixed bag mag

I loved how Mike Resnick kicked this new magazine off with an entertaining and often humorous look at the history of science fiction magazines in his Editor's Word.  The opening story, however, was a bit of a disappointment. I'm a fan of Robert J. Sawyer's. I even interviewed him twice here on Science Fiction and Other ODDysseys. "The Shoulders of Giants" struck me as three talking heads conveying his cool premise. Nothing really happens. They go somewhere. They arrive. Things aren't what they expected. They decide to leave. That's the whole thing. I'm guessing that this was a trunk story (copyright 2000, by the way) that Rob trotted out to throw at a new magazine, not wanting to give up his best work on a new venture. Just goes to show, even the best writers produce some stinkers. Sorry, Rob.

In "Schrodinger's Cathouse", Kij Johnson (also interviewed herein) shows us a man who takes an unexpected trip down the rabbit hole while sitting at a stop light. Reality bends on him again and again, though a few things are constant. He tries to hang onto the things that don't change and is guided by a person of undetermined or perhaps changing gender. She attempts to help him, then seduce him - it is a cathouse after all - and just when he decides to go with the flow, he gets another curveball that is just too much. It's an amusing tale that speaks of our inability to venture far from our social norms. 

"Creator of the Cosmos Interview Today" by Nick DiChario is just plain weird. It's another fish out of water story with an interesting premise, but left me scratching my head a bit and not feeling very satisfied.

The nonfiction piece that follows, "From the Heart's Basement" by Barry Malzberg, is a rant about the "in" club of the specfic world and how we're not in it. It would be an interesting blog post, but I'm not sure why it's in the magazine. Too depress us and make us give up?

"Just a Second" by Lou J. Berger is the first story that really held my attention, even though it's predictable. A man asks for a potion, achieves success, but is never satisfied. In the end, he gets his comeuppance. The compelling prose and the colorful characterization pulled me in and didn't let go. I loved hating this guy!

The science in "Act of God" by Jack McDevitt is pretty hokey and it's a long tell. In fact, the whole thing is one side of a conversation. Reminded me of an Outer Limits episode about teleportation (from the reboot version of OL), but was all telling about it after the fact. It would have been stronger if I could see the action and get to know the players along the way.

I thoroughly enjoyed "Requiem for a Druid" by Alex Shvartsman. What I liked most was the protagonist's voice. He's an underdog and a fraud, but makes a decent living for a non-gifted by faking it with his bag of tricks. And the real estate developer, for once, isn't pure evil, but an astute, open-minded businessman who keeps the peace and still gets something for himself.

I didn't finish reading "The Bright Seas of Venus" which was not really what was advertised as the writer admits directly to his readers as he's telling us how much he hates us. This bit of reader thrashing was delivered by Stephen Leigh.

"The Spinach Can's Son" wisks us through the "underfunnies" where comic strip physics are skewed and nothing works quite right. This is a back drop for a married couple who are mourning - each in his/her own way - the loss of their son.  Robert T Jeschonek wrote this fun diversion.

A fabulous reprint from James Patrick Kelly will keep you thinking long after you've read it. Honestly, just reading this and Mike's Editor's Word makes all the other mediocre stories forgiveable and the magazine worth picking up. The reprint is "Think Like a Dinosaur" and involves teleportation, the balancing of the equation and the prospect of adopting alien thought to justify doing the unthinkable thing set before you. Can you kill a person to keep the universe in balance?

At the back of the mag, Horace E. Cocroft offers an essay entitled "Economics in SF" for the Something Different column.

Also included in each issue are book reviews and part of a serialized novel. 

So Much Science Fiction and Fantasy to See and Hear!

The fourth episode of The Minister of Chance has been released! See the trailer now!


As soon as you hear ep 4, you'll want more. Here's how to make it happen sooner.

Mike Resnick is the editor of a new, free online SF/F magazine for Phoenix Pick's. The bimonthly magazine, Galaxy's Edge, launched on March 1. The inaugural issue includes  stories, columns, SF book reviews and more. Epub, Mobi and PDF versions will be available for download at a nominal fee and a print edition is available from many online stores, including Barnes and Noble and Amazon.


Phoenix Pick’s free ebook for March is Grandmaster Robert Silverberg’s Starborne. The coupon code (good through March 31) is 9991828 and the link can be found in the online catalogue page at PPickings.com.

Here's some new trailers. This first one looks like modern-day Godzilla.


Not much to see on this one, but I guess it's another first contact flick.


These folks are looking for Zero G Coupling Experts?  I'm not going to touch that one. I guess I already did, huh?

New owner of Realms of Fantasy Magazine, Damnation Books' Kim Richards Gilchrist

Realms of Fantasy was purchased by Damnation Books. Co-owner and CEO, Kim Richards Gilchrist is a friend of mine. My big chance for a scoop! ;) Not to mention a great full circle since she once interviewed me.

AW: What prompted you to get involved in the publishing industry?

KRG: I started out editing for Eternal Press and a couple of book review places. I’ve written columns; from there I moved on to marketing manager at Eternal Press where I learned a lot about publishing.

Back in 2000, I self-published a book with IUniverse because I had the opportunity to do it free. Though it’s never sold well, the lessons I learned about how the industry works were worth the time and energy spent on it. In some cases, I learned things the hard way. The knowledge I gained from others in the business who taught me what they know and the professional contacts I’ve made along the way have been invaluable. I’ve never been afraid to ask the dummy questions and constantly take online classes, go to webinars and read books on how to produce, market and distribute books.

Since that time, I’ve had books and a number of short stories published. I’ve co-edited The Complete Guide to Writing Paranormal Stories for Dragon Moon Press and am currently working on editing a Writing Horror guide for them.

In March 2009, I quit Eternal Press to start Damnation Books. I’d have loved to do both but felt it was a conflict of interest. It’s funny how, nine months later, we bought Eternal Press when it was on the verge of folding. The combining of the two companies doubled distribution. It opened doors early to a few distributors for Damnation Books because of Eternal Press' reputation. Then we took Eternal Press and added additional formats, including Kindle editions. We also changed the EP printer to Lighting Source for better distribution. I’m proud to say both companies have grown in 2010.

Now we’ve added Realms of Fantasy Magazine to the mix. I know there’s a lot to learn, but most of the staff is staying with us and willing to share their knowledge. Additionally, Warren Lupine, the former owner will consult for us as needed.

I think all of this is in my blood. I’ve found my niche and will never look back. This is a job I love doing so I don’t mind the long hours. I can’t wait to get going in the mornings. That’s saying a lot for someone who’s not a morning person. I also have to give credit to my husband (who co-owns these companies with me). I couldn’t begin to attempt this without his support. He’s neck deep in it too since he’s the financial officer and the webmaster. He created both the Eternal Press and Damnation Books web sites. I know he already has plans for an updated look for Realms of Fantasy after the first of the year.

AW: Where can I find your guidelines? There didn't seem to be a link on the ROF website.

KRG: We have added the guidelines back to the web page at http://www.rofmag.com. Click on the Contact Us tab. Pay rates, submission addresses and everything are staying the same for now.

AW: Will the flavor of the mag shift under your ownership?

KRG: Hopefully not. It’s a professional market with a great look and wonderful stories. We are talking about possibly adding poetry.

I know there are some concerns that Realms of Fantasy will become more horror-oriented so let me lay those to rest. We are planning a dark fantasy theme for the April 2011 issue to coincide with World Horror Convention, because we are already set up with a booth in the dealer’s room and a party.

The 100^th issue of Realms of Fantasy is the June 2011 issue. Plans are already in the works for a longer issue to celebrate this milestone.

AW: What has been your experience with digital offerings with Damnation Books and how will you apply that to ROF?

KRG: The magazine has mainly focused on print sales with very little into the digital market. We plan to continue with the existing print model but expand in as many formats and distributors for electronic editions as possible. I believe it’s important to stay current to survive the long term. Hopefully, I’m correct. You’ll see the back issues and then the December issue begin to appear in the next month or so.

AW: Can you tell me more about your plans to expand your digital offerings?

KRG: Right now PDF editions are available on the web site. I believe Kindle editions are also available now. Part of the plan is to make issues available in various digital formats from a variety of online stores and then tell people about it. We also want to add email subscriptions.

AW: Can you tell us what we might find in the "birthday bash" issue?

KRG: More of everything! I know that sounds vague, but we’ve bounced around a lot of ideas and are just now taking the steps to make them happen. It’ll be longer with more fiction and good stuff. Most likely that’ll be the issue in which poetry debuts.

AW: Will the magazine have more author interviews or reviews?

KRG: I can’t answer that with a definite yes or no. If we do well, those are certainly areas open for expansion, so is adding more fiction. One thing is for sure. We don’t want to mess with the professional quality of the magazine. That’s what makes it so incredible.

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