Publication date set

The serials editor at Apehelion, McCamy Taylor, sends news that "Video Killed the Radio Star" will be published in December.

Still don't know when a publication date will be set for "The Silver Dollar Saucer" at Ray Gun Revival.

I got back "When Hell's Bill Comes Due" from Andromeda Spaceways. The slush reader said, "Sorry, I liked the idea and it wasn't badly written, it even felt like one of those old-fashioned stories of the SF golden age."

But then the criticisms come in - some of which actually may be helpful. One thing that is baffling about this story is that - and slush reader saw this too - I've had trouble catching typos in this story. I may have to run a copy off and read it out loud to nab them. I used to do a reading of each story to my wife when I was done, but I've skipped that for probably the last three or four years. I may start that again.

Got back "Dispatches from The Troubles" from GVG. I dropped it in the mail to Sheila. She's got a nice fat Tuckerization in the story, anyway. Strangely enough, as the story went along - and you writers know how sometimes the plot and characters take on a life of their own and you the author need to get out of the way - the character plays a small but poignant role towards the end of the story that literally came out of nowhere.

On the subject of "Dispatches from The Troubles", I caught an episode of "The Simpsons" tonight that started with a St. Patrick's Day parade of Catholic Irishmen clashing with a bunch of Protestant marchers in downtown Springfield. It started to get goofy when the green leprechaun began duking it out with the orange leprechaun, but I did a spit take when the Hulk began fighting with the Thing.