Twisted Tongue, and IROSF

The U.K. magazine Twisted Tongue has come out with its May issue. This is a first for me, because it has TWO of my stories, a short called "Insight" and a flash called "It's Wonderful, Life".

http://www.twistedtongue.co.uk/

The latest issue of the Internet Review of Science Fiction went up on Wednesday. It features an interview called "The Ones to Watch" about five aspiring writers. The idea is to come back and track their progress once a year. I am one of the five.

http://www.irosf.com/

Third Issue of Sentinel S-F

The third issue of Sentinel S-F went live on Tuesday. The pro slot goes to Jay Lake, with his fun fantasy "Fire-Heart and Rose-Lips". As usual, I reserve the semi-pro slot for myself with "The League of Dead Nations". David L. Gray gets the newbie slot with "Collateral Damage".

Of course, Jay Lake needs no introduction. Dave is probably best known around regional conventions for doing his "Buzz Blaster" radio plays. He read an earlier version of "Collateral Damage" at Fencon last fall in Dallas, and then he submitted the story to me at ConDFW in February. I'm very pleased with both stories.

A.R. Yngve, a Sentinel S-F fan, was kind enough to take our existing logo and tweak it for a much better appearance. I'm very grateful.

Nice comment

I was ego-googling for fun (certainly not profit) and found one of my stories was mentioned on a Ray Bradbury-themed blog by a fellow named Robert Blevins. The subject was Bradbury stories where the protagonist is a writer.

http://raybradburyboard.com/eve/forums?a=tpc&s=8881014801&f=6891083901&m=2751062603&r=9401039013#9401039013

"I like 'S.S.P.A.M' by Lou Antonelli. It's the story of a discouraged writer who exchanges email messages with a little girl from the future."

I guess he must have read it at Bewildering Stories back in 2003. It was also republished in the BSW anthology.

I posted and thanked him for the vote of confidence and added - not to nit-pick - that the title is actually "S.P.P.A.M."

Another nice piece of news

I got an email from Tim Miller, chairman of Fencon, the Dallas con that is being held in November. They've asked me to submit a story for their program book. This is a first for me. I'm honored, especially since Connie Willis is the GOH.

Wow! Another great review

Tangent online on Tuesday came out with its review of the second issue of Darker Matter, and - wow - they loved "Avatar". This is what Alasdair Stuart wrote:

"Lou Antonelli’s story, "Avatar," begins at the end, decades after a nuclear war. Doc Damon and Professor Ledkins are members of staff at the University of Texakarna, the capital of the new, if heavily damaged, Texas. It’s implied, although never stated outright, that in this world the Cuban Missile Crisis turned into all-out war, and much of America is in ruins. Decades on from the war though, scientists are patiently working to recreate mankind’s knowledge and Damon and Ledkins think they may have a solution to a very big problem indeed. What they find instead manages to not only turn the "post world war III" genre on its head but also to comment on one of the oldest and least interesting SF tropes with a good deal of compassion and warmth.


"Antonelli’s story is hard work, at least at first. The war and the state of the world takes up much of the front end and is presented in a fairly unabashed info dump, albeit one which functions well for the character. That aside, there’s a lot to enjoy here from the peaceful, if ramshackle, University life Ledkins enjoys to the genuinely surprising ending. This reviewer is an unashamed fan of historical enigma fiction and Antonelli marries that with one of the oldest SF tropes in the book to create something new and quietly, intellectually heroic."

Mr. Stuart got everything - how I went out on a tightrope trying to do something new with the old post-Apocalyptic trope, how I went for the usual Antonelli twist ending ("genuinely surprising"), how I dropped the hints about how in this alternate world the Cuban Missile Crisis resulted in WWIII, and how I use the "unabashed" info dump.

This may be the best single review a story of mine has ever gotten. Tangent didn't like "Rocket", too! Nice encouragement.

Very nice review

I do sometimes take great breaks from this goofy blog, because:

1. I hate blogs. They're too much like work - my work, being a journalist.

2. I have a constant battle with carpal tunnel syndrome, and when I'm trying to shed (work) load, it's a logical thing to dump. Besides, I have my own web site, Sentinel S-F.

But I have to admit, this is something to make note of. I got my copy of SF Crowsnest in my email two days ago. It's one of the two monthly s-f newsletters I get (the other is Ansible). I saw a fellow named Rod McDonald reviewed the second issue of Darker Matter, the April issue. He was very positive on the webzine in general, and then said about my story:

"However, my favourite was 'Avatar' by Lou Antonelli. This is a story about Texas by an author from Texas. Only it is set in an alternative reality in the early 21st century, some forty plus years after a nuclear war had ravaged America and presumably the Soviet Union as well. Antonelli is of an age to have been around in the early sixties when everyone more or less expected the probability of a nuclear strike. Being of the same age, I can understand his concerns. The heroes in the story are geriatric guys involved in genetic research, a relevant issue especially with the high mutation rates caused by radiation. This is a worthwhile story and one which you should definitely read!"

Well, I guess he liked it.