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The thing you're really going to hate me for, after reading how good the stories in this update are, is the fact that I accepted the earliest of these about a year ago. It's been a very, very busy year at the Chicago desk of Silverthought, but here they are in all their sci-fi glory. We're very pleased to bring you new stories by Marcus Day, Brenda Kezar, Steven L. Peck, and Blake Ervin. If the July update was all about social science fiction, this one is all about fear: a vicious time-stopping cyborg is caught in a trap and will kill anyone and anything to get away, a space cruiser to Mars finds itself the subject of an unpleasant infestation, a meteorite brings terrifying visitors to your hometown, and the new store across the street knows what you need, and what you'll do to get it.
Some new exciting things are happening at Silverthought as we move toward the Fall: our intern Mickey Kellam, who assisted with editing of this latest round of online fiction, will also be helping us conduct a long-awaited reading period of the full-length manuscripts in our submissions queue. If you've sent us something in the past 12 months and still haven't heard back from us, stay tuned.
I've also written a column called "How to Write Dystopian Fiction" that I'm going to be sharing with you over the next few months. It consists of a 10-part series of explorations of several lesser-known dystopian novels, fiction collections, and writers, and how their books can inform (or not) sci-fi writers that are creating new work today. Some of it is very new, and some is very old, and plenty of it falls somewhere between. These will be posted independently of our major site updates, so check back at Silverthought or follow us on Facebook and Twitter for details. Likewise, there may be rolling updates to our website and backend happening between now and our next update that will make Silverthought.com easier to browse, read, and submit stories to.
That's about it for this update, though more new projects and updates will follow as soon as time allows and the projects take shape enough to share with you. Keep writing, and we'll keep reading.
—Mark
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And the thing you're really going to love me for, after reading how good the stories in this update are, is that this update contains only one reference to twerking, and this is it. Now go enjoy the voodoo curses, alien exterminators, space bugs, and cock fights. You're welcome.
Also, Mark is too humble to tell you that he has a new short fiction collection, Long Live Us, being released from CCLaP on September 9. The book is exceptional and you should buy it.
—Paul
NOW AVAILABLE IN PAPERBACK AND KINDLE EDITIONS:
 Publisher: Silverthought Press ISBN: 978-0-9841738-9-1 82 pages Paperback: $9.99 | Kindle edition: $2.99 |
SCOTT TOO “Victor Giannini’s Scott Too is fiction of the highest order. Giannini uses his device of confused identities to get at basic questions of what it means to be one’s self, to be human. In spare, restrained prose, he gives us a taut, intense novella, at once mysterious and moving. This is a work of humane imagination.” “Victor Giannini’s Scott Too is a tour de force that echoes the best speculative fiction of Philip K. Dick and the magical realism of Jose Saramago. In this brilliant short novel, Scott Alvin comes home one day after almost getting killed in a drive-by shooting, to find his double, also named Scott, relaxing on his living room couch, talking to his roommate. Scott struggles to maintain his identity as Scott Too asserts his personality in ways that do not gel with Scott's sense of self. Giannini’s fantastic world forces us to tackle our own questions of identity, responsibility, and free-will. Scott Too ultimately serves as a philosophical mirror, not only for Scott Alvin, but for ourselves.” |
E S S A Y S E R I E S :
How to Write Dystopian Fiction: Part 1: Sir Thomas More's Utopia
by Mark R. Brand
How to Write Dystopian Fiction is a ten-part series written by Silverthought Press editor Mark R. Brand during a two-month independent study with Miles Harvey, Assistant Professor of English, DePaul University. The series attempts to analyze what works in a variety of new and old speculative fiction texts with utopias and dystopias as central themes and to offer advice to writers about how to use these narrative strategies most effectively. This is part one.
S H O R T F I C T I O N :
Legba's Gifts
by Marcus Day
Luella Beasley wishes her grocery store job and cut-rate boyfriend were something bigger and better, but nothing could prepare her for her new best friend.
Aldrin's Waltz
by S. Blake Ervin
An artist journeys from Earth to Mars in order to set up a better life for his family. As he travels, he reflects on his wife and daughter.
Global Swarming
by Brenda Kezar
For years, scientists have warned that global warming leads to invasive species taking over new areas; they had no idea it would lead to humans being knocked off the top of the food chain.
How the Mother of Vampiro Rojo de Santanas Died at the Hand of the Ethicless Thing
by Steven L. Peck
A dizzyingly-advanced android with the power to halt time is pursued and captured by a fanatic bounty hunter and his pit-fighting chicken.
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