Category: Small Press Publishing

Phantaxis no more?

Woe! I received an email today from Phataxis saying that they are on hiatus and will be ceasing publication for a while. In the hard world of struggling SF magazines that might be quite a while. I hope not. It’s a great little magazine with real quality stories. (They didn’t buy any of mine, a sure sign of good taste). See my review of the August 2017 issue. Or the May 2017 issue. Phantaxis managed to be on a par with the esteemed Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction even with a smaller budget. I do hope they come back.

This 2015 article by Gregory Benford on the decline in sales for the SF magazines is even more relevant today. Even the big names are finding things difficult. Where will burgeoning new talent find a place to grow?

The good news is that Perihelion SF is back.

Where are the aliens?

We are often told that with so many stars in the galaxy – not to mention the universe – and so many Earth style planets being discovered it is impossible that there is no life on other worlds. The counter-argument to this is simple: where are they? Why haven’t they been in touch?

I recently read an enlightening article on this very subject in Perihelion SF by a chap called J. Richard Jacobs. In Alien Argument he gives one possible explanation as to why little green men (and women) have not yet appeared. It’s definitely worth a read and Perihelion SF is completely free, though donations are gratefully accepted.

 

A rush of stories in print

It’s a funny old game, writing, especially short stories. The gap between writing, acceptance and publication can be as much as a year. There are often months on end when you have nothing coming out and wonder if it’s all a waste of time.

This month I have two stories published and one little book. Details below. The Universal Link (courtesy of books2read.com)will take you to a choice of retailers so you can find the one that suits your reader but if you want to support the Small Press buy directly from their websites.

Nomadic Delirium Press have issued The Union Man and Other Stories. Here’s the cover.

The Union Man and other stories brings you three stories from Eamonn Murphy.
An interrogator (torturer) for MI5 is accused of a murder, a murder he couldn’t have committed, but where his investigation takes him will not only change his life, but it will forever change the world.
Happy is a drug that has been legalized in England, but no one can expect the consequences of what that legalization will mean, except for one man, and no one wants to listen to him because everyone wants to be Happy.
Finally, a brief story that is a twist on the princess and the frog tale.

It’s available at these venues.

http://nomadicdeliriumpress.com/blog/product/the-union-man-and-other-stories/

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/777958

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078X9C4Y3

Also from Nomadic Delirium Press is the SF and Fantasy magazine for children, Spaceports and Spidersilk which features my story ‘Sneezy and the Ecologist’ in the January 2018 issue.

Spaceports & Spidersilk features some of the best science fiction and fantasy fiction and poetry for kids of all ages. The January 2018 issue will take you to places you might never have imagined. It will appeal to your inner child, and hopefully take you back to the places you loved as a child…and if you’re still a child, it will open your imagination to all kinds of new worlds.

 

This one is available as below.

http://nomadicdeliriumpress.com/blog/product/spaceports-spidersilk-january-2018/

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/773602

Universal link: books2read.com/u/bapXEQ

 

And finally, the January issue of Outposts of Beyond from Alban Lake Publishing  has my story Cyberlinks in it. There’s also a book review by me.

Outposts Of Beyond features science fiction and fantasy tales of elsewhere and elsewhen. These stories are seasoned to taste with just a touch of related poetry, and interspersed with reviews, interviews, and articles related to the genres. We hope you’ll come along for the journey.
Short Stories
The Library of Ice by Mike Morgan
I Do Have Half of an Octopus, I Believe It Is by Tim McDaniel
Cyberlink by Eamonn Murphy
Savant by Maureen Bowden

Poetry
Tempting Fate by Vonnie Winslow Crist
Tick Tock by K. S. Hardy
Freighter Pilot Has Alien Elvis’ Baby by David C. Kopaska-Merkel
The Imbuing of a Celestial Orb by Robert William Shmigelsky
A Robot’s Question by Vonnie Winslow Crist
Talisman by Vonnie Winslow Crist
They Dig by K. S. Hardy
Perimeter by David C. Kopaska-Merkel
Venus by John Grey
Robots vs Humanity by John Grey

Features
Editorial
A Wolf to Guard the Door, reviewed by Eamonn Murphy
Book Reviews by Jim Lee
JFK and the Space Nazi by Robert E. Porter
A Little Help, Please

Illustrations
cover Universal Wonder by Mitchell Davidson Bentley
The Cold Moon by Sandy DeLuca

Outposts of Beyond is available on these links.

http://store.albanlake.com/product/outposts-of-beyond-january-2018/

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/776864

Universal link: books2read.com/u/4NRqD6