I’ve taken a short break from writing to work on a website for long-time friend and publisher Warren Lapine, a webzine version of Fantastic Stories. The last magazine I worked on was Realms of Fantasy, which was also published by Mr. Lapine. Both experiences have been fascinating, being on the other side of the publishing process, working with writers and editors to get their stuff out and into the world. I’ve worked about half my life as a designer; graphic designer, interface designer, illustrator, animator or photographer. I’ve frequently morphed ‘design’ into various forms of original content creation, even when the budget wasn’t there for that, enjoying the creative side and maximizing the time spent there. So this cover is mine, repurposed out of the site illustrations. The New Beaches illo is the best, a photo montage of three images that barely looks like a montage; I’ve combined a weird super-cell storm with a flooded beach and some people running. Check the site out, and if the stories intrigue you, buy the magazine for $1.99. The texts are free online for a month, but novellas are tough to read on screen, so seriously, just spend the two bucks. It’s why we have the ebook edition; read the short stories and the reviews online. I’ll be selling my own reprint anthologies of short stories at Fantastic, at a higher margin than any other online marketplace; I’ll announce that in a few days and if people have been considering buying my stuff, and have had a hard time finding Asimov’s on the stands, you can pick up my stuff from the Fantastic / Wilder book store at the site. I’ll be putting a week a month into the magazine but hope to get my writing back on track and start meeting my word counts in and around that.
