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Editorial
The Senior Editor's usual drivel about whatever...
Sometimes, you get so busy with all the stuff that needs
doing that you have to forego the things that you really want
to do. These dreams and aspirations slide further and further into the
background while you whittle away at the endless "must do- NOW" inbox
on the desktop of your life. You wind up feeling harried and a bit
depressed, dissatisfied and put-upon, and finally you just about reach
the point to where you're ready to tell the whole world what to kiss -
and when. (This is why humans invented the "vacation", by the way.)
Which feels really good to say- but it doesn't make a whole
lot of difference to the whole, irritating, "need you to do this -
yesterday" world.
What usually happens is that one day you look back at the life
that you've led and discover that you never did manage to make the time
to follow your dreams. This stage is usually followed by what is called
a "mid-life crisis" wherein you do something really stupid in the vain
hope of recapturing your lost youth. The most common stupid thing that
men do is buy some sort of expensive red sports car. I don't know what
the most common stupid thing is that women do - and I'm personally too
chicken to ask - but whatever it is, they're just as entitled to do it
as men are.
I can't help feeling that it’s probably better just to go
ahead and make the time to chase your dreams in the
first place. All I know is that that's what I've done- although I did
waste more than half my lifetime so far before I began the pursuit -and
I feel really good about myself. (Trust me, now is NOT a good time to
point out to me that my red motorcycle could be construed to be the
ultimate sports car. I've been addicted to motorcycles since my
childhood and have owned at least five of them over the years. That's
not a crisis, that's a habit.) My dream has been to write stories, to
entertain people. I'd like to think that I've some small measure of
success with that dream. (Even though I still
haven't sold anything. LOL)
So hold on to your dreams. Don't let them slip away. And
remember, no car ever built can drive fast enough to make you young
again.
Thanks for your time.
Dan
I'd like to thank those of you who have sent e-mails or signed into the
Lettercol for your feedback. Keep those messages coming, folks! Without
those messages we will never know what we need to improve upon. Hope
you like the improvements so far!
Aphelion Staff:
Dan Hollifield
Senior Editor, Publisher
Roger
Bennett
Editor Emeritus
Robert
Wynne
WebMaven
Cary
Semar
Short Story Editor
Kim
Holec
Poetry Editor
Jeffrey
Williams
Production Editor/Serials Editor
Serialized Stories
Superhero
Nation -Part 5 of 5-
By Mike Tanier It's 2049, and any kid can call himself a superhero if
he's willing to spend a little money and break a few laws.
The
Journeyman -Part 5 of 5-
By Allen Woods Nothing in their lives could ever have prepared the
citizens of Ithica, GA for the Journeyman.
Analore -Part 1 of
2-
By Joseph B. St. John "Jonah was as good as dead. He lived, he worked, and
he camped, but no one could really call him alive until he found the
way to Analore..."
Dreamer -Part 3 of 3-
By Dan L. Hollifield A rare foray into pure fantasy, just to prove that I
can do it. This story ran in 5 parts in the second incarnation of Dragon's
Lair webzine in 1997 and has never been presented in Aphelion
before.
Novellas and Novelettes
Boil
a Manchild for Odin
By Ulf Ronnquist "I am young at seven hundred seasons. I am not yet
wed, I have caught no manchilds and they think me odd."
Blackguard's
Finest
By Erik M. Roth Trilcek, Law Inquisitor, would follow any trail no
matter where it led in order to find his lost Karen and bring her home.
Drinking
Problem By
Jim Parnell Never trust an alien who doesn't drink, particularly
at the Mare Inebrium!
Between the Rows
By Abbie Klawitter In honour of Halloween, here is a tale of what can
happen to bad boys and girls, if they don't watch out.
Dark Angels
By Joseph B. St. John Raul was smart, but he did a stupid thing. The girl
from New York city thought she was a lot smarter than Raul.
The Challenge By
Dennis Talent There were two ways for a paramedic to join the elite
911 Group... The easy way was with 15 years seniority, but Rookie
Stephen Haddad was at the Mare Inebrium to do it the hard way!
Deep
Blue
By Tom Oliver This tale of about averting nuclear disaster comes
complete with the author's own analysis. Read the story, then read the
author's commentary.
Hostage
By Robert Jarero An unforeseen circumstance concerning a very
'different' kind of man…
The Lotus on the Other
Side
By McCamy Taylor A follow up to the short story "Sister Death" which
recently appeared in Aphelion. Rusty begins his training as a Knight of
Death.
The Major
By Norman Hess "So as through a glass, and darkly
The age long strife I see
Where I fought in many guises,
Many names, but always me."... George S. Patton
You Never Said Goodbye
By Myke Anthony Graduating from High School is a hard time in
everyone's life. Several decisions have to be made that will affect
your entire life. Having an alien living next door doesn't necessarily
help making those
decisions any easier.
The Summer is Past
By Iain Muir You can meet the strangest people in pubs. And what
are those blasted owls doing outside?
No
Panthers Live in Dublin Marsh
By Logan Johnson Fitz was in no mood for nonsense, with the job
interview in a couple of hours, when Charlie showed up with another one
of his wild stories…
World
of Two Fallacies
By Frederick Rustam Eugene was of the lost generations. He was too young
to remember HomeWorld, and born too soon to see GoalStar. When he was
17, these facts did not trouble him, for he had Juanita and The Triv.
Canned
By Dan L. Hollifield "A thief is shot in the night -- Whose hand is on the
bow?" --Old Shoshone Proverb.
Aphelion's Daily Comics
By Mark Stanley, and Steve Troop Did he say daily? Yep, Aphelion is proud to feature two
of the funniest comic strips on the Internet, Mark Stanley's "Freefall"
and Steve Troop's "The Melonpool Chronicles". Bookmark this page, you
don't want to miss a single instalment!
The Aphelion Interview: Atk.
Butterfly
by Jeff Williams Jeff Williams sits down with another of Aphelion's
most popular writers, to discuss their life and work. This is the
fourth in a series of Interviews we will be bringing you over the next
few months.
Wayward Musings by Kim Holec Kim shares her thoughts about seeing the musical
Chess at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta.
Double Wide
by Jim Parnell The Torture Never Stops -- What's a poor boy to do?
WARNING: Contains language.
The Reading Room
by Rob Wynne Rob Wynne takes a look at books of note in this
semi-regular column. In this issue: The Ultimate Melonpool by Steve
Troop (an Aphelion author!)
In case anyone is curious as to exactly what's been keeping me
so busy, I've planned a few webpages that show the progress of my
landscaping, interior decoration, and housework. Look for it in my
personal pages at Casa Vila.
Its the beginning of a sort of photographic timeline of my yard work
and such. I don't know why anyone would want to see it, but Rob thought
that someone might, so I worked it up. Expect it to be updated as I get
new film developed and scanned.
Dan
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Back Issues:
Instead of the back issues the banner below now takes you to
the Archives-where all our past stories are available for you to read.
I've decided to ditch the back issues in favour of the
Archives. The Archives are easier to use and can be indexed by author
or story title. Hopefully this will ease the task of finding a
favourite story. We may start a page of our past cover art, if there is
a call for it. Thanks for your readership for without you, nothing we
do has any meaning.
By
Jim Parnell
