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Editorial
The Senior Editor's usual drivel about whatever...
Hello and welcome!
Before I get to the editorial proper, I'd like to
welcome McCamy Taylor to the Aphelion staff as an Assistant Editor. She
has kindly consented to help out with the backlog of submissions.
(Although, I don't know how this is going to look on her resume', LOL! "You
were working for an online magazine? For free?) McCamy's long
been a favorite of Aphelion readers and now she will be bringing her
talents to editing for us. We've got a sizable backlog of submissions
to wade through and Cary tells me that his hip-boots are beginning to
chafe, just a little... Ahem... So I'm proud to announce McCamy coming
onboard as Aphelion's newest editor. We change as we grow, and grow as
we change. Once again,I have to remark on how Aphelion has evolved
since the early days-- four whole years ago, LOL! Back then it was just
me, a TANDY 386, and a lonely little URL. Now, there's an active staff
of six! My, how things change.
And in the spirit of change-- Feburary's issue will
mark another Aphelion Birthday, so look out. There are some tweaks in
the works for the Birthday Issue. Just another step in Aphelion's
continuing quest to provide a quality forum for writers.
And now-- back to the drivel- er, the editorial, that
is...
The Web is one of the most marvelous tools that a
writer can have. It can also be one of the worst time-wasters mankind
has ever invented. That was driven home to me yesterday as I re-visited
a website that I'd not looked at for months. Not only did I come up
with an outline for a killer story, gotten a chance
to witness the evolution of a website, and spent several hours reading
page after page of oddities worthy of Charles Fort-- I also managed to
while away most of a cold afternoon. I both wasted time and put it to
good use in the same motion.
So, great- the Web is the biggest research library ever
stocked... However, it can also be the single greatest procrastination
excuse of modern times.
And let's face it- who needs another
excuse to put things off? Certainly not me. I learned years ago that
the best way to get a sink full of dishes washed quickly-- was to turn
on my computer and open up the word processor. I'd suddenly feel the
need to stack clean dishes in the cabinet just as soon as that blank
page came onscreen. Now, you can imagine how that urge mutated after I
bought a modem and got online! Now I could delete
my spam-- er, check my e-mails, or read Newsgroups, or look at
websites... Anything but get the work done.
Well, all that blather amounted to was that its easy to
let yourself get distracted. Writers face that challenge, and to
overcome it they learn to schedule writing time. Somehow. You learn
that you have to make time to write or run the risk
of realizing one day that you're not a writer any more. For some
strange reason.
"You are young and life is long,
And there is time to kill today.
And then one day you find,
Ten years have got behind you.
No one told you when to run,
You missed the starting gun." Pink Floyd -- "Time" -- Dark Side of the
Moon
Those lyrics sum up what I'm getting at in this essay.
To wit: A procrastinating writer isn't writing. Delay doesn't get the
story told. As Fictioneers, we have to whip that particular demon down
every day. We have to decide to write that story, work on that next
draft, do the job we keep putting off. Its either that or that long,
slow slide into suddenly not being a writer any more.
Now, I'm not saying that the Net is evil, or a waste of
time for a writer. It is and should always be a great tool for writers.
What I am saying is that the Net is also a great temptation to put off
getting that "job" done. Just one more webpage, just one more Newsgroup
article, "I'll just pop into one more Chatroom-- Say hello to some old
friends..." I'm sure you've done it your self. I know I have.
So at last we come to that oft repeated saw: Schedule
time to write, stick to the schedule. You may not feel
like writing when it comes time to write. I often don't, myself. But I
do write, anyway. I know that I have to, or fade
away. Its something that I've had to learn-- And it didn't come easy.
The nice thing is that you should not only schedule
time for work, but time for play as well. Oh, and don't let the one
swallow the other. To keep yourself sane, you need time to play and
work.
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
Kim
Holec
Poetry Editor
Robert
Wynne
WebMaven
Cary
Semar
Short Story Editor
McCamy
Taylor
Asssistant Editor
Jeffrey
Williams
Production Editor/Serials Editor
Roger
Bennett
Editor Emeritus
Serialized Stories & Novellettes
Jeff
was unable to work on the Serials & Novels section for this
month and has asked me to explain and to extend his appologies. He and
his family have been busy buying a new house and moving in. I know that
I went through the same thing two years ago when I bought a house.
Aphelion readers are asked to please be patient and forgiving, writers
who have posted submissions to Jeff are asked to please let the tar
cool back down and put the feathers back into the pillows.
Dan
"that damnfool senior editor kinda guy"
How
Justine Got Her Body Back By Minoti Baro If a Siberian shaman invites you for coffee at
Starbuck's, say "No thanks."
Ambrosia By George K. Mowles Archonidias had triumphed by capturing the
Mother of Earth in her temple. Now he had only to deliver the idol to
King Minos to gain his reward.
Picture
Perfect By Ralph Benedetto, Jr. The thief who stole Lord Whynter's paintings
made a big mistake when she
left one behind.
Les
Pigeons de la Roche By Frank Mosca The thing about bad karma is this: sooner or
later, it comes back to you.
Far
Out By Matthew Hodgetts and Dwayne Bunney This story has a message for you, if only you
will listen.
Something to Prove
By Andrea Sharkey The philosophers like to ask "does god exist?"
For Darrin, that is the
wrong question.
The
Stewmeister By Delo White Detective Armbruster must solve the mystery of
the disappearance of Everett
Kaboom, but can he overcome his secret weakness?
Its
Only Defense
By Cristina Alfonso-Ibanez Tracking down dragons and slaying them is a
good way to win the hearts of
fair maidens.
Sister
at the Bar By Kate Thornton Some people truly get what they deserve... But
sometimes the Instrument of Justice makes it-- personal.
Kim has been sick and regrets to say that she has no poetry ready for
this issue. Please join me in wishing her a speedy recovery.
Dan
The Mare Inebrium
Links Updated -- 9-10-00 --
Each of the three links below have changed. Please take note and adjust
your Bookmarks if necessary. The first link below gives you the
introduction to the Mare Inebrium, the banner link now gives you access
to all of the Mare stories, and the third link now gives you acess to
the Mare Inebrium Online Starter kit. The online Starter Kit will be
updated as often as Mare writers make necessary.
The banner above links to
all the Mare Inebrium Stories on one page!
The Mare Inebrium Starter
Kit.
--Updated 12/10/2000-- This is a link to all the background information for
the Mare Inebrium stories so far.
This is a must read for all Mare Inebrium writers
and fans!
Features
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
installment!
Double
Wide
by Jim Parnell Jason Phone Home -- You make your own yuck
WARNING: Contains Language.
Dan
Hollifield reviews:"Burn" --
The new novel by Jonathan Lyons Sci-Fi Noir in all its glory!
Aphelion Banners
And banner artwork for links. If you want to link to Aphelion and want more
than a text link, then this page is for you. Some of these banners are
finished, but most of them lack only my adding text to make them
complete. The banner HTML code-- and image --can be e-mailed on
request, or can be more simply copied from the "View/Page Source"
option in your web browser. Images can be downloaded from the banart
page itself.
P.S.
In case anyone is curious as to exactly what's been
keeping me so busy, I've planed 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 begining of a sort of photographic
timeline of my yardwork 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. I have two new
rolls of film shot for this page and expect to update it within the
nexw few weeks.
Dan
If you would like to receive notices from Aphelion
when this page is updated, please join our new, revised, automatic
mailing list. To subscribe:
Send a message to
majordomo@america.net with the following in the body
of the message:
subscribe aphelion <email address>
As always, this mailing list will only be used to
notify you of new issues and will never be given out to anyone else...
'cause I hate spam as much as you do!
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 favor 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 favorite 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.