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Editorial
The Senior Editor's usual drivel about whatever...
Hello and welcome!
This month the staff and I wanted to catch up on both our backlogs of work and our off-line lives. So this Aphelion can be considered a "greatest hits" issue. Each section editor slaved away to pick out the most memorable submissions they'd seen. I think that they did quite well, considering the number of stories and poems that Aphelion has accumulated over the years. You might disagree with their various picks as being the absolute best, but I bet that you'll be entertained nonetheless. (Dissenters can post their own "best of" lists in the Lettercol, if they want.)
And as an example of how life can get really busy, for the last four days my girlfriend and I have been babysitting her year-old grandson. Aside from being tired out from walking, rocking, and chasing the baby boy, I've been watching him see the world for the first time. Its a positive joy to see his eyes light up when he figures out a new toy, or to watch him bob and dance when the radio plays a good song. I've been having a great time playing grandpa while his Mom recovers from her bout with the flu and his Dad, my girlfriend's son, is working. The couple are seperated, and are trying to reconcile, but they're both just young kids themselves and argue a lot. They're both working hard for the child and are both being reasonable about his careand expenses. Pretty cool folks, all in all. I'm just sad that they can't make the marrage work for arguing- but for both of them, the baby comes first. That says a lot for them both.
Well, the baby is on his way home to Momma as of a few minutes ago as I write this, so my adventure in parenting in over for now... But I remain forever ready to return to grandpa duty at any time. Its fun, except for when it reminds me of what I missed not having any kids of my own. But that's just life. Speaking of which, my sister and her husband are expecting their first child in a few months, and my brother's wife's daughter (step-niece?) is also expecting at nearly the same time... Looks like I'm going to get a chance to do a lot more babysitting in the future. Good thing I'm not really all that old yet, eh? I've still got energy enough to be Uncle and Grandpa, as well as Godfather to half a dozen or more kids ranging in age from 2 to 14. Hey, I've been at this babysiting bit for over 30 years. I've helped raise nearly 20 kids over the years- I even remember when diapers were all made out of cotton, had to be put on with pins, and had to be washed out after "use". You readers with children may take these new disposable diapers with tape to close them for granted, but us old fogies remember when times wre a bit rougher. But times do change, and my own child-like personality helps me make friends with the children in my life. My friends' children all flock to me as if I were the Universal Uncle, and have done for decades. I don't know what it is that I've got, but St. Francis can have it back anytime. {grin} In any case, it looks like all this training is paying off again, but the smile of a child as you read them a bedtime story or rock them to sleep to quiet music- That's priceless. And as a reward, its finer than spun gold. And seeing them discover some new aspect of the world for the first time is almost as priceless as when you were a child, making the same discovery.
Now, as a writer, you just know that I'm rolling this stuff up on a fork and eating it as if it were so much soft fudge. To see the world through new eyes? Isn't that what fictioneering is all about? So I'm cheating- a little. Still, the smile of a child... Isn't that the reward I was after when I started writing? And everything I see him learn, I learn all over again. And if I'm smart, I can learn something from this to make my writing better. I like the idea that I might have as much to learn from a child as I have to teach them.
I already found out one thing just today, the baby absolutely loves Pink Floyd. But then again, some things transend age.
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
Iain Muir
Poetry/Filk Editor
Robert Wynne
WebMaven
Cary Semar
Short Story Editor
McCamy Taylor
Assistant Short Story Editor
Jeffrey Williams
Production Editor/Serials Editor
Ralph Benedetto, Jr.
Assistant Serials Editor
Roger Bennett
Editor Emeritus
Serialized Stories & Novellettes
Aphelion's Best -- Editor's Choice
June - Oct. 1999 - Superhero Nation
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.
December 1999 - To Play's the Thing
By Robert Yosco Take a short trip down memory lane as very
old friends meet again just in time for an
awakening to usher in the new millennium.
August 2000 - Mind Over Matter
By Joanna Berry The psionic agent Mauran Cooper has just
closed her latest case by fatally wounding a
serial killer. But destroying her fugitive only
serves to lead her into intrigue, crippling
guilt and danger.
March 2001 - Living in the Present
By Guy Hasson Communication through time may actually
be only a few years away. This story offers
a new solution to the time paradox: No
coincidences, no tear in the fabric of
space-time, and absolutely no parallel
universes... Something else.
December 1998 - Saucerful of Secrets
By Dan L. Hollifield D-Day had been a PI for a dozen years now, so you'd think he'd seen it all- Right? Right... He thought so, until a simple divorce case took a back-seat to an odd tangential clue. He wound up with a new client who was in a tight spot. The more D-Day learned about his new case, the odder it got. Or as he so deftly put it himself:
"What am I- a weirdness magnet?"
Aphelion's Best Short Stories of 1999, Editor's Choice
January 1999 - Harsh Rains
By Tom Oliver Delta III, or Del3 as the colonists came to call it, had an extremely
fragile ecology. When the rains came late one year, the situation became
very serious indeed!
January 1999 - Nikki Time
By Jeff Williams Sometimes a man's best friend comes in the most unexpected forms...
February 1999 - Stick Boys
By Jeff Miller It was a cruel, merciless existence. But it was the only life the boys had
known.
June 1999 - My Intended
By McCamy Taylor In Joseph Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness,' we learned that Kurtz's 'intended'
is mature, independent minded and highly moral. This is her story.
July 1999 - The Loki Must Die
By John Gilmore Armed with the Piscean Death Ray, the dreadnought Loki was bound for Earth
and inevitable victory. But the "fish" hadn't counted on HEIDI, or her
secret weapon, Florida Tafoya.
September 1999 - Father Shadow
By Michael J. Martineck Hunted by police, private detectives and insurance investigators, Father
Anthony has only one trick up his cassock, but it's a good one.
October 1999 - 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.
December 1999 - Junkyard Carol
By Kate Thornton Running a recycling park is a lonely job most of the time, but the worst
part of the year is Christmas.
August 1998 - Yesterday's Glory
By Robert Wynne Was she the girl of his dreams, or something else again?
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!
Tales of the Mare Inebrium
The banner above links to
all the Mare Inebrium Stories on one page!
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 The collected wisdom of Bubba
WARNING: Contains Language.
Aphelion proudly presents the installments of Double Wide all on one page of links. We wanted to make sure that the wit and wisdom of Bubba wasn't lost for new readers, so we made a mini-archive list of just the Double Wide features.
Dan Hollifield reviews: "Clovenstone"
The new novel by Ruth McIntyre-Williams A Celtic Medieval Fantasy Novel
The Listening Room
by Rob Wynne Rob Wynne bangs his head against Phoenix's "Into the Fire"
A Challenge to Writers... --8\8\2000-- Not a contest, but a series of ideas to spark off a story. Challenge 1 is the paintings of Daniel Hannaquand, Challenge 2 is a collection of narrative hooks composed by Dan Hollifield.
Aphelion Links Page --6\08\2001--
Click here to see the Links Page. Our fellow E-zines, Astronomy, research material, entertainment, and much, much more!
Aphelion IRC Chat --2\16\2001-- Information about a new feature for Aphelion. IRC Chat is a fun way to talk to our readers, writers, staff members, and other netizens. This link takes you to a basic intro and provides further links to the IRC software that you can download for free. Look for new updates as we refine this feature.
Aphelion JAVA Chat --2\12\2001-- For a quick look at the JAVA chat client, this link launches a new browser window that takes you to a Log-in form for a JAVA-based chat in your browser window. No specian programs are needed. This will be a very simple, but passable IRC client, very no-frills. This will also tell you if there's anyone else in the chatroom, by the way.
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. Unfinished banners can be completed and e-mailed to you within 8 days. 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. Finished images can be copied from the banner artwork page itself. An exchange of links or banner links is always welcome. Link Swap E-mail should be sent to: Dan Hollifield
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.
Dan Hollifield reviews:
--8\8\2000-- 
