I don't have a thing to rant about, so I'm just going to ramble on again this month... Spring seems to have lasted all of April- and Summer seems to have hit about the second week of May. Why don't I notice any of this Global Warming in the Winter? LOL! I had a little bit with the heat last week at work, but nothing more than an inconvenience. I got a bit dehydrated and am having to put up with some minor cramps and such. Gator-aid & Power-aid are really good for putting those things right.
I got to go to Jamie & Tejal's wedding last month. That was a real joy for me. Jaimie's a lucky man- Tejal is one of the loveliest women ever to grace this planet. The wedding had a very cross-cultural feel to it- for a moment I thought I'd gotten into a UN meeting by mistake, LOL! They were married on the porch steps of a lovely antebellum mansion in Roswell, Ga. by an Irish Chaplain (who threatened bodily harm to anyone who attempted to beat him to the bar after the cerimony. LOL!) and the beautiful dresses worn by the bride and the ladies of her family were an eligant contrast to the groom and best man's traditional tuxes. Ask Jaimie for details, my knowledge of Asian cultures is very limited. Please join me in wishing only the best for Jaimie & Tejal, now and forever.
Afterwards, I drove just a little further and dropped in to visit with Rob Wynne and his lovely wife Larissa. I had missed their wedding and so I welcomed the chance to finally meet Larissa. We had a great deal of fun catching up in person. Being able to chat online just isn't the same. I was sad when I had to leave.
My neice and step-grandnephew are celebrating their 3rd birthdays this month and next. I have a lot of partying to do with the kids in the coming weeks. Furthermore, my sister-in-law has informed me that I need to start saving up to go on a family cruse set for Spring or Summer of '07. (And those of you who know of my fear of crowds will quickly realize that I'm gonna have to spend more $$ on tranquilizers to get me thru the airport than I'll need to spend for my cruse ticket. LOL) I'm looking forward to it already!
I'm going to re-run this next section over the next few months. It'll be updated whenever I get new information.
I guess I ought to say a few more words about the
upcoming Aphelion party. So far the party will be the first weekend of
August. Mostly on Saturday the 6th, but guests that can only show up
Friday or Sunday will be welcome as well. Anyone interested in
attending is asked to e-mail me at ApheliCon 1 or post in
the ApheliCon 1
thread in the Lettercol's Administrivia folder. The
party/mini-con is open to anyone who wants to travel to Athens, Ga. USA
for some fun and food in my back yard. Nothing fancy, just a
get-together for anyone who lives close enough or wants to undertake
the trek here. It looks like less than 10 people so far. That's not a
problem for a backyard party. I will need to know in advance just how
many people to plan for. If there are too few to warrant a cook-out,
then I know of several local places where enough munchies and meals can
be gotten for party guests. I hope to see as many Aphelion readers
and writers here as possible. I think that there are about ten Aphelion
writers living within four hours (more or less) drive of here. And I
guesstimate that there *could* be ten times that many Aphelion readers
in the same area. If all of you came, I'd be shocked. Delighted, but
shocked. But do rest assured that you are all invited. Directions can be sent to you on request- And I am
working on some JPGs of maps of the route from Atlanta to Athens, then
out to my place- seven or eight miles North of Athens.
I'll put the maps online and post the URLs so that you can download and
print them at your leasure. Contributions to the food budget will be
welcomed, but there is no plan
to charge admission or cover. If necessary, for people who want to stay
the whole weekend, there are local hotels and
motels in Athens that can fit most budgets. All are near major highways
and none worth staying in are more than half an hour's drive from my
home. And over half of that time would be traffic delays from hotels in
downtown Athens. But realistically, I doubt there will be more people
here than I can find bed, couch, or floor space for, in case they have too much to drink. (Please
pardon my ranting on this point, but I will not allow you to leave if
you've over indulged- even if it means that I choose to sleep on the
floor that night. As a good host, I cannot risk your safety if it is
within my power to prevent you from accident or arrest for DUI. This is
not a point upon which I will accept any debate. You are free to behave
as adults will - if you are of age, but I'll find a way to pick-pocket
your car keys if you get too lit. Fair warning. You are my friends and
my online family. I don't want to lose any of you to any misfortune.)
Most
everyone that has expressed interest so far lives within local driving
range. Except for Kate, she said she's going to fly in from California!
LOL! If she can manage that, shouldn't you folks who live in the
Southeastern US also be thinking about coming to the party? *I'm*
excited. This may be my only chance to meet Kate Thornton in person! As
well as the others of you who have expressed interest in coming to the
party.
My worst nightmare would be that ten people confirm that they are
coming, three rent hotel/motel rooms, the other seven either don't
drink alcohol or plan to drink responsibly, I plan hamburgers, chicken,
and salad for ten-- and ten thousand people show up totally un-announced. LOL! Let us work together to give me accurate numbers, shall we?
It looks to be a fun weekend, in any case. Hope to see you here!
Dan
I now return you to your regularly scheduled reading...
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
Robert Moriyama
Short Story Editor
McCamy Taylor
Assistant Short Story Editor
Jeffrey Williams
Production Editor/Serials Editor
Ralph Benedetto,
Jr.
Assistant Serials Editor
Roger Bennett
Senior Editor Emeritus
Cary Semar
Short Story Editor Emeritus
Serialized Stories & Novellettes
Hurricane Music
By Lea Ann Douglas When the hurricane hits Key West, Georgie is prepared to spend the
night alone in her small beach-side bar. But she doesn't count on the
two other creatures who find themselves stranded in the storm and decide
to seek shelter in her tavern. Georgie is forced to ride out the
hurricane with the strangest customers she's ever had.
Zea
By Brian Bigley
Is there ever anything simple about a contract when you're a three foot tall bounty hunter?
The Travel Agent
By Jay Eckerty
"Every planet can be rebooted." Sitting in an airport bar, a man
listens to a fantastic tale about Phil, a loner whose natural world is
transformed. Phil travels halfway around the world to find his answer.
But, where does the story end and the real world begin?
Strange things are happening in the little coal mining town of Jigsaw
Creek. Simon and Stephanie must find and fix the problem to avert
bigger trouble -- even if it's all in the townspeople's heads.
A new shared universe series: Nightwatch, under the direction of Jeff Williams.
Short Stories
A Daughter's Choice
By Nick Capo Isabella, newly crowned Queen of Baden, must preserve the Kingdom from those who would destroy it from within. But how far must she go and how much must she risk to do so?
Another Sarah
By N. J. Kailhofer Alan did many things for his wife that he didn't want to do, but killing Sarah was something he was really looking forward to--as long as his wife didn't find out why.
Asalaamu Alaikum
By Frank Byrns
Mahmoud had to put up with a lot in his beloved adopted country -- thugs who lumped him in with terrorists when he was anything but, and police that were not much better. Fortunately, he had a way to work out his frustrations.
Field Trip
By E. S. Strout The Higgs boson was the theoretical key to everything -- without it, matter could not exist. Dr. Leonard thought that Dr. Paula Lynch had given him a sure path to a Nobel Prize -- but there was a catch.
Lady Killer
By Rick Jankowski The products offered by Seifer's.com promised to make anyone -- even a hapless nerd like Lawrence -- irresistible to women. And they worked! Of course, there were a few side effects if you didn't pay attention to the warning labels...
No Good Deed
By George J. Condon Dylan was a thief, and a damned good one. He really didn't need the complications that came with rescuing the judge's daughter from slave-traders, but somehow he couldn't resist.
The Boy at the End of the World
By Ee Pin Pang Tim's intelligence and curiousity would take him a long way -- all the way to the End of the World and all its wonders. He just wished he'd packed more underwear and snacks for the trip ...
Within
By Joshua Scribner Dr. Caffer was a master of hypnotherapeutic regression. With it, he intended to uncover the horror that had left Beth Shoemaker terrified of anything to do with children. Then he would destroy it ...
The Mare Inebrium Starter Kit.
--Updated 2/7/2004-- 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!
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.
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
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 --3\01\2003--
Click here to see the Links Page. Our fellow E-zines, Astronomy,
research material, entertainment, and much, much more!
Aphelion IRC Chat --7\31\2003-- Information about an underused 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 --Repaired 3\25\2003-- 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 special 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.
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@lists.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!
--8\8\2000--
