Slug Time

by Mary E. Lowd

Originally published in COSMOS, August 2011

“The bio-department didn’t have any brain-scanners designed for animals.”

“Hey, Deenah, want to come down to the grav-lab with me? I hear the physics department is putting on a wild party tonight. Free-fall twister, skate around the edge of the black hole… That sort of thing.”

Deenah put down the annulator she was using to fine-tune the wires in her hackishly made brain-wave generator. Wespirtech was legendary for its parties, and the physics department hadn’t thrown one since Deenah arrived. She was sorely tempted to put her work aside and accompany Rayston… Continue reading “Slug Time”

Entering Orbit; Preparing for Launch

We’ve loaded up our cargo bay with twenty-five stories — the complete contents of three science-fiction anthologies, Welcome to Wespirtech, Beyond Wespirtech, and The Opposite of Memory — and we’ll begin releasing the stories, several per day, on December 25th, 2015.

Many of the upcoming stories have been published online before, but some of them have only ever been available in obscure anthologies or small press magazines.

Get ready to read some science-fiction!

Approaching 1000

Over the last more-than-a-decade, I’ve submitted nearly one hundred stories to more than 150 different markets.  A bunch of my stories have been published.  Some of them haven’t been (yet).  And, of course, I’ve received a lot of rejections.  969 so far.

As I approach 1000 rejections, I’ve been thinking about the publishing process — what it costs and the benefits it provides.  I don’t intend to stop submitting my stories to markets that seem well-suited to them.  However, I also don’t see a reason to stay dependent on other people’s e-zines to make my work readable online. Continue reading “Approaching 1000”

Five Things I’m Grateful For, Day Five (the Final Day)

1) I have not been eaten by a snake.

2) Daniel.

3) No matter what happens in the next two years, I got to move home to Oregon, live in Eugene for six years, lead the Wordos for four years, and be in the same town as my mom and sister. Continue reading “Five Things I’m Grateful For, Day Five (the Final Day)”

Five Things I’m Grateful For, Day Three

1) There are some excellent stories in Lightspeed’s “Women Destroy Science Fiction” issue. They explore some of the very ideas that I’ve wanted to write about but couldn’t figure out how. Maybe reading them will help me figure it out.

2) Both of my children are healthy. Continue reading “Five Things I’m Grateful For, Day Three”