Tiptoe to the Tuber

I completely forgot to mention that Moonlight Tuber #3, which seems to be called Derek, is out now. It's free. And it's here.

While you're at it, you can also pop over for a freebie Aurealis #45 here. Apparently, this venerable old Aussie mag of over twenty years, which over a decade ago had the good taste to publish a science fiction story of mine called Voyage to Abydos, will eventually become a monthly emag. Editor Dirk Strasser (whose TAFE science fiction writing course I once attended for a semester and even got a certificate for, she casually name dropped) writes: Up until issue #44, the magazine has been confined by paper pages and the three dimensions of the book format. Now we've escaped. And there's no going back. We believe a publication devoted to fantasy and science fiction should be at the forefront of change. So here we are. Right on the edge.

So, electric Aurealis? Indeed the publishing times they are a changin'.

Moonlight and Lawn Mowers

Catching up on this week's scandals about submission guidelines and discussions about using the term speculative fiction to cover SFF and Horror and possibly mainstream/literary fiction that spices up mundane stories with a touch of magic or genetic manipulation (that godsend the Lawn Mower Man is here again tidying up my jungle and entertaining the cats, so I'm allowed to fritter away uhhm, another half an hour on the internet, then it's back to work) I noticed that Moonlight Tuber #2 is now out. You can get it here.

My motives for passing on this news are entirely selfish. If MT becomes a respected and world famous, Hugo Award and possibly Oscar winning publication, it'll impress people when I brag that I was in issue #1 (A Sweet Story).

Also, the stories are good. And brave new genre publications that pay writers for their work should be supported and encouraged.

So here's the lineup of MT #2's fine contributors:

Forrest Aguirre
Liz Argall
Peter M. Ball
Jennifer Hollie Bowles
Will Ross
Stephanie Scarborough


Now, back to the gossip, uhhm, I mean the informing debates and intensely useful information.

Trippy

Apart from Moonlight Tuber # 1 (plug, plug), my train reading this week is surrealism to the nth degree - The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov (yep, that's me in the first carriage snorting at the literary goings-on).

This is how it is aptly described on the back cover:

The devil comes to Moscow wearing a fancy suit. With his disorderly band of accomplices – including a demonic, gun-toting tomcat – he immediately begins to create havoc. Disappearances, destruction and death spread through the city like wildfire and Margarita discovers that her lover has vanished in the chaos. Making a bargain with the devil, she decides to try a little black magic of her own to save the man she loves.

I bought this book while on holiday last year after bumping into so many glowing recommendations for it. Let me pass on my own hearty endorsement.

Get your copy!

After a long arvo of Arvo Jobbing, I wasn't going to blog tonight, but I came home to an email from Ben Payne announcing that the first issue of Moonlight Tuber is now up at the site, which means A Sweet Story by yours truly has hit the stands.

So, I bid you, go instantly at once with all possible haste to http://moonlighttuber.wordpress.com/2010/05/03/moonlight-tuber-1/ and download a FREE copy.

The ToC for Moonlight Tuber #1:

The Briefcase… Ethan Canter
A Sweet Story… Gitte Christensen
The Peanut Guy… Peter M. Ball
He and She… Sheri Radford
M.S. Found in a Gutter… Adam Browne
A Little Off the Top… Heidi Wessman Kneale
Head 2… Matthew Chrulew

That's some mighty fine company I'm keeping there.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy the show.