Dreadnought!

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My story "Dreadnought," which is a very bleak one indeed, received the cover for the July-August issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. This is extremely pleasant news if you happen to be me.

The cover art is by Alan M. Clark and, as you can see, it's a very powerful image indeed. It also cuts to the heart of the story, though you'll have to read it to see why.

 Here's how it begins:

The troll lived under the overpass where the expressway, the state road, and the river road came together. His name was Luke, and he had found a kind of equilibrium in his difficult life. When it rained, he'd spend the day with a jug, listening to the civilians roar by overhead, frantically pursuing their unfathomable goals. There had been times when the weather was so hard and miserable that he hadn't left his shelter to relieve himself. But so far, he'd never actually sunk to sleeping in it.

 

He figured he wasn't doing so bad, considering.

 

The story is set in my own neighborhood, Roxborough, in Philadelphia. It took me halfway to forever years to figure it out. How many I'm not sure, but I began writing it at least a decade ago

There is a lesson here for gonnabe writers: Save your incomplete stories. Just in case you figure out someday how to make them work.

And as always . . .

I'm on the road again. Marianne and I are off to view some art museums and maybe a used book store or two. If I get the chance, I'll try to write a blog post sharing my activities. We'll see.

Meanwhile, don't get in any trouble while I'm gone. There are burritos in the refrigerator if you get hungry. And, whatever you do, don't forget to feed the cat. 

You wouldn't want Miss Hope to get angry at you. Trust me on this one.

 

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