Monday 19 October 2009

Voting has already begun

Blimey, I've only just finished sending out ST16 this morning and already I've received two votes for best story. Not for the same story, either. So far comments about the mag have been very positive. Reader 'R' of Chester remarks:

'... many thanks for ST 16, which contains much to enjoy. I liked pretty much all the stories, although I WOULD have been hard put to choose my favourite between Tina Rath's and Jane Jakeman's ("Adoptagrave"). I say WOULD because the decision was more or less taken out of my hands when I read Mike Chislett's tale. It's easily the best story in the issue and one of the best I've read anywhere in a while. I suspect from its placing at the end of the fiction part of ST that you feel the same. Mike is such an original talent (...) Oddly enough, "The Coast Guard" in its own way combines what I like about Tina's and Jane's tales - the slightly spooky whimsicality of the first, and the downright scariness of the second.'

What do you think, avid readers? If the mysterious 'R' (who got her review copy nice and early) correct in her assessment? If you don't tell me what you think, I won't know. And that's logic.

Re: postal problems. All the international copies went out last week and should be arriving soon. Certainly none should be delayed by any strikes in poor old Blighty. Most of the domestic subscribers' copies went mid-week. The last few went today, Monday. They should be arriving in a couple of days or have already arrived. If any subscriber reading this thinks their copy may have gone astray, give it a week or so then get in touch. You just never know...

Now a quick reminder why I'm doing all this. Because when I was a tiny boy I read the works of Mr Poe, and never quite got him out of my system. Did you know there was a 'chamber musical'? Neither did I.

2 comments:

Ferret said...

I agree almost completely with Reader R... although modesty forbids my agreement to be absolute, plus I really liked Jane Jakeman's other story... but Mike Chislett's story was brilliant, just as I have come to expect from this author.

valdemar said...

Well, Ferret, you're clearly part of a growing social trend. You may be interested to learn that Mike sent me a 36,000 word short novel recently. As this is almost the length of an entire issue it might make sense to do another 'Chislett special' in the near-ish future.

LET YOUR HINGED JAW DO THE TALKING by Tom Johnstone (Alchemy Press)

ST 55 features a tale by Brighton's finest purveyor of contemporary horror, Tom Johnstone. And it just so happens that Alchemy Press is...