In The Future: Will We Drive Robots Crazy?

RTD2, who actually liked to call himself “Artie De True” after the humor circuit had been added to his metallic cranium, stopped by the computer lab on his way to work at the Infinite Robotics Factory. His friend, Random Bytes, a new flat screen, completely automated psychological responsive unit was not busy and had time to see him. “How can I help you?” asked RB as soon as Artie had hit the blue ‘on’ button. (Incidentally, RB hated the electronic echo in his... Read more »

A Wake Up Call

The young man stood on the steps of the library, waiting for it to open. The librarians, three elderly ladies sedately dressed and whispering even amongst themselves, came at the appointed hour, unlocked the door, and went in. Ten minutes later, after completing their opening ritual, they decided to open the door five minutes earlier to let the young man in. “How may we help you?” asked one of the ladies. “It is I who have come to help you,” he said. “Please gather... Read more »

The Last Martian Goes Home

The Martian stood in the open field surrounded by the best government artillery pointed at his head and chest and back. The infantry troops formed a circle around him. Up above, fighter jets waited for the word to launch a missile right into the corn field if necessary. Unaware of the hostile force that had greeted him, innocent of all thoughts of death and destruction, the handsome green giant, using his intergalactic translator device, said: “My wonderful friends: “We have noticed... Read more »

A Conversation On Antichronous

After my spaceship had landed on Antichronous and I had spent a good deal of time amongst the enlightened inhabitants, I also lost track of time. Like earth, the planet rotates around the sun and time can be measured. And the people are certainly clever enough to create measuring devices for time, from watches to calendars to history, but they prefer not to do it. “Time is an illusion,” explained the sage, Viji. “You see,” she said, “we can remember the future and... Read more »

Put Your Best Foot Forward When Submitting Your Manuscript

Every week, editors and book agents, receive many first-time authors’ manuscripts for review purposes. Some authors want them to read their manuscript and give them a complete written report while others simply want them to look at their manuscript and see if the possibility exists that they can help them to publish it as a book. Still others, while acknowledging the rough draft form of their manuscript, only want professional thoughts of what they believe to be a bestseller. Most editors believe... Read more »

Potter Pets

Peter Rabbit was a figment of the imagination of the very creative Beatrix Potter. The author was born in 1866 in Victorian Kensington London. Her home was large and sumptuous, her family rich. She was raised with several servants, a shy girl who wiled away many hours of every day by herself. Beatrix Potter learned many artistic things from her governess. She taught the writer about music, art, reading and writing. Her only other regular company was her full time nurse. Beatrix Potter had one brother.... Read more »

The Trouble with Real World Grammar Rules

Common wisdom dictates that if a grammatical “mistake” becomes common enough, it is no longer a mistake. The rules of grammar supposedly adapt to real-world usage. Real-world usage aside, the pervasive use of “me and so-and-so” in our culture drives me nuts! It used to be, “George and I went to the store.” Back in the old days of 30 or so years ago, if someone said, “Me and George went to the store,” the listener would quietly come to the conclusion... Read more »

Getting Your Short Fiction Published: The Hard Truth

The short story market is one of the hardest to break into. There are thousands of well-known writers pumping out short fiction, and thousands more just like you, struggling to get themselves published for the first time. But there are several things you can do to set yourself apart from the rest and start working your way to the head of the pack. Attention to Detail First things first, make sure your manuscript is professional. Use a plain, 12-point font, times new roman is the norm. Double-line... Read more »

Title Your Short Story Right

No matter how fantastic the short story you have written may be, without a catchy title the chances are good that an editor will not read it. The title is the most important part of the story as this is what first captures the reader’s attention. A good title should grab the reader and make them wonder what the story is about. A bad title will probably cause the reader to skip the story altogether. This holds true when submitting your stories for publication. Editors are busy people and will... Read more »

Writing Fiction from Experiences

Life is a book. No saying can hold more truth than that one short quote. Life is indeed a book waiting to be written. Ideas for the best novels and stories often come from the authors past experiences, what they observe, or what they hear from people around them. Stories often start with an idea that gets stuck in your brain after hearing or seeing something of interest to you and expanding it with other ideas you might have stored in your memory. These ideas may also be figments of your imagination,... Read more »