from Author Gottfried

We are excited to feature "Bliss" by Author Chet Gottfried in the awesome November 2022 issue of Electric Spec. Chet was kind enough to send along some comments about the story.

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Thoughts on Bliss, or Blissful Thoughts:
Any story that I write begins with a central idea (and I expect that to be a common habit among many, if not most, writers).

Thus "Bliss" began as a one-line entry in what I call my 'idea file,' something I generally keep open since it is impossible to predict when an idea will arrive. For "Bliss," the one line had to do with a drunk spaceship, which sounded like fun, but the idea remained idle for months until the second idea came along. And that was a planet that has a natural alcoholic content. Yes! Lakes, seas, and oceans of different types of alcoholic beverages. Both ideas linked very well together, and along with the planet (named "Bliss"), created the tension I needed in the story.

I like to have two or more opposing sides in any given story. On the surface (if you don't mind a pun), an alcoholic planet is fantastic: for the tourist trade, the hotel industry, and so forth. They're the positive forces. But what about the other side? There are wineries and distilleries and so forth. What happens to their business endeavors? A third possible issue would be teetotalers. What would be more abhorrent to a teetotaler than a planet of alcohol?

These groups had the main issues of "Bliss" firmly in hand. Then came the characters. Who would they be? Who is most likely to fly in what amounts to a tramp cargo spaceship? Who would want to hire it? There are different goals and different motivations. All of which contributed to the fun of writing the story, in which the various characters show their strong and weak points.

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Thanks, Chet! Very interesting!
Be sure to check out "Bliss" and all the rest of the stories on November 30, 2022!