Fabulous February Issue Live!

The fabulous February 28, 2023 issue of Electric Spec is live! Woo hoo!
Thank you so much to our artist and authors!
Thank you to the Electric Spec staff! You rock!

And, last but not least: thank you readers!

From Author Fuller

We are excited to feature "Duet for a Soloist" by Author Jameyanne Fuller in the fabulous February 2023 issue of Electric Spec. Jameyanne was kind enough to send along some comments about the story.

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I wrote “Duet for a Soloist” as part of a series of short stories set in the same fantasy world, a world where everyone has a magical bond with an instrument they call their Harmony, and they use their Harmonies to create Resonance, which gives strength to the Phoenix who carries the world. “Duet for a Soloist” is the fourth of these stories to be.

I wrote my first story set in this world, “Dissonance,” more than ten years ago for a creative writing class in college. In 2016, “Dissonance” was published by Abyss and Apex. By that time, I written a second story, “Harmonies for Cadence,” which was published by the Voyage YA Journal in 2021, and I was working on an epic poem about the mythology of the world, “A World in Seven Flames,” which appeared in the 2020 anthology Twilight Worlds, the Best of New Myths Volume II.

I’ve always loved the concept of interconnected standalone novels set in the same world, along with the idea of writing short stories in the same world as longer works. Back in college, and to this day, I approach many of my writing projects with this in mind. But when I wrote this first story, and even the second story, I didn’t intend for them to become a broader series of connected stories. I thought of “Dissonance” as a single story, a story and a world I loved, yes, but I didn’t have ideas for more. When I wrote a second story, “Harmonies for Cadence,” I viewed it only as a companion to “Dissonance”: “Dissonance” was about a girl who seemingly had no Harmony, while “Harmonies for Cadence” was about a girl who seemingly had too many Harmonies. But once I wrote that second story, the gears in my head started turning, and the project suddenly seemed much bigger. I had a whole world to explore, and I had so much freedom to do it.

The benefit to writing connected but standalone short stories, I discovered, is that there is always more to explore. Because each story is so short and focused, there is always more to the world, tucked around the edges of stories and waiting to be uncovered, or not even present in earlier stories. Over the years, my world building has shifted, and if I look back at “Dissonance,” I find elements of the world building that I might recognize as inconsistent with what I’m writing now, but are in fact simply a different way of looking at the same aspect of world building. It is so fun to just be able to play around in this world, creating it more fully with each story. In addition to the four pieces that I’ve had published now, I have seven other stories in various stages of revision and submission, and ideas for many more stories. My goal is that all of these stories stand alone, showcasing different pieces of the world and different moments in these characters lives, but I also eventually hope to put these stories together into a collection that will reveal a larger story of this world at this point in time. I’ve even been working on a novel, though that’s set five hundred years after the short stories, when the world is very different. This means that while much more of the world building is nailed down in the novel, I still have so much to explore in the time of the short stories.

“Duet for a Soloist” specifically came about as part of a mini-arc of stories about kids in this world who don’t fit in, but unlike the characters in “Dissonance” and “Harmonies for Cadence,” they don’t find a way to fit in and instead decide to build an orchestra of their own. I’m also revising a story about Po, the deaf boy Nina meets in this story who inspires her to take action. I’m also working on stories in this mini-arc about other characters who feel disenfranchised from the world, because of disability, sexuality, class, and so on, who will come together and bring their own unique experiences and come together to try to build a better world for everyone.

I hope you enjoy reading “Duet for a Soloist” as much as I enjoyed writing it. You can find links to my other Phoenix world stories and more background on the world and the other stories on my website, www.jameyannefuller.com, and I hope I will have more of these stories to share with you soon.

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Thanks, Jameyanne Very interesting!
Be sure to check out "Duet for a Soloist" and all the rest of the stories on February 28, 2023!

From Author Genia

We are excited to feature "Hecesiiteihii" by Author Jim Genia in the fabulous February 2023 issue of Electric Spec. Jim was kind enough to send along some comments about the story.

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The differences between the various Plains tribes can be great, but one common denominator is a shared mythology around the menace of "the little people." From tiny tricksters to predators that would eat both wayward children and unwary warriors alike, these dwarf-like creatures are believed to have once been a grave threat to mankind's survival--so much so that the various tribes were forced to unite against them in a Great War. By the end of this costly conflict (which predated the arrival of the White Man to North America), the tribes of men were victorious, and the little people were more or less wiped out.

But what if there were survivors?

The near-genocide of an entire race is a heavy burden to bear for anyone. What if that burden were to rest upon the shoulders of an Indigenous culture that would eventually suffer a similar fate at the hands of the White Man?

Speculative fiction is full of tales of vampires and werewolves roaming about the modern world. It's time Native American myths and legends had their day in the literary sun.

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Thanks, Jim. Very interesting!
Be sure to check out "Hecesiiteihii" and the rest of the stories on February 28, 2023!

From Artist Candiotti

We are excited to feature "Synth" by Artist Barbara Candiotti in the fabulous February 2023 issue of Electric Spec. Barbara was kind enough to send along some comments about the piece.

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The artwork “Synth” depicts an artificially created Synthetic Person staring intently at the viewer with one eye fixed and focused and the other eye taking measurements, data, and scientific readings. A wavey blue marble background of liquid or gel intersects with the Synthetic, as do light-infused wires and small cables.

As Bio-Engineering, AI, CRISPR, and Cloning technology become increasingly advanced and sophisticated, will the definition of “human” change? That is for the viewer to decide.

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Without further ado, here's a sneak peek:

Thanks, Barbara Very interesting!
Be sure to check out the new Electric Spec issue on February 28, 2023!

From Author Blaylock

We are excited to feature "What the Buck!" by Author Zoë Blaylock in the fabulous February 2023 issue of Electric Spec. Zoë was kind enough to send along some comments about the story.

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Having long looked up at a starry sky and wished that benevolent aliens would invite me to explore the galaxy, I waited. But no invitation came. Finally it occurred to me that just because wishes can’t come true in three dimensions, doesn’t mean they can’t come true in two.

So, armed with a yearning in search of satisfaction and a prompt to write about aliens, I set to work. Not that I didn’t need to write and re-write the story ad nauseam—and also to get generous feedback from several writing groups...

And, of course, I often cried because it was the worst story ever written. And, of course, I sometimes crowed that it was the best story ever written. Funny, huh?

Indeed. That’s what saved the day: humor. I first laughed at my ego. Then I laughed at my dejected alter ego. And, before I knew it, my alter ego and his twin brother began acting like real wise guys and making "What the Buck!" a story worth telling.

In a nutshell, I laughed my way to the end—and I hope you will too!

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Thanks, Zoë Very interesting!
Be sure to check out "What the Buck!" and all the rest of the stories on February 28, 2023!