Thank You Ralan!

Earlier this year I was sad to see the writers' resource Ralan.com closed. Ralan.com was a free listing of speculative short fiction markets including science fiction, fantasy, and horror. It covered professional markets, semi-pro, pay, 'for the love,' anthologies, and other opportunities. And, yes, Electric Spec had a listing. I, and many other authors, used Ralan.com for over twenty-six years.

I don't know anything about the person or persons who ran it, but I am deeply grateful for all their work over the years. It was a great resource for writers. Thank you, Ralan!!! You rock!!!

AI Kerfuffle

If you've been following the news lately, there has been a lot about artificial intelligence (AI). I think the terms AI and machine learning are quite misleading; computer software isn't intelligent and can't learn the way human beings do. Humans 'train' computer software using existing data to create a 'model' of the data. Then, humans can use this software model to predict new data. We had quite a discussion about AI-generated content at the production meeting. The result was a change in our submission policy and this portion of the recent Letter From the Editors:

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We find ourselves contending with what was once a science fiction concept: AI-generated content.

Those of you who have seen the updated submission page or our blog will know that Electric Spec does not accept machine-generated or assisted content--meaning stories or artwork. We don't have space in this letter to review all the pros and cons of the various ways automated tools are impacting the creative landscape. Yet we can encapsulate our reasoning in two basic points:

1. As anyone who has read the recent news about Clarkesworld magazine knows, machine-generated stories can be produced in such quantity so quickly that they flood the submission process. We simply do not have the time to sift through so much material.

2. We believe the most critical function of creativity is about human connection. An artist reveals something of their inner self--their soul--with their creation and communicates their perspective, imagination, and uniqueness with each person they touch with their work. No matter how deftly it imitates human creativity, machine-generated content lacks that essential quality.

So as you read this issue's stories, think about how they allow you to touch the life of each author.

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Hopefully, all this will end up being a minor kerfuffle...
Keep reading Electric Spec for human-centric stories written by humans!

Celebrating super stories!

Huzzah! We're still celebrating the fabulous February 2023 Electric Spec issue!
So many super stories...

• "What the Buck!" by Zoë Blaylock--Discover what happens when the only thing worse than being abducted by aliens is not being abducted by aliens.
• "Hecesiiteihii" by Jim Genia--A young warrior encounters a legend from the pre-colonial past of North America in the modern world.
• "The Willingham Bay Witches" by Sarah Jackson--What's more dangerous than being a detective? Trying to solve mysteries in a town full of witches.
• "Duet for a Soloist" by Jameyanne Fuller--Music and magic intertwine as the rivalry between two sisters reaches its crescendo.
• "Galatea at the Circus" by Ana Gardner--When a virtual being enters a circus of the imagination, her freedom is on the line.

Which story is your favorite?

From Author Jackson

We are excited to feature "The Willingham Bay Witches" by Author Sarah Jackson in the fabulous February 2023 issue of Electric Spec. Sarah was kind enough to send along some comments about the story.

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My short story The Willingham Bay Witches grew out of three main ideas converging in a fairly haphazard fashion.

Witches!

I've been a witch fan for a very long time, so while I wasn't at all surprised to find myself writing a story about a coven of witches, I was slightly dismayed that they turned out to be such assholes.

I've written other stories about good, kind witches who are excellent role models, but these three arrived, if not wicked, then definitely ruthless, selfish, and opportunistic.

While my protagonist, Sandy, has a magical gift, they don't particularly align themselves with witchcraft, but do feel envious at the feeling of belonging they believe they might find in a coven. (Though that isn't always the case, as poor Mona discovered to her cost.)

I didn't know it when I started writing the story, but I was exploring some ideas and feelings around femininity and feminine power, which as a feminist I have always championed, but as someone who now identifies as nonbinary, never strongly related to.

I wanted to write witches who were powerful and frightening, but not in the old misogynist mode that so many witches were cast in. They're not bad because they are powerful women, they are powerful women and they're bad. That's what I was aiming for, anyway.

Small town drama!

That all emerged as I was writing, but my starting point was the idea of a witch running a seaside tearoom and lording it over the locals. Evil, but in a kind of petty, mundane way.

The setting was influenced by the small town I grew up in, where there seemed to endless feuds about which pasty shop was the best, or where you got your haircut.

I thought it would be interesting to take these powerful supernatural beings and put them in this very normal place with limited horizons, where a new cafe opening seems like reasonable grounds for murder.

Seaside noir!

The third ingredient was a bit of film noir pastiche. Once I had the idea for the tearoom coven, I needed a protagonist to discover their schemes.

Initially I thought about making them a real private detective or supernatural investigator (I definitely didn't want to go down the witch hunter route because misogyny). Perhaps even an especially dogged health and safety inspector from the council.

But then I realised it would be much, much funnier to have a dreamer who had done an e-learning course in private investigation (they're real!) and felt equipped to take on the case.

I also thought it would be a fun subversion if they were a disaster bi (like myself) who was already in love with the femme fatale, who in fact goes looking for her rather than waiting for the dame in question to come waltzing into their office.

Once I had those details Sandy appeared more or less fully-formed. It was very enjoyable writing from their point of view because they think they're in Brighton Rock or The 39 Steps, but actually they're in a Point Horror book.

I do hope they ditch Debbie and get their thumbs back.

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Thanks, Sarah Very interesting!
Check out "The Willingham Bay Witches" and all the rest of the stories now!