From Author Bondoni

We're excited to feature "Peace Between the Tribes" by Gustavo Bondoni in our fabulous February 2025 issue of Electric Spec. Gustavo was kind enough to send us some comments.

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I'm an almost incurable optimist, so when it comes to writing about space, I'm generally the guy who takes it as a given that humanity will reach the stars and establish itself in the wider galaxy. This story is a clear example of that, but it also showcases my conviction that it's going to be a bumpy ride. If human history has taught us anything is that we never seem to be in a place where everything is good for everyone at the same time, so there will always be conflicts to overcome. That means there will always be stories to tell. Asking what if led me to this tale.

My writing process can be pretty much boiled down to two maxims: read as much as you can and write as much as you can. I've often tried to hit wordcount goals, but sometimes my schedule (job, kids, other interests) makes it impossible to hit them. My ideal is 2000 words a day, every weekday, but I can't hit that every day lately. Still, the thing is to get at least a few in and not lose the habit. Because once you lose the habit it's twice as hard to restart the process. At least for me!

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Interesting! Thanks, Gustavo! Be sure to check out "Peace Between the Tribes" and the rest of the stories on February 28th!

From Artist Quinn

We're excited about our cover art for the fabulous February 2025 issue of Electric Spec. The artist Brian Malachy Quinn was kind enough to send us some comments about it:

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"The Altar of Creation" is a very unusual piece for me. Almost all my art features a figure that dominates the space. A person, animal, monster – some sort of creature. In this piece the figure is barely present – almost an afterthought. The environment intended is like inside a European Gothic cathedral. The architecture causes the people to feel insignificant by the grandness of the edifice and to look in this case upward and outward to the Mysterious Orb. The smoothness of the surfaces in the building and the almost perfect reflections give it an otherworldly feel. All give an experience of the joining with the Divinity – the One who created this world – wherever and whenever this Verse may exist.

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Thanks, Brian! Very interesting!
So, without further ado here's a sneak peek:

Deadline Approaching!

The deadline for the fabulous February 2025 issue of Electric Spec is fast approaching: January 15, 2025 ! Get those stories in to be considered for our first issue of 2025. Of course, we'll be accepting subs for the marvelous May 2025 issue starting January 16, 2025...

I have been reading slush all along and am a little surprised at the wide variety of formatting in submissions. Please don't use weird formatting. This will get your story noticed by editors--but not in a good way.
Here are some tips:

• Do send an rtf file as an attachment.
• Do double space.
• Do use paragraph indents (not spaces, not tabs).
• Don't put in extra spaces after paragraphs--unless it's for a scene break.
• Don't use weird fonts, or huge or tiny font sizes.

These rules aren't arbitrary. If all the manuscripts look the same it facilitates objectivity.
Even more important: if we buy your story it's less work for us to publish it if it's formatted correctly. Editors don't like extra work.
Good luck with your story!

As you may have noticed, we've transitioned this blog to focus more on comments from our artists and authors and less on comments from editors.