Alex Shvartsman's Speculative Fiction

Today a new SF e-zine, Schrodinger’s Mouse, launches their inaugural issue. It features several short stories and poems, including “In Service of a Greater Cause” by yours truly.

I submitted this story to SM because, first of all, who wouldn’t want to have their fiction appear in a mag with such an awesome name, but mostly because they were specifically looking for ethical or philosophically themed science fiction and this piece seemed like a perfect fit.

Before I talk more about this story, you should probably go read it and also check out a very cool illustration for it, created by Teresa Tunaley.

In writing this story I was trying to explore a concept of having a main character that could be a protagonist or an antagonist based on the perceptions of the reader. A Christian fundamentalist might sympathize entirely with Susan Pannell. At the same time, a technology-loving atheist could classify her actions as preparing to commit an act of terrorism. Likewise, Campbell (who is drawn in the image of turtleneck-sweater wearing Steve Jobs) can be seen as a hero or a villain – it all depends on whose rhetoric matches closest with your own belief system.

In terms of writing style, there is a definite nod to Simon R. Green, one of my favorite SF/F authors. I started writing this story and almost immediately realized that I am imitating his tone somewhat, so I went with it, even setting the story in England. As a new writer I am still working on finding my own voice, so I try to craft each piece in a different way/style/mood. Eventually I may figure out which works best, but learning to write in a wide range of styles can’t be a bad thing either.

I am quite pleased with how “In Service” turned out. It’s my wife’s favorite story among what I’ve written so far, and it is among my own favorites as well. Hope you like it too.

Yesterday my wife Zoya and I celebrated our wedding anniversary.

My day started out just right – I woke up to find an e-mail about “The Field Trip” being accepted by Dagan Books for their “In Situ” anthology. They have since posted a table of contents, including work from some pretty exciting authors. Not too shabby at all.

Later that same day I heard back from Schrodinger’s Mouse magazine, letting me know that they have accepted my story “In Service of a Greater Cause” for publication in their inaugural issue. Of all my short stories this happens to be my wife’s favorite, so we were both excited to see it find a good home.

Two acceptances in one day are definitely making me feel spoiled, and very very lucky. I wish there was a way to bottle up a day like yesterday, because it was pretty darn perfect in many aspects, including that of my fledgling writing career.

My goal for 2010 was to have two stories published, and I was happy to accomplish that. I set myself an ambitious goal for 2011: I’d like to have 10+ short stories accepted for publication. This is an important distinction – a story can be accepted in September but not actually published till the following March – and I wanted to give myself a little extra wiggle room since ten stories are a huge number.

It’s the middle of January and I have already have three sales to boast about. Now if I could only keep up this momentum for the rest of the year!

After a dry spell of November/December, I have a flurry of good news to report:

* “The Candidate,” a 5000+ word fantasy story written to immerse players in the background and storyline of Ascension board game, has been accepted by Gary Games and will be serialized in three parts on their web site sometime in late January or early February.

* A 2500 word essay “On The Road” will be published by Star City Games later this month. It is an autobiographical piece recounting some of my experiences while traveling to tournaments, and it’s hilarious, if I say so myself. No prior knowledge/understanding of Magic trading card game is needed to read this, though it helps 🙂

* My column on MTG trading is forthcoming in the next issue of Beckett Magic magazine. Not sure of the release date, but should be sometime soon.

* “The Field Trip,” a 2200 word humorous science fiction story has been accepted into the “In Situ” anthology from Dagan Books. “In Situ” is an archaeological term referring to artifacts found in their original environment. I found the concept intriguing and wrote the story specifically for this anthology, so I am naturally stoked to have it accepted. The anthology is tentatively scheduled for April 15.

* I am working hard to keep up with the Write 1 Sub 1 schedule. The first week of January was very productive. I polished up and sent out The Candidate, and wrote On The Road, both of which were quickly accepted. The second week, not so much. I had a ton of work I could not climb out of. Still, I wrote a 1000 word fantasy flash story “The Last Incantation.” I am going to be a few days late in submitting it, since I like to stew the story for a little while, then send it to my friends for a second opinion, and then edit some more before actually inflicting it upon some innocent editors/slush readers – but I am optimistic about my ability to keep up with the W1S1 schedule on average, so far.