Arc Manor is launching a new pro zine called “Galaxy’s Edge” in March of 2013, edited by Mike Resnick. I’m thrilled to announce that the premier issue will include “Requiem for a Druid.” My story will get to rub shoulders with works from Lou Berger, Robert J. Sawyer, Jack McDevitt, Kij Johnson, James Patrick Kelly, and Barry Malzberg!
“Requiem for a Druid” has quite a history. This is a second story in the urban fantasy series about Conrad Brent. I love writing Brent stories, which combine urban fantasy, noir, and humor with the Brooklyn setting which is so familiar to me. And I title them with horrible puns of iconic books and movies set in Brooklyn, too. The first story in the series, A Shard Glows in Brooklyn, was published by Buzzy Magazine earlier this year.
“Requiem” was a story that got me into the Viable Paradise workshop. It was read and critiqued by brilliant writers and editors such as Patric Nielsen-Hayden, Sherwood Smith, Elizabeth Bear, Steven Brust, and Jim McDonald. Also, many of the students at the workshop. I sent it there because it was my favorite story, and one of my strongest.
And now it’s been accepted by Mike Resnick, a writer and editor whom I admire greatly and have been a fan of for many years.
I plan to write one or two more Brent stories next year. I also hope to complete the first draft of a Brent novel in 2013. But for now, I leave you with the opening line of “Requiem”:
My job that morning was to banish a demon, but I was determined to finish my cup of coffee first.
Be sure to check out Galaxy’s Edge and read the rest of it in a few months!
Alex Shvartsman's Speculative Fiction 
Great stuff, Alex. And a killer first line. Can’t wait to read the rest.