Folly Blaine – Imprinting the Odd
Jo Olluyn – Exploring the Edge
Damien Walters Grintalis – Genre Redefined, The Uncommon Side of Genre
Dennis Michael Lane – Your Guide to Surviving the Future, Tomorrow Today, Read; or they Win, 26 Letters Infinite Possibilities
Ian Sales – The Best Books Live at the Edges
Shadodottir – Erasing the Boundaries of Imagination
Patrick Derrickson – Our Evolution Realized
Rick – For Infinite Imaginations
Robby Hilliard – Uncommon Dreams
kfortin – Reality Derailed, Between the Stars and the Fears
Laura Long – Unbind Your Mind
olddarth – All Possibilities Explored
WeirdArchives – It’s only your imagination
Megan – Escape Reality

I’ve decided to pick a runner up. This comes from Chris Einhaus.
World domination one book at a time 

I dig this because ties into our unofficial theme of global domination we’ve toyed with since the inception of the company. I don’t feel the tag works as an effective description of our books, but it will make a nifty phrase on our next set of coffee mugs (or other merchandise).

And the winning tag line comes from creative mind of Mae Empson.
Strange. Beautiful. Shocking. Surreal.

Four strong adjectives, each one fitting a broad majority of our titles. The line stirs the imagination with four distinctive moods. Well done, Mae!

I want to thank all the contestants for entering!

Tansy Rayner Roberts returns as our nonfiction contributor this month and argues in “Girl Meets House” that the gothic novel is well overdue for a comeback, with a feminist deconstructive twist. Geoff Ryman also discusses his writing process, writing the other, and managing research in an interview with Maggie Slater.

It’s summer and SF/F convention season again, which means you can find me at several upcoming conventions as I attend readings, participate in panels, and generally hang out.

WisCon, this coming weekend,  will have gone by in a whirl of crunchy feminist SF/F convention goodness by the time the issue debuts. I hope to see you there.

In mid-to-late June, I’ll be part of the discussion going on at Fourth Street Fantasy Conversation,  one of my favorite events for intimate, literature-centric discussions with lots of writers, editors, publishers, scholars and fans. Fourth Street features single-track programming on thoughtful topics with a great group of people, including some of my favorite writers.

July 5-8, you can find me at CONvergence, which is just as much fun as Fourth Street, but with a very differentfocus. I was one of their Guests of Honor last year, and this year I will be enjoying a slate of “Wonder Women” GOHs. CONvergence celebrates SF/F and geekery in all different modes and mediums in a wonderfully energetic manner, with some of the best parties around.

Finally, WorldCon (Chicon 7) one of the biggest shindigs in SF/F, will be held this year in Chicago on Labor Day weekend. This is the big one. Jason Sizemore (the intrepid publisher of this lovely magazine) and I will finally get to meet in person. Oh, and then we get to attend the Hugo Award Ceremony, where we will learn our fate as a nominated semiprozine.

It’s going to be a busy summer.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the June issue of Apex Magazine.

Lynne M. Thomas

Editor-in-Chief

This month’s issue of Apex Magazine was something of a special treat for me. In Blood on Vellum, Apex Editor-in-Chief Lynne M. Thomas said, “In this issue, things fall apart: Relationships, societies, religious systems. Dreams and hopes, bodies and minds all pay the price for the choices we make to try to get ahead.” Boy, do they ever. The commonalities don’t stop there, though. Taken together, Rachel Swirsky’s Decomposition, Rahul Kanakia’s Tomorrow’s Dictator, Nnedi Okorafor’s  The Chaos Magician’s Mega Chemistry Set, and Tim Akers’ nonfiction piece Faith in the Fantastic hint at something even larger. Like Tim, I have a strange fascination with religion, so the combination of the treatise on religion in SF/F/H and the prominence of magic in all three stories seems to be a bit of an elephant in the room to me.

Like science, religion is mankind’s way of exploring and understanding the universe and our place in it. For all our vast stores of information, there is still so much we don’t know. General thought today holds that priests and scientists are as far removed from one another as they could possibly be; both approaching the great unknown, but from opposite viewpoints. That wasn’t always the case. Once upon a time, the healers of a community, with their strange chants and herbal concoctions, were thought to hold some magical powers or some divine connection the rest of the society lacked. Today, healing is done by doctors, their knowledge explained by sound scientific principles, and religious incantation is reserved for clergy.

Once upon a time, healers would administer foxglove for heart problems or willow bark for pain, and they might pray over their patient, thanking their divine spirit for the healing powers of the world around them. Patients would recover, and tales of powerful magi with strange potions would be strengthened. Today, chemists extract digitalis from the foxglove, and aspirin’s active ingredients come from willow bark – or the synthetic reproduction of the same chemicals. Science has explained away these particular mysteries of the magi.

In each of the three stories in this month’s Apex Magazine, there are powerful forces at work that cannot be explained by the societies in which the stories are set. In Decomposition, a man with some bare knowledge of magic but not much faith has made it his mission to have revenge upon the man who led a religious war against the mages who once prospered in the community. Using charms even he himself did not fully understand, revenge was had, but it could never be the justice he had imagined. In Tomorrow’s Dictator, what once may have been thought of as an enchantment is pulled into the world of the present, as Sasha Boretsky uses psychology to brainwash the members of the cult to which she belongs. Where once society would have seen evil sorcery, today we know the power even the simplest of ideas can wield. Finally, in The Chaos Magician’s Mega Chemistry Set, science and magic are shown for what they are as a young girl plays with forces she does not understand, bringing the world around her to life in much the same way as the sorcerer’s apprentice did in the Disney film Fantasia. Here, the young girl learns that the only real difference between science and chaos magic is the orderly way the practitioner does or does not go about his business.

I have noticed that many stories set in the future have no magic and no religion, unless it is a post-apocalyptic world in which people are once again forced to find their place. Science has explained it all away. There are no more scary tricks. Every wonder in the world is either mechanized or the result of a chemical reaction. Of course, this has always been the case; the only thing that is truly different is the mystery and wonder involved.

As we grow into a world society, some of us look to priests and some of us look to science to explain the world around us. Every time science makes a new discovery, the religious must figure out how this fits into their religious paradigm. Many are successful; many are not. More and more people claim science as their god, and label themselves Atheist or Agnostic. As human beings, though, we have a craving for the wonder we knew in childhood. We love to be awed, to be astounded and amazed. The mysteries of the magi appeal to this side of us as few other things can. Those who dwell in the realms of SF/F/H have the advantage over those of the past; the boundaries of their powers extend as far as their writer desires. They are not bound by the laws of physics. As such, they retain the ability to suspend our disbelief, if even only for a short time. They stoke our imaginations and open us up to possibilities science has yet to explore.

The only difference between magic and science is knowledge of the mechanism by which it works. The only difference between science fiction and science fact is time. Science fact feeds our hunger for knowledge; science fiction our need to keep wondering. Without wonder, there is no growth. There lies our obsession with the mysteries of the magi.

Note: If you look up the words mage and magi, you may find they are not necessarily considered synonymous, but after reading this, I hope you will see how they can be. Removal of religious context can change everything. From magic to science, from magi to mage. This is not to hold one above the other; it is only to illustrate the dual nature of mankind, and how our various perspectives are the only thing that keep us from truly understanding ourselves. When each side looks only at one piece of this great puzzle that is life, no one gets to see the whole picture.

Jessica Nelson has been writing since girlhood. She started out writing short stories for herself, usually centering around something like a unicorn and Pegasus prancing along the top of a rainbow, causing glitter to fall from the sky. As she grew, so did her love of words. She filled blank volumes faster than she could get her hands on them, teaching her the true value of napkins, menus, skin, and even her blue jeans.Jessica has since found her niche in the world of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. She keeps a blog of bookish things and miscellaneous bric-a-brac she thinks readers might find interesting athttp://allwaysunmended.com and writes book reviews for The Future Fire. She lives in Minnesota with her husband, two daughters, and a slew of critters, spending her days reading, crafting, tapping at the keyboard, and picking up fur balls. Follow her on Twitter @AllwaysUnmended.

Sarah will join the ranks of our posse of other Sarah-named blog editors (Sarah Peduzzi and Sarah Brandel). While having the name of Sarah was not a requirement of the job, it certainly didn’t hurt (or help, to be fair).

Sarah Olson has been working as a submissions editor for Apex Magazine the past two years.  She is a software developer by trade, who also happens to know a lot about WordPress and line editing while maintaining impeccable organization skills. I am delighted to have her step into the position of blog editor and look forward to the new editorial direction she takes us!

Please feel free to send Sarah a hearty congratulations at her new email address: saraholson@apexbookcompany.com.

I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to all the candidates. Every single candidate had an amazing amount of skills and smarts. It made the final decision quite difficult… I felt like a kid in a candy shop. This will probably come of as a bit weird (but so be it)… but I felt… honored that so many highly skilled and qualified individuals applied for the position. It is when things like that happens when I feel like I must be doing something right.

But this isn’t about me. This is about Sarah Olson.

Go here to learn more about Sarah. There are pictures of her wearing a funny hat, another photo of her giving the ol’ Palpatine shock treatment to her child, and yet another where she’s dressed as a creepy old woman scaring a kid.

Oh yes, the new Madame Blog Editor will fit in well around these parts…

Creating art works the same way. As an artist, I have procedures to work on the book covers I do for publishers, or the ink art pieces I like to do, and even with my larger paintings. I gather all of the many ideas I have for art, and generally try to produce things in a consistent manner each week.

Sometimes though, a big event comes along that can really shake up the things that you do.

Now, this can be anything, any sort of big change. Maybe you are going to have a child, or get married. Maybe you are moving, from one house to another or even across country. In my case, I have a massive art show and convention (the Spectrum Fantastic Art Live show later this week) that I have a booth at, something that can change much of how I do art and survive as an artist (and as a breadwinner).

When artists have huge changes in their lives, the events that they know are coming up, they can react differently to them. Whether it’s good or bad stress, at the end of the day those huge events can alter an artist’s perspective and their work.

Let’s say, you’re going to have a child (no, not for your dinner entree). You are starting a family, and you are reevaluating what you create as an artist. Being an illustrator for children’s literature, maybe things won’t change that much. Being an illustrator for a horror-porn magazine, maybe you’ll think about changing the things you create.

But should artists change what they do in a situation like this? Are artists denying the fundamental truths of who they are by changing what they create to suit a new situation?

Take me for instance. The convention that I’m heading to is one largely of fantasy and science fiction illustrators, and maybe some horror illustrators. The vast majority, from looking at many of their works online, work in the beautiful modern realism that defines illustrative art right now. Even I do nearly all of my digital art in a similar, though more horror-driven, way.

But in getting ready for my booth, and for my portfolio review onsite as well, two ideas have crept into my head. First, the fear that I don’t fit in, that maybe my styles aren’t similar enough to the market. Facing this huge event, I’ve been looking at creating new pieces of art that, while similar to my style, are far closer to what they might be looking for.

A Lost Night

Secondly, I have a number of pieces (like the one on the right) that are nothing like the illustrative art that many of the other artists have. It’s a wild piece, barely representing anything but full-on horror. My inclination is that I leave this piece, and all of the others like it, home. That I only bring the ones that would fit the market.Is my reaction to this large event, that can really change everything in my career, correct? Is there even a way to say that any approach is right or wrong?

I could certainly create a number of new pieces that are more along the lines of the current crop of fantasy artists. I could also avoid creating new pieces, and bring what I consider to be my best pieces in the hopes that they can see my abilities with what I have already.

As for the booth, I could leave the other styles of art at home. No inks, no acrylics or mixed media, but only bring the digital prints of the art that I would think fit in best. Or I could bring the full gamut of all of my styles (only the best of those, of course), and make more of a statement of who I am and what I do.

I’m not necessarily sure there’s a straight answer, or that either approach is off kilter. But I do think it’s important as an artist, whether getting ready for a huge show or a life-changing event, to sit back and think about the things they create.

Life changes can alter an artist’s perception of the world around them, and thus alter their art. Absorbing those changes is important, as is deciding how those events will affect the things that artist’s do. In my case, especially in the fury of creating more art for this show, I’ve come to realize that my style is quite broad.

Artists have to at least consider the big events coming down the way. The changes made, or even not made, will make more sense as you put more thought into it. Being unready for a big event can throw off everything you do as an artist, and could stop your artistic momentum in its tracks. The decisions made are unique to each artist and each situation, but they are least must be considered.

In my case, I don’t want to limit myself to a single style, so I’m bringing all of the styles with me. I’m a tinkerer, so I’m happy to create new pieces in the standard illustrative style as well. I’m hoping that those who visit my booth, and who I show my portfolio to, appreciate that.

The 80′s: all gangly limbs, awkward special effects, and desperate for a sense of identity.

Which brings us to the summer of 1982 and a movie sequel that had the fates of millions riding on it.

The first movie had fared so poorly, the creator was kicked off the sequel. The new creative team went back to ‘their’ roots–which began in the 60′s.

The creative team, looking to the past, found an inroad to success in an exiled character.

Grip the edge of your chair now, turn your body sideways, and grit out his name with me:

“Kahn!”

Khan Noonien Singh’s hatred catapulted an entire Star Trek kingdom.

His wrath against James T. Kirk brought us into the story, giving us a villain we could root against–a villain that could give Captain Kirk a run for his money.

Some (I see your pointy ears our there) might observe that Khan was genetically engineered–that he might not meet our criteria for ‘man’s inner evil.’

But I’m sure Kahn would say, “If I am pricked, do I not bleed?” and then stick a mind-controlling leechy thing into you ear.

Why does Kahn unleash his inner Cain?

Kahn holds Kirk responsible for the death of his wife. Kahn will kill to satisfy this debt.

It is this murderous lust that launched a thousand starships.

The exploration that began in the 70′s of man’s inner evil aided by corporate corruption continued in 1986 with Aliens.

While not as sophisticated or scary as the original, Aliens is a helluva lotta fun.

The seeds of evil that sets the movie into motion is easily enough planted: there is a new alien life form, the Weyland-Yutani Corporation can make money off this life form.

MEMO/EMAIL/SKYPE: bring back the new life form no matter what.

When the company gives Carter Burke these orders, Burke probably had only one question: “What kind of bonus am I looking at again?”

Burke’s character goes beyond being a stereotype–he helps define the stereotype of a greed hungry middle manager/corporate lackey.

(The casting of comedian Paul Reiser in the role is inspired.)

Burke doesn’t really care who he hurts, or even potentially kills–including a cute little girl who only has to look at you for your heart to break… how could Burke possibly even think about…

Oh yeah, for money: Space dollah dollah bill ya’ll.

It’s too easy to say that money is the root of all evil–and decade after decade we’ve seen that Cain’s legacy isn’t rooted in money at all.

But for corporations, money is the root of all–be it good or evil.

And for Burke, to put a little girl like Newt into harms way, someone he can see and talk to and hold, I believe there is more than just greed at play here.

Maybe Burke had a horrible mother.

Dr. Hannibal Lecter.

(You knew he was coming, didn’t you?)

Dr. Lecter makes his first appearance in 1981, in Thomas Harris’ Red Dragon, but it is 1988′s The Silence of the Lambs in which Lecter really stretches his cannibalistic chops.

With Lecter, Robert Louis Stevenson’s circle is finally complete–Lecter is all Mr. Hyde, and no Dr. Jekyll.

And with the help of Jonathan Demme and Anthony Hopkins in 1991, Dr. Lecter turned into a new ‘Universal’ monster.

(As Stephen King pointed out in his Entertainment Weekly article “Hannibal the Cannibal” in June or August of 1999, Thomas Harris embraced Lecter as Dracula in the following novel, Hannibal.)

There are even two serial killers in Lambs, but Dr. Hannibal Lecter has a code he kills by, a list of who deserves, who doesn’t, and this elevates him past the real serial killer of the novel, Buffalo Bill.

Buffalo Bill kills because he’s making a woman suit for himself.

Dr. Lecter kills because someone talked during a live opera performance.

We like Lecter, despite the fact that he eats his victims: that he skins one man’s face off while the man is still alive.

We did not root for Norman.

We root for Dr. Lecter.

In fact, we find the world a more interesting place because he is in it.

Thomas Harris deftly, masterfully makes us all accomplices of Dr. Lecter.

Thomas Harris created the monster of the 80′s–a creation that’s affected all serial killers since.

By the end of the 80′s, serial killers had come into their own.

We might not have understood them any better, and we would never say we agreed with their reasons for killing or their murderous rampages, but by 1990, we embraced them.

I’ve never been a Johnny-on-the-spot type of guy. Corner me at a convention and ask me the type of books that Apex publishes, I’m more than likely will give you a mumbling, lengthy response. The sad thing is that I know exactly the type of book Apex likes. I’m the guy who buys and publishes them, after all. Apex titles are often edgy. They are books that use the playing field of genre to create challenging and memorable reads. Thus you get books like Machine, Dark Faith, The Apex Book of World SF, Disintegration Visions, Let’s Play White, Unwelcome Bodies, Secret Thoughts, and Orgy of Souls.

So I cornered new senior editor Janet Harriett for tag lines. Under duress, she came up with some solid ones, but nothing that hit the sweet spot. We decided then and there to turn to our readers and challenge them (you!) to send us a tag line. If we decide to make it ours, then you will have every book we publish over the next twelve months delivered to you for free (and this includes a digital subscription to Apex Magazine and any books released under TZF).

To enter, simply leave your tag line entry (more than one is okay) in a comment below. A winner will be chosen next Friday. By entering, you are agreeing to let Apex use your tag line without restriction or reservation, and that your entry is wholly original and does not impede on anyone’s copyright.

Hit us with your best shots. We look forward to your entries!

Fortunately, Sarah isn’t leaving Apex, just scaling back a bit. In truth, I simply couldn’t part with her! She’s taken a position as a part-time marketing editor and will play an important role in some HUGE things happening this year.

Unfortunately, that means I need to find a new blog editor. A few things up front about the job… this is a non-currency position, meaning there is no money to be made. But you do get amazing intangibles like a free Apex shirt, merchandise when we have it, and you get for free some of the most valuable items in the world (to me, at least)–free Apex books!

Job specifics:

* As blog editor, you will work with the publisher (me) and senior editor (Janet Harriett) to implement our strategy of making the blog a fine source of genre entertainment, discussion, and a means of Apex keeping its fans apprised of the latest company news.

* You will be responsible for getting at least two articles posted a week from our blogging roster.

* You will be responsible for editing articles posted from our blogging roster and correcting any erroneous grammar/syntax errors otherwise spotted.

* Our blog editor will need to make sure articles we run aren’t insensitive to normal human beings  (not running an article such as one hating on Community, or more serious stuff like blatantly homophobic or racist essays with little or no merit). Naturally, anything that goes up on this blog is the responsibility of the publisher (me), so I need a gatekeeper who can watch out for such things (since I can’t overlord over everything no matter how hard I try)

* The blog editor will prepare and format our bloggers’ posts.

* You will be responsible for maintaining the blogger roster. When spots invariably come open, with the assistance of the publisher and senior editor, you will seek suitable replacements.

* Land at least one quality guest blog post per month.

Skills Required:

* Moderate knowledge of the WordPress blogging platform

* Excellent organizational skills

* Decent line editing skills

* A little knowledge of HTML is nice

* Solid communication skills

A candidate needs to be able to spend 5-10 hours a week doing the job and can promise at least a year of service.

All interested parties please send a query to Jason Sizemore (jason@apexbookcompany.com).

This all sounds quite formal… the reality is that I’m not a demanding guy about this stuff. Knowing that it is essentially a volunteer-filled position, I recognize the dynamics that creates. I do try to make the job fun when I can. You get to interact with some great writers (Gary Braunbeck, BJ Burrow, heck, just look at the list of bloggers in the schedule in the right column).  All the same, I want someone who takes the responsibility of blog editor seriously, someone who will work hard to make a name for themselves for doing quality work, like Sarah Peduzzi, MG Ellington, and Sarah Brandel have done.

If you have questions, don’t hesitate to contact me or Sarah Peduzzi (email Sarah, especially if you have questions about the work involved).

Applications will close on May 10th.