She came to see me the night she shot her lover. She stood on my porch in the rain, her big wet eyes staring plainly through the window, saying nothing. The water poured down over her and left a thick trail of black mascara on each of her ivory cheeks. Her hands hung limp at her sides, her fingers pale and wrinkled.

I opened the door.

"Come in," I told her.

She waited in the hallway while I got towels from the closet. She said nothing when I stripped off all of her clothes and patted her body dry; her delicate little head shaking as I scrubbed behind her ears. She was poised, quivering, waiting for my first request. I decided to make it symbolic.

"Tell me that my eyes are as convincing as Bela's."

"I will tell you whatever you want," she said.

She stayed with me because I asked her to. She slept next to me on the cold sheets and let the salty breeze of the ocean wash over her. She made breakfast and did the dishes and kissed me lightly on the mouth before I left for work. And when I bought her a violin she played it. She played it in the same empty, listless way that she did everything I asked of her. Her fingers moving mechanically over the strings as she gazed with dull and hollow eyes into the distance. I had been a fool, I realized, to think that things would be different.

"Do you like your present?" I asked her.

"I like it very much."

"Then smile, Madge. Show me that you're happy."

"If that's what you want," she said.

It was hopeless. She had slipped away, detached herself, long before she'd ever come to live with me. I was furious. I asked her to do terrible things: to steal, and vandalize, and humiliate herself; to pull away the last vestiges of her humanity. And without protest, she did them. Until the day I found her standing on the lip of the balcony, her toes curling with excitement, her gaze transfixed by the ocean. Only it wasn't the water that she was looking at. It was something else. Something beyond it. A place away from all of this.

Terrified, I helped her down and kneeled beside her.

"I didn't mean for you to shoot him," I said, pleading. "That was a mistake."

"He wouldn't let me go," she whispered.

I wondered how long I could keep her like this; how long before another man told her that she would be better off with him? And what if I tried to stop her? Would I end up like the last one? Like poor old Stanwood, wounded and helpless and begging for forgiveness? My heart began to race at the thought of it. My cheeks went hot with rushing blood.

"Will you kill me, Madge? Will you kill me like you killed the others?"

She watched the water as it crashed up against the rocks. "If that's what you want," she said.

More by Erich William Bergmeier

The post The Curse of Madge Bellamy, My Zombie Wife appeared first on Space Squid.

Issue 11 is about to bow at Armadillocon, and we're proud to debut the feature story from the issue here. Enjoy -- and don't forget about the new t-shirts and e-book. They won't last forever...!

We're also tossing in another couple of images from the cover shoot.

Check out some of our new fiction in the snazzy web format!

The post Fiction from 11: Madge Bellamy appeared first on Space Squid.

There will only be 100 copies of Space Squid issue 11. That in itself is a shocker. When they are gone, they are gone. There will be no second run.

Also, the cover will be printed in color. Verily, the cover has already been printed in color. It's like we're living in the future here, squidlings. See the teaser image? It looks like that, but even more fantastic.

And there are other big changes coming in the new Space Squid. We can't tell you all the details now, but we hope to see you at the convention, and afterwards we will post all the particulars here.

* To find your favorite editor, search for "M. Bey" or "D. Chang". Editors Steve and Elle are not on the record this year.

The post A Different Kind of Dillocon This Time appeared first on Space Squid.

Quasar Hernandez by the Zellner Brothers

A Family X-mas by Warren Eig

Prey Alone by Saint & Mather

Oh My God by John Bryant

The post Editor D's 2011 Armadillocon Films appeared first on Space Squid.

Us here at Space Squid really enjoyed "Second Grade" by Charles Antin, "The Cottage on the Hill" by J. Robert Lennon, "The Eel" by Rennie Sparks, and "Wonderblood" by Julia Whicker. These four stories (Well, "The Eel" is an essay -- but a riveting one at that!) are worth the purchase alone, but all the stories in the volume are of a high caliber. "Second Grade" is a familiar narrative following a grade school teacher, and the odd event of their male students being recruited and sent off to war. "The Cottage on the Hill" is a scenic piece describing, predictably, a reclusive vacation cottage on a hill. In the story, a man goes to the cottage four times throughout his life: when he's young, married, and with his two children; after his divorce; when he is alone but successful; and when he is almost on his deathbed. At each visit, the cottage changes to mirror his life decisions, and it is an interesting piece worthy of a read. "The Eel" is a fascinating story about the enigmatic lifespans and practices of eels. Sparks compares their "genetic memory," their drive, and their long lifespans to Aphrodite and the mysterious forces of the Bermuda Triangle. "Wonderblood" is an engaging short story set in a futuristic semi-dystopian America. The story follows a teenage girl and her "brother" that makes voodoo charms out of dead people's heads. Society has collapsed and people have collected into brutal gang-like carnivals that travel together. Magic has made an apparent return with the decrease in literacy, and some of the magic chanted in the story are amusing strings of words that are everyday for us but sacred to the ignorance of the future. American states still retain their names, in an almost holy and ancient way, and the events that unfold are lighthearted and unique. This one particular story in the book made me really desire more to be written in this unique setting.

Praises aside, the journal itself is not without its flaws. Most of the poetry was rather uninteresting and serve as obstacles between some of the more engaging and interesting  fiction pieces. Andrew Friedman’s “The Rain Falls Down and Hits Us, So Down’s Where We Must Be” was not the strongest story in the issue and thus was a lackluster ending to an otherwise exciting ride. The issue is well-worth the purchase and a great addition to any bookshelf.

You can learn more about Unstuck on their website, and order yourself a volume from there as well.

The post Squid Review: Unstuck, Issue 1 appeared first on Space Squid.

Buy it in your comparatively-tranquil modern malls (book stores in a mall in 2012? hah), purchase your copy online at the Amazon store, or download it from the Kindle store.

The post A Tentacle-Teaser: Technicolor Ultra Mall appeared first on Space Squid.

The post Margaret Atwood Takes Our Advice appeared first on Space Squid.

Kids, we're happy to announce that the City has approved Space Squid to unleash-- I mean, unveil -- unveil its latest and greatest weapon of feckless fun to Austinites on December 31st as part of the Austin's New Year event.

Austin's New Year is the spiritual successor to the late great First Night Austin. Like First Night, Austin's New Year is a free, family-friendly celebration of the arts that'll take place in the afternoon and evening of December 31. This year, the event will run from 5p to 10:30p at Auditorium Shores (South 1st Street and Riverside) and feature films, food, music from artists like Carolyn Wonderland and the inimitable Lavelle White... and of course Space Squid!

Our activity will be the Self-Transmogrifier, and I don't want to give too much away, but... we're offering you and your friends and fam the chance to be transformed and transported. And you'll walk away with a digital keepsake of the night that you can treasure forever. Or not. It's your call.

Whatever the case, we hope to see you at Auditorium Shores, and happy holidays!

The post Austin's New Year to Feature Space Squid Self-Transmogrifier appeared first on Space Squid.

Today we bring you an office recuperative called the Ostrich Nap Pillow, which is an upholstered headbag that will be sure to trigger active discussion and probably mockery in any breakroom.

Manufacturer Kawamura-Ganjavian says it engenders "a micro environment in which to take a warm and comfortable power nap at ease. It is neither a pillow nor a cushion, nor a bed, nor a garment, but a bit of each at the same time. Its soothing cave-like interior shelters and isolates our head and hands (mind, senses and body) for a few minutes, without needing to leave our desk."

If you drag this thing on to your holiday flight back home, just make sure to run it by the plane crew before you put your head down on the tray table. They might think you're making a bomb in there.

And in unrelated news, we'll probably be reworking our mailing list a bit soon. We understand that some of you want email every time we put up a new post, and others just want to be notified when there's major news like a new issue. Don't unsubscribe! We'll provide a "low-impact" mailing list soon!

The post Sleep Like a Squid appeared first on Space Squid.

Squid fans, this Sunday is a choice story reading squidtivity at Austin's Salvage Vanguard Theater. We'll be reading very short stories and the Church of the Friendly Ghost folks will be showing the new documentary LINT THE MOVIE, about the life and work of cult SF author Jeff Lint. I'm still trying to wrap my head around Lint's trippy work, but he is a funny dude who Alan Moore likes, and that's pretty good by me.

Also on tap are musical entertainments by Abigail und Hansel and 7 inch Stitch, plus visual stimulants by Paul Baker. $5-15 sliding scale, doors at 7, music at 7:30, flick at 9.

The post Story Readings and LINT THE MOVIE appeared first on Space Squid.