Editor’s Note – June 2010

Welcome to the first issue of Redstone Science Fiction. Thanks for dropping by.

This has been a great experience. Paul Clemmons, our publisher, and I are proud of what we have been able to put together. Things have gone very well for us during the formation of Redstone Science Fiction. We have learned a great deal and have made many new friends in the science fiction community. (I have to admit, it was pretty exciting being mentioned, in a good way, on John Scalzi’s Whatever). We look forward to building Redstone Science Fiction into a quality magazine and market.

We set out to make an online science fiction magazine that publishes primarily science fiction short stories. In our first issue we have two stories about which we are excited. Raising Tom Chambers by Daniel Powell is a story of a different sort of apocalypse: a quiet, personal one. Tom Roberts’ flash fiction story Freefall is a poetic examination of isolation in space. We hope you will enjoy them both.

We are fortunate to have two excellent essays examining different aspects of science fiction. Sarah Einstein discusses the role of disability in science fiction and how a positive viewpoint can influence a positive future. Our first themed submissions/contest will draw from her ideas. Henry Cribbs’ essay takes us back to the science fiction of the early 20th century and examines the influence of The Martian Tales by Edgar Rice Burroughs and how difficult it can be to bring the important ideas of science fiction into film.

We have three great interviews for our first issue. Influential editor Lou Anders gave some enlightening answers to questions from our contributor David Alastair Hayden, a speculative fiction author. I was fortunate to talk with our cover artist Kittyhawk, a popular webcomic artist, and with Joel Hardy, an engineer who works with scientific research on the International Space Station.

We hope you find something in Redstone Science Fiction that you enjoy.

Yours,
Michael Ray