When we were starting On Spec, back in the pre-email dark ages, all submissions came to us on paper. One of us would visit the post office once a week or so, and empty the box of ten or fifteen thick brown envelopes. Cath, our trusty business manager, would open the envelopes, cover the author identifying details, and ultimately sort all the manuscripts for that quarter into batches to be distributed among the editors for reading and commenting. All the editors at that time were living in or near Edmonton, so it was relatively simple to hand off the completed batches from one editor to another, until all had been read, and we were ready for a face-to-face gathering that was affectionately known as “FIGHT NIGHT”.

Opening a new story was always a bit of a rush. Would I like it, would I be prepared to defend it, or would I immediately know that it simply would never be an On Spec story? And would I know from the very first line that it was a story we absolutely had to buy?

One story we received in 1992  has stuck with me over the years, especially around this season. The opening sentence read:

“There must have been some magic in that old silk hat they found, for when they placed it on his head, he began to curse and growl.”

Thus began the delightfully quirky tale of Jason Kapalka’s “Frosty”. It’s the story of a rather demonic snowman, trying his best to convince the local children that they needed to perform a special “ritchool”, presumably designed to kill their parents and release havoc upon the world. Fortunately, things don’t quite go Frosty’s way, and he meets his end in a similar way to the snowman in the beloved song. The demonic hat meets a sorry fate, I seem to recall, in the mouth of the family dog.

That story even made it into our “First Five Years” anthology, as an editor favourite. We published several of Jason’s other short stories over the early years, and each was a unique bit of fiction. He later went on to a more lucrative career, and his stories remain in our archives. Sadly, we don’t have digital versions of those early issues now, although I suppose it would be possible to do that.

Anyhow, as we go forward into the season, celebrating the Solstice and any of the other many year-end holidays and gatherings, I am reminded of that one magical snowman, whose evil plan for the world was thwarted.

Best wishes of the season to you all!

Diane Walton, Managing Editor, and the entire On Spec team.