OK, so yesterday, I just gave a totally unprepared speech to thank the Canadian SF&F community for voting On Spec this year’s Aurora Award for Best Related Work!

Many, many thanks to my absolutely fabulous team of editors, designers, social media folks and of course the amazing writers, poets and artists who have sent us their work over the years that On Spec has been in publication.  We are proud beyond words to give them a respected showcase for their creations. 

My thanks to the great folks on the Aurora committee for organizing everything over the years, and to the fabulous team at When Words Collide who made the online presentation of the Auroras a part of their great virtual convention. It has been a fabulous weekend.

And it goes without saying that we are grateful to the folks who voted for us. The other nominees in our category were equally deserving.

And a special thanks to author Cory Doctorow, a winner of this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Society. Cory, who has had an amazing writing career, was gracious enough to mention not once, but TWICE, that his first fiction sale was to On Spec.

Just wait until you see the cover and contents in our next issue.  It’s with our designer even as I write this.

Live long and prosper,

Diane

Good day! It’s a sunny, August day here in Alberta. Many of us are feeling down because this is the traditional weekend for the Edmonton Folk Music Festival. I used to go off and on over the years, especially when our daughter was young enough to carry along. Haven’t been there recently, because a little upstart convention in Calgary took over the weekend and it was always a toss-up to see what I chose.

But the Folk Festival was always deep in my heart. And I just finished watching a lovely documentary that was created by local filmmakers to celebrate the EFMF and its years of hard work and great music.

And then I checked my email to see the newest newsletter from the British fan site, SFCrowsnest. If you haven’t seen it or subscribed, you are missing something. Over the years, their kind reviewers have been great friends to us at On Spec, but I’m not biased. The site is just that good. So check them out.

Enjoy your August, and keep those masks on. We need to beat this thing.

Stay well,

Diane

We are so proud of our former editor E.C.(Eileen)Bell! Today is the launch of her sixth book in her Marie Jenner Mystery series. I am honoured to say I got an early peek and can enthusiastically recommend it! Here’s my review. And NO spoilers.

“Haunting the Haunted” is another pure WOW! A great read! E.C. Bell continues to enthral me, and has again upped the tension and the stakes for the ghost-seeing character Marie Jenner. All the players, whether they are living or dead, are rich and believable. Even Marie’s dog Millie has a unique part to play. The story, like all the others in the Marie Jenner mysteries, is once more told from two points of view–Marie’s and one of the many ghosts she encounters.

I stayed up well past my bed time two nights in a row to read the riveting tale of ghosts tracking down ghosts, poltergeists creating havoc, and a psychic debunker and a talk show host trying to expose Marie as a fraud. Marie just wants to find out who killed the little girl and help all the ghosts move on while ghost Ruby needs to protect everyone. And Ruby is not going anywhere.

We are deeply saddened to learn that Vonda N. McIntyre has lost her brief battle with cancer today. Her final days were peaceful and she was surrounded by those who were closest to her.

Vonda came to my attention, I think, when she won the Hugo award in 1979 for her novel, “Dreamsnake”. It’s out of print now, but if you can find an e-book, stumble across a copy in a used bookstore, or borrow someone’s dog-eared paperback, it’s well-worth reading. I’m told her book was the third ever winner in Hugo history to feature a woman as protagonist. Think about that for a minute. 40 years ago, this happened.  Vonda was a role model for me and for many women of my generation. We were fortunate to have her as an author Guest of Honour at an early NonCon in Edmonton.

I shared a banquet table with her several years ago at a Potlatch convention in Seattle, and I wish I’d had more opportunities to get better acquainted. Rest in Peace, Vonda. Your words will do the work now.

So our latest issue # 109, Vol 29 No 2 has just been reviewed by Eamonn Murphy, and we’re happy to share his comments with you. And if you haven’t spent any time on the SF Crowsnest site, you are missing something very entertaining.

We are always thrilled to get reviews from our friends from across the Pond. Especially when the review includes endorsements like:

A lovely story worthy of Peter S. Beagle and proof that fantasy doesn’t have to be all royal families, warring kingdoms and barbarians with big swords.

-and-

For some reason, this reminded me of Stephen King’s gangster stories which is no bad thing.

-and finally-

One day they may bring in laws against Un-Canadian activities, and surely not buying ‘On Spec’ will count as such a crime. It’s definitely worth a look, especially for locals.

Happy Reading!

And if you are living outside Canada, remember you can check out a single issue, or subscribe to the digital version of On Spec through Weightless Books.

The leading story on the Table of Contents for On Spec Vol. 1 No 1. tells it all.

“Boy at Heart”, a work of short fiction by Dave Duncan.

His bio note in that issue said:

DAVE DUNCAN lives in Calgary, Alberta. He is the author of the fantasy novels, Shadow, A Rose-Red City, and the epic and quirky Seventh Sword Trilogy. He reports that, for a change of pace, his next two books, West of January, to be released in August, and Strings, due out early next year, are both science fiction. “Boy at Heart” is his first published short story. 

Dave’s prolific writing career began after he retired from his first career as a petroleum geologist. He worked tirelessly, even after suffering some mild strokes in recent years, and more than 60 books bear his name on their covers.

When we were thinking of starting On Spec, we put out a call to our fellow members of Canada’s SF community, asking them to take a chance on this upstart magazine by sending us a story to publish. Dave could have graciously declined the request. He was already widely-known as a novelist, not a short fiction writer. But he sent us a story, nonetheless. We will always be grateful for his trust.

Since Dave’s tragic death, many of his fellow writers have written of their long friendship and professional association with Dave. He was a regular guest at regional SF conventions; he was always happy to give of his time and knowledge; he was always ready to help a writer who needed advice. Dave was probably one of the most generous souls we’ve ever known.

Fare thee well, Dave. You were a fine man to call our own.

Take a look at the new review on Britain’s SF Crowsnest by Eamonn Murphy.

Also, here’s a reminder that SF Crowsnest is an awesome compendium of all things geeky. We can’t say enough good things about them. After you’ve read the review of our issue, stick around a while and explore SF Crowsnest!

Our intrepid book reviewer has sent us three new book reviews! Have a look. 

In case you missed it, Issue #108 , Volume 29 No 1 is now available in both print and digital formats.  You can order your print copy by contacting us at onspecmag(at)gmail.com, or using the links on the Subscribe page of the web site.

Digital copies of this issue and others are available from Weightless Books, and this is a reminder that you can also set up a subscription there, and get your new copies sent to you automatically.

In this issue, you’ll find the first work of published fiction from our former editor, Robin S. Carson, plus an essay on writing  “Dark” fiction by Calgary author Sarah Johnson. A.J. Wells gives us an interesting discussion on the use of  “tragedy porn” in The Last Jedi.

New fiction comes to you from Timothy Reynolds, Sean Robinson, Allison Floyd, Marcelle Dubé, David Versace, Chris Kuriata, and Lisa Carreiro.  Poetry from Mark McCutcheon.

Editorial by Barb Galler-Smith on the dilemmas we may face as readers, when our idols prove to be more flawed than we are perhaps comfortable with.

Cat McDonald and Roberta Laurie bring us their interviews with cover artist, Bill Tracer, and featured author, Tim Reynolds.