Abyss & Apex: January/February 2003: Editorial

Ground Control to Major Tom… by Elizabeth Bear
Welcome to the culmination of a dream.We all went crazy about sunset Eastern time one blurry day in June or was it August of 2002, and realized that there were some absolutely lovely stories floating around out there that seemed to be having a hell of a time finding a home. We wanted to see them in print.So we decided to do something about it.James White has an in-depth discussion of the difficulties entailed in a multi-species space station project in the earliest Sector General short stories. We were fortunate in that there were only three of us, in that we all speak the same language (within limits), and in that there was and remains something of a unified vision about what this eZine is, and where it’s going.

On the other hand, launching a semipro the A&A way is a process not unlike writing a novel by committee. Or a process not unlike building a spaceship: toil, and compromise, and expense–and eventual release into the wild.

Down in our basements, with rivet guns and duct tape, with chisels and spanners and the odd ball-peen hammer and other totally inappropriate tools, we started building our spaceship. Spaceship Semipro.

And now we do what engineers and writers and editors always do: stand back and watch the smoke go up, and hope nothing’s broken on the inside.

Welcome to Abyss & Apex. This is our first issue, and in it we are pleased to present offerings by three talented new writers. I’m tempted to comment, of course. But that would spoil the magic of discovery, and really–I don’t know that Spaceship Semipro is going to find where it’s going any sooner than the passengers do.

We hope you enjoy our travels as much as we have.

Whew. Lookit that contrail, eh?

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Elizabeth Bear lives in Las Vegas with two dogs and a husband who weigh more than she does, and are infinitely more tolerant–and four cats, who do not and are not. She is considering taking up something less stressful as a career, like liontaming.

 

 

Copyrighted by the author unless otherwise noted.

 

Art Director: Bonnie Brunish

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