Author Archives: Gerry Huntman
Edition 7: Unbound by Dan Hankner
Trapped on a strange planet by a cruel race of aliens, all Raleigh wants is to go home. He needs a plan, and an opportunity. Can he escape the confines of this prison and return to space, where he belongs? SY
Raleigh North wasn’t special, he was just a man, and men wanted to go home.
Six moons burned red against the night sky, illuminating the dust-swept fields. Savage gusts ripped across the hard-pan and over the bunkers where their captors huddled in fear of the brooding windstorm. Raleigh stood above ground, watching, waiting. He raised a hand to the galaxy, the rusty chains around his wrists lightly clinking like a perverse wind chime.
“It was my wish to travel those stars.”
Next to him, Cancer rubbed his wrist where his own chain dug. That’s what Raleigh called the old man; Cancer. His skin was the color of tar, and he had no face to go with his no-name; a blank mask of weathered wrinkles and forgotten dreams, if ever a man such as he could dream.
“Wish?” asked Cancer, in a voice both soft and sad. He held out his hands, as if they were something distributed. Even in the red glow, Raleigh could make out the scars curving down Cancer’s arms. Next to him, the idiot-boy showcased his own marks; slashes etched into his back. Of all the prisoners, these were the only two who spoke to him, or spoke at all. The rest were no more than husks.
Raleigh coughed into his fraying T-shirt. “We need to commandeer a frigate.”
“Frigate,” repeated Cancer with unusual clarity, until a cloud passed over his eyes, and whatever he had dredged up fell back into the pit of his mind.
Edition 7: Notes From the Editor
In this issue of SQ Mag, we bring you two of our finalists from the hotly contested 2012 SQ Comp. Jason Lairamore’s story My Trip to the Circus and Dan Hankner’s Unbound were both outstanding stories of ‘Disaster’ that caught the judge’s attention. We hope you enjoy them too.
We also received a great crop of new submissions at the magazine. A dark story by Robert Harkness is in to thrill you. A great new submitter, Kevin Rainak, has a story of the digital world. Well-crafted science fictions works appear from W.B. Stickel and Hanson Hovell Holladay.
Aaron Garrison’s Intangible serial continues. The shaman is building his chosen target, and the world she lives in is starting to succumb to his influence. Read the great next instalment.
Damien Smith reviews Unidentified Funny Objects, a humorous anthology published by UFO Publishing. Mysti Parker covers Heather Graham’s The Vision, a paranormal romance, third book in her Harrison Investigation series. I have reviewed The Twelve, the sequel to Justin Cronin’s The Passage.
The team here at SQ Mag feel that this is an illustrious beginning to the year, and are continually looking forward to the next bumper edition.
Edition 8: Interview with Tonia Brown
Interview by Sophie Yorkston
Who were your greatest female role models?
My mom was a military wife, bore four daughters, raised them in a military environment with a husband that wasn’t always around (because of work) and constantly on the move. Once we all grew up, she followed her own dreams, returning to nursing school and eventually becoming an RN. I’ m proud/envious of her. I only hope to achieve half of what she has managed in her life.
What do you feel is your greatest achievement as a writer to date? Read the rest of this entry
Edition 8: Digging In The Deep by Tonia Brown
When miners lose their jobs and start disappearing, it’s chalked up to desertion. Thomas knows better. He starts digging, but perhaps the family line of work is not the safest pursuit in these dark times… SY
“He’s my pa,” Thomas said. “I just want to know where he is.”
The officer nodded at him, but said nothing.
“I ain’t seen him in three weeks,” Thomas said.
“He isn’t in there,” the cop said. “if that’s what you’re thinking.”
Thomas looked past the officer, into the darkened recesses of the mine beyond. “I know that. But…I mean…isn’t there anything you can do?”
The officer looked up to him, more exasperated than concerned. “Look, kid. A lot of men have supposedly gone missing in the last few weeks. Not just your father.”
“I know.” Thomas was sort of worried about the other guys too, but mostly about his father. Jack Barns was the first to go missing weeks ago, then Roger Wells a few days later, then Marcus Downey, then Jeremy Stills, then Donald Walker. The list went on and on.
Edition 8: Book Review: Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger
Reviewed by Mysti Parker
While looking for a book to review for this month’s edition, I came across this fascinating cover and title and knew I had to take a look. When I read the description, I knew I’d have to give it a try. Now that I’ve read the first book in Gail Carriger’s ‘Finishing School’ series, I can see why this YA author has accumulated a legion of fans.
Edition 8: Dreaming of You by Felicia A. Lee
Mira begins to dream of a house and family that aren’t hers. She dreams of them constantly, and it becomes scarily real, especially when her own reality seems to be slipping away. When Mira’s mother suggests that she is not who she thought she was, the dreams worsen. Does her mother’s secret hold the key to escaping the tedium of her oppressive nightmare? SY
Back in Serbia, people never talked about their dreams. Nana said that to do so was not only rude, but bad luck—and, as she always said, wasn’t there already enough bad luck in the world?
But here in Los Angeles, it sometimes seems as though people can talk of nothing else. In high school I took a psychology class and one day the teacher asked each of us to share a recent dream. This was just after we moved here, and I didn’t know Americans liked to talk about their dreams. For me, this felt like being asked to stand naked on top of my desk. When it was my turn, I lied and said I couldn’t remember any.
I was scared too for another reason: the teacher asked this of us just after the dreams started. It was as if she somehow knew.
Now that I’ve been here a few years, I don’t mind talking about my dreams so much. Amy and Caitlin, my roommates at UCLA, said that talking about their dreams made them feel better. I hope you don’t mind.
Edition 8: Interview with Emma Newman
Interview by Sophie Yorkston
Who were your greatest female role models?
You know, I was thinking the other day that the role models who have had the most influence on me are male (My Dad, Doc Emmett Brown from Back to the Future and Indiana Jones—though that was mostly crush I think). Then I felt a bit sad. Where were the female role models in my life?
Then I remembered Princess Leia being a big hero of mine as a child. She kicks ass, she’s one of the rare women in film who are actual leaders—and shown leading others very capably—and she is so very brave. There’s Ripley (from Alien/s) too.
As I’ve got older I’ve discovered people like Aphra Behn, thankfully.
What do you feel is your greatest achievement as a writer to date? Read the rest of this entry
Edition 8: Tea In The Secret Garden by Emma Newman
Leonie and Geoff delight in their afternoon tea in the secret garden. Sometimes, when people want to keep their secrets, it’s best to leave them alone. A hard lesson, for some. SY
Leonie wondered whether to start with an attack, and then be soft, or whether to draw him close and then, when he was truly relaxed, deal the vicious blow. Both had their merits, but neither was original. So she simply stirred in the sugar, picked up the tea cup and saucer and sat back in the chair.
She crossed her legs, making the nylon rasp, drawing Geoff’s eyes to them. It made her smile as she took her first sip. Exquisite; both the tea, and the hunger he couldn’t hide.
“Do you want to keep the corporation running?” he asked. “Or are you going to break it up and strip the assets?”
Years of cigar smoking and whisky had made his voice husky. Ignoring the bags beneath his eyes and the waddle of fat hanging from under his chin, she could still sense his vitality.
Edition 8: The Traveler by Laura Haddock
When you’re travelling in the infiniteness of space, the smallest miscalculation can result in a nightmare. So it was for Carl, looking for a quiet break. His error would send him to one of the worst places to end up: Earth. SY
It was the damn Dot Bug screwed it up.
Carl used the first two days of his vacation to plot his course with paper and pencil, just like great-great-great grandpa did it. His calculations were accurate—even beautiful. Travel computation was an art, really. Auto-plotters were for cretins.
But…
The tiny Dot Bug did what Dot Bugs do. It scuttled into Carl’s note pad and settled in between a 3 and a 5 to suck on the paper-pulp.
It looked like this: .
Decimals make a difference in space travel.
Edition 8: Interview with Cat Sparks
Interview by Sophie Yorkston
Who were your greatest female role models?
I’m presuming you mean writers. Growing up: Joan Aiken, Tove Jansson, Susan Cooper, Andre Norton, Vonda McIntyre, Doris Lessing, Maya Angelou. Now: Jane Austen, Margaret Atwood, Kim Wilkins, Octavia Butler, Margo Lanagan, Connie Willis.
What do you feel is your greatest achievement as a writer to date? Read the rest of this entry
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