Author Archives: Gerry Huntman
Edition 8: Chinaman’s Bluff by Cat Sparks
A woman and a boy are travelling alone in hostile Australia, seeking their future in service to an unknown benefactor. It can be a dangerous place to be, the Australian bush, the very place to find ruffians and outlaws. Only with a little help from an unusual friend will Juliana and Arthur make it in this foreign land. SY
Juliana Morris was a long way from home and even further from civilisation according to the poorly-sketched map she’d acquired from the Captain of the Mary Elisabeth. Just follow the river windin’ all the way to Wharftown, he’d said, which seemed like a reasonable proposition, only there hadn’t been any river flowing into the ramshackle port where the captain had set them down. A port so small it didn’t even have a name. Shielding her eyes from the sun’s harsh glare, she surveyed the pitiful landscape with dismay. Everything was covered in a layer of dust. The inhabitants had a hard-bitten look about them. None of the women she passed would return her smile. Juliana’s life in London had been far from luxurious. She hadn’t known what to expect of Australia, but somehow she’d expected more than this.
Juliana and her small son Arthur spent a restless night in a cramped and none-too-clean inn one street back from the docks. The Mary Elisabeth and her captain sailed on the morning tide, leaving them both to fend for themselves in a strange, inhospitable land.
Edition 8: Book Review: Bluegrass Symphony by Lisa L. Hannett
Reviewed by Damien Smith
Bluegrass Symphony is the first collection from South Australian author Lisa L. Hannett. Each story feels carefully crafted to fit in to the same world, though it is never specified where or when exactly this world is. It has the feel of the Deep South in the not-too-distant past. It is also never specified where each story takes place in relation to the others, but they are woven so carefully that there is the constant feeling that characters fleeing one plot will come crashing through the middle of another.
Edition 8: Fairest Fowl by J. B. Rockwell
When you offend the gods and snub tradition, things can go badly wrong, and they can occur in the most unlikely places and circumstances. Rockwell’s story was a worthy finalist in the 2012 Story Quest Short Story Contest and it was worth the wait to include her story in this special edition. GH
All the world was burning, and as she stared at the devastation below, Keiko knew that her beloved chicken was to blame.
She’d found him on the lower slopes of the mountains, huddled miserably in a stand of bamboo, his feathers dull and dirty, missing in places as if he’d molted out of season, and torn away in others where he had fought with some other creature and survived at least, if not won. She’d taken pity on the poor, half-starved bird, and tucked it under one arm as she turned and followed a narrow path back to the village that was her home.
The hills were steep hereabouts, and were densely covered with cedar and pine and cypress, and the ubiquitous stands of bamboo. She could just see the roofs that marked that sprawling collection of homes and barns and shops as she descended toward the flatter lands where the village and the surrounding fields lay. She supposed it wasn’t really a village anymore. What had started as a small farming community had grown over the past few decades to become a bustling market town. But Shimizu was still a farmer’s town at heart, and she a farmer’s daughter.
Edition 8: Interview with Cat Rambo
Interview by Sophie Yorkston
Who were your greatest female role models?
There’s a lot of them. Some of the more influential have been my grandmother, who wrote YA novels under the name H.D. Francis, a number of 19th century suffragettes such as Matilda Joslyn Gage and Victoria Woodhull, and the writer Colette.
What do you feel is your greatest achievement as a writer to date? Read the rest of this entry
Edition 8: A Man And His Parasite by Cat Rambo
To be the wife of the only man on Earth with an alien is a lonely existence. It disgusts Aye, yet she is curious and envious. Is Carl meant to be the one exploring the universe or will the creature just leave her without a husband? SY
The doctors thought Aye’s presence made Karl calmer, kept him stable. They monitored her health with impersonal politeness, never looking at her face, mainly so she wouldn’t drop dead on him, which might drive his blood pressure up.
She was an appliance, she thought, used to keep his body a pleasant and hospitable place where the parasite could thrive.
It felt wrong. Aye was used to being in the spotlight. In school she’d led the popular crowd. Who she liked (or didn’t) had been central to everyone’s opinion. Nowadays the list of who she didn’t like was ignored.
Dr. Taro, who supervised the parasite’s growth and reported on it daily, was high on her list. She read his findings on Karl, though. “Subject’s readings within normal parameters. Parasite appears the same.”
Or, ominously, “Subject in pain. Parasite appears unhappy.”
Edition 8: Notes From the Editor
When I first floated the idea of an edition of SQ Mag dedicated to some of the amazing work of women out there, Gerry (my boss and chief editor at IFWG Publishing) leapt at the idea. My initial idea came from a deep-seated desire to see more work by women. I mean, big names like Ursula Le Guin, Anne McCaffrey, Mary Shelley and more come to mind, yet men are mainly recognised as the giants of speculative fiction. So we approached some writers (and chose books to review based on those) whose work we had seen and admired, but who perhaps do not have the following or accolades that other of their colleagues do, despite their multi-faceted contributions to fiction.
When we approached the very writers mentioned above, we asked a few questions. One question, one that we thought was a positive question to make people think about what women writers have to offer, was what got us the most fascinating answers. The common theme: that we all want to be recognised for the quality of our craft, not set apart by the trifling matter of our gender. Just to be recognised as an equal player on the field of fiction would be enough.
Edition 9: Trophy by Jason Lairamore
Wilbur isn’t exactly a nice guy, and you could possibly excuse him because of the sexual politics mentality of the early 20th Century. Possibly. Sometimes, however, fate plays an off-beat game, and unexpected results ensue. GH
I arrived at the bank early, as usual. My driver opened the door to my new 1927 Packard as I checked my pocket watch. 6:00 a.m. I’ve got a good driver in, whatever his name is.
“A fine morning, Sir,” the doorman said.
I ignored him and rushed into the foyer, past the teller stations, up the stairs, and into the office where my desk waited loaded with ‘real’ work.
I worked for a while then lit one of my Cubans. I took one good puff and my young wife stepped into my office, unannounced and as bold as you please. Her presence made me cough on the fine smoke.
“Wilbur!” She shifted weight right then left then back again. With every movement her exquisite muscles played on her long legs. The dress she wore, though long enough to cover her proper was too tight by half. My heart skipped a beat and I almost dropped my cigar.
“Priscilla whatever are you doing here?”
Edition 9: Cattails by A. P. Sessler
The speculative fiction market, including SQ Mag, doesn’t publish enough pieces that have humorous bents, or are light but twisted. Not easy to execute well in my estimation. A P Sessler’s ‘Cattails’ fits the bill perfectly. We have a story that opens almost like a Stephen King meets Brothers Grimm, but read on, and it becomes something so much more… GH
‘The Duende’s Garden’ © A P Sessler
The stiff, wide-eyed opossum traversed the rugged rows of severed wheat stalks that remained of the early September harvest. With flashing teeth and swiping claws frozen in time, the critter’s gray body glided across the harsh grooves of furrowed earth much like a snake would, only one without a limber bone in its body.
Edition 9: Book Review: Skies of Fire by Zoe Archer
Reviewed by Mysti Parker
In choosing a book to review for this issue of SQ Mag, I confess a hidden agenda. I’ve taken an interest in steampunk, particularly that of the romantic variety and want to read as many as I can to research those elements for my own fiction writing. I’m happy to report that this book served both purposes well. For the sake of our magazine, I’ll stick to a simple review.
Edition 9: Born Again by Nu Yang
Horror is about making the reader uncomfortable, very uncomfortable, whether it is with the sledgehammer of shock, or the subtle descriptive form that creeps the reader out as the narrative progresses. Nu Yang does the latter very well indeed, and we are pleased to have her return to SQ Mag in this story about a supernatural event that is closely tied with one of the most tumultuous events in US history in this century. GH
The note came on a Monday.
Dear Mr. Fisher,
I would like to meet with you sometime this week to discuss Maribel’s behavior in class. Please contact me at the school at your earliest convenience.
Sincerely, Mrs. Allen
When Ryan asked his daughter what her fifth grade teacher wanted to speak about, Maribel shrugged. “I think it might be about this history report I did.” She was huddled over her homework at the dining table. “She told me to see her after class when I turned it in.”
“What did she tell you?” Ryan asked.
“Just that she didn’t like what I wrote.” Maribel chewed on her bottom lip. Her green eyes stayed downcast.
Ryan leaned against the kitchen counter. “Do you have the report with you?”
SQ Mag 