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Just got my copies!

RealityChuck Dec 01 2006 01:53 PM

My story, "Spare Change," will be out in the February 2007 issue of Realms of Fantasy, which should be hitting finer newstands next week. I got my contributor's copies yesterday. The art is so-so, but it's not a particularly visual story anyway.

ScarletKnight41 Dec 01 2006 02:23 PM

Excellent - that's great Chuck!

TheOldMole Dec 01 2006 06:30 PM

Terrific news.

RealityChuck Dec 06 2006 11:03 AM

The story has been reviewed on [url=http://tinyurl.com/ym2qpc]Tangent Online.[/url] ]Chuck Rothman offers a science fantasy in "Spare Change." Roger was a successful banker until one day he offered a beggar woman a fifty-dollar bill and she accidentally tagged him as the next down-and-out victim perpetrated by the Great Conspiracy known as Them. Nowadays, Roger takes her place as a homeless panhandler, and life couldn’t be worse. Enter Smith, one of Them. Smith takes Roger to lunch at a soignée restaurant and tells him it’s his turn to pick who will replace him in the world of pauperdom. What will he do? This is a brisk, well-written tale with a sympathetic hero who’s easy to care about. I consider this science fantasy only because the Great Conspiracy (known as Them) implants a computer chip in Roger’s nose. Since RoF typically eschews SF tropes, I was surprised by this, but that’s more of an editorial decision than an artistic one. And while the ending was gratifying, I found there to be a leap in logic with regard to how Roger ultimately deals with this fellow Smith. It’s just one of those instances where the perfect ending is impossible to achieve. How does one overcome an omnipotent force? Still, Roger’s punch line is satisfying.

Willets Point Dec 06 2006 11:30 AM

Wow, RealityChuck is in reality Chuck! Congrats!

cooby Dec 06 2006 11:36 AM

Congratulations RealityChuck, I missed this thread before. Is there a way we can read it online, in case there is not a finer newstand in our neighborhood? Because it sounds very interesting

RealityChuck Dec 07 2006 06:38 AM

No, it's not lone. RoF used to put excerpts on their web page, but that hasn't been updated in six months. Barnes and Noble and Borders usually have copies; you don't even have to buy them -- though it would be good if you did -- since the story is short. If you want to read something by me, there's always [url=http://www.strangehorizons.com/2000/20001009/arroyo_de_buho.shtml]Occurrance at Arroyo de Buho Bridge[/url]. It did make honorable mention in one of Gardner Dozois's "Best Science Fiction" anthologies.

cooby Dec 07 2006 07:49 AM

I wrok about a quarter mile from a Barnes and Noble; I'll check it out. Short stories are the best