Amelia Earhart still not found? GTFO.

So it looks like this blog is turning into a Jeopardy! category. “Birthdays of Famous People for 200 Alex.” My next post will be different, I promise. Maybe.

For the 5 or so people left in the world who don’t use Google: Today marks the 115^th birthday for Ms. Earhart who went missing July 2^nd, 1937 during a bid to become the first woman to circumnavigate the globe.

Another year, another report of someone trying to find her and failing. Kind of a superfail though, since this time it cost $2,200,000.00. I can’t help but wonder: would it be worth it? I get that the team lead will go down in the history books, but monetarily, what do you get? Profits from the inevitable James Cameron movie? Did Robert Ballard get rich from Titanic? Maybe fame is enough, but it sounds like a pain. Unless you’re the guy (or gal) in the aforementioned history book, no one is going to believe you were involved in the expedition.

Don’t misunderstand, I’m not against finding her. It’s just that they’re wasting their time. Any true sci-fi fan knows she won’t be found until 2371.

Happy Birthday, Nikola Tesla!

Tesla, aged 37, 1893, photo by Napoleon Sarony

Arguably the greatest inventor in human history was born today in 1856: Nikola Tesla. 


If you don't know much about him, his history is well worth reading, not only because he did so much to advance mankind (can I still say that? maybe humankind? i dunno), but because you'll learn things about Thomas Edison you didn't learn in school. Such as what a despicable human being he was. For example, he electrocuted an elephant to demonstrate the danger of alternating current.


But I digress. Tesla was fascinating as geniuses so often are. I can only imagine what it would have been like to meet the man who invented radio. Happy Birthday Mr. Tesla, you should be celebrated worldwide.

Rejected! Part 1 of 3

Hi. My name’s Mark and I’ve decided to take writing seriously. No more wondering if I could. I’m coming down off the fence. I’ve dabbled and half heartedly tried, but now I’m committing. I’ve written a short (short) story called “A Little Hope” and I’ve created a plan to be published (one way or another). 

A little background 

I currently write science fiction to the exclusion of all other genres. I may change my mind or want to try something new down the road, but for now I can’t see myself writing anything else. Oh, and I also read science fiction almost to the exclusion of any other genre as well. 

This isn’t my first brush with rejection, but it is the first time I’m laying it out in the open for anyone to see. 

So what’s the plan?

In order to formulate a plan, I had to decide on goals. I’ve decided to begin with short stories. I have one completed (and once rejected hence the title of this post) and a few more at various stages of completion. While I have absolutely nothing against self publishing, there’s a small part of me that wants that validation from a professional market. I also want to become a member of SFWA which requires publication in a professional market. Here is my original plan:

1. Write stuff.
2. ?????
3. Profit!

After some reflection, I rewrote the steps while viewing them through the lens of realism (hopefully):

1. Create a list of potential magazines/webzines for the story at hand based upon the qualified list on SFWA’s website. In the case of “A Little Hope” the list contains three publications because the story is just under a thousand words (also known as flash fiction), thus limiting my market.
2. Submit the story to one publisher at a time (no one likes simultaneous submissions) and continue to work on other stories while waiting on the verdict.
3. If the verdict is acceptance: Great! Post the news here and celebrate. If the verdict is rejection: Make a sad face and post the result here. Don’t celebrate. Go to the next publication on the list created in step 1 and submit the story.
4. Rinse, lather, repeat.
5. If the story should be rejected by every publication on the list, I will publish it here. Anyone will be free to make comments, suggestions, etc. The feedback will hopefully make me a better writer. If I have enough short stories which have been reworked based on your feedback, I plan on publishing them on the Kindle as a collection.
6. Profit! Uncontrollably!

Okay, so number six probably won’t work out. But a guy can dream right?

Anyway, I’ve been rejected by Strange Horizons and my next stop is Flash Fiction Online, which will be getting my story today. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Until next time…