Everyone knows that writers are story tellers. It’s our job to paint vivid pictures of what we see inside our minds. This is especially true when it comes to writing science fiction because what we see in many cases are images conjured up from the imagination then translated into words for the very first time. In my case visions of strange alien worlds in distant galaxies are the norm. Often times a picture or two can help the reader visualize what’s going on in the story. If you have ever been drawn to a novel and purchased it because you were intrigued by its cover then you know what I mean. Over the summer my daughter (who also writes) stumbled across a site called Science Fiction Freedom. SFF produces a quarterly e-zine called Sci-fi Freedom
Regardless of how well known you are every author would love to have more exposure for their work. In the fall of this year my short story Planet of Doom was given a boost when Sci-fi Freedom included it in their September issue. Owner/editors Peter Saga and wife Carole were hands on, their professional approach made the project fun and interesting. As I mentioned earlier photos help bring a story to life, well each story in Sci-fi Freedom has at least one photo. Illustrator/writer Lee Crystal was assigned the task of working with me to create the shot of the space ship Spirit being pulled down into the Planet of Doom. I think Lee did an awesome job.
Lee was also assigned to help create the image for a second short story selected by Peter to appear in the December issue. The story is called Terror on Telderan; it’s the prequel to Escape 2 Earth 2012. What! You say you never heard of Escape 2 Earth, well shame on you. Just kidding, if you are interested you can download a copy on Amazon.com at 52% off until the sale is over.
The December issue is special to me because my daughter Lauren’s short story Paradise One was published in the same issue with Terror on Telderan.
Images from Paradise One by L.A. Johnson
Lauren is on a bit of a roll right now. In late September she was interviewed by author/interviewer Susan Whitfield and last month by The Indie Spotlight
Her story the Swim of a Lifetime has been included in the new Science Fiction Almanac. Sometime next year Sci-fi freedom will publish Time Trap, a science fiction story that I wrote a few months ago. Time Trap is a departure from the Escape 2 Earth series. As the title implies it is the story of a man who is falsely accused of murder. While on the run he finds himself on an alien planet in another place and time with no way out. In the meantime check out this month’s issue of Sci-fi Freedom at:
http://issuu.com/scififreedom/docs/sff_issue_02_2010 video
