Electric Velocipede 27 Read online

  Electric Velocipede 27

  edited by John Klima

  Spilt Milk Press

  Waukesha, WI

  Electric Velocipede 27

  Published by Spilt Milk Press

  Editor : John Klima

  Managing Editor : Anne Zanoni

  Associate Editor : Damien Angelica Walters

  Assistant Editor : Jamie Lackey Stefko

  Cover Artist : Carlos Araujo “Sunset Kiss”

  All material contained herein © 2013 by its creators and Spilt Milk Press. No material shall be reproduced without the expressed written consent of the publisher and that material’s creator. All rights revert to the author upon publication.

  http://www.electricvelocipede.com

  @EV_Mag

  ISSN : 1949-2030

  Table of Contents

  A Remembrance of the Future #27

  Seven Ways of Bringing Down the Regime by Daniel Ausema

  Cloth Leaves and Wire Vines by Gillian Daniels

  The Coronation Bout by Lisa L. Hannett

  Ondine’s Curse by Katherine Mankiller

  The Beasts We Want to Be by Sam J. Miller

  Bones by Helena Bell

  sarah by Nancy Hightower

  sarah (revisited) by Nancy Hightower

  Song of Mary by Geoffrey W. Cole

  Dream Vision by Megan Arkenberg

  The Girls of the Forest by Margaret Ronald

  Eating the Pomegranate by Megan Kurashige

  The Fungi That Talk Softly by Harry Markov

  The Carnival Was Eaten, All Except the Clown by Caroline M. Yoachim

  Contributor Bios

  A Remembrance of the Future #27

  As many of you already know, issue #27 is going to be the final issue of Electric Velocipede. After a lot of thought—and more stress than I need—I’ve decided it’s time to cease publication.

  This was not an easy decision; it was gutting. There were nights where I lay awake wondering if it was the right thing to do. There were days I just wanted to close the door and walk away without finishing it. Finishing this final issue is my way of closing things out mostly on my terms.

  There is outstanding money owed me that just isn’t coming. That means money meant for Electric Velocipede’s future needs to be used on the present; we’re unable to make new issues when we still have to pay for old issues. There are limited options for electronic subscriptions; and the largest and most popular, Amazon, stopped taking new magazines right around the time I ran an Electric Velocipede Kickstarter based around the plan of having Amazon subscriptions for future revenue.

  I have outstanding debt from running Electric Velocipede—and since the magazine can’t even support itself, it doesn’t make sense to keep it going and continue to spend money without earning any. On top of that are all the responsibilities of my current job and of being a husband and father that make working on Electric Velocipede more and more difficult.

  There might be a way to make this work. The current good will and cachet about Electric Velocipede might be able to translate into new subscriptions, new sales, etc. Maybe a short print run could go a long way towards funding each issue. Heck, if there were 100 people each willing to pay $10 for a print copy (plus shipping) you’d cover the cost of a short print run, the shipping, and have a little left over. I’ve also heard of a few new subscription models for electronic distribution that might become fruitful over time. The problem is I just don’t have the time or energy any more to start chasing after these ideas.

  If I want to be a good father and husband, I need to spend more time with my family. If I want to do good work at my job, I need to put in the time it requires. That time has extended beyond the workday and into my evenings and weekends. That means that on top not having time during the day where I can steal a moment or two for Electric Velocipede, there isn’t time in the evening or during weekends for Electric Velocipede either.

  I’ve spread myself thin for more than a decade now. I need to change that. I need to take that time back.

  Now, we could spend time lamenting my decision. But instead of focusing on what’s being lost, I want to celebrate what we’ve achieved. Honestly, there isn’t much more I could hope to accomplish with Electric Velocipede. Twenty-seven issues of a critically acclaimed, well-loved magazine is not a bad run. There are many magazines that ran much fewer issues.

  It won a Hugo Award. It received five World Fantasy Award nominations (four for the magazine and one for a story we published). I’ve published many writers whose work I enjoy and respect. I’ve had an outlet for my passion for publishing for twelve years.

  I’ve survived this long because I’ve gotten consistently great work from writers and artists. Nearly every issue starts with an email to all the contributors en masse where I tell them this is the best issue yet, and generally that’s true. I feel this last issue really cements what I’ve wanted Electric Velocipede to become for the past twelve years. There are some amazing stories in this issue. To get this good of quality of work for a semipro market is ridiculous.

  Thinking back over the years, I thought it would be fun to list all the people* that have seen their work appear in Electric Velocipede:

  Tim Akers

  Heather Albano

  Bart Allen

  Nina Alvarez

  Olivia Ambrogio

  Carlos Araujo (cover; issue 26)

  Megan Arkenberg

  Daniel Ausema

  Neil Ayres

  Mishell Baker

  Peter M. Ball

  Jacques Barcia

  Tara Barnett

  Neal Barrett, Jr. (reprint)

  Elizabeth Barrette

  Lyn Battersby

  Jennifer Rachel Baumer

  Helena Bell

  Tracy Berg

  KJ Bishop

  Jayme Lynn Blaschke

  Bruce Boston

  Richard Bowes

  K. Tempest Bradford

  Darin C. Bradley

  Terry Bramlett

  Jonathan Brandt

  Daniel Braum

  Bill Braun

  Jessica Breheny

  Marie Brennan

  Lida Broadhurst

  Corey Brown

  Tobias Buckell

  Karl Bunker

  Richard Butner

  Monica Byrne

  Frank Byrns

  J. R. Cain

  Carole Carmen

  Scott W. Carter

  Jay Caselberg

  Stepan Chapman

  Matthew Cheney

  B. A. Chepaitis

  Andrew Cohen

  Lucy Cohen Schmeidler

  Alicia Cole

  Geoffrey W. Cole

  Brendan Connell

  Cris Cox

  Sheila Crosby

  Gillian Daniels

  Dennis Danvers

  Thom Davidsohn (covers; issues 9-12, 15/16-24, and 27)

  Daniel W. Davis

  Julie C. Day

  Aliette de Bodard

  Nina De Graff

  Alan De Niro

  Paul Di Filippo

  Kevin L. Donihe

  Rudi Dornemann

  Hal Duncan

  Catherine Dybiec Holm

  Catherine Edmunds

  Eli Effinger-Weintraub

  Charles Coleman Finlay

  Toiya Kristen Finley

  Deborah Fitchett

  Jeffrey Ford

  James Alan Gardner

  John Grey

  Harold Gross

  Yoon Ha Lee

  Lisa L. Hannett

  Jon Hansen

  James Hartley

  Merrie Haskell

  Jason Henderson

  Loreen Heneghan

  Lauren Henley<
br />
  Tania Hershman

  Nancy Hightower

  Christopher Hivner

  Erin Hoffman

  Jonathan William Hodges

  Chuck Hogle

  Ren Holton

  Richard Howard

  Robert J. Howe

  Alexander Irvine

  Luke Jackson

  Michael Jasper

  A. H. Jennings

  Paul M. Jessup

  Erik T. Johnson

  Dave Justus

  Michael Kanaly

  Damon Kaswell

  Andrew Kaye

  Marie Kazalia

  Keffy R. M. Kehrli

  Michael Kelly

  Jamie Killen

  Nikki Kimberling

  Rick Klaw

  William Knight

  David C. Kopaska-Merkel

  Ash Krafton

  Barbara Krasnoff

  Matthew Kressel

  Megan Kurashige

  Jonathan Laden

  Jay Lake

  Claude Lalumière

  Geoffrey A. Landis

  Beth Langford

  Richard Larson

  Gene P. Lass

  Ann Leckie

  Philip J. Lees

  Mike Lewis

  Shira Lipkin

  Ken Liu

  Beth Adele Long

  Aurelio Rico Lopez III

  Jason Erik Lundberg

  Sandra McDonald

  Alex Dally MacFarlane

  Amy Mackiewicz

  Stefanie Maclin

  Samuel Mae

  Elissa Malcohn

  Katherine Mankiller

  Lisa Mantchev

  John Mantooth

  L. Michael Markham

  Harry Markov

  Celia Marsh

  Heather Martin

  Tracie McBride

  Michael Constantine McConnell

  Melissa Mead

  Sean Melican

  Megan Messinger

  Christoph Meyer

  Sam J. Miller

  Rochelle Mitchell

  Michael Neal Morris

  Michelle Muenzler

  Timothy Mulcahy

  Kristine Ong Muslim

  Steven Nagy

  Val Nolan

  Penelope O’Shea

  Patrick O’Leary

  Katya Oliva-Llego

  Rachel V. Olivier

  Andre Oosterman

  John Ottinger III

  Shannon Page

  M. E. Parker

  Norman Partridge

  Jennifer Pelland

  Michael Penncavage

  Ezra Pines

  Erin Pringle

  Terrie Leigh Relf

  Alistair Rennie

  Mark Rich

  John W. Risinger

  Mercurio D. Riveria

  Chris Roberson

  Michaela Roessner

  Bruce Holland Rogers

  Margaret Ronald

  John B. Rosenman

  Josh Rountree

  Christopher Rowe

  Jodee Rubins

  John Rubins

  J. C. Runolfson

  Ki Russell

  Patricia Russo

  Sara Saab

  Vincent W. Sakowski

  J. R. Salling

  Steve Sawicki

  Lawrence M. Schoen (reprint)

  Ken Scholes

  Michelle Scott

  Alexandra Seidel

  Rena Sherwood

  Ian Shoebridge

  William Shunn

  Michael Simanoff

  Cyril Simsa

  Perry Slaughter

  Cislyn Smith

  Lisa Snellings-Clark (cover; issue 14)

  Christina Sng

  Darren Speegle

  Jason J. Stevenson

  Brenda Stokes

  Linda Ann Strang

  Kiel Stuart

  Rachel Swirsky

  Sonya Taaffe

  David Tallerman

  Anna Tambour

  Steve Rasnic Tem

  Mark Teppo

  Lavie Tidhar

  Mark W. Tiedemann

  E. Catherine Tobler

  Pat Tompkins

  Shane Tourtellotte

  Brian Trent

  Mikal Trimm

  Kristy L. Truax-Nichols

  Mary Turzillo

  Catherynne M. Valente

  Genevieve Valentine

  Jeff VanderMeer

  Edd Vick

  Leslie Claire Walker

  Damien G. Walter

  Damien Angelica Walters (Grintalis)

  Trent Walters

  Matthew Wanniski

  D. E. Wasden

  Jennifer Waterford

  Gary West

  Robert Freeman Wexler

  Leslie What

  Kjell Williams

  Liz Williams

  Neil Williamson

  Steven Wilson (cover; issue 13)

  A. C. Wise

  Brooke Wonders

  Jonathan Wood

  Sharon E. Woods

  Erzebet YellowBoy

  Caroline M. Yoachim

  Marly Youmans

  Tyson Young

  E. Lily Yu

  Jeremy Zerfoss (cover; issue 25)

  Derek Zumsteg

  That’s just over 250 unique authors/artists over the years. There are 70 authors who had more than one piece published in Electric Velocipede (that includes poets who have multiple poems in a single issue). I look over that list of authors and I want to pinch myself.

  What happens next? I’m taking a break from editing to focus on writing. I also want to expand my freelance editorial services work for writers, but I’d like to make sure that the editorial work I do is finite. I’m in no rush to get back into a magazine situation, i.e., the constant ongoing deadline that never gets met because the project never ends.

  Recently I’ve sent stories out on submission and sent stories to beta readers. I’ve made a point of doing this before I think too long and talk myself out of it. This has left me in the position of wanting to send more stuff out, but most of writing is currently unfinished stories and novels. I’ve got the motivation to write; I just need to change my Electric Velocipede time to writing time.

  Most importantly, I need to focus on my wife and children. They are what matters. If at any point over the years they had needed me, all this publishing stuff would have been dropped. There’s been too many times when someone’s asked for my time and I’ve said “In a minute, just let me finish this thing” and a half hour later I’ve missed my opportunity.

  Let’s close with this: A thousand thousand times thank you. Electric Velocipede doesn’t work without incredible writers, artists, and fans.

  This all happened with your help and support.

  Thank you.

  John Klima

  October 2013

  WI

  * This list includes columnists but does not include Blindfold Taste Test respondents. Reprint authors are marked as such (there were two story reprints, total in twelve years), and I’ve added a brief note to artists’ names to indicate which cover they did. I did the covers for the first eight issues, that’s why they were so bad low-tech.

  Seven Ways of Bringing Down the Regime

  by Daniel Ausema

  I started with traditional paint. Between a certain level of skill on my part and the long-time friendship of a gallery owner, I worked with the promise of gallery space, no small thing in the struggle against the regime. I gave the soldiers bright, cheery colors, their swords a glittering shade of irony. The children they slaughtered that day looked like monsters at first glance. I gave the nearest victims terrifying masks. Behind the masks, they were scared, though. They peeked out, knowing they weren’t the ones who put the masks in place. The plaza was shadowed but recognizable, the well-known facades of the buildings outlined within the dark shades.

  I meant it to be clear where the sympathies lay, but it’s a tight trick, convincing viewers to side with monsters over
the cartoonish protectors of society. I fear I failed at first. The painting was scarcely noticed. No one called for my head.

  I took the painting back to my studio beneath the bridge. With just a few strokes, I changed the face of one of the soldiers to that of our illustrious leader. I added one more child, her mask broken at our leader’s feet while she begged for mercy.

  The gallery is closed, now. Soldiers guard the doors, and the sale of artists’ paints is restricted. Canvas has become as precious and illicit as opium.

  #

  When the furor over the painting faded too much for my liking, I decided to try songwriting. My voice is a rough growl, but I know something of chord changes and can string words together. I wrote a song and sang it in the streets. A song about children and death, like all good songs. I improvised the verses, trying to vary which of our leaders I implicated in our communal suffering. For my grand scheme, I posted handbills all over the city, mentioning the song, inviting people back to that same infamous plaza for a performance.

  For the event I wore my most revolutionary clothing, a bohemian hodgepodge of anger and hostility. I snarled the words out; I raved in full public view. The few people who showed up for the performance booed me out of the plaza.

  So I brought the song to a friend, and she sang it as a sweet lullaby, making each note pure and each word perfectly articulated. I wondered where the anger was. But it was there, of course. My friend didn’t need to put it in her singing, because the anger was all around, throughout the city. She sang in the plaza itself and among the nearby shops and diners, her sweet voice piercing the noises of the crowds. Everyone who heard the song brought to it their own anger.

  A mob formed and fought and added their numbers to the massacred, because the soldiers and politicos possessed anger, too, and couldn’t let someone else’s anger take command.

  My friend is now imprisoned. Without me.

  #

  The night after her arrest I made my way into the plaza, smuggling in a bag of tools. There are two massive pillars there, monuments to some history I can’t recall. Bare stone, though, that was what drew me to them. The first night I cut many tentative lines into the face of each, though I daresay the lines resembled nothing by morning.