Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Aurealis #64
    Aurealis #64
    Aurealis #64
    Ebook82 pages59 minutes

    Aurealis #64

    By Dirk Strasser (Editor)

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    The opening story in Aurealis #64 begins: 'The seasick lover becomes a saltwater cistern. She built her first lover out of glass.' And these opening lines are no-where near the strangest things in Penny Stirling's 'Love Over Glass, Skin Under Glass'. Read this this controversial story that sparked a major disagreement among the Aurealis Editors. Also make sure you don’t miss the second story, 'Intelligent Design' by Marta Salek, an imaginative, sinister and clever story told from the perspective of a cyborg who has a unique and devastating viewpoint of life.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherChimaera Publications
    Release dateAug 31, 2013
    ISBN9781922031181
    Aurealis #64
    Author

    Dirk Strasser (Editor)

    Dirk Strasser has written over 30 books for major publishers in Australia and has been editing magazines and anthologies since 1990. He won a Ditmar for Best Professional Achievement and has been short-listed for the Aurealis and Ditmar Awards a number of times. His fantasy novels – including Zenith and Equinox – were originally published by Pan Macmillan in Australia and Heyne Verlag in Germany. His children’s horror/fantasy novel, Graffiti, was published by Scholastic. His short fiction has been translated into a number of languages, and his most recent publications are “The Jesus Particle” in Cosmos magazine, “Stories of the Sand” in Realms of Fantasy and “The Vigilant” in Fantasy magazine. He founded the Aurealis Awards and has co-published Aurealis magazine for over 20 years.

    Read more from Dirk Strasser (Editor)

    Related to Aurealis #64

    Related ebooks

    Anthologies For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      100-WORD-STORY COMPETITION Winners

      Aug 16, 2022

      We’ve been delighted by the huge response to our 100-word-story competition. The entries have flooded in thick and fast during the past few months, but while we’ve enjoyed reading every story, only a few can come out on top! You, our readers, voted t

      5 min read

    • Article

      THE NEXT CHAPTER: Chapter Book Prize winners

      Apr 6, 2023

      Congratulations and thank you to everyone who entered the Writing Magazine Children’s Book Prize 2022. In the Chapter Book category, we had 72 entries, with all kinds of genres being represented, including fantasy, adventure, humour, spy, spooky, con

      7 min read

    • Article

      Letters

      Jun 17, 2022

      The silence on our first night on our plot was absolute. We lay awake listening to it, waiting to hear… something, anything. After the sirens, barking dogs, revved car engines and domestic arguments between uncomfortably close neighbours, this almost

      4 min read

    • Article

      Lost for WORDS

      Sep 23, 2020

      Lost for WORDS
      6 min read

    • Article

      Where is THE LOVE?

      May 12, 2019

      Where is THE LOVE?
      3 min read

    • Article

      Elizabeth Coleman

      Jan 8, 2024

      Elizabeth Coleman
      2 min read

    • Article

      The Inventions of Witches

      Oct 30, 2017

      The Inventions of Witches
      7 min read

    • Article

      In The Spot Light: Your Writing Finding A Friend

      Oct 5, 2023

      Reading the WM writers’ submissions for this page is one of the best parts of this job – but every month it’s a hard call because the standard is so high. This month is no exception. You responded to the theme of ‘Finding a Friend’ with really well-c

      4 min read

    • Article

      The Letter Box

      Feb 1, 2023

      Dear Everybuggy, This is my first time writing to the Letterbox, and I think it is going to be great! I love reading, and some of my favorite books include Blended, Out of My Mind, and Out of My Heart by Sharon M. Draper. I also like horseback riding

      7 min read

    • Article

      Lit Hub Recommends

      Sep 21, 2018

      Lit Hub Recommends
      4 min read

    • Article

      Announcing The winners Of Our FLASH CONTEST

      Feb 29, 2020

      I sever the first two fingers of my left hand on a Tuesday. They fall to the ground at my feet, causing a momentary confusion as I wonder what tree has dropped this odd fruit. Then I see the crescent scar left behind by a fish hook and know that thes

      8 min read

    • Article

      Winners Take All!

      Mar 7, 2024

      Congratulations to everyone who entered the Writing Magazine Children’s Book Prize 2023! There were 61 entries in the chapter book prize category and it was very tricky whittling them down. However, we are delighted to share our top three winning ent

      7 min read

    • Article

      The Letterbox

      Nov 1, 2019

      Dear Cricket, How has everybuggy been lately? I’ve been doing well. I am so excited for Thanksgiving and Christmas and winter! Ladybug, do you have any good tips for snowball fights? This sounds unbelievable, but in my area we got two inches of snow

      6 min read

    • Article

      A Diviner’s Abecedarian

      Dec 2, 2019

      Before, salt was only for seasoning, so we didn’t think anything of it. It slept in porcelain shakers at our dinner tables, and we shook it over our plates without fear. We didn’t heed the superstitions of spilt salt, or salt tossed over a shoulder.

      14 min read

    • Article

      Ready, Set, Let go!

      May 15, 2019

      Ready, Set, Let go!
      11 min read

    • Article

      The World Of Writing

      Oct 5, 2023

      The British Library is running an exhibition about fantasy literature called Realms of Imagination which starts on 27 October and runs until 25 February next year. It will feature everything from ancient texts to anime, Sir Gawain to The Sandman, fai

      4 min read

    • Article

      Seven Poems

      Jan 1, 2023

      Seven Poems
      2 min read

    • Article

      The Letterbox

      Oct 1, 2019

      Hello! I am new to Chatterbox, but I have been getting Cricket for about a year now. I have three cats and two dogs. My favorite characters in Cricket are Pussywillow (she’s so cute!) and Ladybug. What are your favorite books? I know that probably a

      7 min read

    • Article

      21,915

      Jul 7, 2022

      21,915
      2 min read

    • Article

      21,915

      Jul 7, 2022

      21,915
      2 min read

    • Article

      The Silence of Witches

      Dec 10, 2019

      The Silence of Witches
      6 min read

    • Article

      THE HOUSE with the BLUE DOOR

      May 7, 2020

      THE HOUSE with the BLUE DOOR
      6 min read

    • Article

      The Letter Box

      Sep 1, 2022

      Hi, Everyone, I really love this magazine! I got my first issue when I think I was around nine and I loved it! I really love fish and I breed guppies. We have so many fish (mostly guppies) that we have four fish tanks! I also enjoy reading. My favori

      7 min read

    • Article

      Character Portrait

      May 4, 2023

      Character Portrait
      3 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Aurealis #64

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Aurealis #64 - Dirk Strasser (Editor)

      AUREALIS #64

      Australian Fantasy & Science Fiction

      Edited by Dirk Strasser

      Published by Chimaera Publications at Smashwords

      Copyright of this compilation Chimaera Publications 2013

      Copyright on each story remains with the contributor.

      EPUB version ISBN 978-1-922031-18-1

      ISSN 2200-307X (electronic)

      CHIMAERA PUBLICATIONS

      Smashwords Edition License Notes

      This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of the authors, editors and artists.

      Hard copy back-issues of Aurealis can be obtained from the Aurealis website:

      www.aurealis.com.au

      Contents

      From the Cloud – Dirk Strasser

      Love Over Glass, Skin Under Glass – Penny Stirling

      Intelligent Design – Marta Salek

      From the Archives: The SF Hall of Fame – Otto Greenbach

      Interview with Raymond E Feist – Dan Allan

      Reviews

      Next Issue

      Credits

      From the Cloud

      Dirk Strasser

      There comes a point where every writer of fiction needs to make a decision if they want their writing to be loved or admired. Maybe if you're an absolute genius with gifts beyond mere mortal writers you don't need to make that choice, but for the rest of us, I believe the choice is inevitable. And even if you feel you haven't made that choice, then I would argue that you have either already made it without being aware, or you are still early in your writing career, a little unclear about your direction, and will eventually need to decide if you continue writing.

      This distinction for writers came into sharp focus for me when the other two editors, Stephen Higgins and Michael Pryor, and I were discussing the merits of the opening story in this issue, 'Love Over Glass, Skin Under Glass' by Penny Stirling, which begins with the lines: 'The seasick lover becomes a saltwater cistern. She built her first lover out of glass.' And these opening lines aren't the strangest thing about this story.

      I would argue we have an author here who has made a conscious decision to uncompromisingly opt for admiration.

      I'm less certain of where to place the second story in this issue, 'Intelligent Design' by Marta Salek. I'll leave it to you to decide. You could argue that it is on the admiration side as well, but for vastly different reasons. The characters in it are difficult to like, let alone love, but it's an imaginative, sinister and clever story told from the perspective of a cyborg who has a unique and devastating viewpoint of life.

      So, which one should you choose? Writing to be loved or writing to be admired? They're both desirable, aren't they?

      Well, yes and no. I would say that in the end, it depends on what sort of writing you like to read.

      To admire something involves some detachment, a distance from the object you're admiring. You are not enmeshed with the object. You are viewing it from several paces away and making a judgement about it. To love something involves feeling part of the object you love. You are deeply involved with it in some way. You feel a sense of belonging.

      I would argue that those writers who have decided on admiration are generally literary writers. They show us what amazing things they can do with words. They can leave us breathless with their brilliance, gobsmacked by their virtuosity. They deliberately create an object worthy of attention and consideration. What they don't do is draw you into what they have created.

      It is the writers who you love that draw you into their creations. More often than not, these are genre writers of one kind or another. And isn't it the world creators of fantasy and science fiction that have the greatest capacity to enmesh you? It's no wonder speculative fiction engenders such passion in its devotees. Not only are there characters to love, as with other genres, but the whole fictional world also becomes something to become emotionally entangled with.

      Think about the sorts of writers you admire versus those you love. Which fictional works would you take with you if you had to go through a one-way portal to an alternative reality where you would possess the only five fictional works in the whole world?

      All the best from the cloud.

      Back to Contents

      Love Over Glass, Skin Under Glass

      by Penny Stirling

      'The seasick lover becomes a saltwater cistern.'

      She built her first lover out of glass.

      'I was

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1