A few days ago we announced that we wanted to start up a letter column for the magazine here on the website, and that in order to get the ball rolling, we’d reward selected letters with a Custom, Collectible Amazing Stories Lapel Pin.
I’m pleased to announce that we’ve gotten our first letter that we’re giving a pin to.
It’s from one of our new author discoveries. Like Asimov, Pohl, Campbell, Harris, Williamson and others, Vonnie Winslow Crists’s very first published story will be appearing in our Winter 2018 issue (that is even now being assembled and shipped).
Ira Nayman, editor, describes Crist’s story this way:
“A Horse and Her Boy [ ] is a sweet story about an artificial intelligence in the form of a horse who keeps a boy company on a distant space station for his entire life; I was immediately enchanted by it, as I believe our readers will be.”
Ms. Crist then shared her background:
“I was the girl saving quarters to buy science fiction magazines. I didn’t know anyone who liked to read speculative fiction (my father and other male relatives were not readers). I certainly didn’t know any females reading sf/f. I married between my junior and senior years at college, and gave birth to the first of three children less them a year after college. While the kids were growing up, I managed to do hundreds of illustrations (for The Vegetarian Journal and Prima Publications) of quite mundane subject matter, and write some poetry. Poetry became the key to employment by the Maryland State Arts Council in their Artist-in-Education Program. Finally, in my 50s, I earned a Masters in Professional Writing from Towson University and began writing speculative fiction. Time, responsibilities, and a stable money situation allowed me to pursue a life-long dream.
So, this 66 year-old wife, mom, and grandmother is finally making her debut in a magazine I read as a child – Amazing Stories. And I’m grateful to you for making my dream come true.”
Vonnie gets a pin!
You can read our responses to Ms. Crist’s letter here on the Or So You Say… Page
(Note the bonus reveal here: the post’s featured image shows a portion of the title illustration for the story A Horse and Her Boy)
Vonnie has asked me to clarify that while “A Horse and Her Boy” is her first professional sale, she has previously sold a couple of short stories to semi-professional markets. For me, this in no way detracts from the charm of her personal experience. Ira Nayman