All of the People, All of the Time

Who are these people who say Stupefying Stories never gets round to publishing you? Let them stand up and come forth, I say! Yea! Come the four corners of the world in arms and we shall shock them!

Very well. Enough said. By way of proof I offer All of the People, All of the Time a short story by yours truly written so long ago that its origins are lost in the mists of time.

Any resemblance between this story and the sort of stuff I write nowadays is quite similar to the resemblance provided by my recent story in Sci Phi Journal which also rested on the launching pad until the gantry rusted.

In fact the story has quite a history. Way back in the dim and distant days when I used to enter writing club competitions an early version of this story once made a shortlist. It was quite crude compared to this version because, fortunately, I've learned a bit about the craft since then. Nevertheless I hope it illustrates a point I often try to make to beginners: good ideas will still be good ideas when you are able to come back with the skills to put them into practice.

Anyway - a story in print is a story in print. This is either number ten or number eleven depending on whether you count the podcast by Gallery of Curiosities. These days publication takes so many weird and wonderful forms that I count everything I get.

Of course, you all know me, I'd do that anyway.