Issue 55

NewMyths.com

A quarterly ezine by a community of writers, poets and artists.

Issue 55 - June 2021

Dear Readers,

The end of the Covid19 mask wearing is only months away. In some areas of the country it is already becoming the exception. What an uncertain feeling it is to walk into a restaurant in a new city and see no one else wearing a mask. A year and a half ago, of course, I would never have expected to see anyone wearing a mask. Now when I still wear one into an establishment whose local patrons have already returned to “normal” times, I become an outsider. The one everyone stares at.

Of all the experiences learned by writers during the pandemic this last year, here's one that any character can share. What are the local customs of each new land your character travels to? What are the expectations he should meet to blend in? A quick detail such as this, even in a short story, can bring depth to your created world and insight into your character. Communicating who you are in a new setting can sometimes depend on a slight detail such as taking off a mask, or choosing to still wear it.

And conversely, of course, interpreting what a stranger in your midst is trying to communicate to you by what she is/isn't doing may require thinking outside of your normal expectations, as the characters in Ron Ferguson's “The Sháńdíín Message” and Joshua Grasso's “The Mistress of Tea” discover.

I hope you enjoy traveling to all the wonderful new worlds you'll find in this issue!

-Susan Shell Winston, Editor

Table of Contents

Fiction

The Dryad's Books by Rachel Ayers

It is winter now, and the forest fills softly with snow. It is beautiful, but it is the dryad’s least favorite time of year.

Roots of Forgiveness by David D'Amico

This planet's amazing. A single organism with ridiculous diversity, and so many unique niches... but every sample we cut dies.

The Sháńdíín Message by Ron Ferguson

“This shuttle is from the Proxima Centauri aliens.”

“They sent a giant egg?”

“It arrived after the destruction of our probes,” Dubois says. “Hasn’t repositioned since.”

“Armed?” I glance at Hoppy.

“We don’t know.”

Tree House by Elana Gomel

The first day of loneliness was bearable.

I stayed in the Tree shrine for an hour, conferring with the priests about the Hatching. They let me touch Gregor’s face before I left, and I felt nothing. This waxen mask was not the man I had loved. He was gone.

The Mistress of Tea by Joshua Grasso

I almost ran into the Master, sitting on a bench in the Stone Gardens, where I might have mistaken him for a statue himself.

Heart in the Woods by Katherine Yellinek

The legends of Mad Jack were scarce on details. Still, two things seemed true: his obsession with his wife, and his ties to this cabin. His wife was long dead, but the cabin was right in front of us. That gave me a bad idea...

Flash Fiction

Triptych of the Final String by Daniel Ausema

The Canyon of Strings is the greatest legacy of the early settlement of the Forgotten South. The legendary seamstress Tima is said to have strung the instrument first, spinning and running the wires from rim to rim of the canyon.

Reflection by Addison Smith

I find your heart on Europa, and for a moment it is mine. It's not your real heart. It's only a fragment of your mind imprinted on light, buried deep beneath the ice.

NonFiction

SCE to Aux by Darrin Bright

52 years ago, on November 14th, 1969, John Aaron saved the Apollo 12 mission from complete disaster.

Speculation Fiction in Early Sanskrit Literature by Brishti Guha

Ancient Sanskrit had a rich tradition of speculative literature in which skilled sorcerers, talkative ghosts, soul snatchers, semi-divine beings, parallel universes, robots, and talking animals featured prominently.

The Mandalorian: Joyful Simplicity vs. Beautiful Complexity by Paul Schilling

The moral simplicity of The Mandalorian is probably its charm; fans are relieved that there is so little to argue about. It’s a tour of the Star Wars universe.

Poetry

Skull Cups by Colleen Anderson

Anthropos by Jay Caselberg

The Dead in their Own Time by F J Doucet

Gnomeville by John Reinhart

Canem Roboto by Lisa Timpf

Future Portrait of Dark Matter by Gene Twaronite