Speculative fiction consists of Science Fiction and Fantasy — among other genres. The short form of speculative fiction was developed by Edgar Allen Poe. We can envision him, bent over a desk, a raven on his shoulder or perched on the desk, writing in the wan light of a burning candle. Horror and speculation coming out of his quill pen to the vellum pages, short stories that stand the test of time are sent off to a publisher, who happily took everything he put out.
Not quite.
Poe had problems publishing. He tried to establish his own literary magazine, mostly because he wanted to control his own writing. He ran into a lot of the same problems that many writers ran into: editors who cut out his darlings, publishers who were too scared to publish the works as they were meant to be.
In those days, they didn’t have small presses.
We are lucky to have Water Dragon Publishing take on the mantle of a small press, bringing us works of speculative fiction that even Poe would be proud of.
The Winter 2024 selections include some science fiction (“Pining in the Multiverse”, “An Expedition to Enceledus”) and fantasy — with sort-of dragons, of course (“Dragonsbreath”) — consisting of the dead (“Damned Poets Society”) and the more-or-less living (“A Walk in the Garden”).
In the cold darkness of winter, while the winds howl in the blizzard outside, grab your hot beverage of choice and settle down for these twenty-six stories that will warm your mind and, perhaps, your soul.