Comments on: On Spec: The Canadian Magazine of the Fantastic, Fall 2007 – A Review

By: Karen

Karen — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 22:14:00 +0000

*sigh* Yeah.

We’ll *both* get there, though. I sent off a job application today so am trying to think positive. Hope you’re feeling a bit better healthwise. It’s good to see you posting more.

By: Rachel

Rachel — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 20:41:53 +0000

I hear ya on that one. I think I get so stressed out about whether or not there’s anything out there or if I’m doing enough to look for other work that the creativity gets scared away.

By: Karen

Karen — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 12:04:02 +0000

Hmm… writing? er… not so well.

I’ve been reading LOTS, critiquing quite a lot and writing a very little. I think the job-hunting has eaten my brain.

By: Rachel

Rachel — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 22:21:08 +0000

I hope you’re doing well, Karen. How’s that writing coming along?

By: Karen

Karen — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 22:18:36 +0000

Fantastic review, as usual. Really enjoyed it – I’m looking forward to reading the magazine for myself, one day. I’ve read an earlier draft of Chandra’s story, but am excited to see the finished version.

I like the sound of Marie Brennan’s story, Wesley Herbert’s and Leah Bobet’s. I agree with you about On Spec’s policy on submissions, too!

By: Rachel

Rachel — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 00:41:03 +0000

Thanks so much for dropping by and I really enjoyed that piece!

By: Marie Brennan

Marie Brennan — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 23:56:50 +0000

Thanks for the comments, Rachel! “Nine Sketches” is one of my favorite stories I’ve written — perhaps because I don’t know the answers to those questions you ask. Writing it felt very much like stumbling across real people who only deigned to let me in on a small slice of their lives, keeping everything else unspoken. I’m glad to know that effect carries over to the reader, too.

By: Rachel

Rachel — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 23:43:40 +0000

Poetry is so subjective out in the real world (as in – not in a college English class where you need to write a critical essay on one). Hard sometimes to pinpoint what you do or do not like about any one poem sometimes.

By: C.Rooney

C.Rooney — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 22:38:26 +0000

Thank you for your kind (biased) review, Rachel.

My favorite story in the issue was Marie Brennan’s, and I agree it should have been showcased. Odd that the published, well-establish novelist has been hidden in the middle of the magazine… but Leah Bobet is wonderfully prolific for such a young age, and I think ON SPEC has been publishing her stories for a while.

That’s odd about the poems. “Falling” was my favorite. Maybe because it was so freewrite-like.