Wyldblood Magazine issue 1
Wyldblood Magazine is the new bi-monthly speculative fiction magazine from Wyldblood Press. For the writers, it's a paying market based in the UK. For readers, it's 11 stories ranging between 4 and 10 pages each, plus an author interview (Tiffani Angus) and some book reviews. The editor Mark Bilsborough was kind enough to send me a review copy, so here's a quick scoot through what you can expect.
Coal Dust and Shadows by Holley Cornetto is a good old-fashioned eerie story set in a mining town in the USA. An odd girl is rescued from a mine, and seventeen-year-old Preston's in love. But is this silent girl as innocent as she seems? One of my favourites from this issue.
Thawing by JL George is firmly in the realm of fantasy, set in a world where cold-bringing dragons are feared. A young girl is enthralled by the legend of the ice princess but how close is it to the truth?
The Butcher's Dog by Peri Dwyer Worrell is a light-hearted tale of animal experiments, narrated by the dog of the title. Who is really in charge in this human-canine relationship?
A Gleam of Gold by Dorothy A Winsor is a fantasy tale in a land where magic is seen as barbaric. We meet Jarka as he begins to learn the mastery of his magical skills. This reads like a selfcontained excerpt from a longer story, there's definitely a sense of a fully-formed world out there with a past and a future.
Bargaining with Frogs by Stephanie Kraner is a fun take on the frog prince fairytale.
Et In Vanadia Ego by Rosemary Sgroi is science-fiction. In a society geared for cyclists, where energy is currency, a young man has fallen in love with a woman from Vanadia, the last outpost of capitalism.
Little Escher by Robert Borski. Is there more to a little boy's drawing ability than his father thinks?
A Murder of Crows by Jacey Bedford is a gripping story with a noir edge. Anka works for the Port Authority, basically she's a cop, and having just lost an apprentice she's determined to go it alone when her greatest foe shows up in the city. My personal favourite, I think, and anyone else with a fondness for William Gibson's style will probably also love this one.
The Paint-Over Artist by Mark Rigney is sci-fi initially feeling like fantasy. A secluded authoritarian state, and the woman whose job it is to paint over graffiti and subversive slogans. Another favourite of mine.
Souls of Smoke and Ash by Sydney Paige Guerrero is set in the Philippines and nudges into vampire territory without the gore. It's a compelling character-driven tale of betrayal, teenage identity and loneliness.
The Klizzys by Bonnie West is a sad and unsettling tale of a grieving child and imaginary friends.
The stories range in tone from light-hearted to dark and tense, and cover sub-genres across the speculative spectrum. Not every story will be to everyone's taste, and it's skewed towards fantasy but only because the submissions were, I think - if you want to redress the balance submit some good sci-fi, or nudge your favourite sci-fi short story writer to do so. Wyldblood magazine has the potential to become one of those broad-taste SF mags like Interzone, where you know you'll find stories of a certain calibre and there's sure to be something to entice you, even if you won't like every story in every issue.
The interview with Tiffani Angus was interesting and really made me want to read her novel - my To Read list just keeps on growing. Threading the Labyrinth is essentially about the garden of a large English house, over several centuries. She gave some insight into the amount (and types) of research involved in writing real history with fantasy and time travel elements. The editor then rounds out the issue with a few book reviews - most of them seem to be books that didn't quite satisfy him! However, he gives the sort of detailed reasons that should help you work out whether the book still sounds like it's your cup of tea.
It would be nice to see some commissioned artwork in the magazine but I know that racks up the costs so maybe it's unrealistic at this early stage. It can enhance a good SF story though. I guess you'd expect that viewpoint from the founder of International Illustrator Appreciation Day...
Issue 2 is due out mid-March as print, pdf, epub and mobi editions. You can buy individual print or electronic copies or take out a subscription at the Wyldblood website, individual copies are also available via Amazon.