A Rain of Frogs

Acknowledgements

What happens to a Sci-Fi or Fantasy story after it has been published—the remainder pile, a sporadic reprint, oblivion? Without the helping hands who get a well-deserved accolade here, the heavy lifting would have been overwhelming. Typically the afterlife of a tale consists of gathering dust until the writer's heirs and assigns shred it for packing nick-knacks and other writerly impedimenta. Not quite the half-life of linoleum. Hence onetinleg.com. To misquote Walt Kelly's Pogo: “We have seen the future and it's not yet...” The call, dear reader, is yours.

The website background image is “Gabriel.” The original illustration is copyright Kenn Brown and Mondolithic Studios and used by permission. No unauthorized duplication or distribution without explicit permission from the copyright holder.

The quote, “Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known,” is the handiwork of Carl Sagan, astronomer (1934-1996). Dr. Sagan is reported to have said: “They laughed at Einstein. They laughed at the Wright Brothers. But they also laughed at Bozo the Clown.”

The original photograph for the onetinleg.com logo, “They All Look at Another Side,” is the copyrighted work of the artist María de la Puente Bernardos and is used by permission.

The original cover art for the print version of Platterland, “2 of Swords,” is the copyrighted work of Anna Wilkenfeld and is used with permission.

The original painting which adorns the cover of The Quilter who went to Hell, “Furry Venus,” is the copyrighted work of the artist Bobbie Jean Pentecost and is used with permission.

The original photograph for the Lost in Willipaq print version title page, “Tribute―The Perfect Shot,” is copyright Garrit Pieper and is used by permission.

The original painting for the Lucy and the Mouse vignette from Midwife in the Tire Swing, “Tragödie,” is copyright Tina Blondell and is used by permission.

The original artwork for the Manticore's Tale is copyright Markus Neidel and is used by permission.

Lee Suta drew the pen and ink for “Just loved your book” on this page, and holds all copyright to his work. Lee―an artist who lives down the road from me in Robbinston, Maine―created the illustrations for Magnetic Betty, the picture book.

I lifted the idea of posting MP3 downloads of the tales of onetinleg.com from a Jim Kelly column in Asimov’s. James Patrick Kelly is a writer of surpassing skill, and his column On The Net is a must-read.

And credit where credit is due: without an encounter with Eric Meyer's Complex Spiral, my fantasy of a website that didn't look like it just fell off the back of a truck would be languishing yet on the reef of the unrealized. He writes books; buy them. I did.

OTL stuff: a handsome coffee mug emblazoned with our Bug-eyed Girl, the onetinleg.com logo. The OTL storefront is hosted by Cafe Press. Pause, browse, buy a trinket to thrill your significant other, delight the little ones or hold your pencils, and the tales of onetinleg will stay free. Thanks for helping out with the heavy lifting that keeps the website afloat.

Lost in Willipaq — Lovers, Losers, and Part-time Demons

The trade paperback. Click here to buy from the author. Click here to buy from Amazon.com. Like free? Lost in Willipaq is available as an eBook download: Adobe .pdf  ePub  Kindle compatible (Mobipocket .prc)

Ginny Levitan and her husband, Jim, are inspecting a possible retirement home at the outset of Rob Hunter’s “The Song of the Rice Barge Coolie.” With the aid of real estate agent Barbara Casmirczak—“Call me Babs”—they buy the odd dwelling and soon discover they have an ant infestation. What raises this above the typical tale of marital discord is the alternating sections told from the ants’ POV. Insects are nothing new to horror fiction, but Hunter elevates this tale above the standard fare with engaging characters, keen POV shifts, and a quirkiness of style that makes the outcome most satisfying. While the dénouement was inevitable, it left me with a devious grin on my face. Impressive.

—Marshall Payne in The Fix Online

“...exceptionally well written.” (The Song of the Rice Barge Coolie)

—Linda Landrigan, Editor Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine

I loved “Facelift.” It's like “Ghost World”, “Only You Can Save The Universe”, and “Welcome to the Dollhouse” mixed together. Teen angst, comics / sf geekdom, and Pratchett / Holt / Fforde lunacy in one package.

—Robert Moriyama, Short Story Editor Aphelion

Shape shifting stories include one type of being transforming into another. A vampire or werewolf story would be a typical example. Yet far from typical is Rob Hunter’s Boys’ Night Out (Summer 2005 issue) werewolf story. The gated community of Sur la Mer is built to keep men in instead of out.

—Susan MacGregor, Fiction Editor On Spec, writing
about Boys' Night Out in the Spring, 2006 issue.

I kept getting drawn back into the manuscript  (The Year They Invented Frozen Lemonade). I picked back and forth through it for approximately six hours. It ‘works’ like a rather interesting puzzle (and this may be part of the story’s strong appeal to me).

—Michael R. Colangelo, Fiction Editor
The Harrow: Original Works of Fantasy and Horror

Thanks for giving us such a well-crafted, entertaining, and flat-out funny story to enjoy (I Want to Share Your Wheat).

—Donna Thiel-Cook, Editor
Demensions-Doorways to Science Fiction and Fantasy

Advertising may be described as the science of arresting human intelligence long enough to get money from it.

—Stephen Leacock