Volume 46, Issue 4
Fall 2023

Star*Line 46.4 cover
Cover: Struggle for the Starbox
© Austin Arthur Hart

Wyrms & Wormholes

Diffuse

Do you ever find yourself stumped about what to write? And do you get sick of staring at a screen? I do, and I’m pretty sure that every writer faces this problem from time to time. As with most problems, the answer often lies with diffuse thinking. When we look away from a problem the answer will sometimes present itself, similar to the way that being outside of one’s general environment will force forgotten memories to surface. I frequently speak to writers who are struggling to find clarity and can think of nothing but their manuscript. It’s easy to get mired in the work and lose sight of the big picture. Because of this, I almost always suggest doing something that has nothing to do with writing, preferably outdoors and physical, or with your hands (if possible), or to take a deep dive into an unrelated field, something that you think will not interest you. Pretty much everything is interesting if you scratch beneath the surface, and solutions to problems can often be found by looking at how another field has addressed similar issues. I once answered a writing question by picking up a camera and doing a series of photographs about a related topic. Sometimes the answer can be found while in the hypnogogic state between waking and sleep. Step away from the work if you have to, infuse yourself with new information, or simply relax. The answers will come, so be kind to yourself.

—Jean-Paul L. Garnier, Star*Line Editor


Buy this issue of Star*Line in print for $5.00 plus $2 U.S./$3 international shipping, or as .pdf for $2.50.

To order, pay SFPATreasurer@gmail.com via PayPal. Credit-card payments are accepted through PayPal.

Or send a check made out to the SFPA the PO Box listed on the officers page.

Better yet, become a member and never miss an issue!

Star*Line Staff:

Editor: Jean-Paul L. Garnier
Layout: F. J. Bergmann
Production Manager: F. J. Bergmann
Mailing: Brian U. Garrison

Star*Line Reviews
Star*Line Archives
Star*Line History
Star*Line Contributor Bios

spacer

Table of Contents

Departments

  • Wyrms & Wormholes * Jean-Paul Garnier
  • SFPA Announcements
  • President’s Message * Colleen Anderson
  • From the Small Press * John Reinhart, Lisa Timpf
  • Stealth SF * “The Gloves Come Off, Part I” * Denise Dumars
  • SpecPo Publishing * Interview with Casey Aimer * Jean-Paul Garnier
  • Xenopoetry * Werwolf/Werewolf * F.J. & Fred W. Bergman

Art

  • Struggle for the Starbox * Austin Arthur Hart
  • Galaxy Eye * Denny E. Marshall
  • Melting * Jade Sng
  • Vault * Denny E. Marshall
  • Attack of the Missile Robots * Denny E. Marshall

Poetry

  • The Dream-Ships of the Yser * Goran Lowie
  • Headlines from Utopia * Lynne Sargent
  • Gods of the Landfill * Pedro Iniguez
  • The Alien Words, Formed and Empty * Daniel Ausema
  • I didn’t know the lights … * Richard Magahiz
  • Time Crystals * F. J. Bergmann
  • Personal Demons * Mary Soon Lee
  • Halogenorium * Miguel O. Mitchell
  • Rita Levi-Montalcini (1909–2012) * Jessy Randall
  • Ravages of Time * F. J. Bergmann
  • Acrylic Beads * David C. Kopaska-Merkel & Kendall Evans
  • Ode to aerogel * Richard Magahiz
  • Foaming * Mahaila Smith
  • Greetings from the Future! * Jason P. Burnham
  • Our Past * Timons Esaias
  • [feeling] * Christina Sng
  • [starless sky] * Ryan J. M. Tan
  • [lightspeed travel] * Lisa Timpf
  • Gorgon Restricted * Gerri Leen
  • Multi-Species Spacecraft Crew Consensus * John H. Dromey
  • Preserved * X. S. Aaron
  • [Zombie get-together sucks] * Alan Ira Gordon
  • Human Laughter * Ciarán Parkes
  • Surrealia #16 * Miguel O. Mitchell
  • [Alpha Centaurians] * LeRoy Gorman
  • microcosm * Russell Nichols
  • My Grotesque Treasure * Abi Marie Palmer
  • Scattered * Devan Barlow
  • 4-D Mirror * Francis W. Alexander
  • The Permanence of Stone * Beth Cato & Rhonda Parrish
  • [Chrononauts! Objects] * Howard V. Hendrix
  • Digital Desire * A J Dalton
  • [plein air] * Ann K. Schwader
  • Things I Should’ve Told You * Bill Abbott
  • Carcinisation * Richard Magahiz
  • The Curator of Curses * LindaAnn LoSchiavo
  • [religious robots] * Randall Andrews
  • Gemini * Jean-Marie Romana
  • Death Idle * Soren James
  • Kalanchoe daigremontiana * Marisca Pichette
  • Mnemosyne * Devan Barlow
  • Ice and Fire * Roger Dutcher
  • Borne on a Hundred Wings * Anna Madden
  • Emissaries * Ann K. Schwader & David C. Kopaska-Merkel
  • Some Things Never Change * Marsheila Rockwell
  • The Spider Invasion * Kendall Evans
  • [The dryad waits] * Sarah Cannavo
  • A Catalog of Shade * Jennifer Crow
  • Prairie In The Sky * Robert Frazier
  • Blow out the Candles * Cassandra Blomberg
  • Heirs of Wickedness * Roger Dutcher
  • The Ones Who Stayed * Goran Lowie
  • [frozen corpses] * Sarah Das Gupta
  • [zombie yoga] * Lauren McBride
  • five o’clock traffic * D. A. Xiaolin Spires
  • The Year It Changed * David C. Kopaska-Merkel
  • [A mouth awaited] * Debby Feo
  • Bottom of the Jar * Beth Cato
  • You Can’t Keep Bananas on Saturn * Brian U. Garrison
  • Creamed Corn * H. Russell Smith
  • Photosynthesis * Eva Papasoulioti
  • The Princess and the Peewee * PS Cottier
  • Mass-Market Affair * Casey Aimer
  • UAP * Wendy Van Camp
  • Next Time * F. J. Bergmann
  • Bossa Nova in the Blues Bar on Blue Mars * Libby Graham
  • They call us brethren monsters * Ngo Binh Anh Khoa
  • A New Mythology * Dawn Vogel
  • [Kong plucks] * Dennis Maulsby
  • [woodsmoke …] * Greg Schwartz
  • hospitable * Lorraine Schein
  • How Ironic * John H. Dromey
  • [a soldier bleeding out] * Royal Baysinger
  • [warning! Earth is not] * Howard V. Hendrix
  • Wandering Star * Rick A. Pearson
  • [in a dark bazaar] * Barun Saha
  • end in sight * Benjamin Whitney Norris

background image sfpa logo