Updates galore.

Wow, somehow it's been two weeks since the last post here, and I wanted to let folks know BULL SPEC is still here, and that there are a few updates on what BULL SPEC has been up to, bullet point style:

1. Spanish narration is (beautifully!) done for our first benefit short, Joe Meno's "The Architecture of the Moon," thanks to Yda Balcazar. Additional huge thanks to Itzel Leaf, Spanish translator, and Matthew Nis Leerberg, who provided editing for the Spanish translation. Andrew Matte finished his first draft of the French translation, but there's still some work to do there to edit, finalize, and narrate. Finally, I had a chance to sit down with the folks at Durham Literacy about the project, and they're excited to see the end result. So am I!
2. The transcriptions of the Lee Hammock and Sci Fi Genre Comics & Games interviews came in at 8000+ and 9000+ words, respectively. Both were a lot of fun, and many thanks here to the interviewees as well as to Chris Hemp, who handled the video.
3. BULL SPEC #1 will include a second original short story, by Raleigh's Peter Wood.
4. BULL SPEC #1 will include a steampunk short story by local author Natania Barron. She said it was an awesome thing, and who am I to argue?
5. BULL SPEC #1 will include a "Mystic Israel"-set Choose Your Own Adventure by Uri Grey.
6. BULL SPEC #1 will also include an excerpt of local author Michael Jasper's novel A Gathering of Doorways.
7. And now the bad news. BULL SPEC #1 is not going to make the hoped for "go to print" date of "late January." I'd rather take a little more time to get a few more things right (and hopefully finally finish that crossword?) than rush something that's not finished, though eventually I will stop tinkering and "press the button." So: the "Spring" issue will be available in mid-to-late-February.
8. Going along with that, BULL SPEC will not be opening for submissions on 1 February. I need to finish #1 and have a few days to breathe, so certainly not before 10 February and I will keep everyone posted.

Sneak peek: "Closed System" by Mike Gallagher.

"Closed System" is a graphic short story (comic book) which will be serialized in the 2010 quarterly run of BULL SPEC. When artist and writer Mike Gallagher pitched the idea of a "guide to time travel by giant disembodied ape head" I must say I was pretty interested. When he sent me the first sketches I knew I had the artist I wanted, and now that I have the first installment of the story for BULL SPEC #1 I can't wait to show it off. So, the cover for CLOSED SYSTEM:

Interested? There's more: a sneak peek inside the first installment.

BULL SPEC #1 will be available at...

At least three fine local bookstores, and of course online where some pre-orders have indeed started to trickle in. Thanks very much for those, it is deeply appreciated.

First up was The Regulator Bookshop on 9th Street in Durham. They've been my local bookstore for almost 10 years now, and were very enthusiastic and supportive of carrying the magazine. So enthusiastic that we're trying to work out a date for the BULL SPEC #1 launch party there in early February! I'm glad to be able to say (after having a nice meeting with them) that some folks from Durham Literacy will be there as all BULL SPEC proceeds from sales at the launch party are going to them and I really hope it will be a fun event, with readings from some of our local narrators and translators, maybe some other fun in the works. More to come on that in the coming weeks to be sure.

Then a very happy New Years Eve bit of news for me was hearing back from the excellent Quail Ridge Books & Music in Raleigh that they'd love to find me some shelf space as well, and yesterday I found out that I'll also have a place to call "home" in Chapel Hill in the form of Internationalist Books on West Franklin Street.

Thanks very much to the folks at these great local bookstores for, sight unseen, being so supportive and positive about carrying BULL SPEC. It's very much appreciated and I'm still feeling the warm fuzzies from the well wishes.