October 2022

It was a hot, dry summer here in Boston, but now it's gotten cool and damp, as evidenced by the poisonous mushrooms erupting from our lawn.

Pro tip: don't eat anything called "Destroying Angel".

We've been reading the Mysterion submissions from July. It's just Kristin and Donald reading them this time around. As of writing this post on Sunday night, we have 116 unread submissions, 6 that have been read and liked by one of us and are waiting to be reviewed by the other, and 3 that have advanced to the final round of consideration.

Don't miss our September story, by Alex Sobel! In "The Practical Ending", superheroes are real, but you can't expect them to save you. We especially liked the strong characterization in this one.

For October, you can look forward to e rathke's "Heretic", a portal fantasy about a Catholic priest. (Despite what we always say about getting far too many story submissions about Catholic priests, we do occasionally accept and publish them, if they're very good. The fact that the priest is not the viewpoint character in this one helps to set it apart.)

In November, returning Mysterion author Duke Kimball brings us "My Soul, and With the Sun", a dystopian near-future science fiction tale about mass surveillance and failing political regimes. While you're waiting, you can always read (or re-read) Duke's last story for us, "Change Of Life".

A reminder that you can read all our fiction at least a few weeks early by subscribing to our Patreon for $3 a month (there are higher and lower tiers available, but this is the most popular one). Our Patreon page is our single greatest source of income for the magazine (if you don't count Donald's day job), but it still covers less than half the cost of paying our authors and artists for the wonderful work they do. So if you appreciate the fiction we're publishing here at Mysterion, please consider signing up!

We'll be at the World Fantasy Convention in New Orleans at the end of the month; probably not in any official capacity, but do feel free to say hello and introduce yourself if you notice us wandering around aimlessly and recognize the names on our badges (or even if our wandering isn't that aimless). Hopefully, we'll be able to travel to out-of-town conventions more often going forward. However, the last few years have reminded us of the need to hold all our plans and expectations loosely.

Cat Content

Windy days and cold nights tend to bring Maxwell and Marie in from the porch. At night, we wake to find them on our bed, using us as hot water bottles. During the day, they meow to be let into our offices while we're trying to work. Sometimes we relent and let them in; often we regret it.

Maxwell in Kristin's office trash basket.

Marie helping Donald play video games.

We have to get back to reading your story submissions, but be sure to come back next month for our World Fantasy con report, garden update, and, of course, more cat pictures. Until then!

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