Abandoned Towers issue #1 is now available in print. To pick up your copy, just go to the AT home page at http://cyberwizardproductions.com/AbandonedTowers or go direct to the order page at http://www.lulu.com/content/4592024
Remember, you'll never find the stories and articles which are contained in the printed pages also online, so make sure you get your copy so you don't miss out. Here's what you'll find inside:
Poetry:
A Door into Summer by Elizabeth Barrette
Enthralled by Sarah Ashwood
Where Sleeping Monsters Lay by Aurelio Rico Lopez III
Non-fiction:
Sheepish by Lyn McConchie
I have a small farm. I have a flock of colored sheep along with free-range geese and hens, and currently, a yearling steer named Sooty. I do the sheep dosing, their foot trimming, and necessary shepherding - including helping a lambing ewe at need, while a nice chap comes in to do the shearing each year. People make assumptions about sheep; the main one is that they're stupid.
Jonah Hex (Part 1) by Eric S Brown
In 1972, writer John Albano and artist Tony Dezuniga created one of DC's most memorable and longest running characters. His name: Jonah Hex.
The Doom Patrol: Overlooked Heroes by Eric S Brown
The Doom Patrol was an attempt by DC to merge their popular horror/monster comics with the much more glamorous superhero genre. The title became an instant cult classic among more mature readers and maintains a loyal following of fans to this day despite four cancellations and reboots of the series.
Fiction:
The Countess d'Argenton by Bruce Durham
Dundee sighed. She was scared, and no doubt unsure of her fate. He reached across the table for a jug of wine and two cups. The splash of liquid was the only sound to break the silence. He pushed one before her. "Drink. It will settle you." He sat back as she stared at the cup. He took a drink from his and set it down. He leaned forward. "You have nothing to fear, Madame. You are under the protection of Sir Langton, and Sir Langton answers to me."
The countess nodded haltingly before taking the cup in both hands. She drank deep and then nervously smiled her thanks. "I am told you are an honorable man. More honorable than most of your kind, that is." Her English was lightly accented. Dundee found it pleasing to his ear.
The Forgotten by Martin Turton
"Are you all right? You don't look well." Rourke was making things worse, he knew. He shook his head and ran a hand over his face. "No…no, I'm fine, really." The words sounded strange as Rourke uttered them. How long had it been since he had spoken to an actual person? Two weeks? Maybe even three.
The Mark didn't look convinced as he studied Rourke, his head tilted to one side. "Well, I was just heading over to Sandy's for a drink." He nodded towards the bar which Rourke had watched him visit every day for the past six days, exactly the same time each day. "Come with me. You look like you could do with a drink."
Go Time by Richard Berrigan Jr.
I believe the devil is real. He institutes diabolical little tricks that trap humans into situations that make us desperate. Last night I gorged myself on one of them: the Tripple-Cripple Four Alarm Nacho platter with jalapeno butter and a Mega cola combo meal.
Minkus, the Masterful Magic-Mender by Hannah Steenbock
Watch out. As the voice is warning me, Mottle issues a snort as well, and I lift my eyes.
Somebody is coming, and in spite of my old eyes I can soon discern that it is just a child. I don't bother with courtesy and stay on my log. Only when he is standing directly in front of me, I realize that it is the boy whose knight I mended in the market place.
"I wanted to bring you this." The child holds out a small basket containing a few eggs in its woven grasp. "It's payment for the knight."
I take the basket he offers me with such a grave look in his eyes. Rejecting it would only insult his pride. "Thank you, my dear. Now, tell me about your brother. Did he like the knight?"
The boy shakes his head and turns his gaze away from me. A heartbeat later, he seems to reach a decision, and his dark eyes come back to meet mine.
"He is dead," the boy says simply. "They are all dead."
Nothing Succeeds Like Suks-X by Ralan Conley
The blinking-red warning-light irritated the bejhops out of Yorpsat. The wailing crash siren didn't help his temper much either. The worst thing was, he had no idea what to do about either. Like most Sevidian Ultrasound Kleening System sales-reps, his knowledge of his SUKS X Saucer, well -- sucked.
His six-fingered hands fluttered over the instrument panel aching to find something to save his gray skin.
Yorpsat's huge black eyes lit up. "Ah, that must be the stasis field button." He stabbed the button marked SF.
A pressure suit clanked out of a bulkhead and clamped itself around his nude body. Yorpsat always went through hyperspace naked -- he hated how the reality shift turned his underwear inside out.
Murphy the Android and his Law by Danny Birt
"No! Bad! Bad nuclear warhead! Sit!"
Murphy was so beside himself with anxiety as he watched the nose of the missile poke out of the silo doors that he was performing what many kindergarten teachers would call ‘the pee-pee dance.'
Gifts of Anubis by Lyn McConchie
She was a mongrel, owned no longer, her dam's master had cast her out to die. When she was a tiny puppy a cartwheel had severed most of her tail. As the runt of an over-large litter she had received little milk so that her short legs were further bowed with rickets.
Her fur was patchy and harsh, her ears small and ragged. Only her eyes were beautiful. A warm lustrous brown, they glowed with a need to love and be loved. But even in a city filled with people there was no one that chose her. She was ugly, stunted and worthless in human eyes so that none reached out to claim her heart.
The Mentor and the Apprentice by Aaron French
An overabundance of rejection slips had convinced Simon Hafford that editors cared little for the upcoming writer. He also suspected they merely ran the author's name through a search engine, and went by the results. He'd even tried gluing pages nine and ten together before sending the piece off. Sure enough, when the story came back the pages hadn't been unstuck, and his dreams of being published fell away.
Game of Chance by Robin Widmar
The fat merchant at Graystone Manor. That was all Arel's mysterious employer had said. No sane man of his caliber would accept such a vague assignment, and Arel nearly didn't. In the end, the promise of enough gold to fund a long and comfortable retirement triumphed over discretion. But was the gold worth the risk?
Maybe.
Pulling black kidskin gloves over slender fingers, Arel slipped into a gloomy alley that reeked of urine and rotting garbage. Feathery clouds floated across a nearly-full moon, its intermittent glare just one more annoyance to endure. Fortunately, the late hour had driven even the most devoted tavern patrons to their beds, and the seaside town had assumed the appearance of an abandoned settlement. He had only to avoid the night watch easily done since the lazy goons spent more time patrolling dice games than streets.
Old Nag by Jeff Parish
It was full dark when Pete jerked upright. He found it a relief to be awake despite his exhaustion, away from hazy dreams of Rose's flirtations and his wife's haranguing. But what woke him? Everything seemed quiet. He lay back down. Sleep had nearly reclaimed him when a sound came like thunder walking across the prairie.
A glance out the window showed a clear sky around the full moon. Not that he really expected to see any clouds. He knew that sound too well, and it wasn't thunder.
He dashed out on the porch, turning in every direction in an effort to locate the source. It sounded close. Where's Olivia? She should be out here. She's always the devil on anyone firing a gun near the house. The rifle barked again just as Pete spotted light spilling from the open barn door. He jumped off the steps and raced toward the barn. He skidded to a halt and stared slack jawed as Olivia stood next to Bell's motionless body, pointing the barrel of his Winchester at the horse. Two bloody holes already marred the white splotch on Bell's head. A third trailed blood across her chest.
Special Feature:
Temple of Doom Party Menu created by Aleta Clegg
Sautéed Beetles with Mint Lemonade
Eyeball Soup
Jungle Salad and Cranberry Surprise
Snake Surprise with Garlic Toast and Apple Grog
Chilled Monkey Brains
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