Name the Main Character in Beyond the Mist!

Posted on 01/06/2015 by Ben Zwycky

How many times have you been offered the chance to name a character in a published work? And how many times has that been for the main character of a work where a substantial portion has already been published?

As those of you who have been following Beyond the Mist know*, the main character has no memory of who he was, would like to recover his old name, but has the option of choosing a new one for himself. The instalment in Issue 6 has been tweaked so that it will end just as he is about to choose a new name, and I am inviting Sci Phi Journal’s readers to choose what that will be.

This will be done in the form of a contest; the winning entry will determine his legal name in the story world from that point forward, (and will remain so even if he later discovers what his old name was). This name will reflect what he has discovered about himself so far, as well as what kind of man he intends to become in the future.

The format of the contest is as follows:

Choose a first name and family name, and write a short justification for choosing those names.

Email your entry to editor@sciphijournal.com with ‘Beyond the Mist Contest’ in the subject line (important, if you don’t do that, your entry will not get to me.)

The closing date for entries is 11.59pm GMT on the 14^th of July (approximately two weeks after Issue 6 is published, so that people can adjust their suggestions according to what they learn about the main character in chapters 10 and 11). This will give me enough time to decide on the winner and incorporate it into the next instalment.

The winner (chosen by me) will be announced publicly in Issue 7, will receive a free printed copy of that issue as well as signed copies of Nobility Among Us and Selected Verse: Faith and Family. The printed copy of the journal may take a number of weeks to arrive, depending on the winner’s location in the world.

The contest is now open, good luck and spread the word as widely as you can, please!

*and if you haven’t been following the story, now is your chance to catch up, since chapter 1 can be read for free here, and the ebook versions of issues 1-4 of Sci Phi Journal are now half price for the whole of this month.

Sci Phi Journal on Sale!

Posted on 31/05/2015 by Ben Zwycky

To celebrate the editor’s 40th birthday, he has decided to reduce the price of the first four issues of Sci Phi Journal to only $1.99 at amazon and Castalia House for the next month.

So if you haven’t grabbed copies of this fine periodical yet (and got yourself thoroughly hooked on Beyond the Mist), now’s your chance to begin a series of literary and philosophical journeys you won’t regret

http://superversivesf.com/2015/05/30/sci-phi-journal-on-sale-now/

A special Beyond the Mist event will be announced soon…

New Poster for Nobility Among Us

Posted on 30/05/2015 by Ben Zwycky

There is going to be a major announcement concerning Beyond the Mist in a few days, so watch out for that.

In the meantime I uploaded a slightly better formatted ebook of Nobility Among Us to amazon, and put together a new poster, what do people think?

More Praise for Beyond the Mist!

Posted on 01/05/2015 by Ben Zwycky

More people have positive things to say about Beyond the Mist,

Patrick S. Baker’s 5-star review of Sci Phi Journal Issue 5 at amazon:

Could not be better! The stories are very good, of course. The excellent Beyond the Mist by Ben Zwycky continues. HMS Mangled Treasure by L. Jagi Lamplighter is also an excellent combo of tough broad straight from a film noir, whimsy and Peter Pan: “a whole can of whup on your sorry ass” might be my new signature block.

And Kevin Stuart Lee over at John C. Wright’s blog had this to say:

“Beyond the Mist” was one of the few stories out of Issue 2 I thoroughly enjoyed, and I’ve been enjoying it more as it goes along. At first blush I thought it was a cut-and-dry hell/purgatory/heaven allegory, but as the narrative goes deeper and the adventure keeps unfolding, I find myself having no actual clue what’s going on, and I love it! It’s guaranteed fun and mystery, and I look forward to each new installment.

It’s also the first serial I’ve ever had the pleasure to read in serial form, so thank you for making my first experience a most pleasant one.

Go to the Beyond the Mist page, follow the links and grab yourself a copy (or 4) of Sci Phi Journal to see for yourself.

Issue 5 of Sci Phi Journal Coming Soon!

Posted on 26/04/2015 by Ben Zwycky

The next issue of Sci Phi Journal, featuring chapters 8 and 9 of Beyond the Mist as well as some excellent other stories and articles, is in the final proofreading stage and on schedule to be ready for its release at the end of this month, so here is a little sneak peak at the cover and internal art by Cat Leonard:

Sci Phi Journal Issue 4 is out now, and more reviewer Praise for Beyond the Mist!

Posted on 27/02/2015 by Ben Zwycky

Issue 4 of the Sci Phi Journal, featuring chapters 6 and 7 of Beyond the Mist, is now available for purchase in ebook form at Amazon and Castalia House and in paperback form at Amazon and Createspace.

Patrick S.Baker, author of On the Ethics of Super Soldiers, The Crescent and the Hammer and many others, had this to say about it:

My reviews of this fine publication have become a bit redunant, I’ll admit. But sadly there are only so many synonyms for excellent and thought- provoking.
The continuation of Beyond the Mist by Ben Zwycky alone is worth the price.

Needless to say, upon reading his comment I was jumping about for joy like an excited three-year-old (Luckily we had one to hand for calibration purposes, all relevant parameters matched well beyond the accepted level of statistical significance)

Get your copy today and see if you think his embarrassingly high praise is justified.

Issue 4 of Sci Phi Journal is coming soon!

Posted on 23/02/2015 by Ben Zwycky

I have just finished proofreading Issue 4 of Sci Phi Journal, which includes chapters 6 and 7 of Beyond the Mist. The final version should be off to the distributors in a couple of days and ready for you good people to enjoy in exchange for a small amount of your hard-earned local coinage before the end of the month. In the meantime, feast your eyes on the delightful cover artwork by the irrepressible Cat Leonard:

Sci Phi Journal Issue 4

Sci Phi Art by Cat Leonard

Posted on 09/02/2015 by Ben Zwycky

The ever awesome artist Cat Leonard has been at it again, producing evocative painting after painting to illustrate stories from the Sci Phi Journal. You can take a look at them here:

http://www.sciphijournal.com/teaser-art-for-issue-4/

Additionally, through the wonders of modern technology, you can now order all sorts of merchandise incorporating those paintings, so for example you can have a tasteful Beyond the Mist T-shirt (or even pillow or duvet cover, to help you dream about the Gravity Ring) delivered to your door:

http://www.redbubble.com/people/sciphijournal/works/13778414-beyond-the-mist-illustration?grid_pos=24&p=t-shirt

Spreading the Word about the Sci Phi Journal

Posted on 14/01/2015 by Ben Zwycky

I trust that at least some of my fine readers and followers have taken a look at an issue or two of the Sci Phi Journal and have liked what you saw there, I certainly have. It is showing a lot of promise, but the economic realities of publishing mean that in order to be sustainable in the long term, its readership will need to keep on growing, as the editor outlines at the link below:

http://www.sciphijournal.com/how-sci-phi-is-going/

I am sure that there are plenty of other people out there who like depths to their stories and to explore the depths of the stories they like, and so would love the journal if they knew about it. The next part of Beyond the Mist will be appearing in the next issue, which is in the works, but how long it will take until it and subsequent issues appear will depend on the level of readership. So, my discerning friends, I would ask if any of you are part of a community of science fiction fans or writers, or of philosophers; or know anyone in a philosophy department, or in the media, please consider suggesting to them to take a look, every little increase in the potential audience will help.

Meet (or Hear) the Man Behind the Curtain

Posted on 03/01/2015 by Ben Zwycky

Last month I was interviewed for the Sci Phi Journal in connection with my ongoing contribution in the form of the serial Beyond the Mist. Be amazed at my boring voice and semi-coherent ramblings!

http://www.sciphijournal.com/meet-the-contributor-ben-zwycky/

(This was the first audio interview I have ever given, so hopefully I will get better at it with practice, assuming there will be a next time)

The Zwyckyverse

Poetry, prose and song by Ben Zwycky, Founding Member of the Superversive Movement

Tag Archives: Beyond the Mist