Welcome back, science fiction fans!

The CSFF Tour is featuring Residential Aliens, the sci-fi zine that features online and print/e-reader science fiction/speculative fiction with a spiritual bent.

The site has an impressive amount of authors who have contributed. It isn’t such a niche product that there’s only five people who have written for it. I recognized a few names from our very own tour, which was way cool.

One thing you should check out is the contest to win a free copy of Dead or Alive – An Aston West Collection by T. M. Hunter. Mr. Hunter has written a few novels and several short stories featuring Aston West, a good old fashioned kind of space pirate – the kind that gets into trouble and scrapes to get out of a mess. Fan of Han Solo and Mal Reynolds? Aston fits the bill. I read his short story “Some Assembly Required” featured on the front of the ResAliens page this month. It was entertaining and drew me into Aston’s world without boring me with backstory. It was a thoughtful story contemplating the thought of free will and individual freedom, without being preachy. The ending felt a little rushed – maybe he had a word count he had to hit – but it was a worthwhile read.

Finally for today, if you like to write sci-fi or other speculative fiction, ResAliens takes submissions. They pay a small stipend, but it is a publishing credit nonetheless. Checking out the submission page today, out of 32 submissions, only 8 were accepted. They are discriminating.

Tomorrow I want to discuss a story I read on ResAliens that was particularly well done, as an example of the quality that smaller outfits like ResAliens can highlight.

As always, if you’re looking for more, go to Becky Miller’s website where she keeps track of all the posts for the tour. Don’t be blazing by in light speed – stick around and enjoy!
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