DreamForge Anvil | Issue 17
Explore our capacity for empathy and acceptance in DreamForge Anvil 17, where the theme "Each and Other" challenges us to see humanity in the most unexpected places. From an alien invasion in the psychedelic '60s to the restricted life of palace elites, this issue presents tales of connection in the face of destiny. Meet a ghostly theatre caretaker, discover a supernatural grotto of healing, and witness a father's battle with dementia as he saves the future. These stories remind us that our humanity is shared across the room, beyond the stars, and in memories just out of reach.
Our Contributors
Scott Edelman
The Neighborly Thing to Do
Scott Edelman has published more than 120 short stories in magazines such as Lightspeed, Analog, Apex, and The Twilight Zone, and in anthologies such as Why New Yorkers Smoke, Crossroads: Southern Tales of the Fantastic, and MetaHorror.

His collection of zombie fiction, What Will Come After was a finalist for the Shirley Jackson Memorial Award, and was followed by a collection of zombie novelettes, Liars, Fakers, and the Dead Who Eat Them. His science fiction short stories have been collected in What We Still Talk About from Fantastic Books.

His most recent collections include Tell Me Like You Done Before: and Other Stories Written on the Shoulders of Giants and Things That Never Happened, the latter of which caused Publishers Weekly to write, "his talent is undeniable. He has been a Stoker Award finalist eight times, both in the category of Short Story and Long Fiction. He is also the author of the Lambda Award-nominated novel "The Gift".

Edelman also worked for the Syfy Channel for 13+ years as editor of Science Fiction Weekly, SCI FI Wire, and Blastr. He was the founding editor of Science Fiction Age, which he edited during its entire eight-year run. He also edited SCI FI magazine, previously known as Sci-Fi Entertainment, for more a decade, as well as two other SF magazines, Sci-Fi Universe and Sci-Fi Flix. He has been a four-time Hugo Award finalist for Best Editor.

Additionally, he is the host of the Eating the Fantastic interview podcast, which since February 2016 has allowed listeners to eavesdrop on his meals with creators of science fiction, fantasy, horror, comics, and more.

Mary Soon Lee
The Empire Of Cat
Mary Soon Lee was born and raised in London, but has lived in Pittsburgh for thirty years. She is a Grand Master of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association, and a three-time winner of both the AnLab Readers’ Award and the Rhysling Award. Her latest books are from opposite shores of the poetry ocean: How to Navigate Our Universe, containing how-to astronomy poems, and The Sign of the Dragon, novel-length epic fantasy, winner of the Elgin Award. Website: marysoonlee.com.

POETRY NOTES FOR THE EMPIRE OF CAT
I usually write in the presence of Cat, and this results in feline intrusions, major and minor, into many poems. This is, Cat assures me, a good thing.
Bruce McAllister
What the Dormouse Said
Bruce McAllister’s short fiction has over the decades appeared in SFF&H magazines, literary journals, “year’s best" volumes, and, God help him, college textbooks; and won or been shortlisted for awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Nebula, the Hugo, the Shirley Jackson Award and others.  His three novels are the very-young-man’s-ode-to-future-merpeople HUMANITY PRIME, the esp-in-war DREAM BABY and the gentler THE VILLAGE SANG TO THE SEA : A MEMOIR OF MAGIC.  His first published story was written at 16, reprinted in Judith Merril’s THE YEAR’S BEST S-F, and later reprinted in the final volume of Isaac Asimov’s Golden Age of Science Fiction anthology series.  Bruce was associate editor of the Harrison/Aldiss “year’s best sf” series for some f years and co-edited with Harry Harrison the controversial anthology THERE WON’T BE WAR.  HIs Hugo-nominated short story, “Kin,”—about a boy from the projects in a future LA who hires the scariest assassin the known universe--was chosen by LeVar Bruton to launch his podcast series LEVAR BURTON READS.  After a childhood of moving every two years in a Navy family and living on one ocean after another, saltwater in him forever, he now lives happily in SoCa not far from the sea.

STORY NOTES FOR WHAT THE DORMOUSE SAID
I’ve spent most of my career as an sf writer exploring the alien—from alien lizard hordes invading a watery planet of mutated humans three thousands years from now to a sweet bipedal Arcturian with a love of human philately to the alien inside us, the Other, the outsider, and even the alienation of a military kid who didn’t know who he was—and this story is no exception.  I was a drug wimp during the 60’s, sticking (like the narrator of “What the Dormouse Said”) to pot and not excessively; but I made up for it with the reading and writing of sf, trippy as those activities were. My wife tells me she felt stoned when she read this, but I swear I wasn’t stoned writing it.  Everything in the story is quite true.  It all really happened.  Honest.  And course SF is its own trip, as we know.
Matt McHugh
Little Things Nobody Remembers

Matt McHugh was born in suburban Pennsylvania, attended LaSalle University in Philadelphia, and after a few years as a Manhattanite, now calls New Jersey home. His fiction has appeared in Analog, The First Line, and Clinch: A Martial Arts Literary Magazine. His story "Burners" won the 2019 Jim Baen Memorial Award and "Jennifer Gives Her Heart to Radioland" is PARSEC's 2021 Short Story Contest winner. In 2022, he was a grant finalist for The Speculative Literature Foundation.

Website: mattmchugh.com

STORY NOTES FOR LITTLE THINGS NOBODY REMEMBERS
This story is loosely inspired by my experience volunteering at a local theater, not so much the events but the emotions. We live in an age of entertainment overload, where the rectangle in your pocket can give you anything you want, anytime. Art can certainly be something to distract you when you're alone, but its true power is how it connects us when we come together. This story is me thinking about that. What do you think?
Teresa Milbrodt
Guidelines for Leading Tours of Supernatural Grottoes, Shrines, and Assorted Holy Places

Teresa Milbrodt is the author of three short story collections: Instances of Head-Switching, Bearded Women: Stories, and Work Opportunities. She has also published a novel, "The Patron Saint of Unattractive People," and a flash fiction collection, Larissa Takes Flight: Stories. Her fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry have appeared in numerous literary magazines. She loves cats, long walks with her MP3 player, independently owned coffee shops, peanut butter frozen yogurt, and texting hearts in rainbow colors. Read more of her work at: http://teresamilbrodt.com/homepage/
Wulf Moon
Wulf Moon's SUPER SECRETS: Latent Talent vs. Acquired Skill:  Which is Better?

Wulf Moon learned oral storytelling as a child when he lived with his Chippewa grandmother. He begged stories from her every night and usually got his wish—fireside tales that fired his imagination. If Moon had a time machine, those are the days he would go back to. Since he doesn’t have a time machine, he writes.

Moon wrote his first science fiction story at fifteen. It won the national Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, and became his first professional sale in Science World. He has won over forty writing awards, and thirty in public speaking. His stories have appeared in Writers of the Future Vol. 35, Best of Deep Magic 2, Galaxy's Edge, Best of Third Flatiron, and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 2 . Moon is a professional voice-over actor and has done work for magazines and bestselling authors Jeff Wheeler, Mike Resnick, and Will McIntosh.

Wulf Moon's award-winning SUPER SECRETS Writing Resource and Workshops have been attributed by many aspiring writers as the secret to their success in obtaining first professional sales and winning major contests. You can discover Moon's books on writing by visiting his website. Want in on the Secrets? JOIN THE WULF PACK at www.thesupersecrets.com!
Melissa Ren
We Play In Meadows, We Hop Over Dreams


DreamForge Staff
Jane Noel
Editor, Editorial Selections, Essays, and more.
Jane is the Founder of Chroma Marketing Essentials, a digital marketing agency located in Jeannette PA.  She holds a degree in Visual Communications from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and more years of experience than she cares to count. 

Before founding CME, Jane worked as an Artist, Art Lead, Art Director, and Project Manager for the computer game developer DreamForge Intertainment, where she worked on a number of early computer games, including Roger Zelazny’s Chronomaster.
Scot Noel
Editor, Editorial Selections, Essays, and more.
Scot Noel is a content writer for websites, blogs, social media, e-newsletters, and the like. Speculative fiction has always been his obsession, resulting in a Writers of the Future 2nd place win in 1990, a 7-year career in computer game development, and a handful of published stories, ranging from far future and zombie fiction to the tale of a fairy sheriff fighting an evil dragon. He serves as the editor and publisher of DreamForge Magazine and DreamForge Anvil.
Henry Gasko
Editorial Assistant
Henry Gasko was born in a displaced persons camp in Yugoslavia after World War Two. He was raised on a vegetable farm in Canada, and emigrated to Australia more than forty years ago. He has recently retired from a career in data analysis and medical research.

Henry has had stories published in the anthologies "Dreamworks", “Alternate Apocalypse”, “On Time”, in Australia's  Aurealis  magazine, and in the  SciPhi Journal .  He is a two-time semi-finalist in The Writers of the Future and he won first prize in Positive Writer's "Why I Write" essay contest. He also won the 2018 Sapiens Plurum short story competition, and came third in the 2020 competition.

When he is not writing, he enjoys cycling, kayaking, swimming and playing bridge.
Catherine Weaver
Former Editorial Assistant
Beloved DreamForge Editorial Assistant, First Line Reader, and cherished member of our DreamCasters Writing Group, Catherine Weaver, passed away over Memorial Day weekend after a sudden resurgence of cancer. Catherine's creative spirit, generosity, and dedication to her craft touched us all. Before her passing, Catherine's acceptance into the Third Flatiron Offshoots anthology challenge brought her joy, a fitting recognition of her talent. As we mourn Catherine’s loss, we extend our deepest condolences to her family and friends, and we will forever cherish the exceptional stories she helped bring to DreamForge magazine.