Issue 13

The big news this issue: we've moved to a purchase-based model! New issues will only be available to people who subscribe to the magazine or buy individual issues. Full issues will no longer be posted for free on the website, although the stories that have already been posted will remain up.

Moving to a purchase-only model was a difficult decision, but it appears to be the only way to continue paying professional rates to the authors who write for the magazine. The percentage of the population who see the value in science fiction short stories is low -- so low that advertising revenue is non-viable. You, as a short story reader, are a rare breed.

I should also point out that this is an experiment that has no guarantee of success. If you enjoy Compelling Science Fiction and believe in our mission, consider mentioning the stories you read here with others. Without readers, short stories cease to flow, and culture moves in a different direction.

Now let's move from the abstract to the concrete: we have six new short stories for you this summer! Here are the new thought-provoking short stories that you can read right now:

We start with LA Staley's "Steps in the Other Room". An elderly woman reports that her husband has been kidnapped. This seems difficult, since he has been dead for many years (2040 words). Our second story is "Sasha Red" by Tyler A. Young. In it, a woman fights to rescue refugees from Mars (6100 words). The third story this issue, Mark Parlette-Cariño's "Bodybit," is a story about the social effects of a fitness device that tracks sexual performance (4630 words). Next we have "What We Remember" by Mark Salzwedel. This one is first-contact story about a telepathic fungus (2800 words). Our fifth story is "Love and Brooding" by M. J. Pettit. Inspired by mouth-brooding tilapia, this story explores a very alien life cycle (5000 words). Our final story is "Steadies" by returning author Robert Dawson. A doctor is conflicted when she decides to prescribe her husband an anti-cholesterol drug that has also recently been found to strengthen relationships (3400 words).

Thank you so much for your support — the magazine couldn't exist without readers like you.

Take care my friends,

Joe Stech
Publisher

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P.S. You can buy issue 13 from the Kindle Store, along with previous issues.

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We are an online science fiction magazine focused on plausible science fiction. The first twelve issues of our stories are freely readable on this site, and we also provide a DRM-free subscription for new issues. Your support allows us to provide high-quality stories in a simple, no-nonsense format and pay a professional rate to the authors who write them.