Emily Hockaday

1 week ago | theastoundinganalogcompanion.com | Emily Hockaday

by Shane Tourtellotte“Groundling” is, I’m willing to bet, the first Analog story ever inspired by a 90-year-old astronaut. Yes, it was a publicity stunt when Jeff Bezos got William Shatner, Captain James T. Kirk himself, onto a New Shepard rocket for a sub-orbital flight into the lower reaches of outer space. It was a come-on to draw more paying customers, a strategy Bezos has since done with other celebrities ranging from Michael Strahan to (prospectively as I write) Katy Perry.

1 month ago | theastoundinganalogcompanion.com | Emily Hockaday

by Nate GivensIsaac Asimov once defined science fiction as “that branch of literature which is concerned with the impact of scientific advance upon human beings.” This gets right to the speculative heart of science fiction, and hard science fiction in particular: imagine a plausible scientific advance and then work through its potential ramifications.

1 month ago | theastoundinganalogcompanion.com | Emily Hockaday

Analog Editor: What is the story behind this piece? Arendse Lund: Has anyone ever given you directions based on local landmarks? “Take a left where the Safeway used to be.” “Go right after the old tree. The one the town almost cut down.” Similarly, in Seattle we have road signs that say “No Parking North of Here” but I’ll be surrounded by trees and have no idea where the sun’s coming from. These are perfect directions if you already know the reference point. Otherwise…not so easy.

2 months ago | theastoundinganalogcompanion.com | Emily Hockaday

Analog Editor: What is the story behind this piece? Kate MacLeod: This was a short story I wrote for a Kristine Kathryn Rusch workshop focusing on science fiction mystery, so I’m pretty pleased it’s in an issue of Analog that has that for a theme! We were tasked with writing something in the near future with weather or climate as an element. My initial impulse was to write something in the cold, dark winter, because being from Minnesota I know a bit about living in cold, dark winters.

2 months ago | theastoundinganalogcompanion.com | Emily Hockaday

Analog Editor: How did this story germinate? Was there a spark of inspiration, or did it come to you slowly? Beth Goder: I wrote the first draft of “Murder on the Eris Express” as part of a contest held by my writing group, Codex. The goal was to write a complete draft in six weeks. The day before the contest, I knew that I wanted to participate, but I only had a vague idea of what I wanted to write—a murder mystery in space.