Another story publication announcement, and this is a big one: my extrasolar colony murder mystery with "talking" plants is out in the September/October issue of Analog Science Fiction & Fact! The digital version is available to subscribers already; if you only want this issue, it will eventually be available individually from Magzter. There is also a print edition. Individual back issues can be obtained by contacting Analog customer service; I've also heard rumor of print editions at Barnes & Noble stores.
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| Photo via Wikimedia Commons, by user Suryaceg. |
"Roots' Remembrance" began life in my head as nothing more than its central concept: what if someone got intrusive thoughts after eating fruit, and concluded their garden was trying to communicate? I gradually built the setting, plot, and science-fictional mechanisms around this idea. The main character is technical, but neither a botanist nor a detective. I wanted him to have enough education to seriously investigate his discoveries, while still feeling out of his depth, and approaching the communities he hopes will accept his findings as an outsider. Both prongs of the story are, in a sense, about reactions to uncertainty: the protagonist faces unwarranted skepticism despite evidence he has gathered, and unwarranted suspicion birthed in a lack of evidence. Yet whether he feels qualified or not, he seizes his opportunities and does what he can.
This story took a long and bumpy path to publication. A different magazine's editor attempted a rewrite of it, but declined to publish when it became clear that they and I had irreconcilable differences in our plans for the story. A version of it was critiqued by David Brin (!) and several other authors who did not provide their names. Suggestions from all of these people contributed to making "Roots' Remembrance" better, and I thank them, though I didn't do exactly what any of them wanted.
At the end of that road, it's a major honor to have one of my works find a home in Analog. Should you pick it up, I hope you enjoy it!
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