DargonZine
Volume 18, Number 8 |
Distributed: 12/10/2005
Circulation: 647 |
 |
DargonZine is the publication vehicle of The
Dargon Project, Inc., a collaborative group of aspiring fantasy writers on the
Internet. We welcome new readers and writers interested in joining the
project. Please address all correspondence to
<dargon@dargonzine.org>
or visit us on the World Wide Web at http://www.dargonzine.org/, or our FTP site at
ftp://users.primushost.com/members/d/a/dargon/.
Issues and public discussion are posted to newsgroup
rec.mag.dargon.
DargonZine 18-8, ISSN 1080-9910, (C) Copyright December, 2005
by The Dargon Project, Inc. Editor: Ornoth D.A. Liscomb
<ornoth@rcn.com>,
Assistant Editor: Liam Donahue
<bdonahue@fuse.net>.
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|
Editorial
elcome to what appears to be the official Rich Niro issue of
DargonZine. Rich had been with us for five years when he left the group
this past September. During that time he printed three stories: "The
Target that Eludes Me", "Spine", and "Touching Ol", a story he completed
when its original author and Rich's close friend, Victor Cardoso, left
the project for a while.
However, having attended the 2003 Dargon Writers' Summit, Rich was
also involved in the Black Idol story arc that we're currently printing.
Although he's no longer an active DargonZine writer, this issue includes
two of the Black Idol stories that he worked on.
The first is "Echoes off the Stone". Back in 2003, when we divvied
up the arc stories, Rich agreed to write the pivotal story where the
barge carrying the cursed idol of Gow arrived in Dargon. Although Nick
Wansbutter added some finishing touches to get it ready for printing,
Echoes was largely as you see it here when Rich left the project.
The three-chapter "Out of the Rubble" has a more complex history.
It began life as P. Atchley's arc story, a tale about Sian Allyn and her
adoptive children that showed the human side of Dargon after the barge's
arrival. In fact, this first chapter is primarily Ms. Atchley's work.
However, during a brief hiatus from the group, she turned the story over
to Rich, who added the healer's plot that will appear in part two. The
final chapter they wrote together, after Ms. Atchley had returned.
However, both she and Rich had to leave the group before the
stories were completed. At that point, Dave Fallon stepped in, whose
"Lost Opportunity 1" you saw earlier in the arc. Because of that, "Out
of the Rubble" is the first (but definitely not the last) story in
DargonZine's long history to have three authors in its byline.
Despite the number of times its authorship changed hands, I think
you'll find it to be among the best stories in the whole Black Idol
series. It also illustrates how cooperative the arc has been, and how
far we've come since the 90's Beinison War, when the magazine struggled
for years to recover when two key writers left the group before that arc
was completed.
Life events sometimes make it difficult for people to participate
in Dargon's writing project. Rich is a teacher, which leaves very little
time for pursuits such as writing. This year he also became head coach
of his school's track team, which placed even more demands on his time.
As if that wasn't enough, this summer he and his wife moved to a new
house and also just had their first baby boy. Things are pretty hectic
in the Niro household, which is why he left the group, but we all wish
him well.
Oddly, it's been that kind of year for many of our writers. Jon
Evans stepped down from the Assistant Editor role after getting married
and buying a new house, and his first child is due to arrive any day
now. Ironically, Liam Donahue, who became Assistant Editor when Jon
stepped down, has also gotten married and bought a new house! Nick
Wansbutter got married and is expecting his first baby; Trey Holliday,
one of our promising new writers, got engaged; Jim Owens and Rena
Deutsch have also both bought new houses; and several folks have new
jobs.
It's undoubtedly trite to say that our writers are a family, but in
many ways it's true. It's difficult to work so closely together without
forming some kind of emotional bond with other people, and our annual
Writers' Summits really cement those friendships into deep, lasting
relationships. Looking back on 2005, our group has a lot to celebrate,
both within the magazine and without. So congrats and best wishes to
Rich Niro, to all our writers, and to our readers as well, as we
continue the Black Idol story arc and celebrate the end of an amazing
21st year of bringing you fiction on the Internet.
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