I’m thrilled to have had my first ever story published in Analog Science Fiction & Fact magazine. It’s called “Where the Buffalo Cars Roam” and is set in a post-apocalyptic future where small enclaves of people live a rural, make-do-and-mend kind of existence. It’s a long way from the technological wonders of times gone by. The oldest generation can still remember how it used to be, back when there were things like semi-sentient, autonomous, solar-powered vehicles driving people around. While much of that society has crumbled and decayed, it’s rumoured a few autonomous vehicles have survived and run wild along the deserted roads. Joel remembers his father’s stories about what such cars were capable of: dangerous, feral machines, not afraid to kill. In trying to live up to his father’s memory as a talented engineer and practical handyman, Joel is forced to confront his fears once more in order to survive.

The story has been out for a couple of weeks so I’m also delighted to have received such positive feedback on it from various readers and reviewers. I think it’s always quite difficult for authors to be impartial about a story’s qualities (or lack thereof) so feedback from others is so vital.

I’ve been reading Analog for more years than I care to remember. Right from my earliest days of dreaming of being a writer, I’ve always played a particular what-if game. What if one day I managed to get a story published in Analog – a magazine that has published so many of my favourite authors over the years – and now I have!

I’m hoping this will be the start of further publications in Analog and other high prestige venues but that rather depends on me getting off my backside and putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard). But first I’m going to take a brief moment to enjoy this feeling – because I think that’s what life’s all about after all, making the most of the here and now.