"Michael McCollum - Gridlock and Other stories" - читать интересную книгу автора (McCollum Michael)

GRIDLOCK
AND OTHER STORIES

(A Collection of Shorter Fiction)
By

Michael McCollum

Sci Fi - Arizona, Inc.

Third Millennium Publishing

A Cooperative of Online Writers and Resources




FOREWORD


When an author becomes successful, the publishers leverage the sales of his books by printing
collections of his short fiction. For whatever reason, my publisher never seemed interested in doing a
collection of my shorter works (perhaps they didn’t think I was sufficiently successful).

With the introduction of Sci Fi - Arizona, I have decided to remedy that oversight. This book is a
compendium of most of my short stories, novelettes, and novellas. The only works not represented here
are the two sequels toBeer Run that make up the last two-thirds ofA Greater Infinity .

This book is intended for two audiences. The first, of course, are people who like the way I write.
Here you will find 13 shorter works that I hope you will enjoy as much as the novels you have read.

The second group is those newer writers who take part each month in Sci Fi - Arizona’s Writer’s
Workshop. In theAuthor’s Notes that follow each story, I will try to give you a sense of how the work
came to be and discuss the writing techniques that make each story a successful piece of fiction. And, of
course, I hope to entertain you. That is, after all, what a professional writer is supposed to do!

Finally, as a bonus, I have included the first chapter of my latest novel,Gibraltar Earth , as a
preview to what you can expect to find at Sci Fi - Arizona in the future. Gibraltar Earth is the first book
in theGibraltar Stars Trilogy. With it, I hope to prove that fiction distributed on the INTERNET is
every bit as good as what you find in bookstores. Look for it in 1999, right here on Sci Fi - Arizona!



-----Michael McCollum, Tempe, AZ, April 24, 1998




DUTY, HONOR, PLANET
 A story of love, honor, courage,