We finish this issue late in August, well past the July publication date. Maybe one issue we will actually produce on time (doubtful). Coming up this fall, between our Summer and Winter issues, will be the Sign of the Times 10-Year Anthology edition. This 96-page book will include the best stories from 10 years of SOTT, including several from the upcoming Winter issue. Make sure you subscribe now since it will be included with all paid subscriptions.
On the political side, it just gets weirder and weirder. Makes me glad SOTT isn't government financed since we all know that "Government Money = Government Art".
And now let's see what the press has to say about Sign of the Times - A Chronicle of
Decadence in the Atomic Age.
FROM FACTSHEET FIVE (#42)
(Vol. 5, #1) Exceptional modern litmag with the subtitle
"A Chronicle of Decadence in the Atomic Age." The selection of stories is
superb, from Brenda Munroe's tale of a friend who sells
his star-laden porno dream to a cable TV show to Todd Cobb's
unusual analogy of Christ's last days with Charlie Brown and Linus playing out the lead
roles. Very genuine storytelling.
FROM WRITER'S N.W. (Spring, 1991)
The Summer 1990 issue of Sign of the Times- A Chronicle of
Decadence in the Atomic Age, going into its 10th year, definitely won't be receiving money
from the NEA this time around. Less concerned with sex than the manners and nuances of gay
and lesbian relationships, six rather soapily erotic stories are highlighted by
photographs and drawings that are, as they say in the toy industry, "anatomically
correct"-and erect.
AND NOW FOR SOME LETTERS...
Here is a story I thought you might like. It's short and sweet, and just a little bit dirty.
Thank you again for treating my story so well in the last issue. It looks fantastic, and I couldn't be more pleased that you put in the place of honor, right in front. I'm glad that I was finally able to meet you at Mark & Shannon's wedding, although I wish the occasion had been livelier-more Bacchus and less Saint Paul. Oh well; it was good for a giggle.
I look forward to seeing my name in print yet again in the review you so kindly shared with me on the phone.
"Linus Iscariot" by Todd M. Cobb was a great read, hilarious!! I always felt there was something sinister about Peanuts, and what cartoon character could be more Christ-like than Charlie Brown-humble, chaste, misunderstood. A good issue all the way around.
I love my free subscription so much.
Yours truly,
I submitted a story to your mag a few months back and a few days ago what do I receive? You guessed it - a free issue of Sign of the Times, along with a rejection slip, alas, but that's another matter.
Anyway, I really enjoyed it; you pack a lot of fiction between the covers. I'm sure you already know: there are a slew of mags out there claiming to print wild and beautifully strange fiction. They don't. So, disappointment after disappointment, I expected the same old thing. It's always nice to be surprised. One complaint about the issue I saw (Winter '91): I only wish the author of "Tutelary Angels" would have given us an in-depth portrait of the relationship between the girl and her dog for reasons of...er...sociological interest.
...Wistful Tidings,
Greg Javer
Just received Volume Five, Number One. I loved "Linus Iscariot". Technically very well done, amusing and intriguing. Snoopy as Satan. What a concept! The scene in which "the beagle" visits Linus in a dream, and dances, along with the description of Snoopy as foul and fetid, was almost the stuff of horror novels-or black comedies.
"Tutelary Angels" is quite a bit longer than your usual yarn, but well worth including. Thanks for not serializing it. I fucking hate serialized fiction. Having his novels serialized is what made Charles Dickens so damned crotchety. "Donors" and "Lyle's Dream" were both sickly wonderful and wonderfully sick. An obsession with the food of the stars. Think of the gastronomic/erotic possibilities. "Lyle's Dream" is the only story I've ever read which got me started thinking about Meg Tilly's banana cream pie, or even Connie Chung's sweet and sour. Thanks a hell of a lot, oh Brenda Munroe!
I'm glad to have been a part of SOTT myself in a past issue, and am looking forward to being a part of it again in future. It's one of the credits I consistently list in cover letters to potential publishers who demand cover letters which read like whining and particularly desperate resumes.
Ciao. Is that spelled right? If not, screw it. Ciao, anyway.
Thanks for the Spring 1991 copy. Great magazine. I especially love the tattooed lady on the cover. It's rare that I discover a magazine as constantly interesting.
Harrison Watkins
I enjoyed reading Sign of the Times, Spring 1991. The magazine read as well as it looked! Oscar Wilde said, "Life is just a bad dress rehearsal." Your magazine keeps us working our bodies and souls!
Rane Arroyo
I received your letter to my short story submission and want to thank you for not only commenting but for sending a back issue copy of the magazine. Sending a copy was not only unique in my experience but extremely considerate.
Barbara Kiersh
MANY THANKS . . .
Many thanks for this issue belong to Laurie Lindsay, who did the data entry for the stories that did not arrive on diskette, to Eric Nygren for proofreading and becoming the weekly intern for SOTT handling correspondence, word processing, story reading and other fun chores. And lastly to Victor, who has given Kinko's Copies a whole new meaning.
For News and Notes from other issues, click here.
Some day this will be a link to the Mark Stephen Souder ego page.
For a copy of the issue that this story appeared in please use the on-line order form or email sott_backissue@unclemarkie.com
and ask for Volume 5, Number 2.
The cost is $5.00, plus $2.00 shipping and handling for each order.
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