New Wildside Press freebie is up:
The Evelyn E. Smith Science Fiction MINIPACK™ by the late Evelyn E. Smith (
ISFDB,
SYKM,
Wikipedia), probably much better known for her later mystery novel series than her Golden Age sci-fi shorts.
There weren’t a lot of women writing science fiction in the 1950s, but among those few, only a few names are still widely remembered: Leigh Brackett, Andre Norton, C.L. Moore.
But what about Evelyn E. Smith? Smith (1922-2000) was not just a writer, but a crossword puzzle compiler. During the 1950s, she regularly published—under her real name—short stories and novelettes in magazines like Galaxy Science Fiction and Fantastic Universe. These range from post-apocalyptic satires, such as “The Last of the Spode” and “The Hardest Bargain,” to “BAXBR/DAXBR,” where she explores the dangers of Martian crossword puzzles. She also wrote four science fiction novels, which chiefly deal with questions of gender identity and, like all of her work, are characterized by their wit and humor.
Today she is probably better known for writing the Miss Melville Mystery series, which chronicles the exploits of a middle-aged socialite-turned-assassin. (She also wrote several gothic romance novels under the pen name Delphine C. Lyons.)
This MINIPACK™ is a sampler to whet your appetite as we work on the much longer volume, The Golden Age of Science Fiction MEGAPACK™, vol. 20: Evelyn E. Smith, which I hope to release later this week.
Enjoy!
Also, this week's
Humble Game Making Bundle will give you as a sampler a full free DRM-free sci-fi alien adventure game,
Mibibli's Quest*, (available for Mac, Linux, and Windows) and its soundtrack, in return for your email address (no purchase necessary, no need to sign up for the newsletter).
* The game itself is regularly free
via the creator's website, but the soundtrack is normally a requested $10 CAD donation add-on.