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Hello and welcome to the March 2020 issue of Aphelion!
I'm about ready for Spring! Aren't you? It's been a cold Winter
here in Georgia, except when it's been raining. We went to the last
ever AnachroCon two weeks ago. It was wonderful, in a sad way, but
fairly frigid as to the weather. February in Atlanta isn't usually
known for its balmy temperatures, I know, but it has been known to be a
tad more convivial from time to time. The wind and rain were offset by
a sunny day, to be sure. But the moods of the weather matched the
sadness of saying goodbye to a tradition of eleven years standing.
AnachroCon was a staple in our lives for a decade plus one. It began as
a Steampunk convention. Then it evolved to become an exploration of
Alternate History in general. I will treasure the good times had there.
Thankfully, the Atlanta Steampunk Expo has taken up the banner, was
passed the torch, and will present my wife and I with the opportunity
to once again hobnob with our fellow wizards, time travelers, and a
host of excellent company.
Speaking of traditions, Aphelion
is proceeding apace into its 23rd year. For a website, that is
unusual. For an e-Zine, it is astounding to have existed for this long.
It has been a marvelous adventure so far. And as has been said of other
things, the adventure continues!
The year is off to a flying
start. I have been putting together several projects of my own over the
past few months. Some of which I hope to be able to present to you
before too much time has passed. Others like as not, may fall by the
wayside, as events eventuate. That is the way of things, for not every
tree bears fruit, even it it was meant to when the seeds were first
planted. We shall see what we shall see.
Be that as it
may, I intend to forge ahead on as many of these projects that continue
to make progress. Those that do not, well at least I can take comfort
in having learned something from the effort. Who knows? One day I might
be able to return to those projects that stall out. I am loathe to
abandon any bit of work forever, so everything will be saved in the
hope of its being revived at a later date, if circumstances prove my
skills to be unequal to the original intent. One must try and try and
try again in order to find a success at the end of the path. Nothing is
easy. If it were, then what reward would come from the attempt? If
everything was achieved with the first effort, then how would one grow
and learn? I may have failed at some task or another, but every new
experiment brings a chance to learn something. Sometimes not the thing
that was set out to accomplish, but something new and unexpected
instead. Every success seems to be built on a mountain of promising
attempts, unsuccessful efforts, and disappointments. But this is the
way progress is made. To discover what works by finding the myriad ways
it doesn't work.
Never be afraid of trying and failing. Be afraid of never trying, for fear
of failing. I've failed at doing a dozen things, today alone. Those
failures taught me more ways to try, more experiments to make, more
chances to fail or succeed. And THAT, my friends, is a success all of its own.
"It's
too hard" is merely a speed bump on the path. It's not a roadblock. At
worst, it is a detour. Explore, experiment, try new things, fail,
learn, and try again. But never fail to try.
Now I'll shut up and
let you get to reading the new stories. Please do feel free to
comment on everything by going to our
Forums section and making your thoughts known. The writers will thank
you for it. Plus, you'll be helping them become better writers, too.
ON
THE COVER
Title: The Tinker Bell triplet
Photo Credit: ESO
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