 nother month online and still more changes. Will it ever end? I certainly hope not. Thanks to the devoted readers and authors, Of Ages Past continues to grow. Better still is not only the amount of recognition the magazine has received from several prestigious Literary Websites, but some of the authors who have dedicated their time and talent to Of Ages Past (and, I pray, continue to do so) have seen some personal success, which, as one contributor recently told me, was due to her work appearing within these pages.
Now that’s what I like to hear. The main reason I started this magazine was to provide an outlet for Historical Authors, to not only have a place to share their views and research material with others, but a place that would actually publish them! As many of you know, I have been thoroughly disgusted at hearing the same old garbage—“In today’s market, Historicals do not sell.” My first instinct, of course, was to prove the naysayers wrong, and I truly believe Of Ages Past, in just a few short months, has generated enough attention to back me up. (Now, if I could only get the site listed in Yahoo and the other major search engines, I would be a happy man. But that’s another scathing article in my future.) Regardless of whether the search-engine gods cooperate, there is indeed a market for our work, and let no one tell you otherwise. With that in mind, and in keeping with my goal to make Of Ages Past the best possible website for Historical Lovers, readers and authors alike, I have chosen to expand the magazine in several areas. The most important change (at least in my eyes) is my decision to open the Submission requirements to works that are about to see both major and minor release in print. In allowing authors to post snippets of their forthcoming novels, I hope to help boost their sales, thus perhaps even benefiting all of us in the long run. There is not such a thing as “too much publicity,” and with more sales, comes more demand—an evil Catch-22. Therefore, Kinley MacGregor is our first soon-to-be-published author whose work now graces our pages, and just in time to coincide with her novel’s release. Thank you, Kinley! Also added this month is a “Letters To The Editor” section. It seems a certain article in last month’s issue stirred the still waters in at least 2 separate writing newsgroups, and frankly, after reading many of these replies to the article, I decided they were too loaded with insightful thought and ideas to let them go to waste. Therefore, feel free to respond at ofagespast@hotmail.com to anything you read in these pages—you might even find your letter in a future issue. (Fear not, I’ll eliminate the hair-raising expletives and even hold back your name, if you ask.) Additionally, the Of Ages Past Award for Historical Excellence has been given to two very worthy sites, now featured in the “Sites Of The Month” section. I urge you to visit these webpages and show your support to the excellent webmasters who are dedicated to helping us in our research. Our “Quotes Of The Month” section is also up and running. After reading the contributions, it certainly amazes me how little some viewpoints change through the years, and how other words from the past seem quite ironic. Other additions to the magazine are in store for future issues (one of them is thanks to a certain Jesse Knight, who is sworn to secrecy, so do not even bother asking) so keep coming back. We love having you with us. In the meantime, this is what you can expect to find in this month’s issue . . . In “Articles”, acclaimed novelist Sherry-Anne Jacobs offers insights and tips regarding Electronic Publishing; Victoria Prescott examines the role of women in Victorian England; as a member and moderator of several critique groups, I provide the “dos” and “don’ts” that should help any author survive them. In “Book Reviews”, Frances Grattan offers criticism on both an historical novel and a biography, while I give my truly unbiased opinion on—oh, no!—yes, an Historical Romance. In “Short Stories”, Sharon Watson gives us “Golden Dreams,” a tale of one woman’s love for her husband and the forfeiture that goes with it; Colin Roberts offers us “Bird Life,” a gripping story of one man’s journey into self-discovery; Valerie Nicholls shares with us “The Tree,” a charming tale with a paranormal twist; “Father Would Be So Proud,” my own contribution, is the story of how one man comes to accept his fate and perform his duties at an insignificant little town named Gettysburg. In “Novel Excerpts”, Kinley MacGregor shares with us the first chapter of her novel, A Pirate Of Her Own, available this month from HarperCollins; Meredith Campbell-Risen gives us a taste of Righteous Warriors, a novel set during the turbulent times just prior to America’s Civil War when a certain mid-western state was known, for good reason, as “Bleeding Kansas”; Pamela Maddison offers Unicorn Evils, an engaging tale of a mismatched couple’s flight through Europe while being chased by the Byzantine Secret Police; my own offering in this category is Sins Of The Father (basically the continuation of the aforementioned “Father Would Be So Proud”) which details, not the glory of battle, but the hell of wounded, dead, and destruction the armies left to hundreds of staunch and determined souls—the Gettysburg civilians. Thanks for visiting, keep those letters and submissions coming, but most of all, enjoy!
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