The new issue of UK’s Gold Dust Magazine is available for sale. Also as a free .PDF download. Acquire by any means necessary.

Featuring fiction by Alan Kelly, Jim Meirose, Robert Edward Sullivan, Robert Dando, the always impressive Christopher J. Dwyer, the always disappointing Caleb J Ross, THE Richard Thomas, V Ulea, Sam Szanto, and the get-your-autographs-now-because-he-will-be-dead-(and-famous)-someday Nik Korpon. Also, crammed inside is an interview with China Miéville.

I’m so damn happy to share page space with names like these.

And now for the self-petting portion of the post. Author’s notes:

I’ve long been interested in the artist’s (in this case, writer’s) lack of control once a piece has its frame and audience (in this case, its binding and reader). The audience truly has more control over a work of art, writing, whatever, than the creator. A jury of our peers, sort of thing. Authorial intent is important for the sanity of the artist, but intent often doesn’t matter to the audience, sadly.

What is more important, the concept or the finished product? Don’t know. “Vertigo Unbalanced” explores this idea with an artist protagonist who is obsessed with correcting his painting (to represent his viewpoint as changed since the painting’s creation) even after it hangs on a gallery wall. The original draft had an explosion. I’d tell you why I took it out, but who cares?