In My Opinion

· \4 Star Stories Issue 30

Greetings from the Commonwealth of Kentucky!

Editorial Update, 5-2-2022:

Suspension of Acceptance of Manuscripts for Publication

At this time we.cannot guarantee prospective authors a spot in an upcoming issue within a reasonable length of time.
In order to be fair to authors whose work has already been accepted for publication, as well as those wanting their work to appear in future issues, we are suspending acceptance of manuscripts for publication until further notice.
Watch the Submissions and In My Opinion web pages for submission policy updates.
Thank you for thinking of 4 Star Stories, and we look forward to again being able to accept submissions.
Best regards,

David Gray
Co-Editor
4 Star Stories

Mary Gearhart-Gray
Co-Editor
4 Star Stories

Hi, Readers -

Welcome to 4 Star Stories Issue 30!

Welcome to our Winter 2024 issue! Traditionally at the end of the year we reflect on the previous year’s accomplishments and look forward to the year to come. Our year at 4 Star Stories featured both professional and personal milestones reached and, fortunately, general good health. Reflecting on the year to come produces mixed feelings: pessimism based on past experience, but optimism for a brighter future. We who have been around longer are used to uncertainty, even setbacks, but in general the trend is toward optimism for the future, even steady progress. "And on what is that optimism based?" you ask. Well, those of us who grew up in the 1950s and 1960s read science fiction for the hopeful future it promised. Although not the future the stories promised, the twenty-first century did deliver on some fronts, most notably science and technology, on the social and political fronts, not so much.Still, we owe it to ourselves and those who come after us to maintain an optimism toward the future.That same idea applies to 4 Star Stories as well. We have some improvements in mind that should come to fruition in the next year.

We extend our most sincere thanks to those who contributed to the C. Dean Andersson Memorial page. A link to the C. Dean Andersson Memorial page is in the Art Archive for Issues 25-27.

Enrich your Winter 2024 literary experience by checking out the links to our five stories below. Also check out our new, approved short story template in the Webmaster's Rant, located at Contact Us/Webmaster.

Once again, five fine authors have stepped forward with exciting and innovative stories for your reading pleasure. I'll Follow You by Jason P. Burnham chronicles the struggle of one man against corporations gone wild.We have a search-for-an-alternate-Earth story with a NASA tie in, Firmament, by Laura Campbell, and an alien contact story, Twilight's Arc, by Tom Olbert. Be Careful What You Wish For .... by Mary Jo Rabe is an autonomous robot story maybe gone really bad. Our Bonus Story, The Answer Machine, by Jason Rumfel, is a alien artifact-themed science fiction story set in rural Minnesota.

Here are the links to the stories:

I'll Follow You
Firmament
Twilight's Arc
Be Careful What You Wish For....
The Answer Machine

The Guest Artist page this issue is turned over to the thought-provoking Essay on Rogue Planets. What Pluto and Charon can show us about survival after your planet is hurled into intergalactic space. A must read for science fiction writers looking for a new idea.

As always, we wish you good health, both physical and mental, in these trying times. We look forward to seeing you safe and healthy for Issue 31 in Spring of 2025.

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4 Star Stories is an online speculative fiction magazine that publishes Science Fiction and Fantasy short stories. Tell your friends about us. Read the stories, look at the art, have some fun. We are. It's important.
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