Critters^TM Workshop

Weekly Notes

Notes for 31-Dec-2025...


Remember that the 28th annual Readers Poll is underway! Please drop by to vote for your favorite books/stories/workshops :) etc., and spread the word...

	https://critters.org/predpoll

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This week's benefactor for the Critters Fund Drive is...

	SUMMER ON A MOUNTAIN OF SPICES by Harvey Jacobs - $2.99

		ReAnimus Press Store: www.ReAnimus.com/1574
		Amazon: www.amazon.com/dp/B072MR3VNK/?tag=critters3a-20
		 (available in ebook + paperback)

	 From the author's introduction:
 
"Summer on a Mountain of Spices" (the title derives from the "Song of Solomon) is a novel, i.e. a fiction, based on life at The Spring Lake House, a small family hotel, in the summer of 1945 during the last week of World War II. Spring Lake was a mile from Monticello, the summit of the Jewish Alps. It catered to refugees from the garment center and an occasional professional (a lawyer, a dentist) escaping Manhattan's brutal heat for a few weeks and allowing wives and children the chance to breathe some fresh air, feast on incredible Jewish dishes and polish skills at tennis, baseball, swimming, Mah Jong, Poker, Pinochle, even dancing to a four-piece band in the "casino."
 
Guests at the modest hotel (financial mosquitoes compared with the wealthy at enclaves like Grossinger's and The Concord where, my father would say, "people walk on cement, not grass") still considered themselves superior to families that rented bungalows in colonies we called kuchalains where you had to do your own cooking and cleaning.
 
Spring Lake was owned and operated by my aunts and uncles. My summer job, at age fifteen, was running the "concession" under a banner that read WHY STARVE? YELL HARV! that sold cigarettes, cigars, sodas from the Nu Icy bottling plant, candy bars and other essentials of the good life.
 
That summer I was hammered by three gigantic events: I had discovered girls and browsed the mysteries of sex. News of the unthinkable horror of the Holocaust was revealed in the press and on radio. The furious dawn of the atomic age not only signaled the end of the war but possibly the world. Those huge revelations took root beside my own self-centered, selfish fantasies about my future. In 1973, when I wrote the novel, I still squirmed over the inner swirl of that long-ago summer.
 
Despite the bloody tally of the war and the crushing acceptance of the Holocaust, I wanted my own turn at life and I told my story like it was, a mix of pain and humor, the amalgam that's part of every Jew's heartbeat (and maybe everybody else's too.)
 
"Summer on a Mountain of Spices" is about discovery, love, tears, sacrifice, and honoring the past while laughing at our clumsy attempts at grace and the fun of watching us all trip on the banana peel we call reality on the summertime voyage from somewhere to somewhere before the snow falls.





[Disclaimer: Ye Olde Critter Captain also runs ReAnimus Press, sales from which help him keep Critters going as a free site.]


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Thanks for the donations, folks!  We are 69.0% of the way to the fund drive goal with contributions from 156 donors, leaving about $2200 to go.
Thanks especially to

	Charles Botsford
	Robert Richards

for their recent donations to help keep Critters going. Much appreciated!

Stats by month...
Jan: $564.88 received toward $583 monthly fund drive goal, short by $18.12 for the month
Feb: $206.50 received toward $583 monthly fund drive goal, short by $376.5 for the month
Mar: $320.92 received toward $583 monthly fund drive goal, short by $262.08 for the month
Apr: $142.18 received toward $583 monthly fund drive goal, short by $440.82 for the month
May: $839.87 received toward $583 monthly fund drive goal, exceeded by $256.87 for the month
Jun: $606.85 received toward $583 monthly fund drive goal, exceeded by $23.85 for the month
Jul: $181.72 received toward $583 monthly fund drive goal, short by $401.28 for the month
Aug: $162.91 received toward $583 monthly fund drive goal, short by $420.09 for the month
Sep: $325.75 received toward $583 monthly fund drive goal, short by $257.25 for the month
Oct: $436.75 received toward $583 monthly fund drive goal, short by $146.25 for the month
Nov: $616.88 received toward $583 monthly fund drive goal, exceeded by $33.88 for the month
Dec: $449.23 received toward $583 monthly fund drive goal, short by $133.77 for the month

=> short by $2141.56 of annual fund drive goal to date


[See https://www.critters.org/donate.php for more information.]


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Woohoo!  Congratulations to...

	- Richard Zwicker, who sold his (Critter'd) short story, "From
	Heaven and Hell" to BFS Horizons.


Please report your Woohoo!s via the www.critters.org/telldaworld.ht web page.


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This week's Most Productive Critter award, for 3 critiques (at time of judging), averaging almost 700 words each, goes to...

	Peter Allen

To redeem an MPC, visit:  www.critters.org/usempc.ht

Congratulations!  To everyone else -- Crit early and often!

(For an explanation of the MPC award, see the www.critters.org/award.ht page.)

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Recommended Reading...
One of the best writing books - Secrets from the 6-time Best Editor
Hugo Award Master, Ben Bova: THE CRAFT OF WRITING SCIENCE FICTION THAT SELLS 
https://ReAnimus.com/store?item=1144
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Critters Workshop
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This week we have... [get from https://www.critters.org/private/mss.php ]...
                                                 
     Title                      	Author
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Week of 31-Dec-2025 (Crits due 7-Jan-2026):
 SF  Drift                              [@] Dwayne Minton -#32048
 SF  The Path to Tomorrow, Chapter 9    Brian Sellnow -#32049
 SF  A Range of Voices                  Henry McFarland -#32050
 SF  The Unbeatable Teleporting Alien Table Tennis Foe . . . and Elephants  [@] Larry Hodges -#32051
 F   Cabbage Patch Diplomacy            Edward Moore -#32052
 F   Duke of Tooth, Chapters 20-25      John Rhea -#32053

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Recommended books on writing:

THE CRAFT OF WRITING AND SELLING SCIENCE FICTION by Ben Bova
	ReAnimus Press Store: https://ReAnimus.com/store?item=1144
	Amazon: https://Amazon.com/dp/B006MAZPEI

HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR SPECULATIVE FICTION OPENINGS By (Critter member) Robert Qualkinbush
	https://ReAnimus.com/store?item=1184 | https://Amazon.com/dp/B007O272ZI

STAYIN' ALIVE - A WRITER'S GUIDE by three-time SFWA President Norman Spinrad
	How things really work in the art and commerce of publishing
	https://ReAnimus.com/store?item=1179 | https://Amazon.com/dp/B007SIC4I8

EXPERIMENT PERILOUS: THE 'BUG JACK BARRON' PAPERS by Norman Spinrad
	(A 99cent essay on SF and writing)
	https://ReAnimus.com/store?item=1180 | https://Amazon.com/dp/B007MF3MS8
 
Because you might enjoy it... THE FALL OF SIRIUS by WIL MCCARTHY
'A bright light on the SF horizon' - David Brin
https://reanimus.com/store/?item=1158
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Pieces up for critique in other workshops...

In the lit workshop - https://critique.org/lit :
 L   The Schoolhouse                    Duaa -#31887

In the mystery workshop - https://critique.org/mystery :
 M   The Library Club chapters 1, 2     Don Oestreicher -#31726

In the script workshop - https://critique.org/script :
 SC  It Happened One Christmas          Robert W. Ross -#31694

In the kids workshop - https://critique.org/kids :
 YS  The Adventures of Jack, The Rabbit  Emmanuel Agyei-Boatey -#31578

In the western workshop - https://critique.org/western :
 W   Good Land for Dying                Kristen Vanderhoof -#32003

In the romance workshop - https://critique.org/romance :
 R   Embermarked, Chapter 10-12         Natalie Kalinowski -#31927

In the apps workshop - https://critique.org/apps :
 GM  Uptown Valkyries                   Arthur Sankey -#31757

In the website workshop - https://critique.org/website :
 WW  Charles Gull creative projects blog and website  Charles Gull -#31783

In the critters workshop - https://critique.org/critters :
 SF  Drift                              [@] Dwayne Minton -#32048
 SF  The Path to Tomorrow, Chapter 9    Brian Sellnow -#32049
 SF  A Range of Voices                  Henry McFarland -#32050
 SF  The Unbeatable Teleporting Alien Table Tennis Foe . . . and Elephants  [@] Larry Hodges -#32051
 F   Cabbage Patch Diplomacy            Edward Moore -#32052
 F   Duke of Tooth, Chapters 20-25      John Rhea -#32053
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You might also like... PHOENIX WITHOUT ASHES by HARLAN ELLISON and ED BRYANT
Harlan Ellison! What more needs be said?!? The novel of his award-winning script
http://reanimus.com/store/?item=1266

Standard notes:

HELP:
If you need help with anything, see https://www.critters.org/help -- there
are FAQs and a form to ask questions.

HELPING CRITTERS:
Critters is donation funded & volunteer run, so if you'd like to
help out with our current fund drive or otherwise, please visit
https://www.critters.org/donate.php -- Thanks!!

HOW TO SEND CRITIQUES:
Remember to send the critiques directly to me, critters@critique.org, so
I can forward them to the authors _and_ give you credit for your effort.
Please send only one critique per mail message (makes it easier to
archive).  Please make sure the "#" symbol and manuscript number are in
the email Subject: line, like Subject: #1234.  (Conversely, if you want
ol' Aburt to personally read the message, i.e., it's _not_ a critique,
don't put a "#" in the subject or I won't see it.  Also -- put my current
anti-spam code word in there: see https://www.critters.org/antispam.ht .)

You may also send your critiques via https://www.critters.org/webcrit.ht .

Note that all critiques will be available to everyone to read the next Saturday.

DIPLOMACY:
Remember, authors and critiquers, we're all friends here.  Be polite.  Be
considerate.  Be tactful.  You can say you thought a story was drivel in a
courteous way.  Try to point out the good and the bad; offer alternatives
if you can.  Never, ever, attack the author -- only the story.  Authors:
Remember that some reviewers may lack tact.  Try to be understanding,
but if you get any that you feel are just plain mean-spirited, too short
to be of any use, or too "feel good," let me know and I'll withhold the
reviewer's "credit" for that story and/or cajole them into something
more insightful.  See https://www.critters.org/diplomacy.ht for more...

CRITIQUE LENGTH:
If you want to send a short critique that you know is too short for
credit (200 words or less of your own meaningful content) please put
"NC#" in the Subject (NC=No Credit, like Subject: NC#1234) -and- say
something like "not for credit" inside your critique.  (Remember also that
for MPC purposes, a critique must be 300 words or more.)

CHATTING:
Comments -other- than critiques (such as discussion of the critiques,
or Woohoo! announcements, or chit chat) should be posted to one of the
official Critters discussion forums (See the https://www.critters.org/newsgroups.ht
web page for full info, guidelines, etc.)  Don't post stories or critiques
(mail those to critters@critique.org).

QUOTING:
Please pare the ms. down if critiquing in-line (don't quote the whole ms.!).
Other format rules are at https://www.critters.org/format.ht .

EVERYTHING'S ON THE WEB:
Past reviews are on the web page.  The current week's manuscripts are
also there, as are prior mss. and even some rewrites.  There's a Master
Page Index (site map) with tons of links to common items.

AUTHORS:
Authors for this week -- if you aren't getting email'd critiques from
me (as they come in) within a couple days -- ask me and we can verify
I'm sending them to the correct address.  (Send me a phone# in case I
can't get email to you.)  Check the format of your story ASAP to make sure
it's all there and readable.

EMAIL ISSUES:
If you want to change your email address or preferences (# mss. emailed,
SF/F/H type, or whether you get the huge critique batches at week's end),
point your browser to https://www.critters.org/admin.ht .  Please don't
ask me to do this by hand, it's quite a chore!  (E.g., if you're going
on vacation and want to suspend mail from me -- do this before/after
your trip.)

BACKUP SITE:
If you're unable to reach www.critters.org to get manuscripts, I've set up
an emergency backup site at https://backup.critters.org where you can get the
week's manuscripts (but not much of anything else :-).  Speaking of backups --
don't forget to back up your own manuscripts so you don't lose them!

QUITTING:
If you want to quit or go inactive, drop by https://www.critters.org/admin.ht .

DONATIONS:
Critters is funded by donations, so visit https://www.critters.org/donate.php
if you'd like to help out.

Because you might enjoy it... THE DAY THE SUN STOOD STILL by ROBERT SILVERBERG, POUL ANDERSON, GORDON R. DICKSON
What if the sun stood still? Three short novels by science fiction legends
https://reanimus.com/store/?item=1630

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