1999 Nebula Award ® Preliminary Ballot
Editor: Dave Wolverton
Illustration by Eric Winter:
I was really concerned about what the illustration would look like for this story, as it's one that is close to my heart. I was actually speechless when Eric showed me the original. It's an incredibly beautiful image. I hope I get the chance to have him work on more of my stories, as he's a great person, too.
Published in L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future, Vol XIV -- October, 1998
| excerpt: I put my palm against the Plexiglas where B86-97 floats. Warmth flows into my hand. I smile despite the pain this child unwittingly brings me. "Good morning, Kyle," I say. That is the name I give to B86-97. Kyle Lincoln. I gaze into his tightly scrunched face and say his name three times inside my head to make sure I will remember it. I've never been good with equations or history or economics--or anything like that. But I can put a name to a face. I pull my hand back, the heat of the chamber lingering like a stolen kiss. |
Reviews of "The Disappearance of Josie Andrew"
Review by Elizabeth Barrette
Tangent Online
In "The Disappearance of Josie Andrew," author Ron Collins explores some ramifications of advances in reproductive technology. The "artificial womb" motif is a popular one in science fiction, and a personal favorite; I admire his choice to tell the story from an oblique angle -- instead of the usual parent or scientist, the protagonist here is a janitor/technician at a large (and spectacularly unethical) institution. Collins takes the time to suggest, delicately, the awesome potential of human life and the tragedy of its loss. The story is rather morbid and set in a very anti-choice atmosphere ... but I appreciate it anyway. It certainly sticks in my memory. I like the idea of small people and small changes being able to make a big difference. Creepy, but another favorite.
Stories are strange things. Sometimes they cling to my mind and won't let go when I want to stick them on paper, and other times they flood out and I merely hang on for the ride. "The Disappearance of Josie Andrew" was the later. I wrote the piece on a Saturday, in a single setting over a period of maybe four or six hours.
Of course, it then went to the Fishers Five and Lisa for modification. But it remains essentially the same tale that I put down that first morning.
I'm really proud of it. In fact it's one of the few stories of my own that I still read every now and again because it makes me feel strangely good. Obviously, it did okay with Dave Wolverton, too, since he picked it out of the WotF slush and placed it into the anthology.
I wish I could say more about it. But I can't. The tale speaks for itself.
So read it if you will, and then you can tell me why I like it so.