I just saw a mention on Locus Online that Rich Horton listed my story "Dibs" in the April issue of Analog as a recommended story. This is a nice surprise.

A few years ago, when Mark Kelly was the short fiction reviewer, there would hardly be a mention of Analog, and if it was reviewed at all, usually only the stories by the big names would be mentioned. That generally meant my stories went unreviewed in the science fiction field's newspaper of record.

"Dib" is the second story of mine that Rich Horton has recommended in his short fiction reviews in Locus, and he's also mentioned some of my stuff in his year-end wrap-ups. I suppose it would sound like pandering for me to say I respect Rich a lot as a critic, but I do. He apparently reads all the short SF published every year and reviews it. I don't know how he accomplishes this feat, but he does it year after year. The "best science fiction of the year" anthology field has gotten a bit crowded lately, with annuals from Dozois, Hartwell and Silverberg. If there were room for another, Rich Horton would probably be the best guy to edit it as he seems to cover more ground than just about anyone else with his reviews. I hope he doesn't burn out on all the reading -- we need someone like him.