Interview with Christopher M. Cevasco

Christopher M. Cevasco is the editor and publisher of Paradox: The Magazine of Historical and Speculative Fiction. His own fiction--mostly alternate history, historical fantasy and horror, mainstream historical fiction, and some science fiction--has recently appeared or is forthcoming in The Leading Edge, Allen K's Inhuman, Twilight Tales, Flashquake, Lovecraft's Weird Mysteries, and A Field Guide to Surreal Botany (Two Cranes Press), among several other magazines and anthologies. He's sold poems to Dark Wisdom and Star*Line and has written reviews of historical novels for Strange Horizons. Chris is a graduate of both the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers' Workshop and the Taos Toolbox writer's workshop.

In each issue of Paradox, you will find an abundance of short historical fiction, as well as fantasy, science fiction, and horror with historical themes--e.g., alternate history, myth, time travel, Arthuriana. The magazine also includes interviews with best-selling historical novelists, essays on topics in history and literature, reviews of current historical fiction books and films, and more!

Paradox is published twice per year, in April and October.

Welcome to PASTimes, Chris. Tell us a little about the history of Paradox.

My primary motivation in creating Paradox was a perception that there was a gap in the short fiction market. In addition to being an editor and publisher, I am a writer, and I tend mainly to write stories that are very steeped in history. The more purely historical, the harder it is to find markets for these tales, and often even my historical fantasy work comes back with a rejection letter indicating that the story was just a little too heavy on the history for the magazine's target audience. I realized that if I was experiencing this problem, other writers must be as well, and that's when I started thinking about creating a magazine that would cater to those writers.

And I hoped it would also generate interest among readers who enjoy historical works. Historical novels abound, but there was no print magazine of which I was aware exclusively dedicated to short historical fiction in either its mainstream or genre forms. The Historical Novel Society was publishing Solander biannually with a single story in each issue, and magazines such as F&SF, Asimov's, Realms of Fantasy, etc. occasionally include alternate history, historical fantasy, or time travel tales. But there was no print magazine to which fans of these types of stories could turn for a regularly occurring fix—at least not in the English language. Now there is.

How would you describe the readers of your magazine? Age, demographics?

Basically, Paradox readers possess a keen interest in history, military history, mythology, alternate history, and related topics. I've met dozens of subscribers at various writers' conferences and genre conventions, and I've actually been amazed at the range of ages represented by the magazine's readers—high school kids right on up through people in their seventies. And there seems to be a fairly even split between men and women, both in terms of subscribers and those writers who submit their work to be considered for publication in the magazine.



How is the magazine broken up in terms of short stories, reviews, historical information?

The primary focus of the magazine is new historical short fiction. Each issue features between six and eight new stories, depending on the length of the stories in question. Typically there are also three or four historically themed poems in each issue along with reviews of two new historical novels and two current historical movies. Most issues also feature an interview with an historical novelist—some of the writers I've interviewed in past issues of the magazine include Bernard Cornwell, Connie Willis, Karen Essex, and Kevin Baker. Occasionally, I will also feature a non-fiction article on a topic in history, literary history, etc.

Are you actively looking for contributors? What elements in a story draw your attention?

Absolutely—the magazine is open for submissions, and complete submission guidelines are available on the website. Any historically themed story would be a potentially good fit for the magazine, but I'm looking for stories with a unique and compelling narrative voice. The story should grab me in the first few paragraphs and never let me go (stories that begin slowly and meander their way toward the central story are far less likely to emerge successfully from the submission pile). I also seek stories that are artfully crafted, have engaging, fully-developed characters, rich settings, and satisfying (though not necessarily happy) endings. If a story explores or illuminates some aspect of human nature, all the better. Perhaps the most important thing I want from a story is the sensation of having fallen through a window into a vivid, believable place and time that no longer exists but feels, while I'm reading, as though it does.

A large number of our blog’s readers write for the Christian market. Would you consider publishing a short story with a Christian theme? I think most of the Christian writers know not to write in a preachy tone, but if a short story submission had a Christian element would it matter?



As long as the story has some integral historical context, I don't have any restrictions regarding theme. Paradox has in the past featured stories relating to the history and beliefs of several world religions and spiritual traditions.

As an editor, what are some of your pet peeves regarding authors?

Come back tomorrow for the answer and the conclusion of the interview. Leave a comment for a chance to win a one-year subscription (two issues) to Paradox!