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Dave
webmaster@sfreader.com

David L. Felts is 38, married, two kids and currently resides in Palm Harbor, Florida. After more then a decade in the Air Force, he left active service in 1999, though he remained in the reserves. He was recalled to full-time duty after the 9/11 terrorist attack, and ended up working at HQ USCENTCOM until September 2003, when he returned back to regular reserve duty of 2 days a month, 2 weeks a year. In the civilian world, he works for a defense contractor as a database administrator and web application developer.

His time in the service led him to a variety of locations: San Antonio, Texas; Miami, Florida; Tokyo, Japan; Tucson, Arizona; Montgomery, Alabama and, Goldsboro, North Carolina.

He was the editor and publisher of the small press magazine, Maelstrom Speculative Fiction; he produced 8 issues. His latest venture, SFReader.com has been on line since Janury 2001.

PUBLICATION HISTORY

The King's General, forthcoming in Elysian Fiction
The Howling Hills, Sword's Edge #17
This is Jimmy Dale, Ideomancer Unbound Anthology
From the Mouths of Birds, 1st place winner 6th Chiaroscuro Story Contest 1999, Honorable Mention, Ellen Datlow's and Terry Windling's Year's Best Fantasy and Horror XIII
Troder,Writers of the Future volume XIII, reprinted in Neverworlds #6 and Ideomancer #1
Last Call, Millenium SF
The Rain King, Millenium SF, reprinted in Neverworlds #3 and Electric Wine
The Color of Honor, Fortress Magazine, reprinted in Neverworlds #2
Chopper, Vampire Dan's Story Emporium #4
Paper Children, Flesh and Blood
Bone Gardener (poem), Goddess of the Bay
To Chop No More (poem), Eternity On Line

WHAT PEOPLE HAVE SAID ABOUT MY STORIES

“The Rain King” is another sort of ghost story, one that grabbed me right from the start and had me in a full nelson right to the end. A young girl sees a legendary figure, the Rain King, a powerful wizard who lost his wife and daughter in a river-crossing accident years ago and cast a spell of everlasting rain over the land in his grief. Miri wants to ask the Rain King if there’s really a sun, and on Mourning Day she does just that. Her father’s warnings of the Rain King’s dangerousness prove all too true, but Miri finds a way to help the Rain King and her family. David Felts found a bit of magic and wove it into a story that would be quite comfortable next to any classic fairy tale. -- J. G. Stinson, Marketlist Online

"This is Jimmy Dale" -- Character and plot moved this story much more than the idea itself, making a gripping tale, and like the masters of the short story of yesteryear, the punch line left me gobsmacked. This tale too had massive holes in it, but it's a credit to the author that I didn't notice them until afterwards. Characterization and, more importantly, pace, zipped the tale along to its unexpected conclusion. -- Barbara Barret, Tangent Online

"The Man in the Maze" -- David L. Felts' "Man in the Maze" online at NEVERWORLDS right now is darn good. Danged good, even. -- Terry from Speculations Rumor Mill

I read a story in the most recent issue of Flesh & Blood (#5) called "Paper Children" by David L. Felts that I enjoyed very much. I urge everyone here to hunt down a copy of the magazine and buy a copy of issue #5. Not only does that story rock, the entire issue is outstanding, not to mention the magazine's production value and the cover art... (which is the best cover I have ever seen in the small press horror industry). If anyone wants a link to how to purchase the issue, e-mail. I don't put it here because it is Project Pulp, and I don't want this to come off as a self promotion disguised as a praise. David's story really is fantastic. -- John Hodges from Speculations Rumor Mill

"Paper Children" by David L. Felts was also particularly moving. More dark fantasy than horror, it is the story of a young girl who is verbally and sexually abused by her stepfather. Her only escape is through origami, and she has tiny paper creatures of all shapes and sizes scattered throughout her bedroom. When the persistent abuse causes her to reach the breaking point, her "paper children" assist her in solving her problems in a rather unique fashion. -- Jeff and Judy's Reviews

My favorite story out of here [Flesh and Blood] was Paper Children by David Felts. His story was eerie in all senses. It had the twist of a fairy tale with that harsh reality break in it. A must read..now I know why the sub-title is Quiet Tales of Horror, this story was it! -- Nell Harmon, Suite 101

WHAT PEOPLE SAID ABOUT MALESTROM SF

"Just wanted to let you know how great it was to sit down the other day (after a very trying day at work) with a nice cold beer and my latest issue of Maelstrom! The stories you choose remind me of the old Tomorrow Speculative Fiction magazine--one of my all-time favorites."

"I liked it."

"Beautiful issue, and thank you so much! I'm thrilled to be even a small part of it. The stories are great!"

"Just wanted to send a sparkling round of applause for Maelstrom #7, which arrived this morning. You've earned my respect with your faultless layout and attention to detail."

"A really clever, interesting story in Maelstrom Speculative Fiction #6. Fascinating world, or multiple worlds, and a great cast of characters."

"Just got MSF #7 in the P.O. box today and stole away enough time to read the whole zine. (Yup, the WHOLE zine.) I think this may be your best issue yet."

WHAT PEOPLE SAID ABOUT MY EDITING MALESTROM SF

"I just wanted to thank you for your reading and quick response to my submission. It wasn't accepted, but you were GREAT in giving me such an overall critique. Your time for that is appreciated and very, very helpful."

"Dave runs a very writer-friendly magazine. He's willing to work with authors and he's very flexible."

"He's such a nice guy"

"I'll probably leave someone out, but the ones I've submitted to more than once that are particularly encouraging, fast, or incisive about flaws are:...David Felts at MAELSTROM..."

"David Felts at Maelstrom has helped me far above the call of editorial duty. One of these days I hope I'm famous enough that when I thank him for all the help it'll mean something."

"David Felts has been working with me on a story, for quite a long time. Again I tell everyone that David has taught me a lot about writing, while leaving my story mine."

"He can order beer in Japanese"

(In response to a request for revisions):I've not only done all those things, I've done them to such satisfaction that I'm embarrassed to have bothered you with previous versions of the story. Your help and patience have been invaluable in making these improvements, and perhaps teaching me lessons that I can apply to a large quantity of my other fiction. I'm a lot closer to seeing why I've only managed two sales so far.