Afterword to “Flash to Darkness”:
Bill: I attended L.A. Con II, the world con in 1984, where a short story of mine, “Wong’s Lost and Found Emporium,” was a finalist for the Hugo Award. While it didn’t win, the experience was exciting and I had a great time. Rob was unable to go because his apartment building had burned and he had escaped in a tight spot.
“The Ungood Earth” had been accepted by Stanley Schmidt, the editor, for Analog magazine and I was flattered when he took me out to lunch and proposed a story idea. He told me that the idea had originated with John Campbell, the editor who had given the magazine, then called “Astounding Stories,” its identity starting in 1937. Neither Campbell nor his successors, Ben Bova and Stan, had even received a submission based on the concept. He
