Tuesday Toast - Ted Kosmatka

This weeks toast was supposed to be to our hero. I did that one last week: My Dad. Today I wanted to toast a great friend, Ted Kosmatka.

Ted lives not far from the dunes of Lake Michigan in a house shaped, vaguely, like a ship. From the local beach you can see Chicago on the horizon. Over the years, Ted has held down several different jobs, and been held down by several more; he’s fed tigers, and worked in laboratories, and shoveled coke in a steel mill blast furnace.

The oldest of four children, Ted was a biology major at Indiana University until his father died and financial realities forced him to drop out. He spent the next several years trying on occupations for size, but he eventually went back to school, taking classes between work shifts when he could afford it. On his days off, he worked at the Chicago Field Museum as a research assistant, studying the bones and artifacts of ancient man. While all this was going on, he was also writing--and getting rejected--a lot. (He has seriously considered wallpapering his bathroom with rejection letters, just to get some use from the forest of trees which gave their lives.)

He finally received his bachelors degree in 2001 and now works at one of the most advanced research labs in the world where he wears a white lab coat and gets to play with electron microscopes.

That is what Ted says of himself.

Ted Kosmatka is a lab rat from the north coast of the US. Among other things, he's been a zookeeper, a college tutor, a chem tech, and a steelworker. He now works in research and plies his living behind the objective lens of an electron microscope.

That is what others have describe Ted as.

Rich Horton's review [Of The Semptember Asimov's] issue singles out Ted Kosmatka's "The Prophet of Flores".

That is what some say of one of his newest published works, Others say of the story

Kosmatka's story [The Prophet of Flores] puts a truly original spin on the the idea of a conflict between science and faith. The story doesn't end where you'd expect....

Of his newest story Deadnauts published in the fast growing online publication Ideomancer, it is being said

An incredible short story. Not so much haunting as terrifying.

This is one of the best stories I've read in a long time...

Ted says of the story

The seed of this story formed near the end of a sleep-deprived 88-hour workweek at US Steel. After the third midnights-to-days double shift, I couldn't do math anymore. I couldn't remember my computer passwords. There is a peculiar kind of terror in knowing that your job is stripping your mind away one little piece at a time.

His wonderfully crafted stories are gathering more and more worldwide critical acclaim. He has been published around the world, and translated into 3 languages. Look for some of his work in many "Year's Best" anthologies. I would also expect some nominations for "best" awards will be heading his way. Yes folks his stories are really that good. Get yourself a copy of Asimov's September issue and read his The Prophet of Flores. Head over to Ideomancer and read Deadnauts. You will not be disappointed.

So to you Ted, after all that everyone else has to say, I call you friend. Here's to you!

later all and have a profitable and productive blogging day

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