What better way to melt away the winter blues than with Ray Bradbury's ROCKET SUMMER? But this episode of the podcast isn't about the familiar opening chapter of THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES. No, here I'm looking at Bradbury's FIRST use of the title "Rocket Summer".

It's a rare 1947 short story, published just once in PLANET STORIES, and never again reprinted. You won't find it in any of Ray's books.

It also has the odd status of being in the public domain, thanks to an oversight: it should have had its copyright renewed in 1975 (following the 28-year-renewal system in use at that time). But the renewal didn't happen. Because it's public domain, I can here present the entire story to you (if you can tolerate my storytelling voice...).

For more on Bradbury, and for show notes - including a link to the original 1947 Planet Stories issue - remember to check out my website, www.bradburymedia.co.uk