So. Issue 8 of Bewildering Stories. This means we've been up for almost 10 weeks now. That's not very long, even in dog years, although I've seen websites that didn't even last that long. When we started this, I had no idea of the number of webzines that are up. I don't much like reading prose off the screen. Yes, I am an unregenerate book-aholic, with a low taste for magazine SF as well.

Still, fiction on the web is a healthy growing field. Unlike the creation of MP3s, which at least requires someone to spend some quality time creating music, and then either transferring it directly from tape to MP3 (not terribly likely, I'll grant you) or creating a CD for someone to rip, and let the rest of us peons "have a listen", web-fiction is solitary and relatively easy.

I remember (because I read a book once) the art of letter writing. In some ways, letter writing is a dead issue, as most correspondence is far more easily accomplished by e-mail, which has a tendency to be ephemeral. A series of three or four (or more) page letters traversing back and forth between two souls who actually have a grasp of the English Language in its beauty and power has filled many readers with joy. Now unfortunately, thanks to a generally pathetic excuse for a school system, most e-mail correspondents don't have a clue as to the creation of a paragraph of grammatically, correctly spelled, coherent prose.

But I wander. I can, you know, because it's my page.

Back to the "issue at hand" as someone (and if you know who, good for you!) said. Writing is a solitary task, and you get the privilege of throwing most of it away for a long time. But now at least you can get somewhat of a boost, because just being published is a warming feeling. So, anyway, I would like to offer, to those who would like, this editorial pulpit, so that you too can praise or attack something you feel deserves it.

Aroint!