© Michael Errigo
Letter from the Editors Dear Reader, Here it is, our September Issue of Electric Spec, also known locally as the Rocky Mountain Gold edition, as many of our colleagues are attending that great writers' conference as you read this. We are continually amazed at the novelty, variety, quality, and sheer imagination presented to us in our submissions every quarter, and this issue is no exception. As the calendar turns toward Fall, and as the trees begin to give up the ghost and pack it in for Winter, you will find that our talented authors' minds seemed to have also picked up the 'death' vibe... T.A. Hernandez delivers a thrilling murder mystery in The Dead Life -- Times are tough for homicide detectives when the victim's ghost can spill the beans on their murderer, but that doesn't stop Detective Vasquez, a most unusual kind of detective. Neil Davies gives us a take on how facing death together can create new friendships from old enemies in The Lightship -- We expect it will be time to revisit the movie Enemy Mine after finishing this tale! In The Song of the Brethren, David Cleden creates a unique world that gives a whole new layer of meaning to the idea of The Giving Tree -- but of course with a vivid character to give it a new twist. In The Quiet Death, David Giles lets us into the curmudgeonly mind of Harry, the last human in a future Earth that is part Walking Dead and part Cell: A Novel (Stephen King's version, mind you). Is death the end, or a future of possibility? And last but not least, Mathew Nichols puts the dead to a whole new use in The Inmates are Running the Asylum, and the Asylum is Running the Ship -- A Halloween-themed story if ever there was one, Electric Spec style -- with both a haunted insane asylum and a starship! In Editors' Corner we have two fun entries: An excerpt from the middle-grade fantsy novel The Dragon Waking by Editor Grayson Towler--a charming story about a girl who discovers sleeping dragons are all around us. Editor Nikki Baird gives us a review of The Einstein Prophecy--it seems fascinating! As always, thanks for reading. We hope you enjoy this issue! The Electric Spec Team