Letter from the Editors
Dear Reader,
Herein you will find our 2020 Winter issue of Electric Spec, and our last issue in one crazy-ass year. Theoretically, it has been a year of direct source material for all of the bright and creative writers who submit stories to our publication. The reality has been far more depressing, and grinding, and just generally shitty, if you will excuse the language, than any good writer would ever make into a story.
We can't fix any of that, unfortunately. No magic wands or spell-casting dragons. No AI-designed miracle cures, not even deals with the Devil himself. What we can do is share stories we love--stories that can transport you to other places and give you at least a brief moment of respite from the real world.
So, even though it's not February (when you might expect a theme like this), we bring you our Love issue. "Love?" you ask incredulously. Yes, Love. The warmth of heart that comes from seeking and finding good things in the world, and the warmth that comes from inspiring that feeling in others. Love comes in all shapes and sizes.
- Face the World by Jamie Lackey--Our near-future tech story of the issue. Being able to portray any emotion whether you mean it or not might seem like the perfect answer to navigating the dating scene--until you try it.
- Healing the Unicorn by Maureen Bowden--A classic high-spirited fantasy romance. We've published Maureen's stories before, but she seems to have really found her writer's voice in this one.
- Mija by John Visclosky--A literal take on what it means to give your heart away. I'm not crying, you're crying!
- Frost by Dor Atkinson--The tale of a small prophecy that is a long, long time in the making. And an unexpected ending to what might seem like a simple ghost story on the surface.
- Love Me Tinder by Sarina Dorie--Okay, maybe this one is more like the transition story from Halloween into winter, but still a high-energy story, and maybe Tinder's not exactly the territory of "love" but it's as close as you might expect to get if you're a demon spider.
In Editors' Corner Fiction we have The Dragon and the Shepherd by Grayson
Towler--In which a woman and her dog learn that you can't herd dragons, but you can
learn their secrets.
In Editors' Corner Nonfiction Esoteric magician and author Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki talks to us about
her new series of books that offer a modern twist on the Arthurian legends.
Hopefully these stories help keep you warm during the coldest winter months! We'll "see" you again in 2021, a year where we also hope to keep the speculative fiction on the page and screen--and out of our everyday lives!
-- Nikki, Lesley, and Grayson
