Message from the Editors Spring has sprung here at Electric Spec and with it comes a whole new team of great speculative fiction stories. Hitting leadoff is a spectacular cyber-punk story, Aaron Ritchey's "The Disconnected." Next up in the order is, surprisingly, a rugby player, but you'll see the player's special skills in "A Beastly Game" by Sarah Pinsker are a perfect fit to our lineup. With two players already on base, "The City of Tears" by Maigen Turner comes next. You might want to keep an eye this batter--watch out for wild swings! Our clean up player has come out of the trenches--literally. Charlotte Nash's "Tartarus" is a sci-fi battle story that really packs a wallop. Our pitcher is up next: Jarod K. Anderson's "Bull's and Magic" will throw you a curve, and that's no bull. The color commentary for this issue will be provided by author Kenny Soward, author of ROUGH MAGIC. And if you're hoping for a fairy tale ending, be sure to ready Marty' Mapes' movie column to lean about about a unique fairy-tale themed movie that goes beyond the hype around other film fare in 2013. Finally, our manager David E. Hughes has decided to take to the diamond with "The Art of Persuasion" a sci-fi tale that explains the real reason behind a lawyer's courtroom skills. Now, open up a story and play ball!