Message from the Editors We hope you've successfully made it through winter and are ready for a great spring! Here at Electric Spec, we're starting off spring by hatching some great new stories for you. To us, nothing says "new flowers blooming" like post-apocalyptic cyberpunk, and author Charles Ebert delivers it with "Digital Rapture." For those in a more literary frame of mind, you should take the time to enjoy the numerous William Carlos Williams cross-references in the off-the-wall fantasy "This is Just to Say," by Timothy Mudie. (A quick read of the WCW poems "This is Just to Say" and "The Red Wheelbarrow" may enhance the reading experience for this one). Following the literary theme, be sure to check out our Editor's Corner story by Lesley L. Smith: "A Sea of Stars", sci-fi with a Shakespearian twist. If these stories don't have you hooked already, check out Van Aaron Hughes' "Butcher's Hook," an off-world science fiction story that provide a disturbing answer to the common question "What's for dinner?" We've also got something for the steampunk fans out there: "The Family Tree" by Daniel Kason is a story that really ... er ... grows on you. For something a bit darker, we hope you enjoy "The Nightmare of Red O'Leary by Vanessa MacLellan. Finally, we are super excited to feature an interview with best-selling fantasy author Mark Lawrence. Discover what his Empire Series has in common with A Clockwork Orange.