Fairly recently, a friend told me I have a luminous smile, that she didn’t see it often, but when she did, it lit the place up. Know when that happens? When I’m talking about SmokeLong, and all the amazing authors we’ve had the pleasure of publishing. (And lest the previous sound egotistical, my therapist (how ubiquitous has that phrase become?) also commented on the fevered pitch my voice would take when talking about SLQ.)
And this issue is no exception. Well, actually, it’s truly exceptional. The work found in this issue is phenomenal, better than I ever imagined a simple little online magazine could ever hope to publish. From Ellen Parker’s work that made the phrase “I heart fence porn” a staple in staff conversations to Ellen Meister’s tender musings on the word Tetszik to Brian Gaolor’s myths about dogs to Terry DeHart’s take on an infamous recluse, we think you’ll be dazzled throughout.
I have to take a moment to thank the staff of SmokeLong as well. Nance Knauer, who we published in our first two issues, has been a Godsend as a Guest Editor, so much so that we begged her to stay on board beyond this issue as a permanent member of the staff. Tommy White and Amy Sparks both had wonderfully insightful things to say about every piece submitted and made working on SLQ a daily pleasure. Lisa Robertson posed the most fascinating questions and received even more interesting answers from the authors in turn. Once again, the interviews make for almost as fascinating a read as the stories themselves. The writers published herein are not only master story-tellers, but phenomenally interesting human beings.
As much as I’d love to ramble on and on and on about the people who made this issue our best yet, I’d rather let you go read for yourself. As you do, I’m sure you’ll have that same luminous smile on your face and people around you will wonder what your secret is. Just tell them you’re visualizing your spouse as a Mille Fleur. Go. Read. It’ll all make perfect sense.
Beaming,
Dave Clapper
Editor, SmokeLong Quarterly
March 15, 2004
A SmokeLong Summer 24!