The world is full of ironies. The theme of this issue is Enlightenment in various incarnations. While we worked on this issue, a bright light in the world of literary, feminist, speculative fiction dimmed. The world lost a great writer and visionary in February when Octavia Butler died from a senseless accident . . . or a stroke caused by a senseless accident . . . or a senseless accident that caused a stroke. Imagine the story she could have composed from the conundrum created by the circumstances of her own death.

I have a confession to make. When we developed Khimairal Ink, I had a closely held wish--one I knew could never come true but still influenced the nature of this magazine. I wanted Khimairal Ink to be worthy of a story by Octavia Butler.

Many authors write from the heart. Butler wrote from the soul. Her writing style is spare, clear, and stark as her stories explore new worlds of gender, race, and society. She said it was a good thing she didn't have to take an IQ test to be awarded the MacArthur genius grant. I say, no IQ test in the world can measure true genius because true genius is creative, original, out of the box, and Octavia Butler was a true genius and we're fortunate that her works live on.

In this issue we have three returning authors and a newcomer to our pages. When I saw new submissions from Tyree Campbell and Sias Bryant I grinned in anticipation. Their styles and genres are as different as all the cliches for differences put together but they never fail to deliver stories that are entertaining and thought-provoking at the same time. Bryant employs a clever device of representing one character in plain text and the other character in italics. Sometimes how the words are put on the page can be as much a part of the story as the words themselves.

Last issue we had a story in the form of a play. This issue we feature three poems by Sheela Ardrian. She created a speculative world and uses poetry as the means of showing us this world. Adding to the world's--pardon the pun--otherworldliness.

We round off the issue with an excerpt from a novel by an author who's had two stories in Khimairal Ink, Barbara Davies. Davies takes a step away from speculative fiction with this entertaining tale of an ex-outlaw and a feisty young woman in America's old west.

I hope you enjoy this issue.

Carrie