In this issue we travel to Mars, where rich clods of soil break between our fingers; go door to door, selling magic wands and giving away steak knives; and visit a village where only the power of imagination can heal the greatest evil. Along the way, the heart of an Ancient beats strong, terrifying beasts wait just out of sight, and an AI experiments with generosity.

In the face of continuing encroachment of civilization, rising sea levels, and climate change, life still finds a way. We take a look at three unexpected success stories of the natural world as it deals with stressors of the Anthropocene age.

One common problem in story submissions is spoiled dialog. The first paragraph opens with intrigue, the setting is revealed with deft strokes, and engaging prose pulls us right along until… the characters start to talk. We look at how authors often spoil their dialog and consider eavesdropping as a metaphor for crafting inter-character communications that work.

Over the decades, Wulf Moon has taken countless workshops, seminars, and writing courses from college professors to New York Times bestselling authors. Many were experts in their genres, yet none of them talked about the concept of Heart’s Desire. Of course, good stories, great stories, and moving stories must engage, not just the mind, but above all else, the heart!

Mary’s poem evokes a cultural obsession which may come to pass among the first settlers of Mars, as they struggle to bring the cold and sterile tunnels of the red planet to life

This story takes place in our native Pittsburgh at the famed Carnegie Mellon University, when a student finds their bank account suddenly enriched by The Joy Fund, a boon meant to help them enjoy their last days. Last days! What does The Joy Fund know, and when did they know it?

Humans and nature are fundamentally one and the same. We are interconnected, and though it is natural to leverage our position in the ecosystem, approaching the world with respect or rapaciousness can be the choice between life and death.

Leonard Boxwell sells used wands after the Collapse, a mysterious event which has severely limited the power of magic in the world. Instead of making what few bucks he can, Leonard finds ways to aid the unfortunate in his territory. When will the Directorate of Magical Enforcement shut him down?

Sometimes, the future hinges on a whisker of a moment. In this flash fiction, we look in on one such moment, as two beings with a troubled past find themselves side by side in “that folded dimension between a promise and a lie,” as “lurking creatures tick forward in the dark.”

On Mars, the ground beneath your feet is a fine regolith, a blanket of loose, heterogeneous deposits covering solid rock. This dust is comprised of silicon dioxide, ferric oxide, and a fair amount of aluminum oxide, calcium oxide, and sulfur oxide. When it comes to establishing a human settlement, that just won’t do.

Played on a triple word score in Scrabble, ZOEXLOWN (with the X on a double letter) can give you 105 points! And while there is no official recognition of this Zlovnian word meaning “beautiful flower,” nor of the Zlovnian language itself, they live in the imagination with the power to heal the greatest evils and shield an innocent generation from the horrors of the past.

We have so many people to thank! Founders, Kickstarter Heroes, Contributors, Friends, Family, and First Line Readers.