Myths & Delusions • Editorial • January 2016
I write this during the run-up to the new year, a time that finds the Mythic Delirium Books crew shoulder-deep in creating Kickstarter rewards. (You could argue this very issue is one of them.)
At the same time that I’m wondering how I’ll ever get out from under the hundreds of tasks I’ve set for myself, I’m still grateful that the work is necessary. I’m especially grateful to the subscribers and Kickstarter backers who are receiving this, who give me a reason to make it, who let me share this labor of love.
Our first issue of 2016 has shaken out in an unusual and nifty way. Anita (my wife and coeditor) and I like to string all of our books and issues together on the thread of theme, but it’s rare we find a trio of stories that fit together so perfectly. As coincidence or fate would have it, Sheila Finch, Janna Layton, and Jeannette Ng have arrived with fantasy tales that have embedded within them thoughtful takes on Christian themes, in the best traditions of Stephen King or James Morrow. A breeze from the ocean wafts through each of these tales as well, bearing tidings of murder, mayhem, and mermaids, an irresistible combination.
The poems in this issue further some of the motifs found in the fiction, while introducing a few of their own. Sandi Leibowitz and Melissa Frederick contemplate worlds ending; Olchar E. Lindsann discusses deicide while Edith Hope Bishop contemplates horrors that have become disturbingly everyday; Alexandra Seidel and Jennifer Crow complete the tour by taking us out to sea.
Our cover this time around is particularly special to me. This past October, Anita had her first solo art show, “Beyond the Borders,” in the Liminal: Alternative Artspace gallery here in Roanoke, Virginia. Her show consisted of a number of sculptures and assemblages of invented creatures and monsters, some of them quite large. The being on the cover is part of a piece called “Batterskit.” It was part sculpture, part mobile, and really difficult to photograph, but our longtime artist and writer friend Anne Sampson did an amazing job.
You can see more of Anita’s creature creations on the cover of Mythic Delirium 1.3, the Jan.–March 2015 issue. (A year ago! Where has the time gone?)
As of this writing I haven’t settled on the lineup for the April–June issue, though I can tell you we have enough great work in stock to carry us through mid-2017. You won’t want to miss any of it. And to make sure you don’t, keep your subscription current. You can subscribe or renew at this link, or, if you’d like to support our worthy comrades at Weightless Books, this link.
And now, let’s see what this mysterious stranger has to say about the macabre delivery he brings . . .
—Mike Allen, Roanoke, Va., December 2015
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