Welcome to the first ever issue of Strange Paths! We're all a little excited around here, mostly from lack of sleep, so we decided instead of having a standard editorial here like there usually would be -- most likely something rantish on the state of the Fantasy and Horror genres or similarly themed statments -- that we would put up a general guide to how Strange Paths is laid out and an explination of the format.

The optimal way to view this site is with frames. We know that there are those out there who think frames were created by the devil, and so we have provided a non-frames version accessable from the main page, however everything is not linked up to the non-frames version at this time. We apologize for any inconvenience, and plan to keep updating the site to fix quirks and typos before it is replaced on November 1st with Issue 2.

We strongly recommend that our readers read our selections from the Table of Contents page in the order that the works are presented rather than jumping right to the Stories or Poetry pages, although this is certainly an option. The works are not arranged in order of quality, length or alphabetically, but instead like a real magazine are arranged to provide a thematic flow from piece to piece. We truly believe that reading this month's selections in this order will heighten the experience of the reader to more fully appreciate the talent of our featured artists.

One other notable feature of this site is the Ratings Page. This page does not rate the quality of the content of this month's selections, but instead is designed as a tool for parents with small children and those who would prefer not to view scary, violent or sexually related material. This is an optional page to be used as a guide by those who need it, but can be safely ignored by those who would rather be surprised as to what lies in store for them when they bring up a new page like myself.

Also, please make sure you visit the About the Artists page while you're here and drop our artists a line if you enjoyed their pieces. Without their hard work, this site wouldn't be here!

Unfortunately, in the rush to meet our deadline this month, this page has gone up without completed Articles and Reviews sections or much artwork, but rest assured we intend to take full advantage of the online medium and continue to update Issue 1 for the rest of the time that it is the featured issue. For example, this page will be run through a spell-checker at some point. We promise.

And, as always, if you have something you want to send to us to use in the next issue, Submit It! We're always looking for works to feature in our next issue!

Enjoy, and may the Strange Paths we all follow bring you back again soon!

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