Dear Reader:

It becomes increasingly difficult to write editorials for each new issue of Writer's Cramp without repeating the same praise for the quality and diversity of fiction, poetry and articles published within these pages. It seems the slant to effusiveness is sometimes in danger of ringing either untrue or self serving on the editor's part. But when taken with the evidence of hard statistics compiled by our web tracking tools the effusiveness is rigidly backed up by the numbers of monthly hits and visits from new and returning devotees of the site. Writer's Cramp surpassed the 200,000 hit mark for the past twelve months, two issues ago and the hit rate continues to climb.

The magazine achieved 50,000 hits during the recent run of the April/May edition. These numbers projected over the next scheduled six issues will break the 300,000 hit mark for the current year. By all accounts, this is a phenomenal achievement for a literary site that has no other financial backing than the support of its readership and the contribution of exemplary content by our group of constantly excellent writers.

Enough of the dry stuff.

Our group of writers is also growing at a steady rate. Over the next two issues we will introduce a number of first time authors to our pages. And this Early Summer Issue sees the return of two of our prodigals with works of flash fiction, prose poetry and poetry in its purest sense. Jan Oskar Hansen crashes ashore once again with provocative and introspective verse collected as Adrift on a Sea of Longing. His words touch chords in the subliminal soul, shared and sometimes dreaded by every thinking being.

Marcey Gray, too long away from our pages and our company, returns triumphantly with poetry and prose poems quantum leaps ahead of anything she's written in the past for Writer's Cramp. This is the highest compliment since Ms. Gray's previous works are gems of rare delicacy and style. These new pieces are preternatural in their acute pealing up of the carpet covering the visible facade, to allow a glimpse at the disturbing and better-left-hidden underneath.

Charles Ivie has given us an intriguing little slice of imagination called The Good Luck Charm, a fascinating look into the realm of impossible possibilities.

RG Liberty offers two very personal pieces of poetry. One is a lament, visions in a frosted i, and the other, The Touch, is a celebration of love and lust and sexuality embraced.

We welcome three new writers to WC, this issue and predict return visits from each over the coming months and years. First is a delightful poet from Great Britain, Karen Canning. Her poetry collection, Visions of Never Ending Dreams resonates with the longing and pain and fear and ecstasy of loving and being loved and of losing that love, and at times losing one's self to what should never have been. Her work is inspired by her life and that is, after all, what poetry strives to be. A reflection of life in one disguise or another.

Second is a monk of the Ramakrishna Order of India, Swami Sampurnananda, whose beautiful poem, A Visitor at the Snowy Heights invokes visions of magical delight, human frailties and a glimpse into the truth of enlightenment.

Finally, a broad departure from the regular fare of Writer's Cramp and one that at first glance may seem incongruous to our past leanings toward poetic and genre based writing. But when one reexamines the credo on our front page one sees, "Writer's Cramp is intended as an outlet for you, the dedicated writer, to bring your message, style and love of words to others who share your passion."

This is by means of introduction to Olev Edur, a past editor, current freelance business/financial writer and a new explorer into the world of mainstream articles and the complicated and frightening world of pure fiction. Many writers with academic degrees in journalism or business writing find, later in their careers, that writing can be, and should be, much more than it has been for them during their business years. When this happens, the epiphany is electric and thunderous and usually is ignored by the more timid, who simply go back to the familiar and the safe. Others take that next step in their evolution as writers and cast the dice in an all or nothing, terrifying, roll.

It's always amazing to watch the beginnings of this transformation. And that is what we do here in this issue. Olev Edur is taking that biggest step from safe to terrifying by allowing us to read his pictorial and personal journey into his Adventures in Ancient Lands.

Enjoy.