One of the main inspirations for Don’t Look came from one of my favorite writers. I have admired this writer for almost a decade now, always blown away by the power-per-word punch per page. The stories were so short: compact, complete and hard hitting. I was forever blown away.

Jack Lee has taught me much about the importance of words. My natural inclination tends towards wordiness. More words don’t equal better conveyance of story; more words mean more words. Jack’s stories reach down your throat and yank on your heart and/or stomach, usually in two hundred words or less. In my book, that’s art.

When looking for publishers, Jack had a problem. Not many venues welcome short short fiction. Most publications never mention how low a word count can go. It’s a hard road to walk when all the signs read “No Vacancy.”

This issue’s blame goes to Jack Lee. For years now, Jack has been blaming me for everything. Payback’s a bitch, especially when truth has its back.

I hope this makes the road a little softer.