Bewildering Stories welcomes...

Kristen Tracey

The Internet is a democratic forum for ideas par excellence; Plato might have loved it... I think. In an on-line course I teach, I remind the students that no one knows what they look like or where they are unless they happen to mention it. Nor, in some cases, whether they’re male or female; not that it matters. And that is as it ought to be: instructors don’t grade students; they mark papers and exams.

The same is true here, at Bewildering Stories. We haven’t met the authors in person; all we have to go by is what they send us. Now, an experienced reader can quickly get a “feel” for personalities in e-mail exchanges, just as in reading literature. I’ve met many people with whom I’d corresponded, and in only one case was I surprised. And then the surprise was a pleasant one, because the fellow turned out to be more cheerful than I expected; he has an unusual sense of humor that’s hard to capture in writing. Definitely a literary challenge of sorts.

Now, guess the age of the author of “Words and Colors No Man Can Understand.” The oldest or youngest of all our authors? Here’s a clue: we don’t know. And it doesn’t matter. Kristen’s biographical sketch will give you some information, though.

Thank you for a dark, mysterious and yet colorful story, Kristen. We wish you all the best in your new career and hope to hear from you again.