June 21, 2018

Dear Friends,

Here we are, summertime again. Bring on the flip-flops, the sunscreen, the lazy afternoons sipping iced tea on the deck. Things that take us back to last summer, when MoonPark Review was just a twinkle in our eyes — without a name, or shape. When it was just a wild idea, a glimmer of possibility for two writers wondering: What if we did this crazy thing together??

Now that we have a full year of MoonPark Review under our belts, maybe it’s safe to admit that when we started this literary adventure a year ago, we had no idea how it would come out! No idea whether we’d be good at this editorial thing, or if we’d enjoy doing it over an extended period of time. We certainly couldn’t have anticipated how the journal would evolve. No idea that in our very first issue we’d publish a story that would become a Finalist for the 2018 Best Small Fictions and be selected as one of Wigleaf’s Top 50. Thank you, again, Georgia Bellas, for blessing us with that beautiful story! We have so much love and gratitude for all of our amazing contributors — thank you for trusting two newbie editors to publish your fantastic work!

So much about this endeavor has delighted and surprised us. But most of all, we couldn’t have anticipated how much we’d truly love being an editorial team. How much we’d enjoy putting the issues together. Or how much our contributors’ stories would inspire Lesley’s artistic impulses to grow and evolve. 

We started off on this journey with a few simple MoonPark guideposts to shape our path: quarterly publication at the turn of the season; original art to accompany every prose piece; both editors must love every piece; the number 13; strong images; darkness and light; queer themes. After compiling four issues we’ve discovered other patterns we can’t seem to resist but we’ll keep those secrets to ourselves. The careful reader will find them…our MoonPark obsessions.

But yes, it is summer again. There is so much in the world today to make us anxious, or furious, or give us pause. Perhaps in response to that, or in spite of it, here in Issue Four of MoonPark Review we find ourselves preoccupied with love. Anxious, uncertain, devoted, dangerous, familial, and sometimes, ill-fated. The many faces of love in a world that is spinning out of control.

As the Solstice arrives, we hope you will take a few moment’s solace from the world’s insanity and enjoy these thirteen new prose gems by thirteen fantastic writers. 

We’re just getting started here at MoonPark Review. One year down, and counting.

Warm Regards,
Mary Lynn Reed & Lesley C. Weston
Editors, MoonPark Review

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