Kyle Duane Hebert

EDITOR’S NOTE
BY KYLE DUANE HEBERT
Originally Published September 2005, Nougat Magazine

Welcome, make yourself comfortable. We built this house of words for you.

We knew—or at least thought we knew—Lexington and the surrounding area was full of great writers with unheard voices. We issued the call, opened our inboxes, and waited. Thankfully we weren’t waiting long before the words started pouring in. We received submissions from established writers, and others from writers whose work has never left the digital comfort of their hard drives.

A lot of what I read was what I expected: stories about hard lives in hard counties. Stories about quiet lives touched by unspeakable things. Others were more adventurous, bizarre even, and I loved every one of them. Even the stories not published here were a joy to read. Knowing that people are out there, putting words to page in Berea, Frankfort, Lawrenceburg and beyond brings immense satisfaction. Great works of fiction aren’t simply dished out from on high from the high-rise publishing houses in New York. In fact I would submit that very little of great fiction comes from there at all. Great fiction comes from people who care about the craft of story, from people like you and I and the writers featured in this issue.

We want you to get to know these authors. If you like their work, seek out more of it. One of them might even be the quiet guy next door who spends all that time bathed in the blue light of his computer monitor. He’s telling a story for you, letting you see the world through his eyes. If you don’t like what you read here, write something of your own. Even if it stays, unread, in your composition book forever, write it down. Tell a story. Tell your story. In an age of impermanence, words last. Stories stick around. It is our hope that something in this inaugural fiction issue will stay with you. Some afternoon, eons from now we hope that one of these stories uncoils in your mind and brings a smile to your face.

And now Thanks. Thanks to Amber for allowing me to do this. Her vision for this magazine, this issue, and the art scene in Lexington is needed, and she’s doing it well. Also thanks to all of the authors whose work appears here, and to those whose doesn’t. I loved reading your stories, fine tuning them, and making them the best they could be. Finally thanks to you for picking up this issue, for expressing interest in literature produced by those around you.