smbdoll
Member
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Hello again readers! It's wonderful to be publishing the first Zardian issue of 2009. Last year was full of amazing issues. I'd like to congratulate the entire team on the job they did and I look forward to seeing what they come up with this year. Hopefully this year will be even better, funnier and more random than ever. I feel that's the case with this issue, which is brimming over with articles that set a new standard for The Zardian. We've had a bit of a luxury problem, with more articles submitted for publishing than could possibly fit in this issue! While I would have loved to include every article, we had to decide which ones would be left behind. The choices were not easy and I regret having to leave out the articles we did decide against. They were all worth reading and I wish I could decide how to present them to you. That's something you readers can help me with. How do we present these extra articles to you? Do we save them for a later issue, just in case something comes up where our authors can't submit articles on time? Or do we make a special extra issue? Let us know what you want! You know what that means. Once again we're begging you to visit us in our feedback forums and leave us your opinions. We want to hear from you, we need to hear from you. You are the only ones that can tell us what you like and what you want to see more of. We saw a lot come and go last year and the future will also bring new challenges and changes. Unfortunately, sometimes change also means saying farewell. As many of you know, Alac resigned from the ezine to focus on other aspects of life last issue. We will miss her and wish her the best of luck in the future as she concentrates on other aspects of Artix Entertainment. Another farewell for this issue is personal. Maegwyn's mother in law passed away this week and Maegwyn has been preoccupied with being strong for her family. It's uncertain how long she'll need before returning to The Zardian, but our thoughts are with her. It's never easy to say farewell and we'll all be here for Maegwyn if she needs a shoulder to cry on, someone to listen to her, or even someone to yell at. This issue has been a challenge to produce without the support I'm used to from Maegwyn and Alac. Maegwyn often serves as my right hand (and the right side of my brain. Honestly, conversations with her get creepy with how often we have the same idea at the same time!) Yet her family needs are more important. The Zardian will have to struggle on until she comes back. Yes, it is a struggle, but we are making do. It's taking the efforts of nearly the entire team though. Maegwyn is an indispensable member of AE with her fingers in nearly every project. We'll keep things afloat for now, but please hurry back Mae! We need you! Alac, you've been great in helping transfer the reigns. You made the transition so simple for me and taught me what I most needed to know before I even had to ask. You set up a system for the Zardian that works flawlessly, a team that functions seamlessly and a standard for quality that will be difficult to uphold, but the challenge will be worth the effort. I only hope I can fill the shoes you left behind. Thankyou for trusting The Zardian to me. I hope I don't let you or the rest of the readers down. In closing, I'd like to bring you a letter from Alac. This could be the last we see written from her for a long time. --- Dear Readers, I began working on The Zardian as an editor in May of 2007, and assumed the Editor-in-Chief position a few months after that. I stayed in that position for a bit over a year. In the year and a half I worked on AE's ezine, I made many memories (and laid out not a few issues of the ezine). I want to thank the artists, editors, primary authors, secondary authors, and definitely the Authors in Training for all the work they did while I led our team. We made some wonderful, funny, and interesting issues; that was our goal and we not only achieved it, we surpassed it. I'd also like very much to thank you, the readers. You're the reason we make The Zardian, and the feedback I've gotten from you both in private, on IRC, or in The Zardian discussion board has been helpful and encouraging. I will definitely miss the fun I had working on The Zardian, but I know that the team will continue to produce wonderful issues that I look forward to reading. The one bit of advice I will offer is: be sure to feed the gecko. When she gets hungry, she tends to chomp Editor's Notes. Again, thank you to everyone!
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