Dear Readers,

Spring means fresh beginnings and revitalizations, and what better way to get into that sprit than with some adventures in the Distant Reaches?

Creator/co-editor Benjamin Reeves and I are nine months into this journey, and we’re both so excited about what the spring months will bring. We have some amazing upcoming fiction and poems from voices both fresh and familiar and our very first print issue is coming together (preorder and purchase info will be available soon!).

In the meantime, catch up on all the excitement in Amalcross and beyond:

• Last week, we published “Craftsman of Strife,” an incredible new story from

  M.P. Rosalia
  about the horrors of war, the wheels of justice, and the inscrutable gaze of history. It’s a damn good piece of writing — riveting and insightful in equal measure — and it pairs well with a strong cup of coffee or even a thumb of stiff bourbon.

• J.Y. Tao
  takes us to Amalcross’s Spice Bazaar, where you can hear all about “The Dyfwrych Difference” (and, if you need more spice in your life, check out her full-length story, “The Sixth Taste”).

• Those of you who need a drink these days would do well to give

  Andy Greene
  ’s “Blue Plague Cocktail Recipe” a try — just make sure to drink it all down in one go, or you’re dead!

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We’re also hard at work adding new art to our Secrets of Amal collection! Here are a few of my favorites, but check back periodically to see what else is new.

• Benjamin Reeves
  ’s “Born of Muck,” who manages to be the perfect combination of icky, creepy, and cute.

• Andy Jiang
  ’s “Amalcrossers Seeking Amalcrossers,” because searching for love has never been funnier, sadder, or more hopeful.

• Nathaniel Lucas
  ’s frazzled Imperial Treasury agent from “Shocking Allegations of Treasury Support for Racketeering Ring,” who likely never thought bureaucracy would be so insidious.

• And the anonymous, bloodied soldier from my own “It’s Not the Blade That Kills You,” because war can be more intimately brutal — and brutally intimate — than anyone would ever imagine. (OK, I’ll cheat; I’m also a big fan of a certain faceless figure that speaks with your grandmother’s voice.)

As always, thank you to all our paid subscribers, both new and current. Your support keeps these stories and art coming into your inbox weekly. If you’re not a paid subscriber, or you would like to support the Distant Reaches, consider upgrading today!

Thank you for your readership — and stay tuned for more thrilling exploits into the furthest regions of the Distant Reaches.

Robert