DargonZine is the publication vehicle of The Dargon Project, Inc., a collaborative group of aspiring fantasy writers on the Internet. We welcome new readers and writers interested in joining the project. Please address all correspondence to <dargon@dargonzine.org> or visit us on the World Wide Web at http://www.dargonzine.org/, or our FTP site at ftp://ftp.dargonzine.org/. Issues and public discussion are posted to newsgroup rec.mag.dargon.

DargonZine 23-4, ISSN 1080-9910, (C) Copyright February 12, 2011 by The Dargon Project, Inc.

Editor:Jon Evans <thegodling@verizon.net>, Assistant Editor: John White <john.white@DREXEL.EDU>.

DargonZine is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs-NonCommercial License. This license allows you to make and distribute unaltered copies of DargonZine, complete with the original attributions of authorship, so long as it is not used for commercial purposes. Reproduction of issues or any portions thereof for profit is forbidden. To view a detailed copy of this license, please visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 559 Nathan Abbott Way, Stanford CA, 94305 USA.

Editorial 

by Jon Evans
<thegodling@verizon.net>

Welcome back, readers! It's a new year, 2011. And this year, I want to start by talking about leadership, specifically the leadership of this Project. No, I'm not talking about me. As the Editor, my job is quite simple -- I arbitrate over any issues that arise, and I help determine which stories go in the print queue, although I haven't had to perform the latter task since I took the helm: Liam Donahue is the official assembler of this periodical, so he does most of the work. I write the occasional editorial, and generally only just in time.

No, the leadership I want to talk about is not a figurehead, like myself, but those who actually lead by doing. The aforementioned Liam, who for years has taken on the task of assembling and publishing our zine, is just such an example. He was also Editor for a couple of years, and by rights holds more authority than I do. He picks the stories, formats the issues, and tries to get me to write the editorial on time. He also double-checks all the material, and rallies the troops. He's the current bedrock upon which DargonZine rests. (Ornoth Liscomb, who founded FSFNet and helped create DargonZine, is the previous bedrock.)

Another author who shows great leadership for this project is Victor Cardoso. Vic is a visionary for new ideas and designs, and helped initiate the new face of DargonZine. He is also pushing for movement into new technology for easing the production side, as well as reaching out to new authors. His latest drive is helping spur the authors with an internal writing challenge, and we will be announcing an external writing challenge in the near future as well. All because of Vic.

Jim Owens. Now there's a man who also shows leadership. Jim is an integral part of the zine who helped found the mentor program, welcomes in new authors, and always tries to push the bounds of how we operate. This occasionally causes friction, but friction is good. It opens us to new possibilities. And Jim is always thinking about new possibilities.

The last author I want to put up on a leadership pedestal is probably the first one who will laugh when he sees his name: John "Dafydd" White. It's very simple: Dafydd leads by doing. He is possibly the deepest-thinking author on the project, creating some of the most intricate stories and characters. He brings a level mind and well-thought argument to every issue we raise, and he does exactly what we need: he writes. He currently has seven stories in the editing queue, and there are more coming. We've joked in the past about renaming ourselves "Dafydd-zine" because his content kept us publishing issues.

These four members are the real leaders of DargonZine, and I want to recognize them here, and thank them publicly, for all that they bring to our community. Without them, we probably would not be here today. As for this issue, we have two new stories for you. D'Artagnon Wells continues his Kiev series with Hubris. It's a must-read. And Liam graces our pages once again with The Far Patrol, an excellent adventure on the outskirts of Dargon.

Enjoy! -Jon