Thank you and welcome
Have you ever seen a performer on stage look out at a crowd, and then blush and stammer, and go, awe, shucks, look at you all, you look fantastic — thanks for coming out to see us play tonight, we’ve got something special for you here…
No?
Then get out and check out some local live bands, those indie artists with real heart and soul and blood and guts splashed all over the stage, and you’ll know what I’m talking about. And I’ve got a link to one of those guys right here, a cool R&B-ish band called Karneval – check ‘em out. I’ll wait for you.
So now you’re saying wait, what the heck is this all about – I thought this was a literary magazine and now you’re all going indie artist and musician on me – what’s going on?
It’s a Twisted Sister way of saying thanks, and welcome aboard to our new WordPress and Twitter followers (and we’re slowly creeping into Facebook too). Of course, with a name like Twisted Sister, you gotta know we’re into to rock and roll, and like to do things old school (with a modern edge, of course).
But it’s mostly about that moment when a performer steps out on stage and see the audience (in this case, you’re the audience, dear readers) and they go ‘wow, aw shucks, look at you all…’ and can’t really believe those folks are here to see them play. Or read. Or write. Or whatever the hell crazy thing they do.
So we’re happy to have you here with us, welcome aboard, and thanks for coming out tonight, we’ve got something special for you.
And just to keep the music theme going – a while ago I described a moment when Twisted Sister (the band) was this relatively obscure nobody and a very well known performer (in this case, Lemmy, from Motorhead) walked them out on stage and even jammed with them as a way of introducing them to a new audience who might not have been receptive to them.
It’s a way of saying to the audience, check these guys out, they’re cool, you’re gonna love them.
We have that moment right here, folks.
Thanks again to Cindy Rosmus of Yellow Mama for all her support – truly words cannot describe our appreciation. Drop by Yellow Mama and see what’s going on over there, and show her some love.
And – now for that moment when Lemmy walks a tiny little band out on stage – we have a story from Kenneth James Crist, one of the editors of Black Petals, and a writer who has had nearly a hundred stories published in places like Skin and Bones and Kudzu Monthly (and everything in between). Thank you Kenneth for sharing this with us, and again, words cannot describe our appreciation. Thank you.
Take a moment to let that sink in.
And now for a very big thank you to all our contributors – we really do appreciate hearing your voices, and look forward to reading your stories, poems and essays; and there’s something very special about the way they all come together. Magical, really.
If you look around Twisted Sister lit mag, you’ll see we’re still hitting the monsters pretty hard, and have a real nice mix of all kinds of things like an exclusive interview with the Boogey Man and a story about those little monsters who live with us (also known as children) as well as a nicely twisted story about shaving. Late arrivals (monsters never are never much for being on time) include a story about the self as a monster (and some serious squishy frog action) as well as a good doctor as an unremorseful monster. Our poems, being poems, aren’t quite as spooky, but more about memories or being trapped in yourself or the current political state, which, when you think about it, is quite possibly one of the scariest things of all.
And in case you missed them before, we still have our monster in the basement, and our medical, sexy, cruel, and weird monsters floating around Of course, Liz McAdam’s monstrously oversized essay on monsters is still there, creeping under the bed and we have an essay that’ll make you look over your shoulder once or twice.
But now it’s your turn, dear readers, get your weird and wonderful writing caps on and get writing, and drop us a line or sell us your soul, either way – we want YOU!
XO,
Twisted Sister
Twisted Sister lit mag 