Hello, everyone, and welcome to my world of procrastination. Eleven days late?

Issue 9 has turned out to be quite an undertaking, with thirteen writers including five new to Gravity. Even bigger news this time is the return of both Ray Heinrich (take a bow, Ray, you know you want to) and Vanessa Dwyer. We also have, I believe, our first publication from India - welcome to Murli Menon.

Fans of wry humor will find this issue hard to beat - witness Dancing Bear's "Hunting Accident", David Donlon's "Elvis in Hell" (how could I not accept that one?) and the pointed writing of master Heinrich his bad self. The particular beauty of certain others comes to mind, such as Perry Thompson's "He has thought of her leaving" and Caron Andregg's Sexton-like "Mirage". And if you're in the mood for more evasive material, check out Robert Lietz's "Remembering Old Flights", slippery but likely a worthy catch.