WITH FEW EXCEPTIONS, one of the most difficult aspects of creating eSCENE has been explaining it to people--not through email or Usenet postings, but talking face-to-face to folks who don't know much more about the Internet than what they read in the newspaper. When I tell them eSCENE is the "Internet's first online fiction anthology," their eyes glaze over, and I secretly believe they think I've spent too much time away from human contact. It takes a few minutes of explaining before they say something like, "Oh, so you're writing a book!"
Well, not exactly.
I created eSCENE because I wanted to bring together the year's best short stories published online; I wanted an electronic manuscript that wouldn't disappoint me after spending the time to download, decompress, and open; I wanted to be in the middle of the expansion of electronic publishing as a viable, legitimate, and professional avenue for publishing fiction; and I wanted to provide a showcase for the many talented writers out there who are looking for something more than the multi-layered catacombs of traditional print publishing.
However, even after I tell people this, most of them nod politely and ask, "Why you?"
Good question. I could bore you with a resume, or go on about my previous editing experience (or you could access my bio, if you're reading this on the World Wide Web), but it basically spins down to: it was my idea. I was reading the latest volume of "Best American Short Stories" and decided that something similar was needed on the Internet. And, since it was my idea, it only made sense that I should abandon my earlier plans of starting my own `zine and create eSCENE.
The stories contained herein represent, in the eyes of myself, my assistant editor, and several `zine editors who kindly sent me their material, the best short fiction published online in 1994. As I was rereading the final nine stories, it thrilled me that they sounded better than when I first read them during the selection process. It excited me even more when people started agreeing with me.
Coming to the end of this project (for this edition, anyway) I will admit that the scope of eSCENE is a bit limited. When I first began to query editors for their story recommendations, it was difficult to find a large number of zines concentrating primarily on fiction. Through recommendations and some Net-poking, I assembled a list of about 20 zines and sent email to the editors asking for their best stories. Although that doesn't sound like much, the limited scope was also partially self-imposed to ensure that I wasn't going to kill myself trying to get eSCENE completed. So, to the editors who published short fiction in `94 and did not get included, send me email (kepi@halcyon.com) and you'll definitely be on the list for the next edition.
I owe a great deal of gratitude to John Labovitz, whose comprehensive ezine list provided the first main selection of zines, and to Geoff Duncan and Jason Snell for their recommendations and invaluable advice on getting started. And, of course, I want to thank Tom Maddox for accepting my request to contribute his introduction during the busy hell of year-end exams.
I'm surprisingly proud of eSCENE, more so than I first expected. And now, after
a few delays, several late nights, and many espressos, I'm tremendously pleased
to publish them worldwide. Browse as you like, or read them from beginning to
end. I'm including the authors' email addresses (when applicable), and
encourage you to take advantage of this direct link to the writer of your
favorite (or least favorite) story. As always, feel free to contact me with
your suggestions, critiques, or just plain talk about good fiction. Enjoy. 
