I usually have something to say. Those who know me also know that I am seldom without words. I have many of them. An overabundance of them. I like to use them often.

Maybe it's the weather; the steady, cold rain that has been falling for three weeks now. Or perhaps it's the snap of the lichen encrusted logs burning in the fireplace, the smart sting of of a hot cup of cider cradled in my hands, the scent of cinnamon or the stumbled words as my son practices his first carols. Whatever the reason, I find myself awash in the season. Quiet. Without an agenda.

With that I will leave you with this, our final issue for the year. Inside you will find a wondrous collection of poetry and fiction, several reviews of the books we've been reading, a look back at the futuristic films we've been watching and a look forward to a half-dozen zines we feel are going to help define the future on online literature.

Until next month, Happy Holidays!

Pif Magazine, like most businesses lacking governmental subsidies or at least one free-spending millionaire on the staff, has financial needs. "Oh, I so want to help you worthy people!" you say? Fortunately, you can! Let's look at the many ways to help Pif Magazine, its writers, and the online literary community as a whole:

THE DIRECT, CREATE-A-WARM-GLOW-IN-THE-TUMMY-OF-THE-EDITORS WAY:

Direct Investment! Heralded by Yahoo! Internet Life magazine as "The Next Wave" in literary zines, Pif Magazine is leading the way in developing a true "online literary community." With one-stop services like Pilot-Search (our literary arts search engine) and Zine-X (a banner exchange service for zine editors), Pif Magazine is truly the "Starting Point for the Literary e-Press."

Besides providing proprietary content for "portal" sites across the Net, Pif has several projects under development to coalesce the currently fragmented online literary community, encompassing a majority of the online literary content under one roof. We need investors, however, to help make this vision a reality.

If you would like to learn more about the future of Pif or are interested in becoming an investor, please e-mail richard@pifmagazine.com. Serious inquiries only, please.

THE STILL PRETTY DIRECT, WARM-GLOW-MAINTAINED WAY:

Amazon.com gives 15% of its already low sales price to "associate" zines. Bookmark our Amazon.com bookstore (www.pifmagazine.com/bookstore/) and use this link every time you make an online book, music, or video purchase.

We use this "referral" fee to pay our writers and artists. We pay for every word and picture in this magazine - giving our writers and artists something that few other zines on the Net can afford to give. And we can do it because readers like you choose to purchase their books, music, and movies through Pif Magazine. Remember, even if you don't regularly buy these items online, you still help us when you spread the word to friends who do.

THE "IT MAY SEEM LESS DIRECT, BUT DARN IT WE STILL LOVE YOU FOR IT" WAY:

Our literary search engine, Pilot-Search (www.pilot-search.com) continues to grow at a phenomenal rate, and we'd like to thank you. Every time you use Pilot-Search to search for a literary site on the Net you're helping to put food on the table of a starving writer somewhere in the world.

So feed a starving writer ~ read Pif Magazine and search with Pilot-Search

"Writers Only" FREE classifieds are up and running! (www.pifmagazine.com/writers_only/)

Feel free to post any message you feel appropriate.

Remember, "Writers Only" is meant to be a resource to allow writers and publishers to come together. This isn't the place to sell your '79 Gremlin. Check the categories and drop us a line if you think we need to add more. We welcome your suggestions.

Now, as always, it's time now sit back, grab a cup of your favorite blend, and enjoy this issue of Pif.