Real Life. It’s out there, kids.
It’s scary. Don’t let anyone tell you that it’s better than the cyberstuff, cause it ain’t, not for one minute.

However, it is NOT the Editor’s job to tell you the sad and horrific tales of her life (besides, they don’t involve Star Wars, so who cares?). It is her job to keep a firm hand on the helm and lead.

And barring the ability to do that, it is her job to leave the ship in capable hands.  In that, I did a much better job than Joe Hazelwood, captain of the ill-fated Exxon-Valdez ("I said Tanqueray on the rocks, not tanker on the rocks!!!"). T hree months ago, Loren Phillips leaped into the fore and took control of a drifting ship, guiding it with grace and a heck of a lot of style. I have watched, sidelined by Real Life, and been wowed by her leadership.  She’s been great, and deserves kudos all around.

The growth of Echo Station these last few months has been phenomenal.  Not only have new articles appeared on an almost daily basis, providing a reason for visiting the e-mag at least a few times a week, the publicity Echo has received has upped our hit counts to numbers that make our jaws drop.  Close to 200,000 page hits per day. Over 30,000 unique visitors per day. The free e-mail addresses for everyone from coruscant.net and bothanspy.com that Dave made happen are a huge hit.  And plans for more growth and new features in the future.  No wonder I feel like I’ve been trapped in carbonite for the last three months!

And because NovaTech (the Phillips' web hosting company) has been growing by leaps and bounds, eating up Dave’s time, Loren has been de facto Webmaster of Echo Station and well as de facto Editor.  That’s a fulltime job for anyone, and this is a lady working fulltime and raising a kid as well.  She has guided Echo Station through a major revision.  Actually, three major revisions, all in a short period of time, searching for a look that would still keep the Hoth flavor but tie the elements of the e-mag and the subdomains together.  I am in awe.

I am also playing catch-up, trying to get back into the swing of the magazine.   There are wonderful new contributors here who, quite frankly, don’t even know who I am.  Time to change that.  Loren is very much interested in focusing her energy on the webmastering side of Echo Station, and I am close enough to the light at the end of my real life tunnel to take an active hand in the content side of the e-mag.

Now Episode One is almost upon us, and we are all waiting with baited breath to once again visit the world that George built.  Echo Station’s focus has never been on the prequels, but instead on Star Wars for the long haul.  When Darth Maul’s double-bladed lightsaber can be found in the clearance bin of Toys-R-Us, Echo will still be here with new humor, new insights, new reviews of the novels and games, and always with an open door.

It will still be your e-mag. Many of our contributors are readers who send us an article, an opinion column, a review.   Echo is an interactive magazine, welcoming content from its readership as well as its regular contributors.   Your name could be our next by-line.  Just drop your article idea, or completed article, to submissions@echostation.com and you’ll have bragging rights for some time to come.