Something extra

We don't do it very often, but every now and then we like to throw a surprise into a volume. The February/March 2008 volume has one of those little surprises, a bonus story by Lee Child.

When we brainstormed here who our readers would really like to see in a short story the decision was unanimous: Jack Reacher. We weren't sure that novelist Lee Child even wrote short stories, but when I checked his website, I found that indeed he had contributed a few stories to anthologies. And one of the stories apparently featured an early mention of Jack Reacher! A quick email to Lee elicted the following response:

Laura,
The story exists in two versions--the original 11,000 word form and the edited 6,000 form as used in the anthology. Which length would work better for you? If neither, I have a few other (non-Reacher) stories, but probably couldn't write anything new, due to commitments. Let me know what you think.
Best to all, Lee

We quickly grabbed up the 6,000-word story from Lee Child, and now you're holding it in your hands. If you're a Jack Reacher fan (and even if you're not), you are in for a treat.

—Laura