We started Angels Flight • literary west with Los Angeles in mind, thinking keenly of its writers and stories, and of the city as a historic and cultural epicenter. These were the big ideas as we decided to set off on a brazen, slightly daft but well-meaning journey to launch a new publication in just under two months. But the footing behind it was clear: to play an integral role in supporting a bold, literary-minded community around the ideas, culture, history, people and arts of L.A. and its environs, and to feature writers and stories that reside in Los Angeles or use the city as a jumping off point into others areas of departure.

Along the way to building a publication, we’ve been able to connect with many amazing writers and artists with links to Los Angeles. A number of them have given us great insights and support, and they’re helping evolve who we’ll be as Angels Flight • literary west moves past the launch phase.

We fell so in love with the undeniable romance of the city, and the concept of Angels Flight • literary west as a labor of love, that it only made sense for us to debut on Valentine’s Day.

For our “love/hate” issue, we encouraged diverse submissions of stories, poems, songs, art and photography that capture the contrasting feelings and states of desire, of love lost and found for the city and everything in it. The response has been incredible, as are our multitalented contributors.

Sara Benincasa • Saryn Chorney • Lydia Claire • Eileen Cronin • Eric M Cwiertny • Andrew Dalton • Hope Demetriades • Alexis Donkin • Jennifer Fliss • David Franco • Tom Freund • A Garcia • Joel Harper • Megan Karasch • Kathryn Kulpa • Lisa Locascio • Shanna Mahin • Wendy C. Ortiz • Matt Powell • Rachel Sona Reed • Alan Rifkin • Avery Roberts • Kelly Shire • Erin Michaela Sweeney • Nicola Wood

We want to give thanks to everyone who stepped forward and took a chance with us this first time around, to all of you who trusted in us when all we had was a pitch and a couple of social media accounts. We appreciate your confidence in our getting your voices heard. We’ll continue to give emerging and established writers and artists a platform to tell stories in new ways.

A special shout-out to our very talented graphic artists: Hannah Nance, who created our spectacular “love/hate” cover image, and David Kessler for his elegant design of our logos. Also, kudos to Jason Caldwell for his tireless Website support and to Dora Dalton for her constant copyediting prowess.

Finally, a huge thank you to Eileen Cronin and Samantha Dunn among others, for your inspiration and guidance. We also are indebted to the legendary Hotel Normandie for its generous donation of a writerly and creative workspace, which helped us get AFLWMag.com up and running.

Check back for more “love/hate” stories and announcements. We hope you’ll love what we’ve created in collaboration with our contributors and partners. We do!

•Michele Raphael and David Lott, February 14, 2016