I'm so thrilled that this mosaic novel is finally ready for the eager eyes of readers. I contracted this book years ago. It's been a mammoth effort by the author, a professor of Classics, to bring to life once more the brave men and women of Sparta. And, being a Lethe Press title, it does not shy away from the homoerotic passions and romances of Ancient Greece. I remember reading a wrestling scene in an early draft--and asking Charles to give more details, more interiority on what it must have been like to wrestle nude in that society. I'm so pleased and proud to release this  wonderful book. 

I am sorry to say that there will be no Transcendent volume 5, at least not for the foreseeable future. Prior volumes did well, and I am thrilled how they reached readers who were hungry for an anthology showcasing the best transgender- and genderqueer-themed spec fic. 

The problem is finding someone to edit the book. The editors of past volumes have other commitments, and my attempts to find a qualified replacement have failed for a variety of reasons, some rather frustrating. We are a small press, and the task of editing such books is time-consuming, sometimes thankless, and does not generate as much money as anyone of us deserve. I am certainly not suitable to serve as an editor for the series. So I have no other option but to put future volumes on indefinite hiatus.