I am glad to announce that two of my short stories have been included in the newly published Science Fiction Novelists 2021 SciFi Anthology, edited by EJ Runyon and Katherine Kirk. The stories are How the Forest-watchers Undertook to Devise a Game, and Tumet’s Trap. Both stories are set in the uedin world. Officially released on January 31, 2021, the anthology is available both in Kindle eBook and paperback.
As a preview, here are the opening paragraphs to How the Forest-watchers Undertook to Devise a Game.
There was a slight breeze blowing across the wooden platform. One of the server-masters had gifted the forest-watchers with a wind chime of tiny, thin, hardwood plates, strung together in a clever design. It produced a lovely, delicate rattle. Leci allowed the concerns of the day’s chores to melt away as he gazed at the gently swaying leafy branches. He deepened his breath. While the new capital had grown up around the forest-watchers’ residence, this precious patch of woods preserved a quiet treasure within their compound at the heart of the settlement.
It felt wonderful to take this time for breathing and observing the beauty of the trees and shadows. Leci felt a pleasant tranquility soak into his mind, and for a moment he imagined that he even felt a flicker of the presence of the Lern. The wind-rattle purred.
HHHWWAAPP! His hand reflexively rose to his ear. Something had slammed into the side of his head. Ouch! What in tarnation? He looked down to see what object had suddenly struck him. It was a heavy-duty floor-scrubbing brush, probably from the child-uedin’s domicile. At that moment, he heard the sound of child-uedin laughing together.
“Oops!” one of them yelled. “That was an accident!”
“Now, you were all told you could come here to watch the forest. But not to play!” Leci’s scolding tone was a bit angrier than it should have been, no doubt because of the shock of being struck.
“That’s what we were doing! We were watching the forest!” announced the child-uedin in a sassy, disingenuous tone.
Leci ignored the insincerity. “Why does one need a floor-scrubbing brush here?” he asked.
“One uses it to scratch one’s butt,” snapped the impertinent child. “One’s butt is itchy.” The other two, unable to suppress their laughter, first chortled through their noses, then doubled over in laughing fits.
Leci, however, was troubled by this behavior and quite unable to laugh along. It was another sign that the child-uedin who had taken leg in the new capital did not act like normal child-uedin. They were not thoughtful. He picked up the brush.
“Please go on back to your domicile. I will return this to your caretakers.”
To purchase the anthology, click on this link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08V5LXLKQ/?tag=smarturl-20
