Five Ways
Subscribe to my newsletter and get a free story!
Share this:

Clarion West Write-a-thon Progress: How Deep Is Red

Kittywampus
Kittywampus
As many know, I’m participating in this year’s Clarion West Write-a-thon. Last week I let people choose the title of the story I’d write for the write-a-thon’s first week, and the people’s choice was “How Deep Is Red”.

So here’s a chunk from this morning’s writing so far. The story will be the sequel to “Sugar”, which is available in Eyes Like Sky and Coal and Moonlight. If you’re interested in getting to see the whole story, then I invite you to support me in the Write-a-thon! I’ll be sending a weekly e-mail that will include the stories that I write for the Write-a-thon over its six-week course, so for a small donation, you’ll be getting what I’d like to think of as high quality fiction. 🙂

Laurana used a bowl of mercury to watch her lover’s battle. The thick, silvery liquid showed the ships from above, a fat-bellied Tabatian merchant, and the two pirate ships, lean-lined and fanged with cannon, converging on it from either side, the wind behind them making them race forward.

Tiny toy ships. The name of the merchant was Saffron Butterfly The pirate ships bore no names, only figureheads of women, one with a flaming skull for a head, the other with bracelets and necklaces of snakes. Flame’s Kiss and The Serpent.

The liquid didn’t transmit sound. For that Laurana relied on imagination: the deep-throated boom of the guns, the crash of cannon balls, the shouts of despair and defiance.

The Kiss neared the merchant. Laurana leaned forward, trying to find Cristina among the mass of pirates: some readying spidery hooks and ropes, others with hackbuts raised and aimed, all braced for collison, another sound dependent on Laurana, whose mind rendered it down to the taste of salt on one’s lips from the relentless wind, the crash louder than anything one had ever heard. There. A purple bandana tied across orange curls. Cristina, swinging herself aboard the pirates’ prey.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Get Fiction in Your Mailbox Each Month

Want access to a lively community of writers and readers, free writing classes, co-working sessions, special speakers, weekly writing games, random pictures and MORE for as little as $2? Check out Cat’s Patreon campaign.

Want to get some new fiction? Support my Patreon campaign.
Want to get some new fiction? Support my Patreon campaign.

 

"(On the writing F&SF workshop) Wanted to crow and say thanks: the first story I wrote after taking your class was my very first sale. Coincidence? nah….thanks so much."

~K. Richardson

You may also like...

Kindle version of Tales From the Fathomless...

Kindle version of Tales From the Fathomless Abyss is now up! And got a nice review.

Amazon.com: Tales From The Fathomless Abyss eBook: Mike Resnick, Jay Lake, Cat Rambo, Mel Odom, J.M. McDermott, Brad Torgersen, Philip Athans: Kindle Store

Amazon.com: Tales From The Fathomless Abyss eBook: Mike Resnick, Jay Lake, Cat Rambo, Mel Odom, J.M. McDermott, Brad Torgersen, Philip Athans: Kindle Store

...

Documents of Tabat: Spinner Press Advertisement
What are the documents of Tabat? In an early version of the book, I had a number of interstitial pieces, each a document produced by the city: playbills, advertisements, guide book entries. They had to be cut but I kept them for this purpose. I'll release them at the end of April in e-book form; careful readers will find clues to some aspects of Beasts of Tabat in them. -Cat
What are the documents of Tabat? In an early version of the book, I had a number of interstitial pieces, each a document produced by the city: playbills, advertisements, guide book entries. They had to be cut but I kept them for this purpose. I’ll release them at the end of April in e-book form; careful readers will find clues to some aspects of Beasts of Tabat in them. -Cat

Advertisement plastered on Spinner Press’s reading wall:

Bella Kanto’s most notable adventures, now available in a special omnibus edition of the Tales of Kanto! Color plates include portraits of Kanto in both Winter’s armor and standard Arena gear.

Edition includes:

The Conquest of the Heliotrope Sorceress: When danger threatens the port of Cayne, Bella investigates to find sorcery at the heart of it all! She must battle a foe more adept with magic than blade, a mysterious figure clad in purple. Thrill to Tabat’s most seductive hero as you’ve never seen her!

Bella and the Pirates: Shipwrecked and bereft of her memory, Bella rises to power as the Black Belle, Pirate Queen. Will her memories return before she attacks Tabat itself? Includes a list of Tabat’s most notable pirate hunters!

Bella in the Land of Fungus: Trapped by a landslide in the caverns of Qat, Bella has no choice but to travel deep into the earth, where she encounters the strange race of Beasts living there. Shiver as you explore new lands with Tabat’s most intrepid Gladiator!

Bella Arrives at the Brides of Steel: At fifteen, Bella Kanto is a year too old to enroll in the school her heart has brought her to. How will she persuade the leaders of the school to break tradition and admit her? Read the very beginnings of Tabat’s greatest hero!

Bella and the Thornwalkers: To remain Champion, Bella fights some of the most exotic Beasts ever brought to the city, including a treacherous Shifter, a Dragon, and a crop of rare Thornwalkers brought back by a southwestern expedition. Includes basic fighting tips from Tabat’s foremost Gladiator!

***
Love the world of Tabat and want to spend longer in it? Check out Hearts of Tabat, the latest Tabat novel! Or get sneak peeks, behind the scenes looks, snippets of work in progres, and more via Cat’s Patreon.

#sfwapro

...

Skip to content