Myth, the Universe, and Everything

I haven't done a teaser in awhile, so I thought I'd do a short post today (because we had Substrate this weekend, and it was awesome!) and then post an excerpt from the story I've had accepted over at Baeg Tobar. (I have another one on review with the editor, but haven't gotten edits back yet.)

So, quick thoughts on Substrate:
1) Eeeee! I have a critique group! And they are awesome!
2) Seven stories per meeting is too ambitious, so it's good that two people ended up not having time to send us anything this past month.
3) I should reread what I've submitted the day before the meeting so I remember as much about my piece as my critique group does.
4) Despite all of us being spec fic writers, all of us approach the genre (as wide as it is) from different angles. And that delights me.
5) A lot of different critiques came up, but a lot of us found the same flaws in each piece, which is helpful--because then it's easy to recognize what amounts to an actual flaw and what amounts to a matter of taste.

For example, the piece I submitted to the group was "The Water of Life," which I'd submitted to a publisher awhile back and had rejected. It was interesting to see that some of the people agreed with the editor's commentary, but other's didn't. (He'd thought the ambiguous ending was a cheat; at least one of my critique partners questioned whether or not the ending was in keeping with the character motivation; and another of the critique partners loved the ambiguity--which is, then, a taste issue, because I loved the idea of it being an ambiguous ending myself. Given the other critiques I got, I need to do some work earlier in the story to make the ambiguous ending feel genuine at the end, but it was good to hear that the ending wasn't a problem in itself, since I'd liked it that way!)

At any rate, you'll definitely be hearing more about Substrate here on the blog as we move forward. We're looking at once-a-month meetings (roughly), and I couldn't be more delighted with how things have started off.

And now, a teaser! This is from "No Matter How You Hide Her," set in Baeg Tobar. The tale ties in with characters from Daniel Tyler Gooden's serial novel and web comic, which will be available when the site relaunches.

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Beads clattered around his ears, tumbling forward with his hair, as he slammed his mug down, barking for another, despite the fact that he'd slopped most of the last one on the bar's surface. The bartender – a Pilean import as much as his whiskey – took the pay without noticing, and Llew's eyes wandered over the crowd. Few enough of them wore their colors any more, not openly. The beads that had once decorated the hair of every man and woman there had now been relegated to smaller decoration – a bracelet here, an embroidery there. The people of Norrington were hiding amongst themselves, waiting. All except Llew, who'd never bothered to hide from anyone.

He ordered a second drink, the same that the short man with the axe had just ordered, and waited for the opportunity to offer it to the fellow. If habits from the previous night continued, the short man would begin telling stories of his own glorious exploits, which practically begged for people to buy him drinks.

And then Rhia came in, and his plans flitted off. The girl came in behind her, a waif of a thing in a too-big cloak, nearly thirteen but still slender as a reed. People rarely noticed Dilys in Rhia's shadow, and Llew would hardly have seen her himself if he hadn't known to look. But he'd learned that watching Rhia was a danger of it's own, and so he kept his eyes locked on Dilys as Rhia let her cloak fall down around her shoulders, showcasing her slim figure and amplifying her curves through a gauzy dress in the Mana'Olai style. Llew saw the way Dilys looked around, looking for familiar faces, waving with a grin as she saw people who’d recognize her and faltering when she noticed they were too busy looking at Rhia to make eye contact. Dilys almost resigned herself into a pout until she seemed to feel Llew's eyes on her, watching her so he could ignore the way that Rhia tossed her hair, the way she searched the room for her mark. Llew mirrored Dilys's shy wave, and she giggled. Rhia's face broke out into a dazzling smile that even Llew could not manage to ignore, and she approached the bar, Dilys in tow.

But they did not approach Llew – instead, they made their way toward the short man with the axe. Dilys tried to heft herself onto the too-tall barstool while Rhia touched the short man's shoulder lightly. The bartender, enchanted by Rhia as much as the next man, called for music without her so much as asking.

Llew cursed as Rhia and the short man made their way out onto the dance floor.