Indie Jane and all that is Austenesque

Hath you seen the Jane Austen-y goodness that is Indie Jane? For heaven’s sake, get thee hence. If you dream of Regency dresses and men in (ahem) breeches, there’s no better go to site on the web.

They’re having a mad giveaway that includes a Kindle Fire and 20 Janeaholic novels. But even if you miss the giveaway, you ought to check the site out.

All the good Janeites do so.

Slowtime: Prelude – "Slipping Under"

Thus continueth the Slowtime serial. For those who didn’t see earlier episodes, Slowtime is a concept album by my friend Paul Ramey. It’s set in a dust bowl future of overpopulation and shortages.

–  Slipping Under –

The warning chime rang.

“My love, it’s time for Quietus to begin.”

“Will it hurt?”

Enu hesitated a split second. “They say it’s like falling asleep,” he said. “But you won’t have your bad dreams.”

“What if I get stuck in a nightmare and stay there for all of Quietus?”

He pushed a lank blonde lock out of her face. “Elaida, you won’t. I promise.”

“You can’t promise.” At least she was smiling now. “Nobody knows.”

“I’ll be in the cryochamber next to yours. I’ll be the first thing you see when you wake.”

The fading sun slowly slipped behind the plateau.

She bit her lip, “I guess I should do my civic duty. I know there’s too many of us. It’s time for someone else to be Awake.”

The chimes rang the hour. Everyone else had already began. Silence washed across the desert.

“Don’t be scared.”

She slid down into her cryochamber, looked up at him with sad eyes, “See you in a year.”

He kissed her with a ferocity that startled them both. As he settled into his own chamber, her voice floated over.

“Tell me I’m not giving my life away for nothing, Enu.”

“You’re not giving it away. Just leaving it for awhile.”

The cover clicked shut.

 —

Curious? Read the next bit, Slowtime Episode 1: “Waking” and Episode 2: “Falling”

Five Sentence Fiction: Pirates by Jeff Tsuruoka

I am hosting Jeff Tsuruoka (@jtsuruoka on Twitter) again for Lillie McFerrin’s Five Sentence Fiction. This week’s theme is Pirates. There’s still time if you’d like to join in! Arrr!

 The Rules of Ascension
            We left the town in flames but the captain died of his wounds less than half an hour after we put out from the burning harbor.
            Shrike, an savage old hand with one eye and six teeth who drooled when he spoke, and his cadre of backers confronted me in the dim corridor outside the captain’s quarters to challenge my ascension to the captaincy.
            “Fenwick, you son-of-a-whore,” slurred Shrike as he pulled his cutlass out of his belt and followed me up to the main deck, “one of us’ll be dead and the other captain ‘fore this day’s through.”
            My first order as captain of the Pogue Mahone was to have Shrike’s most ardent backers throw his corpse and then themselves overboard.
            Sharks need to eat, same as us.