Forsan et haec olim scripsisse iuvabit.

By the solemn proclamation of Jo Walton, today is International Pixel-Stained Technopeasant Day, honoring those authors who choose to publish or publicize their work electronically. ( Read more... )

Various and sundry SF authors are celebrating the day by uploading work to the web. Not being a published author of original work myself yet (and surmising that no one would be interested in my published academic prose), I dug into my hard drive and found the following more-or-less self-contained episode from one of my novels-in-progress ... and herewith release it into the ether. Concrit welcomed.

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Title: "The Scrying Bowl" (from [Untitled YA Fantasy Novel] -- I despair at titling any of my original work. Fanfiction titles come easier, for some reason.)
Word Count: ~5000
Warnings: Total lack of context (this is from chapter 2) and substantial implicit referencing of one of the western world's larger meme clusters.
Dedication: For everyone on my f-list who's got an original piece fermenting in a drawer. Per ardua ad imprimenda!

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      Alex hovered on the edge of sleep for a while, unable to relax completely. ( Read more... )