QSFer Angel Martinez has a new MM sci fi book out:
The Brimstone. Demon owned and—mostly—demon operated. Shax, an exiled prince of Hell, has gathered only the best misfits for his motley crew. You’ve been with us from the rescue of a runaway angel in a psychedelic nightmare jungle to the house that Poe built. Now share some in-between moments with the Brimstone crew – flash fiction snippets plucked from various spots in each personal timeline, from Shax and Verin’s youth in Hell to after the events of Beside a Black Tarn.
The Brimstone Journals, Collection Two also includes an exclusive short story, never published as part of the blog series. Leopold meets his formidable grandmama, much to his father’s dismay.
Mischief Corner Books | Amazon
Excerpt
Time: A long time ago (Shax and Verin’s young adulthood)
Location: Administrative halls of Hell
“This isn’t really punishment for you.” Verin leaned back against the rock wall beside the desk.
“Of course it is.” Shax slouched on the high stool, rolling the blood pen back and forth across the ledger. “It’s so dull and monotonous. And it takes forever.”
“Yeah, but you get to boss people around, you little shit. Stop moaning.”
The next demon approached the desk. All of the demons in line were a variation on a theme—huge horns, hairy bodies, troll-esque faces, each with a wriggling sack slung over one shoulder and documents clutched in their free claws. Shax reached for the documents, careful not to touch the attached demon.
Krampuses weren’t careful at all with hygiene and they stank like wet, swamp-muddied socks.
Shax sighed and sorted through the papers, all in order. The goblins at the head of the line helped the Krampuses with the forms if they weren’t the literate sorts, for which Shax was grateful. Goblin handwriting was far superior to Krampus.
“Male child, several infractions—attempted drowning of kittens?” Shax shook his head. He should’ve been beyond shock by this point, but human children astounded him still.
“Well, that’s an automatic eatable offense.” He checked off the appropriate boxes, signed in the supervisor space and added a note to the bottom. “You have royal permission to terrorize as much as you please prior to consumption.”
“Thank you, highness,” the Krampus snarled as he retrieved the papers and moved on. It wasn’t disrespect. They all spoke in snarls.
“It’s all mixed messages, you know.” Shax turned to Verin while they waited for the next Krampus to trundle up. “Shax, steal me this. Shax, steal me that. You’re such an excellent thief, Shax. Followed by recriminations and punishment when I steal the wrong thing.”
Verin snorted. “You stole your mom’s tiara. Even I knew that was a stupid fucking move.”
“Still. You see my point, don’t you?” Shax didn’t expect an answer beyond more snorts, so he turned back to his Krampus supervising duties. The next Krampus had hunched shoulders, eyes flicking this way and that. Not suspicious at all. “You bagged this one for making siblings cry? Tsk.” Shax pointed and intoned with his best imperious voice. “Put that one back and sing the beatings versus eatings song seven times before you go out for a replacement.”
“But Prince Shax, I’m so hungry!”
“You should’ve thought of that before making an inappropriate catch. Go!”
Author Bio
The unlikely black sheep of an ivory tower intellectual family, Angel Martinez has managed to make her way through life reasonably unscathed. Despite a wildly misspent youth, she snagged a degree in English Lit, married once and did it right the first time, gave birth to one amazing son, and realized at some point that she could get paid for writing.
Published since 2006, Angel’s cynical heart cloaks a desperate romantic. You’ll find drama and humor given equal weight in her writing and don’t expect sad endings. Life is sad enough.
She currently lives in Delaware in a drinking town with a college problem and writes Science Fiction and Fantasy centered around gay heroes.
Website: angelmartinezauthor.weebly.com
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