Shadow Streets

Back on the secure wireless that's what we're supposed to be using--it got fixed last night, so here's hoping it lasts this time...

I have one more story that came out earlier this month that I haven't mentioned in detail yet except to say that it was out, "Shadow Streets" in issue 2 of Staffs & Starships. I'm actually still not completely positive the issue is out--it's listed as an option in the purchasing section of the site, but there's no info on the Sheer Spec main page, and when I try to click on issue 2, I get an access denied message. I'd thought it was supposed to be out at the beginning of December, but maybe there are still some things holding that up.

Anyway, the story's origin: I've mentioned several times about the 1-hour-writes we do in one of my critique groups. In the very first of those, I created the setting of a city with day-time streets and night-time streets, and each would widen and narrow depending on the time of day. I liked the setting (as did those in my critique group), but I didn't see a lot of potential in the story fragment itself, so I just filed it away.

Then later, I had my first story accepted by (now defunct) Jupiter World Press, and the editor asked about the possibility of a sequel. Well, I didn't see anything in a direct sequel, but the characters in the story came from someplace I'd named the "Winged City." So combining that other setting with the few details I had in this story, an idea for a story began to evolve. I don't actually remember the direct impetus that brought the different elements together--I'm pretty sure there was something else, perhaps a prompt for the monthly challenge at another critique site. But that's the general idea of where it came from, and the result is the story of a resident of those night-time streets who has become trapped in the day-time city, a very different, and to her frightening place that she longs to escape.

So, whether the story is available now or not...I hope you can get a chance soon to buy a copy of the magazine and read it.

Comments

Paul Abbamondi said…
I really like the notion of the night-time streets and day-time streets. Sounds like a neat setting.

Planning on any more stories in the Winged City? Sounds expansive enough to do so.
Daniel Ausema said…
Thanks, Paul--I haven't written anything else there, but it's certainly one of those settings that I keep in the back of my head for if another story wants to be set there.

I'm very much drawn to interesting settings, both in what I write and what I read.