new novella opener

In a moment of over-excitement, I did promise this yesterday... The opening two paragraphs of "Penric and the Shaman".

This will be all the teasers for now; the whole thing should be along in some finite time, less than two weeks I hope. Should I get anything more definite, I'll pass it along.

Meanwhile, next Saturday at 1 PM, I'll be doing a signing including the Subterranean Press hardcover edition of "Penric's Demon" here in Minneapolis at Uncle Hugo's. I'll post another reminder later.

On to the prose...



Five gods, but vultures were huge when seen at this distance.

The bird cocked its pale head on its sinuous neck, peering at Inglis like a nearsighted old man, as if uncertain whether he was its enemy or its… breakfast, judging by the graying of the scudding damp sky overhead. It shuffled back and forth, its pantaloon-feathers stirring on its legs as it raised one talon-tipped foot and contemplated its dilemma. The hooked yellow beak seemed to take aim. Inglis opened his parched mouth and gusted a harsh hiss, like the fire in a blacksmith’s forge when the bellows blew. The bird skipped back a pace, raising vast brown wings, as if it were a villain in a play swirling his cloak just before declaiming his defiance to fate.


Ta, L.

(The second link in the prior post should give you all the visuals you could want.)