Sidekicks! Why Should the Heroes Get All The Attention?

Y’all may remember, some time last year, I had an essay about world-building published by Alliteration Ink in a collection of essays about world-building called “Eighth Day Genesis: A Worldbuilding Codex“. Well, the good folk at AInk do all kinds of other books and have been putting out some great spec. fic. anthologies of late. Their latest, Sidekicks! is released today, and you can pick up a copy for a song over at their website.To quote from the book’s blurb:

“Sidekicks: We know them, and we ignore them. They sit courtside, they wait in the shadows, they ride on the coattails. They have nothing to offer.

Or do they?

Heroes and heroines perform world shaking deeds, but sidekicks? Sidekicks are the unseen glue holding those powerhouses together. They are the backbones. They are the voices of reason.

It’s long past time for them to shine.

Here, the fangirls, the trusted associates, the loyal assistants, and the imperiled wards have their moment in the spotlight. Join them as they shake up the world in unexpected and understated ways.

Let the heroes sit this one out. Celebrate the Sidekick!”

Now, I mention this not out of purest altruism, but because they invited me to contribute a story, which I did. (Yes, I can’t get over that, either. They actually invited me!) My short story “After the Party” was written especially for this anthology and deals with the fraught relationship between a brick and his teknik. And, if you don’t know what a brick and a teknik are in this hero-sidekick context, it’s probably because you haven’t read my novel, Timesplash, yet. Shame on you. But don’t worry, although “After the Party” is set in the same world as the Timesplash novels, it stands alone – like a hero – or a sidekick.