Good news! In October of this year I’ll be publishing a brand-new Avery Cates short story, “The Winter Siege” and a brand-new Ustari Cycle short story, “Come and See.” Instead of putting them up on Amazon et al, this time I’m putting them out on the ol’ short story Substack: Writing Without Rules: From the Notebook. For $5 a month or $50 a year, you get a short story every week! And in October, two of those stories will be The Winter Siege and Come and See.
The Winter Siege is set after the events of The Machines of War, but is fairly standalone. Avery Cates has made a home of sorts for himself with a colony of survivors who have taken over one of New York City’s old skyscrapers. Living like a strange shadow of the way the One Percent used to, Cates knows he’s only useful to the residents as an enforcer, but he likes the obscurity and relative peace. Until that’s all shattered when two people arrive bearing a very unexpected — and potentially world-changing — package.
Come and See finds everyone’s favorite Tricksters, Lem Vonnegan and Pitr Mags, trying to work off a debt with a mid-level magician running a blood farm out of a dilapidated old apartment building. But everyone there is dead, and they all died staring at something, and then they hear the scrape of a footstep from up above …
Go on, sign up so you can read ’em next month!
Avery Cates & Ustari Cycle Short Stories
