My story “Everyone Gets A Happy Ending,” which concerns itself female friendships, the nature of family, and the bunny apocalypse, is now out in the January-February 2017 issue of Interzone. I wrote this story over a number of months, which is pretty standard for me. I tend to put stories away and allow them to ferment multiple times before they actually transform into something resembling completion. I finished my final draft during a writers’ retreat hosted by Scott H. Andrews in the mountains of western Virginia. During that retreat I also completed my Black Static story “A Pinhole of Light.” Time with other working writers is precious. It’s like drafting on a bicycle. Everyone works better though we are each doing our own work. I really appreciate such opportunities.
First Lines: “Baby bunnies,” Steph says, “herald the apocalypse. Kendra, you know that, right?”
“Painful truth,” I reply, even as I luxuriate in the soft fur pressing against my arms. The heat is oppressive. Sweat soaks the back of my shirt, drips from the fine hairs at the nape of my neck. It’s dusk in southwest Arizona and Steph and I are far from home. Spring is supposed to mean daffodils and tender shoots of Chemlawned grass. Instead, the Arizona air pulls the moisture right from my lips—the dark reverse of a lover’s kiss.
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