Emily C. Skaftun

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Excerpt

The alligator’s laugher was loud in Lucinda’s head. It scraped like teeth against rocks. But then she heard another voice join in, something quiet and soft as a cashmere sweater, but laughing just as hard.

“Hello, little mammal,” the alligator said, and Lucinda looked behind her into the park to see a brown-striped cat demurely licking a paw. Her tail curled around her like a blanket, she paused for a moment looking up at Lucinda with wide brown eyes.

Lucinda’s heart leapt, thinking of the hours she’d spent petting Tink under the chin until she purred like a motorboat, or teasing her with a bit of string and watching her run and jump and almost fly, like a little tiger in a carefully landscaped jungle.

“Tink,” she thought, concentrating on not speaking aloud and aggravating the trees. “Please tell this alligator that it’s not right to eat me after he promised not to.”

The cat shrugged, reaching her forepaws ahead of her to stretch. “I suppose,” she thought. She stood back up and slunk toward Lucinda, nuzzling her calf with her fuzzy face. Lucinda could feel the vibration of Tink’s purring as she wound herself around her legs, and she reached down to scratch behind the dark-tipped ears. The cat looked up at her, twitching her long whiskers.

“But on the other hand,” she thought, en expression that looked like pure love on her face, “I’d like to eat you myself, if I were bigger.”

Bio

I write speculative fiction because reality seems dull. Who am I? I'm a Clarion West alumna from 2009. I'm a huge fan of sleep and roller skating. I'm mom to a cat who thinks he's a tiger, and who would definitely eat me if given the chance. But I'm pretty sure he'd be sad about it afterward.

Publications

• “Down in the Woods Today,” Attic Toys
• “The Curse of the Were-Penis,” FLURB
• “Apology for Fish-Dude,” Ideomancer
• “Last of the Monsters,” Strange Horizons
• “My Only Sunshine,” FLURB

Writing Description

A friend recently described me as "sharp and playful, like running with scissors." I'd like to think that tag applies to my writing too.

Writing Goals

For the first three weeks of the Write-a-thon I'll be in Europe, so my writing will be mostly private journaling and a series of strange and unusual postcards.

After I return it's time to get serious about revising my novel. My probably-too-ambitious goal is to have a presentable draft by the end of the Write-a-thon.

Fundraising Goals

It would be fun to raise $100 or more this year. To that end, my highest donor at the end of the summer can name an animal -- real, mythical, robotic, whatever -- for me to incorporate into a work of fiction. In addition, ALL DONORS will receive a 100-or-so word story on a genuine Icelandic or Norwegian postcard (sent from Seattle). For examples of these, see my blog.

Website

http://skaftun.blogspot.com


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