Today’s it’s the turn of Amanda Pillar (story in Vol 2) Sulari Gentill(story in Vol 1) and Kat Clay (story in vol 1) to tell us something about their And Then stories.
It, Amanda Pillar
‘It’ is a science fiction tale set on a planet that is plagued by a giant kraken-like monster.
And, believe it or not, it was inspired by a dream I had years ago. In fact, there are a couple of scenes that are direct reproductions of the dream!
Catch A Fallen Star, Sulari Gentill
My contribution to the And Then… anthology is quite a departure from the historical crime, and mythic fiction I usually write. Set in the near future, it imagines an Australia that has swung hard to the right, where nationalism is used to quell any resistance. It is a storification of my own fears about the direction the world is heading. Sadly, in the short time since I finished the writing it, Catch a Fallen Star has become a lot less speculative than I hoped it would remain.
In the company of Rogues, Kat Clay
In the Company of Rogues was born out of my love of fantasy video games, and my general amusement playing with genre tropes. You know the ones: the guy in a dark cloak chasing our heroes, giant spiders, and of course, the loveable rogue. I love rogues, but they sure do get away with a lot. I thought about what the consequences would be of this lifestyle, and so we chance upon our hero Randall the Rogue, who has developed an STD from too much ‘rogueing’. Together with his sidekick, Dennis the Budgerigar of Doom, they have to go on a quest to cure his illness, with the help of a lady rogue… and as they say in the land of Sidarth: “Never quest with another rogue, they’ll steal your heart then steal your clothes.”
Feathers of the Firebird 