Category: Ongoing Series
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Character Study – Michael Ivonak
“Doctor Fanshaw, is the test subject ready?” The voice makes me jump, and I almost fumble the precious vial. Booming over the loudspeakers, it’s like the voice of God. Worse, it’s the voice of an impatient CEO who’s already used phrases like “project overruns” and “termination of contract.” “It’s, ah – it’s all ready, Sir.…
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Character Study – Jennifer Westfall
“So, the Corporation finally sent you to kill me?” The bruise on my cheek stings something fierce, but it ain’t hurt as much as my pride. The factory floor is cold beneath my knees, and I’m uncomfortably aware of the goon flanking me as I keep my hands raised and stare up at my target.…
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Archetype
So you’ve decided on your Archetype, my girl? Congratulations – it must have been only yesterday that we were playing ice cream shop in an old cardboard box. What did you say? Ten years ago? No, impossible! Anyway, who did you select to devote yourself to? Nzinga Mbandi? Ahh, a queen – a revolutionary queen…
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Tales From A&R, Part 12 – The Pub
“Scruffy! I haven’t seen you for ages! Hey everyone, Chris is doing a shift again!” “Hi Dan!” I waved. “It’s great to be back!” I smiled as I walked into the familiar A&R bookstore in Perth and saw my fellow casual employees come up to greet me. It was the mid-2000s and the store was not doing well. A&R…
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Tales From A&R, Part 11 – Pratchett
Sometime in the early years of the new millennium, the A&R bookstore in Perth was buzzing. A handful of fantasy fans were clustering around a small sign that I had stuck to the display window at the front of the store, proclaiming “Terry Pratchett Book Signing Today!” “Did you hear?” asked fans as they brought up…
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Tales from A&R, Part 10 – Prank War
In the early years of the new millennium, I was working the Friday night shift at Perth’s largest bookstore, A&R. While the job saw me come into contact with the best and worst of Perth’s nightlife, on wet winter nights Perth’s streets were like a morgue. Pub crawlers and club bunnies found it too cold for skimpy dance gear, late night shoppers stayed home, and even the muggers and drug…
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Tales from A&R, Part 9 – The Jolliest Time of Year
By the early 2000s, I’d been working at A&R long enough to see the book seasons come and go: Summer Madness, Autumn Readings, Winter Warmers and Spring into Books. However Summer-themed book promotion was always interrupted by the bookstore’s happiest (& most profitable) time of year. Christmas. Every year, exasperated parents remark that “the Christmas promotion starts…
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Tales from A&R, Part 8 – The Hard Sell
Sometime in the early years of the new millennium Denise and I were in our usual spots, putting through some customer’s purchases and trying to look enthusiastic. “There you go, thank you for shopping with us this evening,” said Denise happily, handing the bag to a middle-aged woman who grunted in reply and wandered back into the nightlife of Perth. …
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Tales from A&R, Part 7 – Harry Potter
One of the ongoing jobs at A&R was presenting the new books that had just been launched by various authors. Most writers got a slot on our “New Releases” shelves, or even a display in the shop window. Most new releases shared a sort of square pyramid table near the front of the store in…
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Tales from A&R, Part 6 – The Doctor
When I’d been working at A&R for a year or so, the managers decided to move a group of the casuals to the Friday night shift. “There’s no extra money in it, mind,” warned Kimberley with a frown. “And if you don’t want the shift, tough – find another job. There’s plenty of people out there who’d…