Author Topic: PC455: A Score Of Roses  (Read 3511 times)

Ocicat

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on: February 15, 2017, 01:41:57 AM
PodCastle 455: A Score Of Roses

by Troy L. Wiggins

read by Kimberly Taylor

First published in the Long Hidden Anthology in 2014

Rated PG-13.

Sunshine flowed through the crowd, sliding between hooters and hungry-eyed applauders. A whiskey runner with a long, toothy scar down his neck poured up servings of burning moonshine at a row of nearby tables. The harsh, fruity scent of the liquor filled Sunshine’s nose, luring her with its sweet poison.

She swayed up to the tables, lowered herself into a seat, and stretched out like a yawning cat. The runner regarded her with flat eyes. She nodded. Her hand landed softly on the thigh of the stony-faced man sitting next to her, and her lips quivered. The scent of the rosewater wisped from her skin, cutting softly through the dense reek of smoke from hand-rolled cigarettes, black bodies, and day-old sweat.





Troy Wiggins is a writer and editor from Memphis, Tennessee. His short fiction has appeared or is forthcoming in Griots: Sisters of the Spear, Long Hidden: Speculative Fiction From the Margins of History, Expanded Horizons, Fireside Magazine and Memphis Noir. He blogs about the intersection of speculative fiction, race, and nerd culture at afrofantasy.net. Troy lives in Memphis with his wife and their two dogs.

Find him online at his website, troylwiggins.com or on Twitter @TroyLWiggins.

Kimberly Taylor is from Memphis, TN. She enjoys reading, coloring, and cackling over tea with friends. She is obsessed with Black Southern Womanhood (her own and that of others), nail art, and Bioware games.


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VranaCat

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Reply #1 on: February 22, 2017, 02:34:37 AM
I found myself wanting more details on this one.  I know that the woman, the man, and their child were all supernatural in some form or fashion, but their roles and powers were so nebulous that I just wanted more than I was given.



cwthree

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Reply #2 on: March 02, 2017, 12:45:53 AM
I'm with VranaCat. This story left me wanting more. Who is Baby, and how does he come by his ability to coax flowers and houses into being? Where did Sunshine go? What will their daughter do with her mother's gift of magical song?

I appreciated the way that the characters are clearly all supernaturally-endowed but also limited in human ways. Please bring us more of their stories.



TrishEM

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Reply #3 on: March 03, 2017, 07:03:29 AM
I'd like to see more from Troy Wiggins, but I don't know that I want any extensions from this particular world/story. Even though a lot was only hinted at, or completely unexplained, the story still felt curiously satisfying and complete in itself.

I loved the language, tone, and narration. Just a dreamy little interlude.



Ichneumon

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Reply #4 on: April 11, 2017, 08:17:26 PM
I agree with the previous comments. Really nice world building. Sometimes I feel like authors leave elements or explanations out because they haven't decided on them. This story gave me the feeling the author knew the answers to all of the questions the story raised, but made a choice to leave them unanswered.



Fenrix

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Reply #5 on: June 19, 2017, 01:43:52 PM
Loved the voice of this story, and the narration really helped deliver that.

All cat stories start with this statement: “My mother, who was the first cat, told me this...”