Crashland is coming II
Hot on the heels of my last post comes this, a copy of Crash* in my letterbox. Doesn’t it look awesome?
* That’s Australian for Crashland.
Things to note about the cover:
1) “Nobody is who they seem…” – What could that mean?
2) “Plus exclusive short story THE VIEW FROM THE END OF THE WORLD” – That’s right: only in the Australian edition will you get a story revealing what Clair’s friend Tash is up to while Clair is doing whatever it’s doing she’s doing (no spoilers!). The story is inspired by my excellent writer friend Jason Fischer, who once dared me to write a story using a particularly juvenile typo. For a while it was actually called “Flight of the Airboner”, but thankfully level heads prevailed. The opening lines of the story are below.
I’m disappointed. I thought that looking at Kukenán-tepui from a distance would be more of a spiritual high. Unfortunately, at this angle, the mesa sticks out of the rolling green plain like a broken-off thumb with thick jungle crowding its base, and boys being boys being idiots, it catches their eye.
‘Venezuela is looking up,’ says Bob, all brawn and no brain.
‘Yeah, but is that a mountain in its pocket,’ quick-fires Angus, ‘or is it just pleased to see us?’
‘Are we going to stand around cracking jokes all day?’ deadpans Matthias. ‘I’m bored stiff.’
‘After you, then,’ says Moiz, ‘for being such a stand-up guy.’
And so on. I’m in stitches, I tell you. Serves me right for joining an expedition where I’m one of two girls in a group of eight. I can tell Paula feels the same way, but she doesn’t want to be too oh-grow-up-will-you? while a chance remains that Angus will open his sleeping bag tonight.
As the youngest of the group – but not by much; Angus and Bob have just three years on me, and are mentally about five – I take it upon myself to keep the so-called adults focused on the task at hand.
