Sale announcement: my gaslamp fantasy short story “The Work-Clock” will appear in Sunday Morning Transport!
This was the story I wrote in spring 2020, as I watched the economy demonstrate a complete inability to survive if everyone stopped their meaningless busy-work for a month. Did I mention it’s a gaslamp fantasy? Epic fantasy, maybe? With an industrialized prison for the Evil One? I’m super proud of this one, and I’m glad it’s found an excellent home.
Zek tightened his tool belt and hustled through the Temple Works’ core. The clocks kept ticking, without one damn care why a man might fall behind.
Offices all morning, plus the factory floor, and a few other one-offs in between. Should need three people to check so many runes, but journeymen and master inspectors got vacation, and the apprentice better pick up the slack.
Had to keep someone on duty, true thing. Templars needed the factory’s money and magic for their real work, keeping the Destroyer sealed up forever below.
Funny thing. The world would bleed and die without an apprentice inspector to keep the Temple Works running, but didn’t mean the job paid well.
I don’t have a timeline on its publication, but probably in the next six months. If you want to make sure you don’t miss it, sign up for my newsletter – or better yet, sign up for Sunday Morning Transport and help support the best in short speculative fiction!