PHOTO DESCRIPTION:
On a dark, rainy night, a man stands on a balcony overlooking a grim city dense with tall, futuristic buildings. Tiny skycraft are darting between the towers against the charcoal sky. The man― dressed in black, with very short hair― has his back to the viewer. He appears to be a solitary, lonely figure, staring at a single spire crowned by a full moon and marked by the numbers “072” on its side.
STORY LETTER:
Dear Author,
Welcome to the Capitol. Crime runs rampant far below in the slums, and civil unrest has spread even to its darkened spires in spite of the government’s best efforts to silence dissent. What will become of the City of Lights when its last is extinguished?
There’s an assassin afoot tonight. Whether or not his mark is made could be the deciding factor in this unspoken war. Will tyranny prevail? Or will the revolution finally begin to move forward?
I would love to see dark spec fiction with as many layers as you want to put on it. SFF? Yes, please. Dieselpunk, or other variants? Absolutely. Paranormal or demonic influences? Oh baby, purr.
As plot-focused or as porn-focused as you feel is appropriate!
You are already awesome. Thank you so much in advance.
Sincerely,
EK
STORY INFO:
Genre: science fiction, dystopia, post-apocalyptic
Tags: hurt/comfort, tear jerker, anterograde amnesia
Content warnings: no HEA or HFN, some violence
Word count: 7,693
Acknowledgements
A more or less absurd number of very talented people came together in my hour(s) of need to render aid, dispense succor, and defend my fragile ego at critical junctures throughout the development of this project.
To my only occasionally civil yet gloriously skilled editor, Brona― known elsewhere as the Reaver of Shitty Writez and the Redeemer of Ridiculous Dreams. All shall know her, and despair.
To my kickass Beta DreamTeam: Anna, KittyKnight of Tanzaswedetalia, and Ayanna the Steadfast, of California. To Con, Heidi, and Sam, esteemed fellow authors of no small note; Emma, Vicky, Daniel, and Kate, as well― amazing human beings, every one. Thank you for being superlative.
To E.K., who posted the original prompt in the Goodreads M/M Romance Group discussion threads: I am in your debt. To quote a recent pop song: your idea ate my heart, and then it ate my brain.
To Aleksandr, for that thing with the thing, that one time.
To Elspeth and MLE, for the cookies, and the gummies, and the local paper― but mostly for the cookies and the gummies.
To Jen McJ, who never quite got irritated enough with me to have me killed― even when I stopped answering her emails.
Twice.
To John. Because reasons.
To Amy. For Truth in the Dark, and the tweet that put me back together after a rough night.
Finally, to all the outrageously attractive members of #teamjoolz, who yet remain quite #effective: I made this with love. I really hope you love it too.
Dedication
for nino
if equal affection cannot be
let the more loving one be me
~ W.H. Auden
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