CHROMO Countdown: 17

Today is June 13th, and that means you only have 17 more days to pre-order the special edition of CHROMOPHOBIA. You can place your order HERE.

Today’s story:

“The Dyer and The Dressmakers”

by Bindia Persaud

She had been told what to expect when her flowers arrived, and we were on hand with clean rags and cold compresses when the day came. Her mother fussed and made much of her, but she was peevish, almost tearful. “Mama, it hurts,” she mewled.

“It’s natural. It will pass.”

She sat up. “It doesn’t hurt there. It hurts here.”

She raised her arm. Nestled in the tender hollow of her armpit was a translucent polyp the size of an acorn.

I forgot how to breathe for a moment. I wasn’t the only one. Elation, tinged with fear, rendered us immobile. Long minutes passed, and Theodora cried in earnest. Ultimately, Berta had to prod us into action. She bid us fetch a length of unbleached muslin and lay it on the floor. Theodora was directed to stand over it, arm raised. Before she could protest, Berta reached out and pinched the protuberance between her skinny fingers. Theodora gave a whinny as a drop of fluid leaked from the polyp. It was as colorless as water, but when it touched the cloth it spread and bloomed into a rich carnelian red. Theodora was still sniffling, but the sight startled her into laughter. It was contagious, as a child’s mirth can be. Berta flashed her gummy smile while the rest of us collapsed into giggles. When we had collected ourselves, I gathered up the material and set to work.

***

We’re gonna keep running this countdown until the very last day, but we have to admit that it looks like we’ve probably seen the last of the pre-orders come in for the hardcover edition. We ran a poll over the weekend to gauge interest in an early trade paperback release, but the response was, at best, pretty tepid. Halloween remains the street date, as of this writing.

You can pre-order your hardcover edition of CHROMOPHOBIA HERE.

And, remember…