Today is Friday, March 4th, and we are now 5 days deep into the CHROMO PROMO. We’ll take a break for the weekend, but we’ll be back at it come Monday morning! If you’ve missed our previous table of contents announcements, check out the following articles:
“Hei Xian (The Black Thread)” by Frances Lu-Pai Ippolito
“Eat Your Colors” by Sonora Taylor
Our story showcase today is (drum roll, please)…
“Toxic Shock”
by Chelsea Pumpkins
Here’s an excerpt:
“Yellow?” she whispered.
Her pantyliner was covered in a bruise, multi-colored and festering. But when blood dripped from her vagina into the toilet water, it was vibrant. The ripples spread radially as droplets sank to the porcelain—a cerulean center, ringed with canary yellow, and encircled by burnt sienna, the color of dried blood she was used to seeing.
She recalled memories of Yellowstone as remnants of her uterine lining turned the clear water into the Grand Prismatic Spring. Normally she would call for Jeff to provide reassurance. He would organize her symptoms into a logical sequence, ground her in probabilities, and hold her shaking hands until they steadied. But her hands weren’t shaking. There was no way Jeff could come up with a rational explanation for this. Instead of panic, she was overwhelmed with serenity. She sat and stared at the masterpiece beneath her, a masterpiece she created. She was bleeding in technicolor, and she was utterly mesmerized.
“You okay?” Jeff asked as Carrie walked out of the bathroom, “You were in there a while.”
“Yeah, just shark week.”
“Bummer.” He looked at her with pity.
We decided to keep this excerpt on the shorter side. It is truly best if you head into “Toxic Shock” as blindly as possible. The human body is full of surprises, and that idea is taken to some pretty dizzying heights by author Chelsea Pumpkins.
Pumpkins is a relative newcomer to the writing scene, and we are happy to have brought her (and her story) on board the CHROMOPHOBIA express. We look forward to whatever technicolor nightmares she unleashes in the future. Follow her on Twitter HERE.
You can pre-order the special hardcover edition of CHROMOPHOBIA from Rooster Republic Press HERE. We will be showcasing the interior art, exclusive to the special edition, next month.
Thanks for reading, and we hope you’re looking forward to more showcases next week!
Hope you have a spooky weekend!
