In Which I Shall Sell You On Things That Are Not the Next Brain Jar Press Pre-Order

So I’m gearing up to release the next Short Fiction Lab release in two weeks, and the pre-orders are going out with a 99 cent price-tag in the US.

Naturally, this meant today started with me dropping a Macklemore Thrift Shop reference while writing up the promo for the newsletter, because that song always gets in my head every time I price something at 99 cents. Given that song was everywhere in 2012 you probably don’t need a refresher, but here’s a link in case you were very young, trapped in Antarctica for a few years, or you’re just feeling nostalgic.

Going down the youtube hole obviously led me to the Post Modern Jukebox cover, which deploys Thrift Shop in a swing jazz style and is just all-around fantastic. You can go listen to it here, and I recommend you do.

Which, of course, now means I’m reading Kelly Link’s The Faerie Handbag because it’s the greatest thrift-shop-based fantasy story going.

And while I should be trying to sell you on picking up a pre-order copy of Short Fiction Lab 3: A White Cross Beside A Lonely Road, I’m just going to quietly point out you can read (or re-read) The Faerie Handbag over on Kelly’s website for free.

I mean, I’d still dig it if you went and pre-ordered my story and all. It’s a road trip, and a ghost story, and a story about things falling apart when you’re expected to adult without clear guidelines for what that looks like.

But it’s still two weeks until Short Fiction Lab 3 drops on July 31. It’s a terrible source of immediate gratification.

In the choice between waiting and getting your short fiction on here and now, always go for the now.