PseudoPod 382: Her Face All Sharp
Show Notes
“I began writing this story with the intention of justifying vengeance. I wanted it to take the sort of clear but twisted moral stance that defines a fable as a fable (to me, anyway)…”
SLINGERS by Matt Wallace can be purchased here.
Lance Roger Axt’s UTOPIATES Audio Drama can be found at the link.
Her Face All Sharp
by Sara Larner
But he had read deeply about such a creature as she, in his uncle’s old library, and had been prepared for the unlikely contingency that everything went according to plan. He threw a leather hood soaked in semen, blood, and tears over her head. He could not hear her through it, which was how it must be.
He put his fingers around her neck. Onyx and sapphire, brilliant and beautiful, her neck feathers were soft and short. He ran his thumb along her inner throat, pushing gently, just to see how it felt. She twisted her head away, in the dumb manner of a hooded bird; unwilling to move but inclined away from pain. He readjusted his hand and pushed a little harder.
He couldn’t hear anything through the hood, but he knew she must have made some sound at that, some squawk or chirp. A plea.
About the Author
Sara Larner
Sara Larner lives in New York City where she writes, paints, and attends Barnard College of Columbia University, earning a Bachelors in English with a Double Concentration in Creative Writing and Film and a Minor in Classical Studies—which after repeating several hundred times she has decided is, in fact, a mouthful. She recently finished her fourth novel (the first for which she’s seeking publication) and her second feature length screenplay, and is hard at work on a second original tv pilot while negotiating the option contract for the pilot and show bible she wrote over the summer. She spends her free time filling painting commissions, dancing, and—whenever there is a breath of time—reading. (Okay, often reading when there is no time and she should really be doing Actual Work.)
Become a Patreon supporter to see her patron-only feed of studio photos, painting videos, and to potentially win one of her monthly patreon paintings. And don’t forget to find her on twitter, instagram, and facebook, and go to her tumblr to see all the rest of her paintings!
About the Narrator
Marguerite Kenner
Marguerite Kenner is a dual-national American living in the UK. She’s the President and CEO of the Escape Artists Foundation, the US 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to bringing free and accessible audio short fiction to a global audience. She’s a multiple Hugo Award nominee alongside Alasdair Stuart for their weekly pop culture newsletter The Full Lid, and was the editor of Cast of Wonders from 2013 to 2019.
A practicing technology lawyer, Marguerite loves performing in audio dramas and playing video games, often where people can watch. When she’s not at genre industry events advocating for the power and value of audio short fiction, she’s mentoring and teaching legal and business skills to independent creatives.
You can follow her adventures and see photos of her cat on Bluesky.
