marylowd – Page 180 – Deep Sky Anchor

Ecto-Busters One

by Mary E. Lowd

Originally published in Midwest Furfest 2019 Conbook, December 2019

“I’m sure the fire-spitting portal-thingy at the top of the Great Dane Building will hold for forty minutes or so while we eat some wontons.”

Sunny’s belly gurgled, and she adjusted the heavy weight of the techno-ecto-pack on her back. The hardworking yellow Labrador hadn’t been able to grab a meal all day long. Not even a snack. Her ecto-busting team was too busy dissipating ghosts, exorcising possessed buildings, and laying ghouls back to rest. It had been one haunt after another, non-stop, ever since the first phone call that Halloween morning. But what were they supposed to do? Who else were the good dog and cat citizens of Dogotham City gonna call? Continue reading “Ecto-Busters One”

Heart of an Orca, Grace of a Cat

“The cat’s ears flicked. Her black and white patches made her look like she was wearing a tuxedo, terribly overdressed for the wild, windy beach.”

by Mary E. Lowd

Originally published in Furvana 2019 Conbook, September 2019

Jamie watched the roiling waves, searching for unicorns in the white spray. She sat on the golden sand of the freezing Oregon beach, clutching her favorite book, The Last Unicorn, to her chest. Her toes were red and numb from wading. The water was too cold for swimming.

Continue reading “Heart of an Orca, Grace of a Cat”

Otter in a Raft

That feeling when an otter in a raft shows up to save a bunch of cats who’ve been slowly drowning in the middle of a lake while arguing with each other about the best way to swim.‬

Goodby to a Legend

Spaceship log: an ancient star we used to steer by has gone dark. The maps in the database must be reconfigured.‬

Mike Resnick wrote one of my favorite books — A Miracle of Rare Design. It’s the ultimate transformation book, and it meant a great deal to me in high school, because it told me that no matter how I changed in the future, I would always still be myself.

RIP Mike Resnick.

Maybe Baby

Sixty years ago, Buddy Holly rhymed “maybe” with “baby,” “funny” with “honey,” and “glad” with “sad,” and I’m still listening to it today.‬

‪Don’t overthink your art. Just make it.‬

And Trudy Howls…

Me: calls to elder dog at top of my lungs‬

‪Elder dog: nope, can’t hear, definitely deaf, gonna keep nosing around the furthest corners of the backyard in the rain‬

‪Later…‬ Continue reading “And Trudy Howls…”

Galactic Garden

by Mary E. Lowd

Originally published in Furvana 2019 Conbook, September 2019

“Ariadella had watched other, older galaxy-spinners work their webs before. She’d seen their erratic patterns — artless and chaotic. She had better plans.”

Ariadella chose a cozy corner of the universe where the velvety blackness was thick with a rich, fizzy soup of hydrogen and helium. She settled into the lonely void and began gulping up the fizz, letting it process deep in her belly, until she had enough dark matter to begin spinning.

With her thousands of legs, Ariadella pulled silk from her spinnerets. The gravitational lines of silk brought tension, structure, and form to the swampy darkness. She spun from a central point outward, choosing a spiraling pattern as she went. Continue reading “Galactic Garden”

Fiction by Mary E. Lowd in 2019

Okay, theoretically, this is an Awards Eligibility Post… except, I had so much fiction published this year that thinking of it that way will probably melt people’s brains. So, instead, here’s a guide to learning about the fiction I had come out this year, in case you want to read it. If when you get to the end, you can still remember that awards exist, then I’d absolutely be honored by any award nominations my fiction might receive.

First off, my books…

Nexus Nine, published by FurPlanet, counts as a novel for the Ursa Major Awards and Cóyotl Awards, and a novella for the Leo Literary Awards.

Tri-Galactic Trek, Jove Deadly’s Lunar Detective Agency (co-written with Garrett Marco), and ROAR 10 were all published by FurPlanet and count as Other Literary Works for the Ursa Major Awards and as Anthologies for the Leo Literary Awards and Cóyotl Awards. Continue reading “Fiction by Mary E. Lowd in 2019”

Roomba Whispers

It’s REALLY creepy when the Roomba starts saying, “Please charge Roomba,” in the other room in the middle of the night — just loud enough to hear it’s a voice you don’t recognize in your house, but not quite loud enough to make out the words.‬

Another Life

Apparently, I was slow to notice this, but #AnotherLife got renewed for a second season on Netflix!!! This is extremely, super exciting, because it’s a fantastic space show, starring the BRILLIANT Katee Sackhoff (Starbuck from BSG) as a starship captain, and I love it so much!

Two story acceptances in the first week of the year! And one of them to a pro-market!!! Continue reading “Another Life”