Doing the rounds for #FridayFlash or #TuesdaySerial never fails to astound me – the sheer volume of good fiction that’s being given away for free is astonishing. Of course, it’s difficult to know where to begin, so I’ve decided to plug the stuff I enjoy reading myself. Now, there’s a LOT of stuff I enjoy, so if I comment on your work regularly but don’t feature you, don’t be offended, I’ll get to you eventually…
So I’m kicking things off with The Mythical Creatures Employment Exchange by Justin Davies! It started running in November 2010, and is currently up to part 18. It tells the story of the exchange, run by Fiona McAlister and her loyal staff – Alice, fluent in conversing with cephalopods, furry monster Ms Pinky and werewolf Neil. The Exchange gets work for mythical creatures by placing them where they’re needed – where else did you think Santa got his elves?
Anyway, Alice is sent on an assignment to Norway to investigate a kraken with the wrong work permits, and ends up getting kidnapped by a shady organisation who want the kraken for their new Nautilus World attraction. It’s up to Fiona to assemble a crack rescue squad of harpies, Furies, zombies, poltergeists and many more! The serial also features a griffin that I’ve come to refer to as “my griffin” since Justin asked for suggestions of mythical creatures to include, and that was mine. Weirdly, he wrote the griffin in before reading my suggestion, so we’re possibly psychic twins.
The Mythical Creatures Employment Exchange is billed as “comedy/fantasy” and it does exactly what it says on the tin. It’s very funny, full of action, and cracks along at a good pace. It’s incredibly inventive, and it reminds me quite a lot of another of my favourite authors, Tom Holt. I can also attest that Justin is a very lovely guy, too! You can follow him on Twitter @flyingscribbler, and you can get started on Chapter One now. Make sure you leave him a comment and tell him Icy sent you.
The Flying Scribbler always delivers funny, rambling dialogue. It’s one I’ve enjoyed every week of on the #fridayflash rounds.
The Spotlight is a great idea, Icy; there is a TON of writers out there, and takes time to wade through them all. I’ve got Justin on my reading list, but I’m sure there are others that may not yet. cheers!