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Glitter and Mayhem (Excerpt)

Conceived on twitter and funded through Kickstarter, this collection of short fiction is dedicated to roller rinks, nightclubs, glam aliens, (literal) party monsters, drugs, sex, glitter, and debauchery.

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Published on September 13, 2013

Check out Glitter & Mayhem, the most glamorous party in the multiverse! Conceived on twitter and funded through Kickstarter, this collection of short fiction is dedicated to roller rinks, nightclubs, glam aliens, (literal) party monsters, drugs, sex, glitter, and debauchery.

The anthology is edited by John Klima, Lynne M. Thomas, and Michael Damian Thomas, and features stories by Christoper Barzak, Maurice Broaddus, Maria Dahvana Headley, Daryl Gregory, Seanan McGuire, Tim Pratt, Diana Rowland, and more!

Below, read Amber Benson’s (author of the Calliope Reaper-Jones series) introduction to the collection. Glitter & Mayhem is available now from Apex Publications.

There will be Glitter
There will be Mayhem
We will drink your solid gold milkshake
Drink it down to the very last drop.

The Venue: Club Apex
The Theme: Glitter and Mayhem
In Attendance: Anyone Who Is Anyone
RSVP: Be There or Be Square

To the uninitiated, it may look as though you’re holding a book in your hands, but don’t be fooled by the pretty cover: there is a party in these here pages. What you’ve got, my friends, is an invitation to the bash of the epoch—an event that will go down in the annals of time as an occasion you don’t want to say you had the opportunity to go to and then somehow missed.

If you decide to redeem your place at the bar, be prepared to have your body and soul sucked into the roller derby-disco ball-sex, drugs and glam rock ’n’ roll-alien-debauched-glitter-party monster-EXTRAVAGANZA of the ages. It’ll be a sensuous assemblage of lipstick-smeared kisses, cleavage, glittering costumes and sexy boys and girls all looking to hook it up as they twirl their glow sticks and roller skate past you.

I know you might have some misgivings as you step inside: there is no “plus one” on this non-transferable ticket. So if you’re here, you’re going it alone—but then so is everyone else you’ll meet. Just ignore the red velvet rope and the bouncer from Hell. You’re one of the golden. You’re on the list.

Come on in and have a drink. Lose yourself in the crowd. Let the music steal any thought as you rock your body to the stylin’ beat of an androgynous DJ in a shiny, silver lamé jumpsuit. Go mirror ball blind. Have another drink—once you’ve downed the first one, the rest come at a more modest price—and whatever you do, don’t keep your hands to yourself.

Yes, it’s all so much easier if you go ahead and give in to the glitter and mayhem. One hell of a trip past the lips, the teeth, the tip of the tongue, but more than worth it.

With that said, you just have to remember one thing: you’ve entered this party at your own risk. Having your mind blown can lead to other, more permanent kinds of brain damage. Oh, and a rather robust and insatiable appetite for hardcore speculative fantasy.

Not that that’s such a bad thing.

We hope you have a bloody good time tonight…because even when you leave this party, well, the party never leaves you.


Introduction to Glitter & Mayhem © Amber Benson, 2013

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Amber Benson

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