New eBook: Bones of Ice (and a snippet)
Here’s a snippet from my new novelette, Bones of Ice.
Bones of Ice follows the story of Jade, a surveyor stranded on an uninhabited planet, and picks up where On Ice left off.
***
The chamber was massive.
The air held a damp chill, and there were bones everywhere. Jade let her breath out slowly between her teeth, realizing only then that she had been holding it.
There was a faint smell that might have been rot, but it didn’t look like the Ice badger kittens had left much for microbes and insects to work on. That and the intervening weeks had transformed the abattoir of her imagining into something closer to the famous catacombs of Earth’s older cities. This cave was less ordered than those meticulously arranged assemblies of bones and skulls, but it gave her the same sensation of being watched.
“I’m here to look for my friend,” she said out loud. “Not to disturb your rest.”
Her voice echoed back, making her wince. With no one else to talk to, it had been easy to slip into the habit of talking to the world around her as she worked. When setting her deadfall traps, she often admonished them to “stay there, and don’t fall until something takes the bait,” mainly because they so often fell as soon as she let go. She talked to her bait, and her meals, and her fire. Now, though, she wished she hadn’t said anything to the bones.
It felt too much like they might be listening.
***
Bones of Ice
Stranded on an uninhabited planet, Jade’s only hope is to survive long enough for colonists to arrive and send her home. But what if they’re not coming?
12,735 words, ~43 pages
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BV9J8AW (link fixed 3/17/13 7:28pm)
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/296227
Coming soon to other ebooksellers!
New story soon
I’m working on the final revision of Bones of Ice. Hopefully, I’ll get it published tomorrow, although it might end up being next week – we’ll see.
Bones of Ice follows the story of Jade, a surveyor stranded on an uninhabited planet, and picks up where On Ice left off.
I’ve also started writing the story of what happens next, at last! I was worried, when I spent the last couple of months not writing anything new. It looks like it’s coming back to me, though. 
Getting better!
Tonight, I went back to Crossfit!
I did pretty well shoveling snow last weekend, so I figured it was time to give it a try.
(For anyone who doesn’t know, I was hospitalized right after Thanksgiving with blood clots in my leg and lungs, and again shortly after that for bleeding complications. Two months ago, taking the stairs up to my bedroom was an achievement, and I could track my recovery by how many times in a day I could manage it.)
So, how do I feel after an hour consisting of warm up, back squats, pullups (jumping pullups for me) and burpees?
Pretty darn good, actually!
Now, granted I had to lie down for a few minutes when we got home, but that’s ok, and it was only a few minutes. I’m not totally wiped out in the non-functioning way that I would get when I was first out of the hospital, which is very reassuring.
And I might only have done 25 lbs, but it felt really good to have a bar on my shoulders again – I have definitely discovered a love of lifting since starting Crossfit, and it’s nice to get back on the path of gaining strength.
Now we’ll see how site I am tomorrow. 
Buried…
Yeah, we’re not gonna be going anywhere for a while. I hope everyone else stays safe and warm!
© 2010 Catherine Wechsler, used with permission.
