Yeehaw! It’s that time again, buckaroos and buckarettes, for the latest and greatest in Frontier technology: a new short story!
I’ve mentioned it a few times here and there, but it is finally ready for you all to feast your senses on.
🎧HEAR: the full 35+ minute narration with music, sound effects, harmonicas, and rabbit squeaks!
👀SEE: the full-color illustrations provided by the fantastically talented Michelle Thomas. The four critters you see above, plus more!
📑READ: the expertly-crafted text, with quick link references to any and all Florabeasts, Gasts, or whatever you want to learn more about. This world is just too big to relate in 6,000 words!
And, you can have it all in just one click!
The text and audio will be available exclusively on World Anvil, because that’s just the best way to do it. Trying to keep things in sync between here, there, and everywhere is just too much. I can link to the beasts here, but it isn’t the same experience. Besides, you have to click on a link in your email to hear the audio anyway, so why not have you go to the story article instead?
This piece was my entry into the Inkwells & Anvils Sore Must Be The Storm anthology, and as you would know if you owned it, Squall didn’t make the cut this year. I was disappointed, not only because getting into anthologies is a great way to share my work with new people, but also because it is just so on-brand with what I am trying to do.
One of the main themes of the anthology was hope, which is built right into my name! It’s also a major theme in the Wild Arms series, which Frontier Flora derives much of its existence from. I was hoping it would make it in, since it would have been an excellent follow-up from A Christmas Corral last year, but sadly I only gave myself a couple of weeks to work on Squall instead of the months that were provided.
Never fear, though, the beauty of self-publishing is that I can release whatever I like however I like it. And this is how we like it. Michelle and I have spent the past several weeks drawing out all the critters in great detail, and recording, mixing and mastering the audio to make this a true multimedia experience. When including all of the extra lore and articles that go into a single story, there’s a whole lot more work than just copy and pasting it into a newsletter client, picking a stock photo for the header and sending it on its way.
Speaking of lore, this release marks 70 (!) total Florabeast articles that have been published in just the past year. That’s nearly all of Generation 1 out there in the world, which is just so very exciting. It also means it’s time to rotate the pasture and let the garden rest for a while. This will be the last short story for at least a few seasons, and not just until another anthology comes along.
So please take some time and check it out! Listen to the story as you read, or just close your eyes and lift the curtain on the theater of the mind. Learn more about whatever Florabeasts tickle your fancy, too. However your experience, I’m hopeful that you’ll enjoy it.