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1 noise altogether, and just watched Father Mothers build the the build Mothers Father watched just and altogether, noise snapped and cried at night. Eventually, it stopped making making stopped it Eventually, night. at cried and snapped built the church right over the top of it, while it snarled and and snarled it while it, of top the over right church the built his leg in its jaws. But Father Mothers didn’t fear it. He just just He it. fear didn’t Mothers Father But jaws. its in leg his Father Mothers if it would have somehow been able to get get to able been somehow have would it if Mothers Father stayed put. It was a bear in every way, capable of killing killing of capable way, every in bear a was It put. stayed at him, fierce and loud like all bears, but of course it just just it course of but bears, all like loud and fierce him, at a field where he was met by a bear with no legs. It growled growled It legs. no with bear a by met was he where field a everyone in Pie Time as simply Lady Blood. He built it in in it built He Blood. Lady simply as Time Pie in everyone his own hands. It was a church that soon became known to to known became soon that church a was It hands. own his co-does Octopus Books and Octopus Magazine. Octopus and Books Octopus co-does sleep, Father Mothers built Our Lady of the Blood with with Blood the of Lady Our built Mothers Father sleep, (Black Ocean, 2014). He He 2014). Ocean, (Black and 2012) Ocean, The Book Of Joshua Of Book The Years before he died strangely and horribly in his his in horribly and strangely died he before Years (Black (Black 2009), Ocean, (Black 2007), Fjords Vol. 1 Vol. Fjords Scary No Scary, (Black Ocean, Ocean, (Black of author the is Schomburg Zachary The Man Suit Man The 2. Mammother An excerpt from the novel the from excerpt An 1 How to assemble a featherproof mini-book: step Fold each sheet in half 1 horizontally, so that the text is facing outward. Now stack ’em according step 1 2 to the number in the 2 margin on the front. 3 #1 goes on the bottom. Fold the whole stack in step 3 3 half vertically. Crease it like you mean it. step Finally, bind your mini 4 book by stapling along the brown edge. For more swell stuff, pay us a visit at: www.featherproof.com Mammother will be available in Free Excerpt! September, 2017 2 13 built, and after a few months of construction, it became became it construction, of months few a after and built, carpenter. Lady Blood was the only building he had ever ever had he building only the was Blood Lady carpenter. Father Mothers was far from being an architect or a a or architect an being from far was Mothers Father Father Mothers had come from. from. come had Mothers Father In the distance beyond the valley were the mountains where where mountains the were valley the beyond distance the In on the other side of The Cure, and the valley was to the east. east. the to was valley the and Cure, The of side other the on river which circled the village. The woods were to the west, west, the to were woods The village. the circled which river Blood at its center, built upon the banks of The Cure, the the Cure, The of banks the upon built center, its at Blood mind. At first, Pie Time was just a tiny village with Lady Lady with village tiny a just was Time Pie first, At mind. “You have a beautiful baby,” he said. said. he baby,” beautiful a have “You Time and he built it with only a few dozen parishioners in in parishioners dozen few a only with it built he and Time Lady Blood was the first structure to be built in Pie Pie in built be to structure first the was Blood Lady move. would they so long, he thought. He wanted to blow on them to see if if see to them on blow to wanted He thought. he long, so four legs. legs. four face. He counted all of her eyelashes from below. They were were They below. from eyelashes her of all counted He face. of its most-feared natural enemies, a bear, had none of its its of none had bear, a enemies, natural most-feared its of edges again. Mano looked up into Inez’s red, half-smiling half-smiling red, Inez’s into up looked Mano again. edges Time would be particularly safe from its enemies, if the first first the if enemies, its from safe particularly be would Time for Mano. The world’s shapes had perfect yellow and green green and yellow perfect had shapes world’s The Mano. for church, and to build the town of Pie Time around it. Pie Pie it. around Time Pie of town the build to and church, The lenses in the glasses were the perfect prescription prescription perfect the were glasses the in lenses The Mothers that this would be a very special land to build his his build to land special very a be would this that Mothers curious smile. curious A bear with no legs had been an omen to Father Father to omen an been had legs no with bear A strange coming out of his mouth, and Inez cracked a a cracked Inez and mouth, his of out coming strange but then it died. died. it then but “I am a man,” he said overconfidently. It sounded sounded It overconfidently. said he man,” a am “I the first people of Pie Time. They liked to pet it and feed it, it, feed and it pet to liked They Time. Pie of people first the men,” she said. she men,” church around it. It was a bear in a church. It got used to to used got It church. a in bear a was It it. around church clear that the church looked like no other church anyone Mano squinted at them, and then he could see that had ever seen before. It looked nothing like anything except 2 she was holding up glasses. They were plastic and black a drafty and lopsided white barn. But not a barn exactly along the top, just the kind of glasses that Mano had always either. A little like the pope’s hat, if the pope’s hat were flat, wanted. “They were in it?” but with a sharp ridge down its center. Or a paper airplane. “Yes,” she said between half-breaths, readjusting Baby It was strange to see something so new look so old. None of Zuzu in her arms. his early parishioners had the heart to complain. “Inside of it?” Lady Blood was built in the days before the plague known as God’s Finger penetrated the town, gripping it “Yes, inside the hole.” with anxiety and fear, and sending it down into a terrible spiral of grief and depression. The cross at Lady Blood’s apex “Are they his?” was much too modest of a cross in the face of God’s Finger. “The Barber doesn’t even wear glasses,” she said. It was only the size of one man. “How…” That is why Father Mother’s son, Father Mothers II, climbed up on to its roof, toiling well into a late spring “I don’t…” evening with a hammer and nails and two planks of wormy “Can I see?” Mano held out his hand. wood salvaged from the woods in the west hills. The new cross was much needed for these modern days riddled with Inez handed Mano the glasses, and he tried them on. sin. He planned a cross that would be twice the size of the She watched him try them on, and tilted her head to the original cross built by his late father so that more sinners side so she could see if they fit him properly. “They’re for 3 12 4 11 plank above his head, and hammered it into the air. He He air. the into it hammered and head, his above plank “these were in it.” She held up a pair of men’s glasses. men’s of pair a up held She it.” in were “these his old-aged left arm could muster, he lifted the horizontal horizontal the lifted he muster, could arm left old-aged his “Oh!” She was suddenly awake to the world again. again. world the to awake suddenly was She “Oh!” cross that his father had built. With as much strength as as strength much as With built. had father his that cross left hand, and the hammer in his right, he climbed the old old the climbed he right, his in hammer the and hand, left into the open air if it did. it if air open the into With the horizontal plank heavy in the grip of his large large his of grip the in heavy plank horizontal the With Mano wanted to see just how her body would settle out out settle would body her how just see to wanted Mano one was watching him, except maybe some of the sheep. sheep. the of some maybe except him, watching was one button on Inez’s blouse looked like it was about to pop off.

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