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Wendy E Gamble
a rough-cut book bubble about
Shoot for Earth: MedSci Missions 3
Science Fiction & Fantasy
Author Insight
Eviscerating and Squashing English
In a news report about a natural disaster, the reporter claimed the wildfire “eviscerated everything.” I was immediately disrupted from following the news story. Really? How on earth could fire open someone up, pull out the entrails, and leave the rest whole? Beyond that, how does anyone cut a colon out of a tree or house? Quashed vs squashed is one I’m frequently bothered by. Someone can squash an Octopoid alien if they throw it against a wall and cause the normal form to burst and bleed, or bruise so it spreads out to a thinner one, but you can not squash an idea you don’t like – you quash it. Stop it, so it goes no further and no one suggests it again. You can’t flatten it. Trying to squash a lawyer’s argument or a political platform sound ridiculous. Why do so many reporters sound ridiculous these days? Having been a volunteer in English classes, I sadly say there are reasons. The school system isn’t what it was when I went through it. Many teachers are excellent, many students are talented, but a complex set of societal situations are obstacles. Let’s do our best to keep English functional. Eat your liquorice and avoid people who stare at you in a liquorish way!
Book Excerpt
Shoot for Earth: MedSci Missions 3
The words were effective. After everyone else but Woon had dropped off, she went to sleep despite her anxiety. She was refreshed when the door opened with trays of food. Breakfast was a different kind of meal. There was a long, braided rope for each of them to chew on. One strand was an almost blue grey, one golden ochre, one deep ebony. Karen expected a bread texture, but it was a mixture of crisp like a cracker for the ebony, flaky for the ochre, and chewy for the bluey.
“This is a lot more delicious than I expected,” Unice Dunch said. “Much better than seaweed and fish.”
“I love seafood, but you’re right, this is really tasty. I wish I could get the recipe,” Ike Kendrick said.
“I’ll put in on my list for language bank data,” Panther said. “For now, I’ll call this blueberry liquorice twist.”
They finished in silence, all wondering what would happen next.
What happened was an explosion.
Poid bodies thudded against the dome, squashed flat. A horror show wash of spasmic tentacles with no bodies streamed by as the flat faces faded to blank from pained. Karen figured this real live movie was one she’d never get out of her head. The door banged open. Poids in water suits beckoned. Woon waved to her.
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