Excerpt from TURNING OF THE BONES AND OTHER STORIES
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Excerpt from TURNING OF THE BONES AND OTHER STORIES
by Mike X Welch
It is October of 1942, and my father is fighting in the war which spilled over into Madagascar six short months ago. Nothing much has changed for us since Hitler came to power in Europe; our repressive colonizers were French then and they are still French now. They have a new name, but this makes little difference to most Malagasy, even if these Vichy French are considerably fonder of fascism than their predecessors.
Given his past as a soldier, my father has been conscripted into the defense of the island. A British invasion started in Diego-Suarez and has gradually bled south and west toward Antananarivo to capture the pesky Armand Annet, the staunchly pro-Vichy governor of our island. The irony of Malagasy being tasked with risking their lives to defend a fascist coward is not lost on many.
My mother has taken to spending most of her days with my wife Finoana and I in our small home since my father deployed earlier this year. Finoana is pregnant again. My son Rakoto is a toddler and cries often, and we are glad for the help of my mother.
There is a knock on the door in the early afternoon. I open the door to find a wiry, open-shirted Malagasy man whose face features a massive scar running from his temple to the corner of his mouth on the left side. It does not make him ugly so much as frightening. I find no words will come.
“Tombovelo, I am Tanjona!” Tanjona thrusts his hand out, and when I still do not move, grasps my right hand with his own and shakes it in greeting. His manner softens ever so subtly. “Tombo, I fought beside your father.”
“Tanjona.” I repeat his name respectfully. I do recall my father mentioning this man’s name. What I remember is that my father trusted him, but also considered him crazy. I decide to trust him as well.
“Tombovelo, I have grave news.” Tanjona’s eyes look at his feet, and for the first time, I can see that there is a cart outside. Before he can continue, and before I can ask, my mother arrives behind me. She takes one look at Tanjona, then surges past both of us out into the street and immediately begins wailing at the sight of what is in the cart.
It is my father’s body, covered partially with a blanket. His bootless feet stick out from the far end.
Tanjona looks up at me now, his eyes searching for forgiveness. Despite the grief settling on me, I take his hand again and let him know, silently, that he has brought us great relief by returning our father’s body to Anjiro. I go past him and grip my mother by her shoulders. She is kneeling by the cart, shaking and repeating my father’s name like a prayer. Finoana appears in the doorway with a wailing Rakoto in her arms, and Tanjona takes a few awkward steps backward into the street.
I look up at Tanjona again, intending to voice my thanks and give him the chance to leave if he would like. Before I can say anything, he quietly says, “I will be up the street, drinking,” and turns on his heel. I continue to console my mother.
TURNING OF THE BONES AND OTHER STORIES by Mike X Welch releases July 9th.
Early Accolades for OF SILVER AND SIN by Kaytalin Platt
★★★★★
My mind is still spinning over this book! The prologue hooked me and I binged the rest in less than 24 hours. It took me on a ride. There are so many things I could rave about, but in the interest of preventing spoilers I am going to be pretty vague in this review when it comes to the plot and characters. I will say, the story became something so much more than I anticipated along the way. The second half of this book had my eyes bugging out and my mind reeling and I could not get enough.
— Tatianna, Goodreads
★★★★★
This is an incredible dark fantasy and I was not okay after reading it. And I mean that in the best way possible because I absolutely loved it and I cannot wait for the second book.
— CaptainKait, Goodreads
★★★★★
Absolutely obsessed…Inventive and unique storyline. Twists and turns all over the place. I thought I had it figured out ... turns out I had no idea where the story was going. This book made me sit on the edge of my seat until the very end.
— Nicole, Goodreads
★★★★
is somebody gonna match my freak
— Martha, Goodreads
OF SILVER AND SIN is a dark fantasy romance releasing August 20th. You can pre-order ebooks through Amazon, or a Print Launch Set—with illustrated character cards and scenes included with the signed copy of the book—through Platt’s website.