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Books by D.J. Butler
Category Archives: Writing Sample
No Protection Where You Need It
“Shout.” Jacob looked at the door. “Really?” Pilate nodded. He muttered more Sumerian, gesturing over his own face. Then he stepped closer, leaned forward, and cupped one hand around his hear. “Shout it as loud as you can.” “Okay.” Jacob … Continue reading
Earth Has the Lock on Moral Decadence
“Why is everything in your father’s kingdom so ugly?” she asked. “I don’t know if it’s ugly,” Jim said, “so much as it’s homemade.” “What, Heaven has all the factories?” Jim nodded. “Which means that Hell has a punk aesthetic.” … Continue reading
What Is Steampunk? (Song)
I wrote a song for the first Salt City Steamfest, and performed it at the late night pajama party. Here’s the lyric: Letter from the Red Planet Dear Mama, I’m having fun Underneath a pinprick sun Pith helmet and a … Continue reading
Enough Blood for What?
“Is this enough blood?” Sa-Nyarlat, born Senwosret, high priest of the ancient complex of Huut-Nyarlat, gazed down from the height of the valley temple. Once, the plains behind him and across the river’s gorge had been lush and wet with … Continue reading
What the Consequences Really Are
“I did not intend any of this.” Jacob Bar Azazel looked up at his father. Jacob was as small as any of the children of men, wiry and strong but little. His father, though with sorcerous operations he had reformed … Continue reading
Books Are Overrated
“I don’t know what to do with you, Flit Fox,” I muse. “If I let you go, you’re duty-bound to run off and tell Mab and Oberon we’re here, and what you’ve told us.” Flit cries some more. “You can’t … Continue reading
That’s Rock and Roll for You
A baobab of any sort is a strange-looking tree, with a really thick trunk and a shallow canopy of branches arrayed at its top like a collection of lilypads on the surface of a pond, each laying parallel to the … Continue reading
This Is Really Charming
“This is really charming,” Eddie butts in. “Would you care to explain?” I sigh, but Pulse leaps right in. “Once upon a time,” he says, “there were three friends. Hilarious, slap-each-other-on-the-back friends, all of them Rangers and one of them … Continue reading
I Show Horse
“Aves repello!” I hear Adrian shout. That sounds like a good idea, I think, but only for a second. If I thought the Push was bad, the buffeting blow that whips off Adrian as he casts his spell makes it … Continue reading
Check the Wizard’s Pockets
“Check the wizard’s pockets,” Eddie says. He delivers the line like an order, but he does the searching himself. When he finds a thin, sharp bit of iron, like a razor, and shows it to us, I grin and try … Continue reading
