Surface Dweller Studios just released the multimedia anthology Los Suelos, CA. My story “Ruminants” is part of the line up. It’s about a weird goat in a weirder town.
I’m stoked about this project for a few reasons. My story’s a personal first: it was pitched (rather than written and then submitted) and it’s a work-for-hire in a shared world. This is the most literal appearance of an archival artifact I’ve actually worked with (albeit as a throw-away line). It’s also one in a string of Good Editorial Experiences (thanks go to Barton Aikman).
The sprawling TOC is impressive, but I love that the project is (much) more than prose. There’s artwork; the debut album of the Fluppies, a nonexistent punk band; and a game that lets you explore the town. It’s a cool, weird creation and I’m very pleased to be part of it.
The project supports an excellent cause: the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation. The organization provides legal aid and advocacy for farmworkers, undocumented and mixed-status families, and other marginalized communities in California. If you are so inclined, you can donate via the Los Suelos site. The Fluppies would approve. So would the goat. (I guess? Maybe? I dunno, it’s a goat, but it doesn’t seem like the sort of goat who approves of exploitation.)
A. P. Howell 