I’m very pleased to share a new short story with you. “Artistic Encounters of a Monumental Nature” is my first publication in Clarkesworld Magazine, appearing in the June 2024 issue. It’s a fun one about a street artist team and their mysterious rival. The magazine is free to read online, but please consider subscribing to support it. I hope you enjoy the story!
Nasadiya squinted up at the sandstone hoodoo and considered whether it would make a large enough canvas to catch people’s attention. The spires of rock that filled Bryce Canyon National Park stood in rows like toy soldiers, none of them individually large enough. She balanced her open black book in one hand and sketched with the other.
“What are you thinking?” Gabe asked. He placed his camera backpack on the ground and stretched his neck from side to side, tendons cracking. His skin had turned pink from the sun. Her own had formed annoying tan lines in varying shades of brown.
“I might have to do something like a triptych,” she said. She showed him her drawings. “I can take the piece and break it up over three or four of these adjacent hoodoos. They’re nicely visible from the parking lot at Sunset Point, which means everyone will see them in the morning.”
Gabe nodded. “I’ll take the prep pics.”