First Paragraphs from An Anthology of Battle—‘Jalaya’

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‘Jalaya’ was started in 1999 and completed in 2012, specifically for this anthology. It was difficult to write, until I conceded that it needed to be a lot longer than I had originally intended. The compromise was worth it. ‘Jalaya’ is the fourth short story in An Anthology of Battle and is approximately 14,500-words long. It is currently available for stand-alone purchase, and it starts like this:
Michael looked down at the town in the sand. Red, flat roofs of clay interspersed by the elegant, wooden gables of buildings from northern climes, still stood in a basin of protective hills. From where he stood, the rotting boards were invisible, as was the sand that swirled along the unkempt streets.
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An Anthology of Battle can be found in Amazon Kindle and Smashwords.
Location: Canberra ACT 2601, Australia

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