I am reeling from awe. A dear friend, who beta read ALL IS WELL, recently surprised me with four postcards that she hand-painted with watercolors. With her permission, I am sharing them with you all, and I wish I could rent a Times Square billboard to show off one of the most touching gifts I’ve ever received.
Thanks. As a nascent colony, the population of Thanks breaks body and soul to terraform the hyper-arid and arsenic-tainted Flatlands. With no planet to return to, the colonists are forced to deconstruct their starships and turn them into domiciles and farming equipment. “Gratitude” is not just the center of their culture, it’s the brittle glue that keeps their terraforming project together—for now.
The Flatlands. Still early in their terraforming progress, the colonists are limited to what types of crops they can grow in the hyper-arid atmosphere of the Flatlands. Each crop must be drought-resistant and hardy. Root vegetables cannot be grown until the terraformers remove all the arsenic and mercury from the soil. Meals in the Victuals Hall tend to be bland repetitions of legumes, greens, and the occasional grains.
Terra Thistle Tea. Terra thistles are the single native plant that the terraformers can consume in the Flatlands. The plant is a natural chelator of heavy metals (meaning that when it’s ingested, it binds to toxins so the body can eliminate them), which permeate the Flatlands’ soil and water supply.
The Arkqunots. The verdant and misty valley known as the “Arkqunots” stands in stark contrast to the rest of the rusty, hyper-arid planet. The colonists hold their breath as they wait for news from the exploratory team they’ve recently sent in to investigate. Will the Arkqunots be the paradise they so desperately need? Or will the nefarious rumors about the valley’s deadliness be proven true? Meanwhile, the fierce and increasingly dangerous debate over whether or not to relocate their struggling colony to the Arkqunots threatens to rupture their fragile society.
(If you’re an editor and this story has caught your eye, please feel free to reach out to my agent, Amy Collins at Talcott Notch, to learn more.)