The Third Bear Ez Truly Dangerous

(See it better-bigger by clickin' here.)Jacob McMurray has come up with an awesome cover for my short story collection, out from Tachyon in 2010. Back cover text is placeholder, of course. I'm currently selecting the contents, with a due date of turning the manuscript in July 1st.***It made its home in the deep forest near the village of Grommin, and all anyone ever saw of it, before the end, would be hard eyes and the dark barrel of its muzzle. The smell of piss and blood and shit and bubbles of saliva and half-eaten food. The villagers called it the Third Bear because they had killed two bears already that year. But, near the end, no one really thought of it as a bear, even though the name had stuck, changed by repetition and fear and slurring through blood-filled mouths to Theeber. Sometimes it even sounded like "seether" or "seabird."