Cat Rambo

lovelorn, Death is just another face on the train, and Bigfoot gives interviews to the media on a daily basis. They have worked as a programmer-writer for Microsoft and a Tarot card reader, professions which, they claim, both involve a certain combination of technical knowledge and willingness to go with the flow. In 2005 they attended the Clarion West Writers’ Workshop. Although no longer actively involved with the game, Cat is one of the minds behind Armageddon MUD, the oldest roleplay-intensive MUD (an interactive text-based game) on the Internet, which has been described as “like no other mud I have played before“, “the most entertaining game I’ve ever played“, “the most creative, emotionally involved mud on the Net” and “a place of astonishing beauty and detail“. They continue to do some game writing as well as technology journalism and book reviews. A longtime volunteer with the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), Cat served as its Vice President from 2014-2015 and its President for two terms, from 2015-2019 and continues to volunteer with the organization. For more about Cat, as well as links to their fiction, see http://www. kittywumpus.net

John Barth described Cat Rambo’s writings as “works of urban mythopoeia” — their stories take place in a universe where chickens aid the

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Welcome to Cat Rambo

Uncaged: Welcome to Uncaged! You write primarily in Science Fiction and Fantasy genres. Your next release, is scheduled for Fall, 2020 called Exiles of Tabat. Can you tell readers more about this book? Is this part of a series?

It is indeed part of a fantasy series, and is the third of a quartet. The fourth, Gods of Tabat, should be appearing in late 2021 from Wordfire Press. It involves a world where the intelligent magical beasts – unicorns, minotaurs, griffons and all the rest – that have been enslaved are asserting their rights in Tabat, a city torn by political

upheaval. In the first book, a boy from the country with a secret connection to those beasts comes to Tabat and is hired by gladiator Bella Kanto, a notorious, influential, and above all charismatic figure, only to be drawn into the forces working against her. Exiles is the story of Bella’s journey after being sent away from the city.

Uncaged: You also write a lot of short stories on Patreon. Can Patreon help Indie authors or authors just wanting to get their feet wet with writing?

I do! I started my Patreon partially because I write so many short stories, but I’d already built a small following through stories published elsewhere before I came to Patreon. I think it’s possible to build a platform on there, but it will be slow going requiring consistent effort – and there may be better ways to do that, such as publishing stories in magazine markets, which is actually where the majority of my stories go.

Right now I’m trying out a serial novella, a pulp fiction piece called “Baby Driver” on Patreon, partially to see what it’s like to have to commit to two installments each month (yikes those deadlines come up fast), but I do plan to publish it in its entirety at some month and have a publisher lined up for that. I enjoy putting it on on Patreon at this quick clip, because it encourages me to write fast and just have fun with it. It’s based on the old Doc Savage novels, which were not particularly known for their polish, so that seems appropriate!

Uncaged: What are you working on next that you can tell us about?

I’m always juggling a bunch of projects! But the one I’m super stoked and up to my elbows in right now is DEVIL’S GUN, the sequel to my space opera novel that is coming out next summer from Tor Macmillan. I’ve got the project envisioned as a ten book series and it’s fun to be rolling along through it, playing with bioships and former mercenaries turned chef, along with the corpse of a gigantic space moth, a celestial prophet, and an angry hive mind. I have my spouse here, since he’s working from home, but my workday isn’t too different (although I go for a walk instead of the gym). I miss traveling though! I had three exciting trips lined up for 2020 that didn’t take place (Japan, New Zealand, and Australia) and I’m sad to have missed those.

Uncaged: Past or present, which authors would you love to sit and have lunch with and why?

So many! Geoffrey Chaucer because I’d like to hear him tell jokes. Virginia Woolf, because I’d like to tell her jokes and make her smile before we got into deep philosophical conversation. Octavia Butler, because I knew her only briefly and would have loved to have known her better. Willa Cather, because I would like to hear stories of her life. Kit Reed, because I only recently discovered her stories

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and would like to talk to her about all of them. R.A. Lafferty in order to talk about myth and storytelling and the deep rotes of narrative.

Uncaged: Have any of your characters ever done something that you didn’t intend when you began?

I actually meant to kill a character off and had their death, which was absolutely heartrending and full of drama, all planned out, when they talked me into turning them into something instead. (Is that mysterious enough? If you read Beasts of Tabat, it should be obvious at the end.)

Uncaged: What are some things you like to do to relax when you aren’t writing or working?

I love to garden, and am a Maryland certified master gardener! Right now I’ve got some bonsai and orchids growing inside that I’ve cultivated this year. Another hobby of sorts is trying out different recipes. I’m making all of my household appliances justify their existence currently, and anything I haven’t used by the end of the year is getting cleared away. One that’s been unexpectedly suc-

Uncaged: What does success as an author look like to you?

For me, it’s people reading my work and letting me know it was meaningful for them. Every once in a while I’ll get someone who tells me that a story or book got them through a particularly hard time, or that they saw themselves in a story, and I love that. I have a short story, Magnificent Pigs, that often gets referenced and earlier this year, LeVar Burton read it on his podcast, which just made me explode with joy, to think how many people were hearing it – plus read by him!

Uncaged: Do you prefer ebooks, audiobooks or physical books? Are you reading anything now?

I read all the time, and I like physical books, but also read a great deal on my iPad. Right now I’m enjoying David Gerrold’s HELLA, which is terrific fun. Other recent reads are Kim Unger’s enjoyable NUCLEATION and (R) EVOLUTION by PJ Manney.

Hello fans! Thank you for enjoying my work! You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Youtube and other social media as @catrambo or sign up for my newsletter via my website, catrambo.com If you’re interested in writing F&SF, please check out the classes I run through the Rambo Academy for Wayward Writers, (academy.catrambo.com), which feature instructors like Ann Leckie, Seanan McGuire, Fran Wilde, and other amazing authors. Enjoy an excerpt from

And the Last Trump Shall Sound

And the Last Trump Shall Sound Harry Turtledove, James Morrow, Cat Rambo SciFi Anthology

From New York Times bestselling author, Harry Turtledove, critically-acclaimed novelist, James Morrow, and Nebula Award winner, Cat Rambo, comes a masterful anthology of three sensational novellas depicting a dark fictional future of the United States.

And the Last Trump Shall Sound is a prophetic warning about where we, as a nation, may be headed. Mike Pence is President of the United States after years of divisive, dogmatic control by Donald Trump. The country is in turmoil as the Republicans have strengthened their stronghold on Congress, increasing their dominance. And with the support of the Supreme Court, more conservative than ever, State governments become more marginalized by the authoritarian rule of the Federal government.

There are those who cannot abide by what they view as a betrayal of the nation’s founding principles. Once united communities break down and the unthinkable suddenly becomes the only possible solution: the end The authors’ depiction of a country that is both unfamiliar and yet unnervingly all too realistic, make you realize the frightening possible consequences of our increased polarization—a dire warning to all of us of where we may be headed unless we can learn to come together again.

Excerpt

The Greyhound bus smelled like pickles and the ghost of vomit and it had a human driver rather than one of the more expensive machine units. Ernst pushed his way towards the back and put his backpack and the ukulele’s case on the luggage rack, then settled in next to the clouded window overlooking the Seattle bus lot.

A teen sat on the sidewalk, playing a homemade didgeridoo made of PVC pipe, hat in front of their feet, cheeks pulsing as the instrument droned. Hazy sunlight filtered through the glass, uncomfortably warm. Ernst watched as the bus filled up with other travelers to Spokane. Most seemed like fellow Pacificans, but there were a few tourists on their way back, laden with suitcases. It was illegal to bring most things back from Pacifica, but Geidon had told him there was a standard bribe system in place.

“Won’t save you if your name’s on a government list, of course,” he’d said. “But there’s a lot of Americans. They can’t afford to watch them all. That’s why they have that LoyalEye app. You see someone taking an image of you, they’re probably putting you up on that. They score points if someone gets fined or arrested, and points buy them tickets in the national lottery. I installed it on that burner phone I gave you, but you won’t be able to report them. It’s just so you can get the notifications if someone’s posting about you.”

“This seat taken?” Geidon looked up to see a thin man wearing a sailor’s cap. His face was grizzled

with salt and pepper beard and sagged like an old sack.

“All yours,” Geidon said. The man nodded, slung his rucksack into the rack beside Geidon’s gear, and sat down. He pulled out earbuds and a phone and began playing TapTapBoom on it

The bus coughed out black smoke and started out of the lot, headed to America.

The trouble didn’t hit till three quarters up the way to the mountain top pass when the black smoke thickened and the bus itself began to emit a high-pitched whine that managed to reach inside one’s eardrums and pluck away any chances of dozing. The patient driver managed to coax the bus all the way to the top, but at the rest stop there, announced that they’d be getting out.

“Passengers who purchased travel insurance should stand on that side of the lot,” he said, pointing. It took a while to unload the bus and sort the luggage, but finally they all stood in their various groups. Ernst and his seat mate were both in the uninsured group.

When the new bus arrived, there was a ragged cheer mixed with unease at the crowd realized that the new bus was significantly smaller. The passengers who had purchased insurance were loaded into the bus along with their luggage. Their bus driver stood in the bus’s doorway, addressing the group still standing by the bus.

Ernst had presumed he’d tell them a second bus was on its way, but instead the man said, “Well, you’re on your own folks. If you can get down the mountain, there’s another bus station there. Your ticket will be discounted 50% for the inconvenience. Good luck!” The bus door closed after him before the stupefied crowd could respond.

“Can they do that?” a woman said plaintively. “That’s why they’re the cheapest option,” someone else told her.

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