Bull Running for Girls by Allyson Bird - Screaming Dreams

Bull Running for Girls by Allyson Bird
Winner of the British Fantasy Award 2009 for Best Collection

A selection of adventure/horror stories set in many locations, from the excitement and danger of bull running in Pamplona, to small town life in Madison County, U.S. Stories set amidst the bustle of Hong Kong, on The Silk Road in China and under a Hunter’s moon in Bordeaux. Then there are those which are much closer to home.

Extract

The idea for In a Pig’s Ear came from a real project where scientists were able to grow pig’s wings. In the story Stella Kiefer explains what she is doing.

‘I was now working on three projects. My main line of research was concerned with residual DNA. I experimented with pig DNA and there was also my little fertility programme. It was old hat to grow a pig’s ear. I was a little more adventurous and wanted to see if I could grow a wing from bone marrow stem cells on to bioabsorbable polymers. I never got tired of trying to grow them into different shapes and coming up with ever more complex designs. Last time they came out like bat’s wings and this time I was aiming for a structure of wing like the extinct gliding reptile, the pterosaur. That would take more time. Some experts said that birds evolved from little feathered dinosaurs but I had always quite liked the hypothesis that birds diverged from reptiles before dinosaurs, and that mammals had evolved from reptiles with the propensity for genetic change that could lead to flight. A whole new take on pigs can fly—perhaps they could, given the right wings, hollow bones and a more developed muscle structure.’

Then I thought of H.G. Wells Dr Moreau and realised that what would happen next would end in a similar location…

‘The Amazon canopy was heaven with these tiny winged angels that looked like Sistine Chapel cherubs with their ruddy complexions and winning ways. I adored them all. They were perfect. Each generation grew their wings earlier and earlier, and the wing structure became stronger as they glided from branch to branch. It was not me that gave them the name Homo angelus—but it stuck.’

About the Author

Allyson Bird is occasionally drawn to strange places and people and they are occasionally drawn to her. Her favourite playground has been the village graveyard. Once she wondered what would happen if she took one of the green stones from a grave. She has been looking over her shoulder ever since but has never given it back.

Author's Homepage : www.birdsnest.me.uk

About the Cover Artist

Vincent Chong has produced book covers for the likes of Joe Hill, Ray Bradbury and Ramsey Cambell, plus magazine illustrations for InterZone, The 3rd Alternative, Hub and more. He is also the winner of numerous British Fantasy Society Awards.

Artist's Homepage : www.vincentchong-art.co.uk