Cold Brewed 009 — Tough Teeth
Last chance to catch up on all of the episodes before next week, the final releases!
TWO EPISODES LEFT FOR COLD BREWED — today and next week. For the unacquainted, hello I’m Lancelot of Little Egypt in NYC, the author of Bell Hammers and SFWA short fiction and poetry writer. This graphic novel of photos I produced with Mark 9 eons ago when I was a wee lad in my twenties. Love this episode, hat this episode, feel kind of meh — it’s free so please take two seconds at least mark “currently reading” if not outright rate and review COLD BREWED on Goodreads.
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“What’s going on?”
Cold Brewed’s a graphic novel via photos. It’s an alternate history where coffee and not alcohol was banned during the prohibition years. Odd duck, sure: lots of coffee lingo. Video here for the making of Cold Brewed back in 2012, you’ll see our baby faces:
Without further ado, here’s the photonovel I made with Mark in my early twenties:
previously on Cold Brewed:
“Kids bring their instruments in for repairs,” Milker said. “They fix ‘em, fill the insides of the cases with the roast. Then the kids take it all back into the schools.”
Staring at the flatcap, I knew I’d seen him before.
“Flatcap Mack,” I said.
“Jett Cropper,” he said.
About that time, I remembered that Milker’d left. Either one of the flatcap twins could easily pull my arms from my torso like a chicken leg cooked rotisserie style.
So I ran.
We ran over parking lots, over a couple of streets, and up to the 7th street bridge.
I ran up there, right up to the railing and looked back.
Muffs was holding up two palms. Making his “I’m gonna kill you” or “Murder Face” gestures and pointing into the east.
So I jumped.
I realized as I fell that maybe he wasn’t saying “I’m gonna kill you.”
Maybe he was making a road sign with his hands: Death’s that way.
Where had he pointed?
The watercourse.
The watercourse must lead the way…
009
You get where you wonder how life got so whipless.
How all the joy got sucked out like through a siphon.
How every fresh ground ends up spent.
Been there before.
That place between the roast and the drip.
Didn't want to go back.
Did anyways.
It happens.
You end up staring at your boots.
Asking how they got so wet.
How the water on 'em got so hard.
Guess these days, there just ain't enough grinders like me left on the streets.
Everything's darker that it used to be. More burnt.
Less clean.
Some new Master Roaster comes into town.
Tampers with the trade.
And everything ends up in the knock box.
And the water gets hard again.
And runs the drains over.
And when there ain't enough grinders like me left...
...who're willing to crawl down in there...
...down into the sewers to filter it all back out...
...then all that hard water creeps up higher...
...and higher...
...till it spoils us all.
People've tried to crawl through that grate, but they fail.
Most of these schmucks can't grind.
Know why?
Takes tough teeth to soften the water.
Forward this one on to friends:
Support the team if you can — order a print copy from your preferred bookstore:
Like another bookstore? Tell me in the comments. Or subscribe and I’ll send cash on to the actors and production team.
“What’s going on?”
Cold Brewed’s a graphic novel via photos. It’s an alternate history where coffee and not alcohol was banned during the prohibition years. Odd duck, sure: lots of coffee lingo. Video here for the making of Cold Brewed back in 2012, you’ll see our baby faces:
Without further ado, here’s the photonovel I made with Mark in my early twenties:
Did you know Overmorrow is now available for free on Kindle Unlimited? And it’s the final version? If you have kindle, go check it out right now. More to come on this. Or just preorder the paperback on Amazon or Barnes and Noble.