Paula Guran reviews _Deuces Down_; this is a reissue of an older Wild Cards book, centering on people with very minor powers. I had fun writing my story for the expanded reissue, “Tasty” — Anand helped me come up with the various minor powers for several characters on my joker crew of contractors.
Thank you to the several people who helped me with my Spanish — my high school Spanish was not entirely up to the task of getting the colloquialisms right! Any remaining errors are my own.
https://locusmag.com/…/paula-guran-reviews-deuces-down…/
The opening to my story (not entirely safe-for-work):
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Jesús gasped as Alondra moved her hips one last time above his, pleasure whiting out every last thought in his brain, so that he barely heard the rattle of the ceiling fan above their heads.
“Amor!” Her voice, alarmed, yanked him back to himself. He managed to fight the satisfied lassitude spreading through his body, pulling himself up in one smooth motion. Arms reached above his head, to where they could just touch the base of the fan. Enough. He sent his power out, a tingling, tiny wave, fixing the cracking housing where it was coming apart from around the bolt. Again. The metal smoothed, seamless.
“You said you’d fix it properly.” She frowned up at him—not a look he enjoyed seeing on the woman he loved.
“I will, I will.” Jesús slid down into the bed, pulled Alondra against him, a warm, brown bundle of soft flesh and long bones. “It’s on the list, I swear.” It was just easier, using his power to make a quick fix, even though those fixes never lasted more than a few weeks. And now he was even more tired.
“Sabes que te quiero, mi amor, pero . . .” She frowned, pulling back and sitting up in the bed. “But you’re always doing things for other people. Will I always come last? Must I be murdered by a ceiling fan before you take me seriously?”
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