Every Friday, we here @ Del Rey Spectra will place a 50 page excerpt of a selected title on Suvudu. Whether it is science fiction, epic fantasy, alternate history, horror, urban fantasy, paranormal, the possibilities are endless.
This week’s excerpt comes from CATACOMBS, by Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough, the long-awaited sequel to CATALYST. These books tell the origin story of the barque cats from McCaffrey’s Tower and Hive series. CATACOMBS was originally edited by legendary Del Rey editor-in-chief Betsy Mitchell, who retired at the end of last year. But below we’ll hear from another Del Rey editor who has worked with the authors of Catacombs, Shelly Shapiro:
“I confess I’ve never read the book featured as this week’s 50-page Friday Excerpt. I’ve been the late Anne McCaffrey’s editor for many, many years, and I worked with Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough on their Powers collaborations, so I feel I can attest to what a fantastic pair they make as co-writers.
Let me tell you about a memory I love: I arrived for one of my almost-annual visits to Anne McCaffrey at her wonderful home in Wicklow County, Ireland, to find that she had another house guest at the time: Elizabeth Ann Scarborough. I knew Annie Scarborough only from her riveting, Nebula Award-winning novel THE HEALER’S WAR, and it was a delight to meet her in person. But it didn’t look as if this was going to be much of a visit, as the two authors seemed to be secluded, hard at work, in separate parts of the house. Bemused, I watched as one or the other would periodically streak by me en route to see the other, then shortly thereafter be seen wandering back to her lair.
Finally I was able to collar one of them—Annie Scarborough, I think it was—and ask what they were up to. They were writing a book together, she told me. They were having so much fun working off each other that their excitement was infectious, so infectious that I returned to New York to insist that Del Rey buy the new book. The rest is history. And while I moved on to a life of mostly just Star Wars, McCaffrey and Scarborough continued to write together, sharing—in this instance—their love of both science fiction and cats. What a perfect combination! Read on and see for yourself.”
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Please enjoy this excerpt of CATACOMBS, available now wherever books are sold.
CATACOMBS by Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough, Excerpt
Sit where you want to eat seafood adulterated, electric shock … Murmured the secretary general of the conversation. Tell me again, my friend? Youth without excuse, because I was told that I was already assistant professor. Your word is truth pure, cried my father.
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