{"id":1419,"date":"2008-10-14T06:11:00","date_gmt":"2008-10-14T06:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ink.verticalplus.co.uk\/archive\/?p=1419"},"modified":"2008-10-14T06:11:00","modified_gmt":"2008-10-14T06:11:00","slug":"sarah-ann-watts-is-down-among-the-books","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/sarah-ann-watts-is-down-among-the-books\/","title":{"rendered":"Sarah Ann Watts is down among the books"},"content":{"rendered":"

One more time<\/span>
 <\/span>

\u2018This is the place where they house the dead books. This is where we store the tales that no one reads any more. It\u2019s like a graveyard though paper is slower to decay than flesh. I am the guardian. Let me show you around, help you settle in, make you feel at home.\u2019<\/span>
 <\/span>
I blink, coming in from the sunlight. \u2018No really, I think there must be some mistake. I took a wrong turn. Maybe you would show me the way out?\u2019<\/span>
 <\/span>
The guardian shrugs, rustling cardboard sleeves. His laughter is the crackle of flame. I can feel heat in the air, a dry tinge to the air, the scent of burning. Suddenly I am afraid.<\/span>
 <\/span>
\u2018What\u2019s so funny?\u2019<\/span>
 <\/span>
\u2018I\u2019m sorry. It\u2019s just that everyone says the same when they first arrive. No one ever means to come here. One slip of the pen \u2013 that\u2019s all it takes. It\u2019s nothing to be ashamed of. We\u2019re all friends here.<\/span>
 <\/span>
I can feel the ink dripping from my eyes. \u2018It wasn\u2019t my fault.\u2019<\/span>
 <\/span>
The guardian enfolds me like a parcel in a brown paper embrace. He hands me a wisp of tissue paper and delicately dabs my pages.<\/span>
 <\/span>
\u2018Am I smudged?\u2019<\/span>
 <\/span>
\u2018Only a little. The marbling suits you.\u2019<\/span>
 <\/span>
I gather myself together. \u2018I am signed you know.\u2019<\/span>
 <\/span>
\u2018And illustrated?\u2019<\/span>
 <\/span>
\u2018Don\u2019t be ridiculous. I am a serious work of art.\u2019<\/span>
 <\/span>
He mutters something under his breath. \u2018Literary pretensions? Let me tell you something, love. We get all kinds here, paperbacks and first editions, yellow pages, embossed covers and spot gilding. You know what? They all burn in the end.\u2019<\/span>
 <\/span>
I cover my ears. Flame! Is this broken backed remainder threatening me? Does he know who I am? I was the fast seller of 2001.<\/span>
 <\/span>
\u2018And now you\u2019re \u2018lightly used\u2019 \u2013 I like that. Keep me warm and I\u2019ll shield you from the heat, sweetheart.\u2019<\/span>
 <\/span>
\u2018You read my mind?\u2019<\/span>
 <\/span>
\u2018You\u2019re an open book.\u2019 He leers. \u2018Be nice and I might just keep you from the fire.\u2019<\/span>
I close my cover tight. Like me it has seen better days. He paws at my title and it\u2019s all I can do not to scream. I can hear the roar from the furnace and I want to live another day.<\/span>
 <\/span>
Read me baby, one more time?<\/span>


* Sarah Ann Watts writes fantasy with a dash of science fiction \u2013 or possibly the other way round. It\u2019s all relative?<\/span>
<\/font><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One more time \u2018This is the place where they house the dead books. This is where we store the tales that no one reads any more. It\u2019s like a graveyard though paper is slower to decay than flesh. I am the guardian. Let me show you around, help you settle in, make you feel at home.\u2019 I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-prose-poetry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1419","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1419"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1419\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}