Cretaceous Canyon
by Deborah Sheldon
Genre: Horror, Action, Adventure, Dinosaur
Lost World
How long does it take to write a story?
My fiction has been published since 2005. Back then, I had a rule of
thumb: to write 2500 words of a publishable standard per week. That rule served
me well. I could write a short story inside two weeks; a novella inside four
months; a novel inside nine. A lot of my work was published, which encouraged
me to keep going.
Over the years, as I became more proficient at my craft, my numbers
got better. These days, I can write a short story within three days. My latest
novel, the action-packed thriller, Cretaceous Canyon, took five months.
But it all depends on the story. Regardless of the length – whether
flash, short story, novella or novel – some stories pant to be written, and
flow from your fingertips at the speed of light. Other stories are more
thoughtful, requiring you to slow down, taste and sample, contemplate.
I’ve taught writing, on and off, since 2010. For the last seven
years, I’ve been a mentor in the Australasian Horror Writers Association’s
Mentorship Program, where beginners are matched with experienced writers to
help improve their craft. With each mentee, despite the different challenges
and issues they have, at some point I give them the same advice: how long it
takes to write a story = how long is a piece of string. Go as fast as your
passion allows. Don’t be afraid to meander. Equally, don’t be afraid to race.
Like a horse, give your story its head.
Writing is a dynamic, individual experience that is impossible to
pin down. If the words are flowing and you’re happy with them, that’s great. If
you’re stuck, consider that you’re coming at the story from the wrong
perspective. Remember, if you want help or advice from industry professionals,
for any reason, seek it out.
Blurb
A team on an expedition to explore a mysterious canyon in the Australian outback encounters Cretaceous-era dinosaurs.
Australia’s outback hides a mysterious canyon. Hidden
deep within is a forest of pine tree that dates from the Cretaceous Period. A
megacorporation sends in a team of experts to research this canyon for
botanical riches.
The expedition enters a no-man’s land formed 100
million years ago when Australia was still attached to Antarctica, and
dinosaurs ruled the super-continent. But the canyon has more prehistoric and
dangerous species than anyone could have possibly imagined.
Trapped and terrified, unarmed and unable to
communicate topside, the team’s extraction deadline is six long hours away.
The frantic race for survival is on.
Excerpt
The hiss
of the opening door drew everyone’s attention.
Good
Christ! Alastair jumped to his feet.
It was
Raj Devi himself, wandering into the conference room like a lost and befuddled
grandfather, wearing slacks and a giant knitted cardigan. His hair and beard
were salt-and-pepper, his seventy-two-year-old face frowning with its usual
look of perpetual distraction.
Alastair
raced towards the door and took its weight.
“Mr
Devi!” he gasped, clumsily grasping his boss’s elbow. “What are you doing
here?”
The old
man glanced up, his gaze as sharp as darts, and whispered, “Rallying the
troops.”
“Let me
help you to a chair—”
“Thank
you, I already know how to sit in a chair,” Raj said, and this time he lifted
his voice, rolling it around the conference room, a deep and rich example of
Received Pronunciation English, a baritone fit for the Shakespearean stage.
Alastair
saw the effect on his recce team: everyone sat up straight. If he could figure
out Raj Devi’s effortless ability to command an audience, then Alastair would
rule the world.
“Everyone,
pay attention,” Alastair said, his voice in comparison like a squeak to his own
ears. “This is Raj Devi, your sponsor. You’re in the presence of a great man.”
Raj took
Alastair’s chair and gazed around the table. No one rushed him. No one looked
impatient. The silence was still and complete. He held them all in the palm of
his hand, and Alastair both idolised Raj and hated him for this charisma, this
absolute magnetism. Alastair had to remain standing, which was awkward, but the
time for sitting was now lost.
With a
half-smile, Raj nodded sagely. “I’m a believer in our power to make a better
world,” he said, and the timbre of his voice sounded hypnotic; even Gloria was
in thrall. “So, if you’ll indulge me, I’d like to tell you a story. A story
about seeds. Leaves. Bark. Fruit. The human race has used plants to make
medicines since before written language was invented. Traditional medicines
date back thousands of years to Egyptian scrolls, Indian clay tablets, Chinese
inscriptions etched on seashells and across the dried bones of oxen. Today, one
in ten of our essential modern medicines is based on flowering plants. One
in ten! My word.”
Lapsing
into silence, Raj linked his fingers together on the table and closed his eyes.
The seconds ticked on. Alastair checked the faces of his team and felt that he
must say something, had to say something, or risk losing them. But what?
God, the empty seconds kept ticking…
Alastair
said, “Not just medicines! No, the plants we find today could also make new
pesticides, and help farmers to breed disease-resistant crops—”
“All of
us,” Raj Devi interrupted in his sonorous tone, “has taken a painkiller as
simple as the aspirin. That miracle medicine was derived from the willow tree,
its properties discovered by ancient Egyptians and other peoples such as Native
Americans. Morphine is from the poppy. Today, plants
help treat Parkinson’s Disease, diabetes, various cancers, heart disease, other
ailments. Your work today could very well discover unknown plants that may
herald a new age of medicine. Imagine, a cure for Alzheimer’s! It might be
waiting for you, out there in that canyon. Waiting for all of us, the entire
human race. Your hike has the potential to change the world, and save countless
lives for generations to come. Oh, my goodness. What a legacy.”
The
silence in the room was absolute. Alastair became aware that he was holding his
breath. The team members appeared transfixed, mesmerised by the old man.
“Thank
you,” Raj sighed. “Thank you for striving to help me make a better world.” He
pushed out his chair, stood up, went to leave and then hesitated. “Please,” he
added, “eat as much of the breakfast buffet as you can. It cost me a small
fortune!”
He
laughed and everyone joined in. Like Pavlov’s dogs to a bell, they
automatically reached for Danish pastries, croissants, donuts, muffins, goat
cheese tarts, fruit skewers.
Alastair
stopped Raj at the door. The old man glanced up at him, cold and annoyed.
Taken
aback, Alastair found himself stammering. “Gosh, sir, that was a…that was a…”
“What?”
“Such a
terrific, inspiring speech—”
“I don’t
take notes.”
“Oh, I
didn’t mean—”
“Focus on the hike.
Don’t fuck it up,” Raj said, and put his hand on the door.
“I’ve
put together a competent team,” Alastair said, striving to appear confident.
“I’m just wondering if you think it’s absolutely necessary that I go with them
into the canyon.”
Raj gave
a frosty smile. “Hmm. I don’t know. Do you think you’re necessary?”
“Well,
yes, in the creation of the team—”
Raj
raised his eyebrows. “And now that the team has been created?”
“Ha-ha!
I’m sorry, I’m not sure—”
“You’re
not sure if you’re necessary anymore?”
Sweat
beaded on Alastair’s hairline. “No. I mean, yes. I’m still necessary, sir.”
“Okay.”
Raj patted him on the arm. “Enjoy your hike.”
“Yes,
sir.”
Raj left
the room. Alastair watched him shuffle along the hallway towards the bank of
lifts, where he would take a ride to the building’s top floor and probably take
a fucking nap. Raj Devi walked like an old man in his seventies, which is what
he was, and his refusal to put on a false front was admirable in a way that
stuck in Alastair’s craw. Only a multi-millionaire could afford to drop the
façade, wear slacks with a baggy cardigan, let his paunch hang out.
READER REVIEWS
Robyn O’Sullivan (Goodreads) 5/5 stars – This book is a gut-wrenching,
roller-coaster ride through six hours of time, ripping the reader every which
way through emotional and physical upheavals that suddenly crash-land, leaving
a sense of “Wow! What the hell just happened?”.
Steve Paulsen (Goodreads) 5/5 stars – Unputdownable! A non-stop,
page-turning, visceral, heart-pounding thriller. Highly recommended!
Amazon * Bookbub
* Goodreads
Book Links:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CGTQW636
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/cretaceous-canyon-a-prehistoric-thriller-by-deborah-sheldon
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/198141204-cretaceous-canyon
About
the Author
DEBORAH SHELDON is an award-winning author
from Melbourne, Australia. She writes short stories, novellas and novels across
the darker spectrum of horror, crime and noir. Her award-nominated titles
include the novels Body Farm Z, Contrition and Devil Dragon; the
novella Thylacines; and the collections Figments and Fragments: Dark
Stories and Liminal Spaces: Horror Stories.
Her collection Perfect Little Stitches
and Other Stories won the Australian Shadows ‘Best Collected Work’ Award,
was shortlisted for an Aurealis Award and longlisted for a Bram Stoker. Deb’s
short fiction has appeared in many well-respected magazines such as Aurealis,
Midnight Echo, Andromeda Spaceways, and Dimension6, been translated,
shortlisted for numerous Australian Shadows Awards and Aurealis Awards, and
included in various ‘best of’ anthologies such as Year’s Best Hardcore
Horror.
She has won the Australian Shadows ‘Best
Edited Work’ Award twice: for Midnight Echo 14 and for the anthology she
conceived and edited, Spawn: Weird Horror Tales About Pregnancy, Birth and
Babies.
Deb’s other credits include TV scripts such
as NEIGHBOURS, feature articles, non-fiction books (Reed Books, Random House),
stage plays, poetry and award-winning medical writing.
Website * Facebook
* Bookbub
* Amazon
* Goodreads
Author
Links
Website: https://deborahsheldon.wordpress.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Deborah-Sheldon/100063653647844
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/deborah-sheldon
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Deborah-Sheldon/author/B0035MWQ98
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3312459.Deborah_Sheldon
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