The Cyborg’s Story

16 pages. Michael 64, a winged cyborg, is hired by Thurston, Director-General of Genetic Engineering, to guard Azuria 27, a famous cyborg dancer changed at her request into human form - an illegal procedure in 2175. Azuria thinks she is changing for love. When she becomes pregnant, she and Michael unwittingly find themselves part of Thurston’s plot for cyborg supremacy. 6,350 words

Danielle de Valera is best known for her short stories, which have appeared in such diverse publications as Penthouse, Aurealis, and the Australian Women’s Weekly. She started writing poetry at thirteen (she was a moony child), and got her first taste of publication (albeit self-) when she and three other Year 11 students founded a high school magazine called By the Way, where she had a full page, 2-column spread of school gossip, which she wrote in the manner of the Hollywood columnists of the day, Hopper Hopper and Louella Parsons, complete with her own byline. Heady stuff in those days for a 16-year-old.

MagnifiCat, her first venture into indie publishing, is the result of her ongoing love affair with the far north coast of New South Wales, Australia, where she has lived since 1977. See Smashwords interview at: http://bit.ly/tigerbk

Location: Australia