Insignia: Asian Flash Fiction & Poetry: The Insignia Series, #7

By Kelly Matsuura, Ray Daley, Russell Hemmell and 11 more

INSIGNIA VOL.7. includes 11 stories, and 8 poems with Asian characters and settings.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BWWP Publishing
• Release date: Jun 7, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393479635

Kelly Matsuura

Kelly Matsuura grew up in Victoria, Australia, but always dreamed she would live abroad.  She has lived in northern China, Michigan in the US, and over ten years in Nagoya, Japan, where she now lives permanently. Kelly has published numerous short stories online; in group anthologies; and in several self-published anthologies. Her stories have been published by Visibility Fiction, Crushing Hearts & Black Butterfly Publishing, A Murder of Storytellers, and Ink and Locket Press. She majored in Asian Studies at university, and (sometimes) studies Japanese, Chinese and German. Her other hobbies include cooking, knitting, sewing, and traveling. As the creator and editor for The Insignia Series, Kelly uses her knowledge of Asian cultures to help other indie authors produce great diverse stories and to share the group's work with a new audience.

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Edited by Kelly Matsuura.

Cover Design by Kelly Matsuura.

Compilation Copyright© Kelly Matsuura 2019.

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This book was created in Japan.

First electronic release: June 2019.

Published by BWWP Publishing via Draft2Digital Services

‘The Cormorant in the Glass-Bottomed Cage’ ©Copyright Rebecca Birch

‘How Have the Mighty Fallen?’ ©Copyright Ray Daley

‘Chiaroscuro’ ©Copyright Liam Hogan

‘Training Stances’, ‘The Horse Lord’, ‘Tsung’s Battle’, ‘The Matter of the Horses’, and ‘Respect’ ©Copyright Mary Soon Lee

‘The Lucky Drug’ ©Copyright Dave Dunn

‘Hero’ ©Copyright Giulia Moon and Toshiya Kamei

‘Yukio’ ©Copyright Layne Noser

‘Mourning’ ©Copyright Gerard Sarnat

‘Night Mares’ and ‘Looking at the Stars’ ©Copyright Anita Goveas

‘Stay Silent’ ©Copyright Kelly Matsuura

‘Avalanche’ ©Copyright Daniel Scott White

‘Xylophones’ ©Copyright Russell Hemmell

‘Ordination’ ©Copyright Luke Shors

‘Timid Local Eyes’ ©Copyright Deon Visser

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‘The Cormorant in the Glass-Bottomed Cage’ by Rebecca Birch was first published by Flash Fiction Online in May 2015.

‘Chiaroscuro’ by Liam Hogan was first read out at Liars' League Hong Kong, in 2014.

Mary Soon Lee’s Poems (5): ‘Training: Stances’ and ‘Tsung’s Battle’ were first published in Crowned: The Sign of the Dragon: Book 1. ‘The Horse Lord’ and ‘The Matter of the Horses’ were first published in Ideomancer. ‘Respect’ was first published in Polu Texni.

Anita Goveas’ stories (2): ‘Night Mares’ was first published by Burning House Press, and ‘Looking at the Stars’ was first published by Remembrance Arts journal.

‘Avalanche’ by Daniel Scott White was originally published as ‘Nine Fingers’ at Zero Flash in February 2016.

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of these authors. Stories are the authors’ original work and are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to real persons (living or dead) or real situations is coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without permission from the authors. Short extracts for reviews are allowed.

Other Books in The Insignia Series:

‘Insignia: Japanese Stories’ (October 2013)

‘Insignia: Chinese Fantasy Stories’ (Revised January 2019)

‘Insignia: Southeast Asian Fantasy’ (April 2016)

‘Insignia: Asian Fantasy Stories’ (March 2017)

‘Insignia: Asian Science Fiction’ (July 2018)

‘Insignia: Asian Birds & Beasts’ (August 2018)

Part I: CHINA

THE CORMORANT IN THE GLASS-BOTTOMED CAGE

Rebecca Birch

The river nudged my log raft against its mooring post with a steady thud on the night I first saw Old Qiu's woman.  Sitting on her knees at the end of his boat, she offered his cormorants a few of the small fish they'd caught that day.  Her young, round face echoed the full moon, its light glinting in her black eyes.  A jade ring encircled her finger.  Its sweeping lines reminded me of river's currents.

Jiang, Qiu called, from where he squatted beside a cook-fire on the shore.  Come.

When she obeyed, the cormorants croaked their gurgling call after her.

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Jiang spent her days collecting reeds, the hard stalks biting her hands until they bled.  What is your woman doing? I called to Qiu over the river between us, where our birds flew through the waters, catching throatfuls of silver-bright fish.

Qiu ignored me, but in the evenings I watched.  Jiang sat beside the fire, weaving the