A Smugglerific Cover: PHANTOM LIMB by Reiko Scott

In which we reveal the cover for the next short story in our 2018 Awakenings series, Phantom Limb by Reiko Scott!

Behold the smugglerific cover:

About the Story

I received my first cybernetic arm when I was eight years old.

Naomi Shimizu has undergone several enhancements. A cybernetic arm, to replace her crushed one. Smooth pale skin and visual implants, to replace what was lost in an accident. Over the course of her life, she has traded organic body parts for constructed ones—not always with her consent. So now, Naomi works for the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene under the Cybernetic Registry, to halt and prevent the blackmarket sale of cybernetic mods. But modifications have a way of changing a girl—and Naomi will do anything it takes to do her job. To be perfect.

A Word From Your Friendly Neighborhood Editors (and Book Smugglers)

When we received Reiko’s submission, it was with the statement that her story was written in angry response to the whitewashed movie adaptation of Ghost in the Shell. Immediately, we alighted upon it. Phantom Limb is a powerful science fiction story about a world in which demand for cybernetic enhancements strain against regulation–it evaluates the different layers that humans put on and use to define themselves, through the cybernetically enhanced eyes of a Japanese American officer who has replaced so many of her own biological body parts over the years. The story captures the discomfort one has in their own skin, and the lengths that people, like Naomi, will go to in order to achieve impossible expectations. Phantom Limb does all of this from a first generation Japanese American immigrant perspective–an Asian American female perspective–adding a whole other layer of nuance to Naomi’s narrative. Phantom Limb is not a happy story. But it’s one that needed to be told, and we’re honored to be the ones to publish it.

About the Author: Reiko Scott

Reiko Scott is a Japanese-American part-time writer and full-time medical student (so she’s often reminded). She enjoys marrying the two through narrative medicine and tearing the two apart through speculative fiction. She’s a graduate of the 2017 VONA/Voices workshop and calls Boston home.

About the Artist: Reiko Murakami

Reiko Murakami, also known as Raqmo, is a U.S. based fantasy illustrator. Her work focuses on depicting emotions through surreal abstraction on a subject. Her art has been published in Spectrum, Infected by Art, ArtOrder Invitational: The Journal, Exposé, 2D Artist, and many others.

How to Get the Story

Phantom Limb will be published officially on September 25, 2018. You can purchase the DRM-free ebook (EPUB, MOBI) that contains the story as well as an essay from the author available for purchase on all major ebook retail sites and directly from us.

Preorder the Ebook Today

Smashwords | Amazon US | Amazon UK | B&N | Kobo

Want the book right now? Buy the DRM-free ebook edition directly from us and read the story today:

Buy Now

Add the book on Goodreads, and read Phantom Limb for free next Tuesday, September 25, 2018.