Liz Pierce

Forest Glen, Pennsylvania. A peaceful suburban neighborhood where nothing unusual ever happened — until the day Masaman the Troll moved out from under his bridge and bought the old fixer-upper on Oak Tree Lane.

Now Goblins swarm the neighbor’s front porch and kitchen windowsill in search of freshly baked pies and cookies; a cat-food eating Zombie canvasses the residents, looking for landscaping and interior decorating opportunities; and a Dwarf takes time out from Poker Night to investigate the rash of burglaries that suddenly plague the neighborhood.

And the Neighborhood Watch has no idea who it should be watching.

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I’ve been trolling the web (pun intended) to see if I could find a picture of a troll that came vaguely close to the way I see Masaman. In my mind, he’s not some oogly-boogly ugly creature that goes “growl” in the night, but is incapable of saying anything else. Likewise, he’s not a soft, squishy cartoon character with skin colored in primary colors. Even the fabulous Freemont Troll on the cover of the novel isn’t really how I see Masaman.

The trolls in the world of Just Another Day in Suburbia are reasonably realistic-looking guys. They’re big dudes, who wear heavy boots and durable clothing. Think of the biggest, baddest biker dude you can imagine, and then make him even bigger. He might have an attitude, or he might be a really nice guy – he just happens to live under a bridge. Or, in Masaman’s case, on Oak Tree Lane.

Anyway, as you can see, I finally did find a troll that is as close to my idea of what a troll looks like as I can imagine – if you’ve played the role-playing game Shadowrun, you’re already familiar with the world this big guy comes from (of course, my trolls don’t usually carry heavy weaponry… )

So there you are … that’s my idea of a troll!

Muzak is definitely not your garden-variety, brain-gobbling zombie – he has higher aspirations than mindlessly sucking down on raw flesh. Then again, becoming a zombie was never part of his plans, either…

And Then I Woke Up Dead

Muzak knew about zombies – he’d seen them on the streets, doing the menial jobs they’d been created for, jobs no living person wanted to do. He just never expected to find himself shuffling along as one of the walking dead, anti-freeze coursing through his veins. To be honest, he’d had higher expectations of the after-life – and, at the very least, expected a better wardrobe.

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We first met the Goblins in Just Another Day in Suburbia, but did you ever wonder what happened the day they emigrated from Faerie to the Real World?

No Plan for Chaos

It’s raining… Goblins!

The Goblins emerged from the Faerie Realm into the Real World in the most unexpected manner: drifting in on the breeze, settling on rooftops, in the trees, in the road. In a world filled with unfamiliar dangers, Skeezix the Goblin discovers the key to the Goblins’ survival in the unlikeliest of places — a discarded cup of diet cola.

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Seattle’s “Freemont Troll” sculpture – which appeared on the original cover of Just Another Day in Suburbia, was recently in the news. It seems that vandals decided the enormous sculpture needed a bit of makeup.

Fortunately, the damage was superficial, and easily repaired.

Thanks to my Seattle friends for pointing out both the news item and the quick cleanup! I’m quite sure that Masaman, Rasta, and all the other trolls inspired by the Freemont sculpture are feeling quite relieved!

It’s a long way from Philadelphia to Reno – especially when you’re squeezed into a Mini with a Zombie, a Dwarf, a Goblin, and a Troll – so I’m not going to be attending WorldCon (aka: the World Science Fiction Convention) this year.

But I did want to invite you to hang out with Masaman and friends, and pick up your own copy of  JUST ANOTHER DAY IN SUBURBIA at the special, WorldCon-weekend price of $2.99 (with coupon code WG54G) – after all, another ebook isn’t going to crowd your luggage out of the car!

Enjoy!

Mini-Cooper photo courtesy of www.Copyright-free-photos.org.uk