When I was in high school and college, I collected tarot decks. I didn't make use of them so much... it was more that I loved the stories of them, the different interpretations of each card, the way that even off-the-wall redrawings still somehow managed to bring the imagery home.

When I saw that NILVX was doing a tarot-based anthology, I definitely wanted to have a go. Their Tarot issue promised to cover The Fool, The Hanged Man, Judgment, and The World. I eventually settled on the third of those, and brought out a strange sci-fi quasi-spiritual piece that honestly surprised even me.

One of the interesting things about the tarot is that many major arcana cards -- Death, the Devil, Judgment, and the like -- that sound very ominous and definite and overbearing are actually to do with elements within ourselves. Death represents change. The Devil represents our own internal wrongdoing. Judgment, too, is internal.

My story, "Judgment Day," is one woman's story of her own judgment after a lifetime of judging others -- in this case, quite literally. The Judges work behind the scenes so you never see them... not until after your time has already passed. When you die, they are your final confessor, observing your secrets under their magnifying glass so you can decide for yourself what happens next. The problem comes when one Judge questions why they can do this.

This is definitely one that falls under my "grim" work. Science fantasy, maybe? That seems to be how my work skews. But it's one I'm unexpectedly proud of, and that I hope you'll all enjoy.

A Book of Magic I(II): Tarot Series I goes on sale this Friday. Check out the website for more info.