i realized the other day that i had only read books by female authors since the turn of the new year. that day, i decided to make a month out of it and continue the streak. that was also the day that i learned that this short story existed. had, in fact, existed since OCTOBER. which, thanks for the heads-up, mike mullin. so - a dilemma. do i continue the streak, or do i make an exception since this story only contains female characters, and since darla is one of the most fantastic teenage girl characters in all of literature? you know what i did. 
 and i don't feel bad about it at all. 
 this is just a little tease - something to tide us over until the publication of Sunrise, but it was a very welcome addition to the trilogy. this is, as you have no doubt guessed by the title, darla's story. the story of where she was and what she was doing when the supervolcano erupted while she was on her farm with her very religious mother and still mourning the death of her father. darla is the most capable girl that has ever been written - she can fix a tractor, build a water pump, repair just about anything, and she is level-headed and practical all around. so, while she is not unfazed when the electricity goes out and ash starts falling from the sky, blocking out the sun and leaving them isolated and with no idea what is happening in the greater world, she is at least able to pause, take a moment, and then get shit done. 
 and she gets so very much shit done. and you will hear about it in more detail than you believed possible. that is one of the great mike mullion trademarks: if you needed to, you could probably recreate the water pump darla builds, if you had the right materials at the ready. he has never been one to shy from details both technical and scientific and while it is unusual to have the teenage girl stepping up and taking charge while her mother is more or less helpless and deferring to her daughter for both the answers to "what is going on??" and the hands-on necessities of getting them into survival mode, this is darla we're talking about here. she is going to be in the leadership role no matter who else is around. she is just that badass. 
 i loved having this backstory insight, and i wish there were more stories like this available, or that this one had been longer, but i suppose i can wait until april to get my hands on the conclusion. 
 but i am tapping my foot. impatiently. 
 okay, back to the ladies!