an extract from Slice of Life - a Spot of Liver:

" The human liver is an amazing organ. It is both the largest internal organ and the largest gland in the human body. It weighs in at a delicious 1.5 kilograms on average, is triangular in shape and is of a soft, pinkish-brown consistency that almost melts on the tongue. It lies to the right of the stomach, overlying the gallbladder (one of those tasty yet obsolete organs that have been hanging around in our bodies from the evolutionary soiree to which they weren’t invited), and sits packed away nicely in the upper abdomen. It produces bile to detoxify the body, synthesizes glucose, cholesterol and insulin, breaks down ammonia and haemoglobin, and can be baked, broiled or fried, or made into pate or sausages. It’s particularly good with onions.

But all of that is not what makes the liver so amazing. It is one of the few internal organs capable of complete regeneration. Chop half of that meat out and in three months time it’s back to its normal size doing its normal job. Fantastic! I’ve figured out how many lobes (and which ones) I can slice off the liver without killing Smarmy. It’s a slow process, sure, for a good quality piece of liver, but a renewable source of meat is a fuck of a lot easier to achieve than trying to hunt down and capture my next meal."

an extract from Shot in Loralai:

"What's so funny?" Mirza said from the doorway. He had changed from uniform into blue jeans and a white singlet, but it was the automatic pistol he brandished in his hand that choked the laughter in our throats. A boiled egg and a cup of tea didn't seem like much of a last supper.

"Nothing," I said, perhaps too quickly. Mirza's forehead furrowed. I quickly spouted some shite from the movie we had watched last night.

"Ah," he said, unconvinced. The handgun jerked carelessly around the room. The room fell silent for what seemed an eternity, but was less than half a minute. Mirza swallowed. "I have other reason for bringing you here."

Haines reading at the Slice of Life launch, 4 October 2009.

I was told, with great sadness that Paul Haines died this morning.

His wife let all his friends know via Paul's livejournal page:

http://paulhaines.livejournal.com/189129.html

Feel free to leave a message of condolence to Jules and Paul's family on his livejournal page.

Speculative fiction has lost a fine voice.