CUCURBITAL 2 is not simply speculative fiction; it's a peek into the writing process itself. Writers are always asked two questions: "where do you get the idea for your story?" and "how do you go from idea to finished work?" This anthology offers insight into the second question by handing the book's authors the answer to the first one. Here are seven short stories that began with the same three prompts: watermelon, turtle, sex worker. They cover the spectra from comic to mythic, absurd to poignant, pragmatic to breathtaking. And all from three simple prompts: watermelon, turtle, sex worker.