Tag: fantasy

April 2, 2026

New SFF Anthology and Tea Event

Happy Spring! I have two pieces of news this month.

First (I finally get to announce this), I’m editing an anthology for Flame Tree’s Beyond & Within series. Those are beautiful books with shiny covers and exciting new stories. You may remember me sharing some pictures of them earlier.

The call for submissions is here, and I’m also sharing it below.

Climbing High Short Stories

Women’s ambition is not always welcomed, let alone encouraged. Speculative fiction is a context that offers other possibilities (and worlds), where writers and readers imagine what could be. Climbing High: Speculative Stories of Female Ambition will feature stories exploring contexts where female ambition is treated differently, aspiration and achievement in the face of adversity, and ambitions that extend beyond what’s possible in our contemporary world. This anthology takes an empowering stance of embracing ambition while being unafraid to explore the costs and consequences that characters may face in doing so and the impacts of ambitions pursued or fulfilled.

Stories may engage with the question of navigating disparate values and commitments (the often-asked and often-sexist question of “How do you balance x and y?”), or they may abandon all that, with characters who prioritise their desires above all else. Whether characters are reshaping the world(s), themselves, or aiming to brew the best cup of tea, their drives are the driving force of their stories. Contributors may feel free to question assumptions or norms related to women or gender while they’re at it. Authors are encouraged to explore spaces between representation and aspiration and be as bold as they like in imagining what could be.

This will be a fascinating new anthology for our Beyond & Within series. We’re looking for around four stories to join the selection curated by Melanie Bell!

Melanie Bell is a Canadian writer living in the UK. Her books include a poetry collection, The Heart Decided to Move; a YA novel, Chasing Harmony; a short story collection, Dream Signs; and a nonfiction book, The Modern Enneagram, co-authored with Kacie Berghoef. Her novella The Cliffman was included in the literary horror collection Hard for Hope to Flourish, and one of her stories is featured in the Whispers in the Earth illustrated anthology of world folklore.

Melanie and Hannah Doyle co-wrote Joan: The Musical which was performed in the Brighton Fringe in May 2025. Her short plays have appeared onstage at the Tower Theatre and Barons Court Theatre in London, on Morley College Radio, and in Liverpool’s 24 Hour Play Fest. She loves art, music, wondering and wandering.

Submissions to: anthologies@flametreepublishing.com

Terms:

Multiple submissions are fine but must be in separate emails.
Simultaneous submissions are fine but you must have the right to license your story in an anthology.
Stories that used AI for planning, editing, modifying or generating text will not be accepted. Please declare in your submission email if you have used AI in any way.
For accepted stories we pay Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) rates of 8 cents/6 pence per word for original stories.
We will aim to read each story and confirm its status within 4 months of the submission deadline.
Payment for the chosen stories will be made within 30 days of the final advertised publication date (see our website flametreepublishing.com for details), although some may be paid earlier than that.
Submission does not imply the right to publication. Each story will be read and assessed by the selection panel.
Please only submit unpublished/original/new stories for consideration. Reprints will not be accepted for consideration through this submissions route.

We’re always looking for better ways of working so we’ve tweaked our submission process to allow us to read more stories, and spend more time assessing the balance of our books.

Submissions must use the dedicated email address.
The subject line of the email must be the story title.
The file with the story must be attached to the email (.docx, .doc or .rtf format).
The name of the file must match the name in the subject line.
If submitting more than one story, please submit one story per email.

Other useful tips for a more successful submission:

The file name of the submission must be the story name only.
Please just use spaces between words in the title (not _ or – ).
If the story name starts with A or The, please use it at the beginning of the file name.
Story length is most likely to be successful at 2000–4000 words, but we will still read stories slightly outside this range.
If submitting a story that has recently been submitted to us for consideration to another anthology, please state this in the submission email.
Deadline for submissions is 3rd May 2026.

Literary Tea Salon With Bird & Blend Tea Co.

Here’s another collab I’m excited for! Bird & Blend Tea Co. is my favourite local tea shop. Their products are high quality and delicious. If you’re based in the UK, their shops offer free tastings and are well worth a visit, and they sell online as well.

So, while sampling some tea at the shop, I suggested a literary event, and the Bird & Blend team was interested in hosting one this spring. Here are the details for our Literary Tea Salon on May 11:

Join local author Melanie Bell and Bird & Blend Tea Co. for writing exercises, an author reading, and a book-themed tea tasting.

Monday, May 11 from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm

Literary Tea Salon

Join us for a cosy, bookish evening blending two good things – writing and tea!

Local author Melanie Bell will lead participants in some creative exercises, read from her work, and answer questions about the writing process, while the Bird & Blend team will offer a selection of their literary-themed teas to taste.

Location

Bird & Blend Tea Co.

41 Gardner Street
Brighton and Hove BN1 1UN

Hosted in Bird & Blend’s flagship Brighton store, come along alone, with a loved one or in a group…all are welcome!

The store is fully accessible to customers in wheelchairs with NCP parking nearby. Please note there is no customer toilet on site but there is a wheelchair accessible toilet available in a nearby venue. We can tailor our experience to most disabilities – just let us know when booking.

Tickets on Eventbrite here (£15 each)

I look forward to reading your stories and meeting some of you for tea next month!

March 10, 2026

Notes From a British Fantasy Society Writing Retreat

With cute animal pictures

Hi all! I recently spent time traveling around northern England, ending my trip in Chester for a writing retreat with the British Fantasy Society (or BFS).

I’ve been on a couple of longer writing retreats previously, in France and Kenya. Were they an excuse to go cool places? Maybe…

This one was over a long weekend (four days total, including coming and going) and a bit closer to home. I really enjoy the BFS’s programs and was excited to be allocated a spot at the retreat this year. The organization is professional and participants are serious about their craft, while attendees at the other retreats I went to varied more in the focus of their writing endeavors.

We stayed at the Queen at Chester Hotel. Below are some photos of the staircase and garden.

Attendees had a conference room to write in. We sat around a big table, coming and going as our energy permitted, typing intently while drinking tea and coffee from the side table. Usually, we went for dinner as a group. One evening, we shared readings from completed writing or works in progress. The quality of the work was outstanding, and everyone’s stories were a joy to listen to.

There’s nothing like the synergy of working around others who are passionate about the same thing. I focused on plotting new book concepts, and came home with two outlines and a couple of chapters done.

Having a great setting to explore didn’t hurt either. We worked independently, with time to come and go as we liked. Chester has Roman walls, a Gothic cathedral, a city center full of black-and-white timber-framed revival buildings, canals, and a well-known zoo. I’d be remiss if I didn’t share some animal pictures (below). Can you spot the baby tree kangaroo?

Thanks to Shona, David, the organizers at the BFS, and all the participants for such a positive experience. I look forward to seeing you again!

January 31, 2026

Notes From the World Fantasy Convention

Plus a mini-story

From Substack, Nov 3, 2025

Whew – that was quite a weekend!

I spent the last four days at the World Fantasy Convention, which took place this year (most conveniently) in my current home city of Brighton. It combined two events in one – an international fantasy convention and a British one. That means it came with two award ceremonies, including the British Fantasy Awards, where I acted as a juror for one of the categories.

Just a few of the stickers, art, zines, treats, and other swag I brought home

Shiny Things

If you like to collect things, I’d highly recommend attending a con. I brought home so many bookmarks, book art, zines, stickers, tote bags, sweets, and more. Just a few are shown above.

And the books! I brought home 11 free books, plus the 24 ebooks/magazines offered as free downloads to participants. One author handed me an entire trilogy. I also bought… let’s just say more than a few of the attending authors’ works. One advantage of living nearby was that I could bring books home in my bag every evening rather than having to fit them all in a suitcase.

The convention featured a display of beautiful fantasy art for sale, as well as a room full of booksellers, including some intriguing independent booksellers, authors, and small presses, and one night involved a massive author signing event.

Happy People

As much as a fantasy convention is a showcase of books and the worlds within them, above all, it’s a place to meet and connect with creators. It was great to see people I knew from Worldcon last year and to meet new people, too.

Events included panels, author readings, launches, guest of honor interviews, “meet the author” events, workshops, and social events such as karaoke and a funny role playing game. I found Ana Sun’s workshop on Writing a Community, Not a Lone Hero deeply engaging, and the panel on Feminism and Feminist Themes in Genre Fiction made me think about what kinds of representation I’d like to see more of.

I enjoyed attending several of the book launches and continuing to get to know the fantasy publishing landscape I’ve been exploring as an award judge. The Solaris launch stood out, with authors playing a game of choosing which one of their books best fit some fun questions (such as “Which book would you recommend to your best friend?” and “Which main character has the best fashion sense?”). I’m told that another launch involved a sing-along.

Speaking of sing-alongs, I had a fabulous time at the “Dungeons and Disorderly” role playing game, where a group of authors played characters and a scenario created by audience prompts written on slips of paper. It was like a big improv game. Some of us in the audience were called upon to act out opponents the characters encountered, so I, in my Halloween costume (I’d dressed up as Moiraine from the Wheel of Time series, which a lot of people interpreted as a princess costume – I got a lot of compliments on my dress that day), got to play a duck that sang a Disney song to activate a weapon. I sang a bit of “Let It Go” in front of everyone. It was all great fun.

The British Fantasy Awards took place on Saturday, and I was proud to watch the announcement for the Best Independent Press. I got a picture of Nick Wells, founder of the winning press, Flame Tree Publishing, giving his acceptance speech. I was the only juror in my category who could make it to the conference, so it felt special to be there.

I’ll say again, as I did last month, that all the submissions were excellent. It was an honor to play a part in recognizing their quality work, and I was very pleased to see some of the other presses and authors recognized elsewhere, including at the World Fantasy Awards the next day. A single panel of judges adjudicated that whole slate of awards, a task which took up much of the year. They gave an interesting talk on trends they noticed and the process they used. I appreciate the BFA approach of using different panels to judge each award, allowing for shared work and opportunities.

You can find the winners of the British Fantasy Awards here and the winners of the World Fantasy Awards here. Congratulations to all!

Founder/Publisher Nick Wells gives the acceptance speech for Flame Tree Press, winner of Best Independent Press in the British Fantasy Awards

One of my own SFF stories – some hopeful science fiction involving climate change and a work exchange between planets – was recently published in the NonBinary Review’s Solarpunk issue. I also have a story forthcoming in Mythaxis Magazine.

And if you’ve read this far, here’s some flash fiction to thank you for your attention!

Pick a Door

Once you’re twelve you get to choose your door.

If it had been up to me, Liam and I would’ve gone through the same one, but there are rules, you know. One child per door. Keep the populations stable. If some doors get too crowded, the council swap them out for different ones.

So I put on my nice blue suit with a marigold in the buttonhole and Dad led me to the entrance, stooped but proud.

Liam ran up and hugged me quick. “Bye, Amir. I’m going to pick the blue one.”

“Bye.” Be a man. Don’t cry.

I spun in a circle. A hundred doors, hanging down from the sky. Some hinted at warm or woodsy origins. I recognized the door through which Mom had entered our world, old and chipped. She’d liked it well enough here before she left.

Maybe I’d like it there, too.

As I stepped forward, heard it creak open and its Mac truck rush of energy pulled me through, I hoped she’d gone back in there instead of running through another one.

October 1, 2025

Literary Judging and Book Review: Binding the Cuckoo

Last month, I promised that I’d share a little about my experience judging this year’s British Fantasy Award for Best Independent Press. I also have a review for an enchanting new romantasy novel, so let’s start with that, and I’ll say more about judging later.

Binding the Cuckoo Review

Binding the Cuckoo is the first foray into independent publishing from Gabriela Houston, author of The Bone Roots and several other novels rooted in Slavic mythology. Well, perhaps it counts as the second, since I got to know Gabriela as the editor for the Kickstarter-backed, beautifully illustrated anthology Whispers in the Earth: World Folklore Reimagined, to which I contributed a Canadian ghost ship story.

Gabriela kindly sent me a review copy of Binding the Cuckoo. As a fan of her previous work, I was excited to see what her historical fantasy romance had in store.

Here’s the blurb:

1899: A fay grifter seeks fortune and security.

Love was never the plan.

In the late Victorian era, a technological marvel allows scientists to open rifts into the realms of legend. Powerful creatures, weakened and stripped of their memories, are brought to serve the whims of the wealthy elite…

Hare, a young woman with a mythical secret finds herself trapped, facing an unenviable future.

When an equally desperate schoolmistress, Miss Anne Bonningham offers her a chance at freedom, they embark on a daring plan. Disguised as “Miss Edwina Walker,” Hare navigates the treacherous waters of London high society, solely focused on securing a marriage and escaping her past.

However, amidst the glittering balls and intricate social games, as hidden agendas surface and a vengeful figure from her past threatens to expose her true identity, Hare must make a choice: embrace a life of comfort and security or choose freedom and a love that could shatter the very foundation of her world.

If you like your fantasy light, but heavy on the sexual tension, this one’s for you. Hare is an outsider protagonist with few options, and I sympathized with her right away.

In the alternate history, “mythics” are otherworldly beings (mostly fairies) brought into our world, where their magic weakens and memories fade, to serve humans. Hare was betrayed by someone she trusted, and has little idea of who she was before. When offered freedom through an alliance with a somewhat unsavory character, there’s little else she can do.

So, we’re off to London, where Hare poses as Miss Anne Bonningham’s American relative seeking a match. If she can secure a good marriage, both she and her “matchmaker” will have their currently dire futures secured.

Cue the high-society socializing, the kind (if a bit silly and arrogant) duke who takes a shine to Hare, and his lawyer friend who clashes with her again and again, with sparks flying. You could call it a love triangle, but where one option represents security and the other a deeper connection, it’s pretty clear how things are going to turn out. The fun is in getting there.

Along the way, we encounter a variety of mythics who can’t pass as human like Hare can, and struggle to get work. Their interactions are nuanced, as they can magically recognize each other but humans can’t recognize them in the same way. I’d love to know more about them and their world, which is only lightly sketched out. Maybe in a future book?

Binding the Cuckoo is an easy, elegant read. It comes out on October 15, and you can pre-order it now.

Literary Judging: What’s It Really Like?

Any writer reading this is probably intimately familiar with the process of being judged. You sent a piece or pitch to a publication, or a manuscript to an editor or publisher, you wait, and most of the time, you get another rejection letter to add to your growing collection.

I’ve been on both sides of the desk. Along with writing, I used to edit and read submissions for literary magazines. Several years ago, I sat on a panel judging a magazine grant for a Canadian province I’ve never lived in. And this year, I was one of five judges for the British Fantasy Award for Best Independent Press.

The winners of this year’s British Fantasy Awards will be announced at the World Fantasy Convention in Brighton, which takes place from October 30-November 2. So I won’t be sharing any spoilers here, but I have some insights into the process of judging a literary award.

How do you judge something as subjective as the quality of written work? You start by assembling a panel of judges, who all bring different experiences and opinions. Our group had some degree of consensus around quality, strengths, and weaknesses after reading the material – and it was a lot of material. I read a sample of books from each press, for a total of (I think) 20, and there are more in a box if I want to dive into them later.

Some judging panels agree on criteria and give scores to the material. With others, it’s a more fluid discussion – more of an art than a science.

Both panels I’ve been on have been very respectful groups. I imagine the rest of the British Fantasy Awards were similar, with thoughtful, generous debates and discussions of each work’s respective merits. There were differences of opinion, but everyone had fair input. It came down to a nail-biter, and I got to be the deciding vote.

What I witnessed from award judging was just how many good books, publishers, and works might not win awards, but offer high quality, unique perspectives, and valuable contributions to their genres. That’s something I found when reading submissions for magazines, as well. There’s so much good stuff out there! There aren’t spaces or awards for all of it, and not being “chosen” doesn’t make a work any less worthy.

Someone else winning an award, or a rejection of your story, is not a rejection of you.

Some people like to imagine rivalries in the writing world. Maybe they exist, but that hasn’t been my experience. With speculative fiction especially, I see a bunch of geeks getting excited over each other’s books. With publishing more broadly, when one book does well, that can create space for others, and excited readers are more likely to read something else.

There are unkind people and poor behavior in every industry. But my experience judging an award was one of respect and collegiality. From what I’ve seen, the future of independent publishing in British SFF looks hopeful.

January 26, 2025

Writing Workshop, Online Readings, a Fringe Show, and More!

I’ve got a few writing updates for you all!

Writing Workshop/Reading February 1 in Brighton

On February 1, I’m holding a writing workshop and author reading at The Queery in Brighton, from 7-9pm! The Queery is a lovely community space, and some of my books are on sale there. You can sign up here for the event.

Come join us for a fun and engaging writing workshop and author reading at The Queery! Whether you’re a seasoned writer or just starting out, this event is perfect for anyone looking to hone their craft. Get ready to participate in hands-on activities, receive feedback from fellow writers, and gain inspiration. Facilitator and local author Melanie Bell will also share a reading from her work. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to connect with fellow writers and immerse yourself in a supportive creative community!

Online Readings

I have two new online readings available!

I contributed a reading to the British Fantasy Society’s Online Library. You can watch me reading “On the Other Side,” a short story about a magic box from my collection Dream Signs, here on YouTube.

The video from my reading with Strong Women, Strange Worlds is also on YouTube now. I’m reading from another Dream Signs story called “Like Mother, Like Son,” from the perspective of a sentient AI whose creator doesn’t realize he’s sentient. You can watch a video of the whole event here and hear the other readers, too!

Personal Essay on HuffPost and BuzzFeed

In 2020, inspired by others’ writing on body shaming and the snap judgments people make about each other’s appearances, I wrote a personal essay for Huffington Post about being petite and the downsides of getting mistaken for a literal child. My essay went viral at the time (the dramatic title was not my idea!).

Just before Christmas, it got reposted on Huffington Post and picked up by BuzzFeed and elsewhere. I’m glad that my words resonated with others who experience similar judgments and misperceptions. And, welcome to any new readers who found me this way!

Joan: The Musical

Last year, my friend and collaborator Hannah Doyle and I wrote an hour-long musical. Now, we’re in the process of casting and preparing for a performance in the Brighton Fringe.

Joan: The Musical will be playing at The Actors in Brighton on 3 and 4 May at 1:30pm. Here’s our show’s poster, summary, and casting call for two roles. If you’re interested in auditioning, feel free to get in touch!

August 26, 2024

Book Review: The Phoenix Keeper by S. A. MacLean

Plus a meal fit for a phoenix

I was given an ARC of The Phoenix Keeper, and here’s my honest review, plus some recipes the characters might like.

I loved this book. It was the perfect thing to read while recovering from illness, and the anxiety rep hit home. I was swept away into a world of magical zoo animals that, while fanciful, felt grounded in reality.

Aila Macbhairan is a phoenix keeper at the San Tamculo Zoo, living out the dream she’s had since she was 8 years old. She works with an endangered Silimalo phoenix in a zoo that hasn’t had an active breeding program for a while, but her fortunes reverse when a nearby facility has some of its phoenixes stolen. Aila must rush to get her facility ready and care for a new bird. What could go wrong? (So. Much.)

Aila has a staunch friend in fellow zookeeper Tanya, and an enemy (initially) in Luciana, who runs the zoo’s griffin show. She resents the show for its cheesy commercialism, and holds a grudge against Luciana based on incidents from their time at university together.

I found the queer rep in this story to be well done. Aila is bi, Tanya is trans, and there’s an adorable sapphic romance that weaves in around the animal shenanigans. Aila’s parents, far more extroverted than her, are also fun characters with their fusion-food pub.

But it’s Aila’s inner journey that got me. Her personality is familiar – bookish, skittish, and socially awkward. She’s as uncomfortable around most people as she is at home around the animals she works with. There’s a bit of mental health advice in the book, and I appreciated reading Aila’s experiences of being underestimated, belittled (especially when she tries to date dragon keeper Connor), and having a rough start with a therapist who didn’t get her, not because I want others to live through these things but because it’s nice to have fictional mirroring. Aila is especially terrified of public speaking. There’s a nice arc where she grows into a sense of purpose that helps her transcend her fears and live as if she’s enough (because of course she is).

One thing I appreciate about the rise in cozy fantasy is the opportunity to read about work in a fantastical world. All kinds of work, not just the world-saving kind. S. A. MacLean works in conservation, and it shows. Aila’s care for her phoenixes ends up carrying the day.

The magical animals feel real; they’re vivid characters, written with attention to the daily details of zoo life. At the same time, they’re wonderfully inventive. We get to read about creatures like peacock griffins, vanishing ducks, and pet carbuncles. (The book has a few illustrations, so we get to see some of them, too.) The world is modern, with phones and plastic souvenirs, and in many ways similar to our own. Yet thoughtfulness permeates the details, geography, and ecology.

The Phoenix Keeper’s writing flows smoothly and is well crafted. It takes effort to create something this engaging to read. I was a little sad to leave Aila’s world, and hope we get a sequel so I can spend more time there.

How can I thank the author? How about with some food fit for a phoenix (keeper)?

Phoenix Food: Awesome Slaw

Silimalo phoenixes eat a lot of veggies, and I think they’d enjoy this salad. I certainly do. I adapted the recipe from Kayti Peschke’s in Caboodle magazine.

Ingredients

1 head of cabbage

1 head of broccoli

2 carrots

a few dill pickles

For the dressing:

4 tbsp mayonnaise

4 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tbsp mustard

sea salt and ground black pepper

Method

Chop the vegetables and mix them in a bowl.
Mix the dressing ingredients in another bowl.
Toss the dressing with the salad and enjoy!

Zookeeper Chow: Aubergine Gochujang Noodles

Aila has a hard time with spice, but I think even she’d enjoy these noodles that match her phoenixes’ fire just a little bit. Recipe from Mob 6: Tasty 6-Ingredient Meals.

Ingredients

1 aubergine (or eggplant), cut into 2cm chunks

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp peanut butter

2 packets of vegan instant ramen

1 spring onion, thinly sliced

Method

Preheat the oven to 180° C with fan.
Line a baking tray with baking paper. Toss the aubergines in a bowl with the oil, spread out on the baking tray and roast for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and pour over the soy sauce, tossing well to coat. Return to the oven for 15 minutes until the aubergine is tender, sticky and caramelised. If it looks a little dry and overdone, add a splash of water to the tray to help you get it saucy and coated again.
In a small bowl, whisk together the gochujang, peanut butter and ramen seasoning packets with 3 tbsp of water. Set aside.
Set a large saucepan of water over a medium heat and bring to a boil. Cook the ramen for 3-4 minutes until tender. Drain in a colander, then add back to the pan and pour in the gochujang mixture. Stir well to combine.
Serve the noodles topped with the sticky soy saubergine and spring onion to garnish.

Rubra the Phoenix’s Hot Apple Toddy

So, I kind of made this up. I was sick, OK? I think this is what I put in there. Feel free to experiment with your own ingredients and portions!

Ingredients

1 part whisk(e)y (with U.S. and U.K. sources, the spelling in this post is all over the place)

3 parts apple juice

a little hot water

a dash of cinnamon

a dash of honey

a dash of lemon juice

1 lemon slice

1 clementine slice

another clementine slice + a raspberry for garnish

Method

Heat the liquids with the cinnamon and honey.
Add the fruit slices.
Add the garnishes to the rim and eat them after you finish drinking.

Happy eating, drinking, and reading! Don’t hesitate to check out this wonderful book!

January 27, 2023

Book review: A Consuming Fire by Laura E. Weymouth

“I don’t want to be an offering, she thought with a new and sharp urgency. I never have, nor a prayer, either. I will be a knife in the dark or nothing, no matter the cost.”
–A Consuming Fire, Laura E. Weymouth

What would you do if a god killed your sister? For Anya Astraea, the answer is clear: set out to murder him in retaliation.

I’ve enjoyed Laura E. Weymouth’s books since I read the first one, a unique portal fantasy called The Light Between Worlds. Weymouth writes historical fantasy for young adults. Her debut novel is a poignant take on Narnia and the devastating emotional consequences of growing up in another world, then being sent back to this one.

She has four books out now. Her latest is A Consuming Fire, and she was kind enough to share an ARC with me.

Reader, I loved it. There’s a consistent theme of anger across her last two novels. Women’s anger. Righteous anger. The anger of people who are overlooked, underestimated, and trampled underfoot by oppressive structures and figures who hold excess power. The anger of the small in a big world who stand up one day and declare, “Enough.”

In A Consuming Fire, a town called Weatherell is expected to periodically send a girl as a living sacrifice to appease a hostile god. These “Weatherell girls,” as they are called, must offer up what the mountain god demands, whether it’s a valued body part or a core personality trait. Protagonist Anya is intimately familiar with the lives of these sacrificial women: her mother was one of them, giving up her hands, and now her bold and adventurous twin sister, Ilva, is determined to make the journey up the mountain.

Ilva returns from the mountaintop drained of life force, and Anya watches her die. Another sacrifice is needed. But Ilva has made one last request of her sister: “Don’t let anyone else go.” And Anya, who’s long been incensed at the injustice of the system, is determined to follow that request. She sets off toward the mountain, not to offer herself to the god but to kill him.

Along the way, Anya falls in with a changeling thief and a group of others, including charming wanderers and a lovable dog, while playing a cat-and-mouse game with religious officials called the Elect who want to use her for their own ends. Everyone is hiding secrets of their own that, when revealed, will expand Anya’s understanding of her world. Ilva’s ghost remains a frequent visitor, urging her on and reminding her of her mission’s stakes. If she fails, countless girls will suffer; if she succeeds, she might spare others from suffering as her mother and sister did ever again.

A Consuming Fire carries a foreboding undertone, with deft touches such as bone charms made from dead Weatherell girls adding to the atmosphere and sense that this world is askew. Psychological insight blends with lyrical phrasing and keenly felt emotion throughout.

There are religious themes and features in this book that won’t be for everyone. After all, it is not set in a fantasy world but in an altered variant of the historical UK. But if you enjoy or don’t mind those aspects, you’ll find a lot to appreciate in the novel when it comes to the nature of power and agency.

Come join Anya on her vengeful climb up the mountain and witness how powerful a woman wronged can become!

January 5, 2022

My short story collection is published! Plus a drinking game

I’m beyond excited to announce that Dream Signs, my short story collection, is out in the world! The author copies just arrived, as you can see from the photo above. I look forward to doing some readings in the new year and will keep you updated once they are scheduled.

Many writers repeat themes, and I decided while washing the dishes that the recurring motifs in Dream Signs could be a drinking game. If you pick up a copy of the book, you can go through the list and follow along. Any drink counts. It could be water, coffee, whiskey, or whatever you like. You should be pretty sloshy by the final pages.

Take a drink each time you read one of these:

A wise mentor
Someone does art
A school is described in detail
A dragon appears
The observers (you’ll know them when you see them)
There’s a list
Make-believe > real life
Painful family dynamics
Cosmic beings we don’t understand
The camera is a metaphor
Sex

If the list above sounds like your idea of a good time, you can get a copy of Dream Signs directly from the publisher or from other online retailers (Kobo, Amazon). New year, new book. Happy reading!

March 3, 2021

Excerpt from my Forthcoming Novelette “The Cliffman”

I’m delighted to announce the publication of my novelette “The Cliffman” in Hard for Hope to Flourish, a Midnight Bites collection of three chilling novellas from Crone Girls Press. The e-book comes out on March 11 and you can pre-order it now. If you like dark fairy tales, supernatural beings, and complicated sibling relationships, “The Cliffman” has got you covered. The other two stories involve a man hearing voices and a disappearance in a marsh. “Literary tales of quiet horror,” as the blurb says.

Below is an excerpt from “The Cliffman.” Enjoy!

The Cliffman

He stood as children raced across the lap of the sand, as half-grown feet tore up marram grass which tore them in turn, as dusk gave way to moon and brambles on the periphery to raspberries, wax-leaved tufts to cranberries. He stood as tourists in visors shed tears over sand-spilled ice cream, as lovers tussled in cliff-caves or took to their vans, as the ozone layer thinned almost imperceptibly, as crabs tracked. It wasn’t often he could do anything but see.

* * *

See: two girl-slivers, wind-haired, seated on driftwood. A mother grown as a full moon, instructing: this thick viscous seaweed is kelp, this edible kind dulse. Tides are caused by the moon, and erosion happens as rocks wear away under sea. These are cliff swallows and this, running in the sand with its funny stilt legs, the rare endangered piping plover.

The mother was a teacher during the school year, and every summer day she taught her own girls. The father wavered between office days and sofa chair nights, never quite there, which made the older girl feel smaller. His driftwood books cluttered the table—covers with complicated spaceships, pearly moon-cities, knights in tall helmets.

* * *

“It would be nice if you’d interact with your own children,” the mother said.

“And what type of interaction do you expect? Everything has to be a lesson with you.”

“At least I spend time with them.”

Dishes clattered in the sink. The girls said nothing.

Here on the map was North America where they lived, here Africa, Australia, and this big lump on the bottom Antarctica, too cold for people. Here the first page of a bedtime story—sound it out.

A half page in, their mother fixed things: “Night, not kuh-night. The k is silent.” The younger sister squirmed away from her storybook. The older, unnoticed, shrank into the pillow.

Add up the change in the change jar. Take these toys and divide them between mother and sisters (not father who was never in the games even when home from work, and that was expected, accepted). The older sister loved these number games best, and took to playing store with the younger and counting out change. Numbers were regular, soothing as the tides. She took to counting by twos or fives or humming multiplication tables to carry her to sleep.

The younger sister collected feathers which she kept in a jar in her room, arranging them until they were almost perfect. She was a talker, so she made friends with most kids she ran into. Sometimes she made enemies, which was interesting, too, because she and her allies would make war against them with sticky beached jellyfish and handfuls of wet sand.

The older sister wondered how it could be so easy for the younger to just walk up and join the rush and noise. The kids bickered like her parents, their games as fleeting as the family’s yearly moves from house to summer cottage to house, trailing clumsy suitcases. When they asked her to make war, she ran into a cliff cave and watched crumbs of sandstone crumble from the top. She was happiest on her own, listening to seashells and looking carefully for patterns in the rock, cradling the notebook in which she kept track of inventory for her Someday Store. The tourists who flocked to the beach would buy everything.

On the day the two sisters were walking hand in hand and a voice boomed at them from out of the cliff, naturally it was the younger who answered.

“You think you know everything about this beach, don’t you?” That was the voice, presumably some man they couldn’t see. Full-throated. Presumptuous. Unremarkable enough.

The younger sister was indignant. “Of course we don’t! But I think we know a lot.”

The voice responded with a rumble that could have been a menace or a laugh. The older sister thought she felt the sand quaver beneath her feet. Being the more practical of the pair, she asked, in spite of her uneasiness: “Who are you anyway, and where are you?”

“Look above you,” the voice said.

The girls’ small heads poked up. There atop the rocks a figure stood. His skin was the red of island sandstone, and it was hard to tell if the earth-colored folds around him were clothing or some draping extension of his body. His face was rough, like the mock faces one sometimes finds worn into rocks, and he stood larger than a human man by half. He was still, dignified in the manner of stone and ocean. The sisters found him half-formed, masklike, hideous. How to speak to a person that was not a person but a walking mass of clay?

If you enjoyed this excerpt, you can order your copy of Hard for Hope to Flourish here.

June 2, 2020

Some Recent Fantastic Reads by Black Authors

Black lives matter. This should be something obvious, not something that needs to be said. But recent news shows just how deeply racial tensions run, how embedded they are in our institutions, and how much harm they cause.

In the interest of supporting Black creators, I’ve put together a list of books by Black authors that I read and enjoyed recently. This is by no means a ranking, definitive guide, or anything like that. Instead, it’s an idiosyncratic list of well-crafted, fun, and moving (mostly genre) books which often share perspectives and insights that may be new to white readers. Hopefully you’ll find something in there that you’ll enjoy reading from cover to cover!

YA and Middle Grade

Akata Witch / Akata Warrior by Nnedi Okorafor: This series has been called “the Nigerian Harry Potter”, and it delivers on magic and worldbuilding. 12-year-old Sunny, who’s albino and was born in the US, is treated as an outsider once her family returns to Nigeria. Then new friendships reveal her hidden magic and a whole new society of Leopard people. Expect adventure and an astonishing world, grounded in Nigerian myths and realities, that you will wish you could visit.

The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton: In a world where citizens are born grey, a select group of women has the power to magically alter people’s appearances, allowing them to conform to the latest fashions and be “beautiful”. Camilla is one of these young women, and she discovers that her world’s beauty culture has sinister roots. Expect beautiful prose and a thought-provoking contemplation of beauty standards.

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo: Afro-Latina teen Xiaomara finds her voice as a slam poet in this moving novel told in verse. There are a lot of truths here about fraught family dynamics, first love, and more, and they are expressed with raw beauty. Get the tissues ready!

Fantasy and Science Fiction

A Taste of Honey by Kai Ashante Wilson: A gay fantasy romance that uses dialect in deft and unique ways. When Aqib’s country is visited by foreign soldiers, he meets Lucrio and encounters the ideas of a nation where same-sex relationships are accepted. A choice unfolds: does he stay with his familiar settings and beloved zookeeping responsibility, or does he leave with Lucrio into the unknown? This novella beautifully explores two parallel lives.

The Murders of Molly Southbourne by Tade Thompson: A gripping science fiction horror novella. Every time Molly bleeds, a copy of herself emerges, intent on killing her. She is taught to murder them in turn. It’s a strange, eerie book about threat and escape that I couldn’t put down.

Binti by Nnedi Okorafor: Mathematically gifted Binti is the first Himba person to be accepted to a university off-planet, but her space travel is disrupted by the alien Meduse, who the university has wronged. This is a highly inventive novella about building bridges between warring groups of people (including extraterrestrial people in this case).

Romance

A Princess in Theory / A Prince on Paper by Alyssa Cole: The Reluctant Royals series is beloved for good reason: it takes a critical eye to the tropes of royal romance while revelling in their best parts. In A Princess in Theory, an epidemiologist gets spam emails from an African prince she is betrothed to, only to discover that they’re real. A Prince on Paper is my favorite in the series, featuring a sensitive playboy hero and a heroine who is deeply kind. There are further books in the series, too, on my TBR list.

Let It Shine by Alyssa Cole: Two childhood friends, a Black “good girl” and a Jewish boxer, reunite and fight for civil rights in this sweet, impactful novella. The Civil Rights movement in the 1960s takes center stage as the main character finds her voice.

Fit by Rebekah Weatherspoon: Another short romance, for those who like their reads on the spicy side. A TV producer seeks out a personal trainer, who proposes an unconventional arrangement for getting her fit.

Nonfiction

Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body by Roxane Gay: This memoir does not present a triumphant narrative arc but rather a messy, complicated reckoning. Gay writes with honesty and sensitivity about the trauma of early sexual assault, her compulsion to eat in order to be safe, what it’s like to move through the world in a very large, “unruly” body, and learning to take care of her physical self. I found it moving while giving me a lot to consider and grapple with.

To this list, I add my recommendations of Children of Blood and Bone (YA fantasy) and An Unkindness of Ghosts (science fiction) from a previous blog post.

What are some books by Black authors that you enjoyed? Let’s keep the recommendations coming!