Okay, I’m pretty excited about this.
I have a story in an upcoming anthology, Fae, edited by Rhonda Parrish and published by World Weaver Press. The collection centers on, predictably enough, fairy tales — but not the kind you’d think. These are cyberpunk fairies and Civil War fairies and fairies among us. You can check out the contents here, and don’t some of those titles look delicious?
Coming Soon: Fae
“The Ruins” is now available to read online at Punchnel’s. Later this year, paperback sales of the Mythic Indy anthology will go to support Second Story, a program to encourage eager and reluctant kids to explore creative writing and improve their literacy and writing skills.
“The Ruins,” like the rest of the Mythic Indy stories, is set in a supernatural Indianapolis. Urban fantasy, folklore, science fiction, and slipstream all bump shoulders here. My story centers on the famous statues in Holliday Park, and what they might really be.
New Story Out: The Ruins
So I recently finished The Ghost Bride, by Yangsze Choo (who also narrated the audio book), recommended to me by Stephanie Cain who predicted I’d enjoy the Asian folklore and supernatural elements. I did.
The Ghost Bride: Chinese Folklore and Ramen
Being a writer means you get to look up all kinds of wacky stuff and pretend it’s valid work. While researching for a story, I learned that the party game we call “Truth or Dare” is actually centuries old even in its current form. In fact, per some… The Joys of Research – Truth or Dare
In a Western forest, when you see lights drifting over your path and beckoning into darkness, you might call them a will-o’-the-wisp. And you should know better than to follow them.Kitsune-bi and Kitsune no Yomeiri – foxfire and fox wedding
A quick blur of moment drew his eye — a mouse, skimming over the ground? No, a tiny youkai, galloping through the tangled grass, waving stubby arms and piping something in a shrill, unintelligible voice.
Kaworu bent toward him. “What?”
Metal split the air above his bent shoulder and struck the tree beyond. Kaworu did not waste time looking after it but made his lean a roll, dodging to one side and coming up in a crouch.
Tiny Youkai
Happy Halloween! Let’s talk about something spooky.
Her footsteps in the litter and debris muffled the forest noises around her, and for a moment she considered humming to further drown the sounds that frightened her. But it would be foolish to handicap herself. She kept quiet, listening to her too-loud footsteps.
Twilight made the way difficult, and she hoped she was still going the right way. She slipped, half-losing her zouri. She paused, to refit it to her foot, and the footsteps did not.
Betobeto-san, the Footstep Youkai
Want a sneak peek? Here’s a glimpse from chapter 3 of Kitsune-Mochi (sequel to Kitsune-Tsuki)….Excerpt from KITSUNE-MOCHI
I did a fair amount of research for Kitsune-Tsuki and Kitsune-Mochi, and some was much easier than others.
There’s a lot of research involved in any historical piece. I heard Susan Spann, author of Claws of the Cat, say that she had spent over two hours looking up historic ikebana seasonal arrangements, just to put the correct flowers (hydrangeas) in a scene. I myself spent considerable time researching the histories of such commonplace things as daikon and goldfish. But sometimes the source material is hard to come by, especially in English.
Adventures in Translation: “Purple fine Doo number”