Hallowzine publishes The Hag

So thrilled to be in the third issue of Hallowzine!

Flip to page 18 for The Hag.

Love art next to my piece. Candy corn will kill us all :)

Honestly, happening across this cool sugary spooky zine in the interweb just made me happy and my short flash getting accepted and the kind words of the editors, Laura & Lindsay, sent me spinning.

”We loved the pace of this, and you are so right, Hags are criminally underrated. You manage to do a lot in a short piece, and every line is really well constructed and pushed us along so fast to the next line-- I had to read it a few times because I was so excited I just kept breezing through, and I wanted to savor it a little more.”

Every acceptance just keeps me going. The Hag was inspired by a vivid South Carolina Sea Island myth I read about in Raw Head, Bloody Bones by Mary E. Lyons. I like to imagine the monster’s perspective. Especially if the monster is female.

Hallowzine, founded in the belly of a pandemic, is an annual digital zine focused on Halloween.

What a great way to celebrate Halloween!

Morforwyn published in The Wild Hunt - Is it safe? Issue # 2

My flash fiction piece, Morforwyn, was published in The Wild Hunt - Is it safe? Issue # 2 on July 28, 2020.

Look at the fantastic art below. Have to ask the editor who the visual artist is.

The Wild Hunt posted on twitter the following sentiment which I think sums up my reason for writing this story.

Mermaids are not usually thought of as dangerous. Nor is it in the universal folklore that humankind did terrible things to them but of course we did. (That’s if they existed).

I was especially inspired by this cryptozoology I came across about Welsh mermaids. (I am a quarter Welsh and would love someday to visit Wales but who knows now. Some mermaids started out as giants, they diminished as everything seems to do when encountering certain elements of humanity.

My flash fiction piece, Detached, was published in Molotov Cocktail on January 31, 2020

My piece Detached was published in Molotov Cocktail on January 31, 2020 in Volume 10, Issue 12. What a way to start the new year!

The cover art for Volume 10, Issue 12 of Molotov Cocktail

I actually wrote this story and submitted it to Molotov’s Flash Monster 2019 contest but it did not make it into their Top 10. But I did receive a "Close But No Cigar" shout-out on the site.

I never would have written this story without that contest. I always wanted to write about the penanggalan but Molotov gave me the push.

I discovered the penanggalan through D&D. Its illustration was always one of more grotesque ones. But it also haunted me. And then I found the Fiend Folio at my childhood home.

None of the origin stories I read completely satisfied me. I fixated on the fact that a penanggalan will remain unnaturally beautiful throughout her life.

I’ve always wondered what made a woman choose to become a penanggalan (and if it was a choice). I examined the physical price of beauty and the extremes some go to attain that irreproachable veneer.

Hope you enjoy!

My flash fiction piece, The Eyes, was published in Molotov Cocktail’s Flash Legend Mega Issue

My flash fiction piece, The Eyes, was published in Molotov Cocktail’s Flash Legend Mega Issue.

The craziest thing about this is Mark’s (my husband) piece placed in the top ten of their Flash Legend contest as well. The editors commented that --

“We also saw a Molotov first, with two people who apparently live at the same address each scoring a slot in the Top 10 (must be something in the water)."

Once we saw that scrolling down on the contest winners’ announcement page, we hoped they were talking about us.

And they were!

My story
The Eyes – No. 4
https://themolotovcocktail.com/vol-10/flash-legend/the-eyes/

Archived Copy

Note about this story’s inspiration - I wrote it about The Deogen legend in the Sonian Forest .

Mark’s story and first published piece below
La Puerta – No. 9 (a suitable musical placement)
https://themolotovcocktail.com/vol-10/flash-legend/la-puerta/

Archived Copy

Also, super exciting, both of our stories will be included in Molotov Cocktail’s Fifth Annual Prize Winners Anthology (details on that in late summer).

We’re looking forward to reading the entire issue.

The Molotov Cocktail is a Portland-based electronic literary journal serving as a projectile for incendiary flash fiction of the dark and offbeat variety. We believe flash fiction should ignite on contact and engulf the page.

Check them out on Twitter too.

My short story, Nocnitsa, was published in The Molotov Cocktail today!

My short story Nocnitsa was published in The Molotov Cocktail in their Issue 10.1 today - April 9, 2019!

They called it a “vivid and compelling piece”!

Archived Copy

Inspiration - I don’t remember how I happened across this creature. It may have been while researching nightmares during a relentless insomnia bout. But I was struck by its physiology – an ethereal being composed of smoke and a screeching voice. It caused me to imagine a lower physical body of vapor and sounds, the opposite of a physical self. According to folklore, she could shape shift into a raven, but that sounded too generic to me. I had recently become fascinated with the Vampire Finch, a blood sucker, which seemed more fitting for the Nocnitsa. Then I began wondering what specific kind of rage would make one into such a creature. When your body and everyone else fails you. And out of all that came my story of Nocnitsa.

About
The Molotov Cocktail is an Portland-based electronic literary journal serving as a projectile for incendiary flash fiction of the dark and offbeat variety. We believe flash fiction should ignite on contact and engulf the page.

Check them out on Twitter too.

My short story, The World is Inside, was published in Timeless Tales' Snow Queen Issue

My short story, The World is Inside, was published in the wonderful Timeless Tales’ Snow Queen Issue on December 20, 2016. The whole issue revolves around The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen.

You can read the whole issue here –
https://simplebooklet.com/snowqueen

I went futuristic for this one. I enjoy pushing myself into new genres and short stories are some of the best ways to approach a new genre.
 

A little bit of how / why I approached this fairy tale the way I did -- 
What captured my interest in Andersen’s original tale was how insular Gerda and Kai’s life seemed before the Snow Queen took Kai away. I wanted to exaggerate and emphasize that isolation. For my way into a new twist on an old story, I usually begin with the physical architecture, a visual scaffolding allowing me to build a new narrative. I started to imagine where they lived as two ultra modern high-rises with their communal connecting space as a suspended garden house pod. I’ve always been fascinated by pedestrian bridges and with the idea that they could be retooled as a living space. The original tale is from Gerda’s point of view, so I wrote a story where Gerda was part of the problem and Kai’s need for escape was understandable and necessary.

About Timeless Tales: 

Timeless Tales is a digital magazine exclusively publishing retellings of fairy tales and classic myths since 2013. http://www.timelesstalesmagazine.com/

Be sure to follow them on Twitter  - https://twitter.com/timelesstales1
And like them on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/TimelessTalesMagazine

"Home is where the bone is" published in Timeless Tales #5 - Baba Yaga Issue

My short story, Home is where the bone is, about how Baba Yaga would handle hipsters and gentrification was published on November 15th in Timeless Tales Issue #5 dedicated to everyone’s favorite crone.

You can click here to read.
http://www.timelesstalesmagazine.com/#!baba-yaga/c1qiu

There’s a download the PDF button in the left hand corner of the cover in case you want to take Baba with you.

Trevor Merrill designed all this great art!

While you can read the issue for free, in order to hear an audio version of all the stories in this issue, you will need to become a patron. Linkage here – http://www.timelesstalesmagazine.com/patronage

A little about Timeless Tales --
"Timeless Tales brings new life to the classics. Our authors spin the fairy tales and myths we already know into fresh stories with unexpected twists." 

Please check out their sites below, follow them on twitter and like them on Facebook.

www.fairytalenewsblog.blogspot.com

http://www.timelesstalesmagazine.com

Trevor Merrill designed all this great art!

My poem, The Rusalka, was published in Issue 12 of Gingerbread House today.

My poem, The Rusalka, was published in Issue 12 of Gingerbread House today.

Alongside this stunning photo, “Ursula” by Katelizabeth.

Artwork: Katelizabeth, “Ursula”
Website: http://katelizabethphotography.co.uk/