Minerva Cerridwen's Blog, page 9
August 8, 2020
Release of Innovation anthology
The Innovation anthology is out today!
It contains 120 pieces of flash fiction with a speculative element and queer representation, including my story “The Emperor’s New Helmet”, which I’m proud to say received an honorable mention in the contest. There are also stories by my friends E.D.E. Bell, Ava Kelly, Ether Nepenthes, and L.S. Reinholt. The judges’ choices were announced here and we also know the winners now: third place went to “Antlers” by K.A. Masters, second place to “Dragonslayer” by E.M. Hamill, and first place to “The Fleshsmith and the Metalsmith” by Devon Widmer. Click on the names to read more about the winning stories on the Queer Sci Fi website.
Congratulations to the winners, judges’ choices, fellow honorable mentions and everyone who made it into the book!
You can buy Innovation on Amazon US, Amazon Deutschland (and of course all the other Amazons), iBooks, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo—and add it to you to-read shelf on Goodreads and The StoryGraph.
Queer Sci Fi is also hosting a giveaway that runs until August 21, and on the same page you can read some excerpts from the book and see the full list of authors.
IN-NO-VA-TION (Noun)
1) A new idea, method, or device.
2) The introduction of something new.
3) The application of better solutions to meet unarticulated needs.
Three definitions to inspire writers around the world and an unlimited number of possible stories to tell. Here are 120 of our favorites.
Innovation features 300-word speculative flash fiction stories from across the rainbow spectrum, from the minds of the writers of Queer Sci Fi.
Keep your eyes peeled for some draconically big news next week!
Love,
Minerva
July 1, 2020
Honorable Mention!
Hi!
I’m just writing a very quick note to let you know that my entry in the Queer Sci Fi Flash Fiction Contest has gotten an Honorable Mention! My entry was The Emperor’s New Helmet, the 300-word story in the Innovation anthology that I talked about in my previous blog post.
I feel so honoured! You can see the full list of Honorable Mentions here (click). L.S. Reinholt got one too for her story A Dire Need.
June 15, 2020
Release of Neon Horror and a flash fiction acceptance!
Hello!
So… Since my author copies were already on the way, I was going to wait a couple of days and announce the release of the Neon Horror anthology with a selfie of me holding the book. Then the postal service decided that actually delivering packages was so 2019, and subsequently it got kind of awkward to make a release post without that selfie, because the book had already been out for 2 weeks… But now I have some other news as well, so this is the perfect time to finally write this post.
And since acting as if everything is going as planned is a 2020 mood, here we go…
Wonderful news: the beautifully printed Neon Horror: an Anthology of Terrors by Creators from the LGBTQIA+ Community is out now!!!
This full-colour anthology contains art and short stories in the horror genre. The Lost by L.S. Reinholt and me (aside from having a title that the mail clearly found very inspiring) is about two travellers in space whose logs and maps have been erased. When they encounter another ship, they hope they’ve found a solution, but instead lose even more…
Buy Neon Horror in The Haunted Bouncy Castle webshop!
The same webshop also has a lot of fun and colourful queer horror objects, ranging from cups to pillows to pins to prints for on your wall, so be sure to check it out. They have a Pride sale of 10% off until the end of this month.
Then, today’s very fresh news is that my flash story The Emperor’s New Helmet is accepted in this year’s anthology of the Queer Sci Fi flash fiction contest. The theme was “Innovation” and you can see the full list of the 120 included titles here on the Queer Sci Fi website. It also includes stories by my friends E.D.E. Bell, Ava Kelly, and L.S. Reinholt!
I finished reading last year’s edition, Migration, only a few weeks ago and was surprised by the great quality of all those stories, so I look forward to reading Innovation as well. It will be out on August 8, 2020, after the honorable mentions, judges’ picks and winners have been announced. In the meantime, I certainly recommend Migration if you’re in the mood for some bite-sized stories (all under 300 words).
And for even more flash fiction, I will refer to Paranatellonta, where we posted the 284th free photo-and-story combo today for your enjoyment.
That’s all the news for now!
Love,
Minerva
May 4, 2020
Release of Community of Magic Pens
On this May the 4th (may the force be with you), we are officially welcoming Community of Magic Pens into the world!
The anthology, edited by E.D.E. Bell, contains 40 short stories (including flash fiction and poetry) in a wide range of different genres. All of them about Magic Pens, in many imaginative shapes and forms.
My story in this book, Memory Malfuction, is about an android applying for a job as an intergalactic antiques salesman. The company bosses, however, have their doubts…
You can add the book on Goodreads and buy it on:
Atthis Arts website – Amazon US – Amazon.nl – iBooks – Nook – Kobo
If you scroll down on Atthis Arts’ website, you can also find a Magic Pens poster which you can download for free! It was designed by Ava Kelly and features the title in the languages spoken by the book’s authors.
The publisher also provides a cover description for the visually impaired on the same page.
Blurb:
Eclectic, imaginative, and unexpected, Community of Magic Pens features forty genre-spanning flash and short stories—including fantasy, humor, science fiction, romance, historical fiction, satire, and mystery—bringing together a rich group of diverse voices from a wide range of backgrounds and intersections.
Fountain pens, markers and ink, charcoals, spy pens, a braille writer, a printing press, virtual reality, and a supernatural pizza: whether revealing unspoken truths, fighting injustice, or finding friendship and love, our pens have power. Join us as a recent graduate of superhero school struggles to understand her gift, a disabled android interviews for a job, a queen’s conscripted artist must pull reality from illustrations on parchment, and a grandmother’s secret room is…better kept a secret. Tales of struggle and triumph, compassion and hope: Community of Magic Pens is a celebration of our shared story.
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I hope you’re all well!
Lots of love,
Minerva
March 24, 2020
Big Announcement!!!
Hello!
I am very proud to announce that my novella The Dragon of Ynys will be re-published by Atthis Arts!
After lots of hard work on revisions, we’ve arrived on a completely new edition with a brand new epilogue and afterword. But don’t fear, all the elements you loved are still there, like Sir Violet the aro ace knight, Snap the dragon, and their grand fairy tale adventure.
We’ll have fun updates as we move forward, including a beautiful cover by artist Ulla Thynell—I’m absolutely smitten with it.
For now, I’d like to invite you to the Atthis Arts AMA (Ask Me Anything) on Reddit Fantasy this Thursday March 26, starting at 11:00 CT/17:00 CET. We’ll talk more about The Dragon of Ynys and of course about the upcoming Atthis Arts anthology Community of Magic Pens, which contains my short story “Memory Malfunction”.
Don’t worry if you can only pop in later: all the posts will still be there!
The AMA is part of r/Fantasy Virtual Con and there is a Facebook Event to remind you of it here.
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February 26, 2020
An Interview in Space & News about Magic Pens
Hello!
I’ve got a lot to tell!
First of all, I gave an interview in space—more specifically, on the good ship Space Opera Libretti. You can read it on Jennifer Lee Rossman’s website here. Remember that you can find more info about Space Opera Libretti here—add it on Goodreads and buy it on Amazon. I really feel like it deserves more buzz than it’s currently getting, because who doesn’t want more funny, musical stories in space?
Secondly, some news about Community of Magic Pens! The cover has been announced!!!
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This beautiful, happy piece of art was made by Artistic Journey.
There is also an official list now of the stories and authors that will be included in this anthology: check it out here! My story really is in great company! Release is expected in early May and you can still preorder.
To stay up to date with news from publisher Atthis Arts, you can subscribe to their newsletter on the bottom left of their website.
I’d like to conclude this update with news from my friend Ava Kelly! Their fantasy novel Havesskadi has been re-released this week by NineStar Press. I recommend it to everyone who likes epic fantasy, dragons, and/or ace characters! Read all about it on Ava’s website.
February 6, 2020
Part of the Community of Magic Pens
Hello!
I received my first story acceptance of 2020!
My short story Memory Malfunction will be part of Community of Magic Pens, an Atthis Arts anthology. (You might know that publishing house from last year’s Five Minutes at Hotel Stormcove!)
I’m delighted to work with them again and to be included in what will be a collection of amazing, thoughtful stories from many different perspectives. And full of magic pens! You can already preorder the book here; release is expected in May.
The theme of magic pens is close to my heart. I remember scribbling somewhere in my school notes that “the secret of the writer is a good pen”. And it’s true: even in a time when most writing happens at a keyboard, a beautiful pen that’s fun to write with can inspire new stories or ease the brainstorming process. For many of us, pens are a tool that makes our storytelling magic possible.
And that power is definitely not limited to storytelling magic, as you’ll see in Community of Magic Pens!
January 6, 2020
Release the Space Divas!
Space Opera Libretti: An Anthology of Modern Comedic Space Opera with Arias. It’s quite a mouthful, but perfect to sing dramatically. And that’s the whole point.
More importantly, the book is out now on Kindle and in paperback!!!
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The problem with space opera is that there’s not enough opera in it, and certainly a dearth of coloratura diva sopranos in the third act. This anthology sets out to fix that by placing the music front-and-center. We’ve created a glittery disco-ball of fun. 20 stories designed to amuse. Some actually take place in space. There’s even an actual opera in here. We didn’t hold back. Time-traveling cats that quote opera… Intergalactic singing competitions… An endless song that becomes the soundtrack to countless generations of rebellions… And, of course, invisible space bears made of black holes that may or may not be extinct.
The editors are Jennifer Lee Rossman (who also co-edited Love & Bubbles) and Brian McNett.
Get Space Opera Libretti from Amazon US (Kindle|paperback), Amazon Deutschland (Kindle|paperback), or from any other country’s Amazon, and add it on Goodreads.
Stars from the Stars is one of the stories I’m proudest of having written so far. When I’m reading or watching space operas, the scenes I most enjoy often take place on markets, at parties, in casinos, … where a lot of very different aliens can be encountered. Seeing all those imaginative body shapes, the varied ways in which the aliens communicate, the hints of different cultures and peculiar aesthetics… All those things make it feel like I’m properly in space, ready to immerse myself in that bubbling atmosphere of diversity and to learn about unknown civilisations. Since Stars from the Stars tells the story of a siren who competes in a universal talent show, I could explore a similarly wide range of extraordinary aliens and the acts they might perform in such a competition. Those were a lot of fun to come up with, and I hope readers will have just as much fun discovering them!
January 1, 2020
Happy New Year!
I wish you all a wonderful 2020!!!
[image error]2019’s Christmas card by Minerva, font by Typia Nesia
Thus ends the decade in which I first became a published writer. 2019 brought no less than 5 new published stories!
[image error]2019 publications: 1) “The Adventure of the Purloined Piston Valve” in “Sherlock Holmes: Adventures in the Realms of Steampunk”, co-written with L.S. Reinholt; 2) “Dragon in the Cove” in “Five Minutes at Hotel Stormcove”, co-written with L.S.; 3) “Not How We Planned It” in “Migration”; 4) “Chasing Words” in “Sherlock Holmes is Everywhere!”, essay co-written with L.S.; 5) not on the photo: “Invite a Creature” in “Gay Apparel” (only available in ebook format via the authors).
2019 was also the year in which we sadly had to say goodbye to Less Than Three Press. At this moment, my novella The Dragon of Ynys is still unavailable, but in the shadows a lot is stirring. To be continued later in this new year…
What I can tell you now is that 2020 has already taken off with a new publication! Space Opera Libretti will be available on Kindle on January 4 and can be ordered as a paperback now!!! Preorder the ebook here, find the paperback here and add it on Goodreads here. I’ll do a proper announcement post later this week.
And like on every 1st (and 15th) day of the month, there is a new photo by Fie and flash story by me on Paranatellonta! Enjoy!
December 15, 2019
A surprise for the holidays: Gay Apparel
‘Tis the season to be jolly!
I have a brand new publication in Gay Apparel: A Queer Holiday Flash Fiction Anthology!
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A queer holiday anthology project collecting stories from all over the world. Includes contemporary, historical romance, space epic, weird western, post-apocalypse, gay, lesbian, trans, ace, neurodivergent, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Solstice, New Years, and some new holidays, too.
With 24 stories, it can be read as a fun advent calendar with one story every day running up to Christmas, or all at once to bring you fully in the holiday mood.
You can add it on Goodreads here.
My story is called Invite a Creature. No Christmas trees were harmed in the writing of this piece…
Other authors in this anthology include Rachel Sharp, Rose Sinclair, Amy Michelle, Ether Nepenthes (who were all part of 2016’s Unburied Fables), Jennifer Lee Rossman (co-editor of upcoming Space Opera Libretti), Ava Kelly (who was also in 2019’s Migration and will be in 2020’s Neon Horror), and L.S. Reinholt (my co-writer in several projects, including 2019’s Five Minutes at Hotel Stormcove).
As you see, the holidays are very much a family affair even in the book world! Or perhaps this is what happens when a project comes to life on Twitter, where we’re all huddled together like penguins in the cold. Big thanks to Rachel Sharp for coming up with the idea and editing all the stories. The cosy cover was made by Rose Sinclair.
Of course your big question is now: where can I get this book?!
Well, Gay Apparel is not being sold at any of the traditional places. Instead, you can get it through me.
How does that work?
Please send an email to minervacerridwen at gmail dot com with subject “Gay Apparel”. Show me proof that you have made a recent donation of $5 or more to an LGBTQIA-supporting charity of your choice. By recent, I mean less than 5 days before the email. Also tell me if you prefer epub, pdf or mobi format.
If you can’t donate (e.g. because you need a credit card but you don’t have one, or you don’t know any suitable charities, or any other kind of reason) but you still want a copy, please contact me anyway so that we can find a solution together.
There’s also a Twitter hashtag where you can see people talking about the stories and where you can find where to donate if you’d prefer to get your copy from another author: #GayApparelStories. Feel free to use it when you talk about the book and join the fun!
Happy holidays!
Minerva
