A.G. Slatter's Blog, page 4

Witchy Packs…

Now that the copy edits are in for The Crimson Road, I can start ticking other things off the very long catch-up list.

For example, writing the next newsletter and organising a giveaway of two witchy packs… Each contains a copy of The Briar Book of the Dead novel (@titanbooks), the novella Of Sorrow and Such (@tordotcompub), and the No Good Deed chapbook (@brainjarpress)… Oh, and a bone pen.

Please stand by as I get my ducks, owls, bats and cats in a row…

Also, to be in the running, sign up for the newsletter at my website – oh, that’s here! A little pinned banner thingy should drop down when you hit my site and allow you to do the thing!

 

Some love over at The Conversation

I’m both delighted and deeply grateful to see Sourdough and Other Stories on this list over at The Conversation – named as one of the best Australian books of the 21st century. Thank you, Dr Danielle Wood!

 

The original edition of this mosaic collection was published by Tartarus Press. It’s currently out of print until June 2026, when Titan Books will re-release it with the other Sourdough world mosaics, The Bitterwood Bible and Other Recountings and The Tallow-Wife and Other Tales.

The Sourdough Universe Letters

Greetings, readers and friends of the Sourdough Universe!

I’m offering ten (10) of these “things”.

Each artefact has original art by Kathleen Jennings – marginalia, sort of – let’s call it “Jenningsalia”.

And there will be a micro-fiction or letter or shopping list or ransom demand or diary entry or recipe for a spell written by me at your request.

Want a letter from one of my characters in either of the gothic fantasy novels, All the Murmuring Bones, The Path of Thorns, or The Briar Book of the Dead? Or even the forthcoming The Crimson Road?

Want to know what happened to an obscure character in the mosaic collections Sourdough and Other Stories, The Bitterwood Bible and Other Recountings, or The Tallow-Wife and Other Tales?

Want to know something more about Patience Gideon from the novella Of Sorrow and Such? Or Selke from The Bone Lantern novella?

Want a folktale about mer-queens, wolf-wives, leech lords, shifters, trolls, or the Briar Witches and all their sins?

The true history of the dead bride in “No Good Deed”? Or what might happen to summer husbands left to roam too long in the forest?

 

Well, these little things your heart desires can be yours. Email me at me@angelaslatter.com to discuss the price, etc, and what you’d like created for you and who you’d most like to hear from in the Sourdough Universe.

 

And yes, there are better photos of individual images over at instagram…

New Service: Ask Me Anything

Art by Kathleen Jennings

NEWS FLASH: New Service

I’m trialling a new service from the start of June, which is the Ask Me Anything zoom. You can ask me anything about writing and publishing during a 40 minute zoom call.

The fee is $75.00. If you’d like a longer session, we can discuss a price for that.

So, you can ask about plotting, fixing dialogue, writing better characters, approaching agents and publishers, finding markets, organising your writing day, getting things finished, etc. I won’t read anything (that’s the other services), but I will answer all questions about writing and publishing.

Email me on me@angelaslatter.com to make an appointment.

 

Autographed copies of Corpselight and Restoration

Well, it looks like Restoration – the third Verity Fassbinder book – is out of print. You can still find it in a few places, but if anyone would like an autographed copy I have a few on the shelves. Shipping for Australia ONLY because the price for overseas is ridiculous.

I’ve got:

· 2 x trade paperbacks: $30.00 per book + postage $15.00 = $45.00

· 6 x B format/MMP: $20.00 per book + postage $15.00 = $35.00

To note: if you buy multiple copies, the postage will be recalculated.

I also have 2 x B format/MMP of Corpselight (the second Verity Fassbinder book): $20.00 per book + postage $15.00 = $35.00.

Email on me@angelaslatter.com if you’re interested!

Narrative Species podcast: The Briar Book of the Dead

I had the pleasure of speaking with the wonderful and erudite Rick Kleffel over at Narrative Species about The Briar Book of the Dead, witches, bureaucracy, quilting, and other weirdly related writing things – and not making them boring. And me, saying “You know” far too much.

Go here! Make a cuppa and get some biscuits.

The Briar Book of the Dead – Locus Review

This is one of my favourite reviews of my work ever – it’s wonderful when someone just gets what you’re trying to do! Thanks, Ian Mond.

 

The Briar Book of the Dead, A.G. Slatter (Titan Books, 978-1-80336-454-4, $16.99, 368pp, tp) February 2024.

When I reviewed A.G. (Angela) Slatter’s 2022 novel The Path of Thorns, I said she was one of the best contemporary fantasists in the field. But I was wrong; my vision was too narrow. Angela is simply one of the best contemporary writers of fiction, regardless of genre. Deep down, I already knew this, but Slatter’s new novel, The Briar Book of the Dead, solidified those thoughts. Set in Slatter’s Sourdough Universe, this tremendously well-paced and deeply layered novel showcases her attitude to storytelling, not just the craft but also how narratives shape a community, a society.

You don’t need to have read the previous Sourdough stories or the novella Of Sorrow and Such (which acts as an origin story for the Briar witches) to enjoy The Briar Book of the Dead (though, obviously, I strongly recommend that you do). One of Slatter’s many skills as a spinner of tales is to tell you what you need to know about her world without lumbering you with exposition or bogging you down in the admittedly fascinating history of her world. This, again, comes back to the importance of storytelling to the inhabitants of Lodellan and outlying villages like Silverton, where the novel takes place. The tales told to El­lie Briar by her Aunt when she was a child are as much fairytales as they are oral histories. And the same goes for the story Ellie is narrating – a true account of the Briar witches with all the mythic qualities of a fable.

Ellie informs us that unlike her cousins, Nia, Eira, and Audra, and her great aunts, Gisela, the Briar Witch, and Maud, the Steward of Silverton, she doesn’t have a magical bone in her body. No matter how often she pays the ‘‘red price,’’ a ritual involving a sharp blade and her forearm ‘‘littered with cuts, mostly shallow, all red,’’ she can’t per­form a spell. Ellie feels the shame of not being a witch, regularly reminded by Nia of her failures. But when Maud abruptly dies, Ellie is elevated into the role of Steward, a position she has trained for alongside her now departed great-aunt. And while Ellie takes on the role with great skill and aplomb, she is still freighted with doubt. Can she be the Steward that Silverton deserves if she can’t perform magic? Will the townspeople respect her? Those concerns are pushed to the background when Gisela (also abruptly) dies and is replaced by Audra as the Briar Witch, and the town is assailed by the revenant of a ‘‘lifeless child left too long out of its grave, unclaimed by a parent’s name.’’ The moment that changes everything for Ellie is when she stumbles at Great-Aunt Gisela’s funeral, striking her forehead and drawing blood. When her visions clear, Ellie sees figures in the crowd:

filling impossibly slim spaces left between parents and children, husbands and wives, siblings and lovers and friends. I recog­nise some, but… they’re faded somehow, washed out… ghostly.

Yes. Ellie can see ghosts. This is extraordinary, not just because Ellie and magic don’t typically mix but because there haven’t been ghosts in Silverton for three hundred years since they were banished by the first Briar Witch.

If I’ve failed to mention several important plot beats (Ellie’s feelings for Dai Carabhille, the tragic death of Deirdre Baines, the unexpected arrival of a ‘‘god-hound’’ to Silverton), it’s because Slatter, as I’ve now come to expect, loves a well-fed narrative. That’s not to say I take Slatter’s writerly chops for granted, far from it. I remain gobsmacked at her skill at weaving together multiple threads while also fleshing out her characters and themes. Because plot-driven fiction is so linked to genre and the mainstream, this sort of elite skill doesn’t always get the recognition it deserves. Well, I’m here to recognise it.

On the subject of theme, like her previous two novels – All the Murmuring Bones and The Path of Thorns – The Briar Book of the Dead is about what it means to be an independent woman in a theocratic, male-dominated society. As a matriarchy, Silverton would seem to be a haven for freethinking women. But as Ellie knows, the Briar family is only tolerated by the Archbishop of Lodellan because they’ve acted as a protec­tion to the Leech Lords for three centuries. Even their stewardship of Silverton relies heavily on the residents fearing and respecting the magic wielded by the Briars. This especially resonates for Ellie because she can’t perform magic; she has to rely on her wits and her judgement (only further complicated when she becomes an advocate for ghosts). The way she confronts the revenant of Deidre’s stillborn baby is symbolic of her courage and her desire to help others. It’s a nuanced and balanced portrait of strength and fearlessness, adding Ellie to a list of Slatter’s heroines, along with Miren O’Malley and Asher Todd. The Briar Book of the Dead is everything I love about Slat­ter’s fiction: the craft, the passion for narrative, and the foregrounding of strong, smart, singular women. More, please.

 

Source https://locusmag.com/2024/03/ian-mond...

The Vigil audiobook is out!

Happy happy joy joy!

Well, lookee here! Vigil is out in audiobook form!

Thanks to @WFHowse and Taryn Ryan for bringing Verity to life!

If you’re into supernatural crime/urban fantasy and sweary girl detectives, give Vigil a go.

To be followed soon by Corpselight (24 April) and Restoration (some time in June).

All the pretty postcards

The wonderful Kathleen Jennings has been hard at work on some lovely postcards for the launch of The Briar Book of the Dead.

Miren from All the Murmuring Bones.

Asher from The Path of Thorns.

Ellie from The Briar Book of the Dead.

Launching! The Briar Book of the Dead.

‘Tis I! The mysterious A.G. Slatter cosplaying as plain old Angela Slatter with an announcement.

The launch for The Briar Book of the Dead is happening on 13 Feb 2024 at Brisbane Square Library! Free but pls book a seat so we can cater cupcakery! Arriving at 6pm for a 6.30 start.

Kathleen Jennings will be officiating and books will be sold by Pulp Fiction Booksellers.

Book here.