Aimée Goes to England, Contract Signed/Sent Back

Ah, the Casket Girls, those irrepressible immigrants of a sort that ex-President Trump would probably disapprove, have come back in the news. To quote myself from a previous post, [t]hese are the ladies sent [to New Orleans] from France in 1728, by orders of King Louis XV, to marry the colony’s most influential — and richest — men, to induce them to settle down and raise families. But who had brought with them the one named Aimée who had special dietary preferences, which the rest of them now shared too. And so they continue to this day, their original story, “Casket Girls,” first published on April 10 2014 in DAILY SCIENCE FICTION.

Today’s news concerns that very tale (cf. January 31, 25 2023, et al., for the original, specific story; many, many more for “Casket Suite” and other tellings of varying titles starring the ladies). To wit, in today’s email via the UK’s West Avenue Publishing: Thank you for submitting your work to us for consideration. We’re delighted to let you know that your work has been selected for inclusion in A BROOD OF VAMPIRES.

Please sign and return the attached contract along with a photo and an author bio. Please aim to have this completed by the end of the month.

Thus they get around, Aimée and her fellow filles à les caissettes, or “Casket Girls,” so named for the small sea chests they had brought with them for their possessions. World travelers, they, originally based on a New Orleanian urban legend, and now off to England to take a bow in their latest anthology presentation. As has the contract sent with them, signed and sent back this afternoon with the other materials requested.

With one final note: The anthology is due to be published on the 1st of October.