Mythic Journeys edited by Paula Guran

I am a huge lover of myths and legends, so am a very happy to be included in “Mythic Journeys: Myths & Legends Retold” from Night Shade Books, edited by Paula Guran. My story is a reworking of the Minotaur myth, with Thesea instead of Theseus. It was originally published in Interzone (Issue 246) and reprinted in Steve Haynes’ Best British Fantasy 2014.

Table of Contents:

Introduction: A Map or Maybe Not

“Lost Lake” – Emma Straub and Peter Straub
“White Lines on a Green Field” – Catherynne M. Valente
“Trickster” – Steven Barnes and Tananarive Due
“Our Talons Can Crush Galaxies” – Brooke Bolander
“A Memory of Wind” – Rachel Swirsky
“Leda” – M. Rickert
“Chivalry” – Neil Gaiman
“The God of Au” – Ann Leckie
“Faint Voices, Increasingly Desperate” – Anya Johanna DeNiro
“Ogres of East Africa” – Sofia Samatar
“Ys” – Aliette de Bodard
“The Gorgon” – Tanith Lee
“Merlin Dreams in the Mondream Wood” – Charles de Lint
“Calypso in Berlin” – Elizabeth Hand
“Seeds” – Lisa L. Hannett and Angela Slatter
“Wonder-Worker-of-the-World” – Nisi Shawl
“Thesea and Astaurius” – Priya Sharma
“Foxfire, Foxfire” – Yoon Ha Lee
“Owl vs. the Neighborhood Watch” – Darcie Little Badger
“How to Survive an Epic Journey” – Tansy Rayner Roberts
“Simargl and the Rowan Tree” – Ekaterina Sedia
“The Ten Suns” – Ken Liu
“Armless Maidens of the American West” – Genevieve Valentine
“Give Her Honey When You Hear Her Scream” – Maria Dahvana Headley
“Zhyuin” – John Shirley
“Immortal Snake” – Rachel Pollack
“A Wolf in Iceland Is the Child of a Lie” – Sonya Taaffe

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Mythic Journeys

I am a huge lover of myths and legends, so am a very happy bunny to be included in “Mythic Journeys: Myths & Legends Retold” from Night Shade Books, edited by Paula Guran.

Table of Contents:

Introduction: A Map or Maybe Not

“Lost Lake” – Emma Straub and Peter Straub
“White Lines on a Green Field” – Catherynne M. Valente
“Trickster” – Steven Barnes and Tananarive Due
“Our Talons Can Crush Galaxies” – Brooke Bolander
“A Memory of Wind” – Rachel Swirsky
“Leda” – M. Rickert
“Chivalry” – Neil Gaiman
“The God of Au” – Ann Leckie
“Faint Voices, Increasingly Desperate” – Anya Johanna DeNiro
“Ogres of East Africa” – Sofia Samatar
“Ys” – Aliette de Bodard
“The Gorgon” – Tanith Lee
“Merlin Dreams in the Mondream Wood” – Charles de Lint
“Calypso in Berlin” – Elizabeth Hand
“Seeds” – Lisa L. Hannett and Angela Slatter
“Wonder-Worker-of-the-World” – Nisi Shawl
“Thesea and Astaurius” – Priya Sharma
“Foxfire, Foxfire” – Yoon Ha Lee
“Owl vs. the Neighborhood Watch” – Darcie Little Badger
“How to Survive an Epic Journey” – Tansy Rayner Roberts
“Simargl and the Rowan Tree” – Ekaterina Sedia
“The Ten Suns” – Ken Liu
“Armless Maidens of the American West” – Genevieve Valentine
“Give Her Honey When You Hear Her Scream” – Maria Dahvana Headley
“Zhyuin” – John Shirley
“Immortal Snake” – Rachel Pollack
“A Wolf in Iceland Is the Child of a Lie” – Sonya Taaffe

 

My story is a reworking of the Minotaur myth, with Thesea instead of Theseus. It was originally published in Interzone (Issue 246) and reprinted in Steve Haynes’ Best British Fantasy 2014.

“Daddy, you’re telling it wrong.”
“Am I?”
Thesea smiles at her husband and daughter.
“You tell it then,” he says to the child.
“King Minos prayed to Poseidon, who sent him a magic bull but Minos didn’t sacrifice it like he was supposed to, so Aphrodite made Minos’ wife fall in love with it.”
Only the gods inflict love as a punishment, Thesea thinks.
“The bull and queen made a baby called the Minotaur.” Thesea’s glad that she’s too young to be concerned with the details. She bares her teeth and draws her fingers into claws. “It was a monster.”
“The Minotaur had a bull’s head on a man’s body.” Their son; older, placid, lacking his sibling’s drama.
“I’m telling it. Minos made Daedalus, his inventor, build the labyrinth to hold the Minotaur. He fed it human sacrifices that were sent from Athens.”
“Really?” her father asks.
“Yes, then Athens sent a prince called Theseus who was so handsome that Ariadne, Minos’ daughter, gave him a sword to kill the Minotaur and string to find his way out of the maze.”
She has no interest in being Ariadne. She leaps about pretending to be Theseus, imaginary sword in hand.
“Calm down,” Thesea puts an arm around her and draws her in. “You’ve all got it wrong. Listen and I’ll tell you what really happened.”

-Thesea and Astaurius

If you want to know a little more, you can find it here.

The Best British Fantasy 2014, edited by Steve Haynes

I am thrilled to be included alongside some amazing writers in this anthology from UK publishers, Salt.  Big thanks to Steve Haynes and to Andy Cox, who originally published “Thesea and Astaurius” in Interzone (Issue 246).

Table of Contents:

PRIYA SHARMA; Thesea and Astaurius; JESS HYSLOP; Triolet; GEORGINA BRUCE; Cat World; TIM MAUGHAN; Zero Hours; DAVID TURNBULL; Aspects of Aries; HELEN JACKSON; Build Guide; E. J. SWIFT; Saga’s Children; CAROLE JOHNSTONE; Ad Astra; JIM HAWKINS; Sky Leap – Earth Flame; GUY HALEY; iRobot; CHRIS BUTLER; The Animator; V. H. LESLIE; The Cloud Cartographer; SARAH BROOKS; Trans-Siberia: An Account of a Journey ; NINA ALLAN; Higher Up;

Purchase a copy.

Interzone 246 and Black Static 34

The May–June issue of Interzone is now out and contains new fiction by Steven J. Dines, Jess Hyslop, Nigel Brown, Aliette de Bodard, Lavie Tidhar, Georgina Bruce, and James White Award winner Shannon Fay. I’m also very happy that it contains  my story “Thesea and Astaurius”.

 The cover art is by Jim Burns, and interior colour illustrations are by Richard Wagner, Martin Hanford, David Gentry, Vincent Sammy, and Wayne Haag. All the usual features are present: Ansible Link by David Langford (news and obits); Mutant Popcorn by Nick Lowe (film reviews); Laser Fodder by Tony Lee (DVD/Blu-ray reviews); book reviews including an interview with Lauren Beukes conducted by Maureen Kincaid Speller, and the first of Jonathan McCalmont’s new column Future Interrupted.

It looks like it going to be a great issue with the likes of Lavie Tidhar and Aliette de Bodard, but I’ve also got my eye on the Steven J. Dines and Georgina Bruce stories. I’m a big fan of Georgina Bruce’s work and am glad to see her in Interzone.

 

       

The May–June issue of Black Static is alsoout and contains new fiction by Nina Allan, Joel Lane, Andrew Hook, Sean Logan and I’m pleased to see a story by Ilan Lerman in there after his debut in Black Static 32. The  front and back cover art is by Ben Baldwin, and interior illustrations are by Ben again, Martin Hanford, Tara Bush, Joachim Luetke, and Richard Wagner. Comment by Stephen Volk and Lynda E. Rucker; TV reviews by Mike O’Driscoll; DVD/Blu-ray reviews by Tony Lee; book reviews by Peter Tennant, including an in-depth interview with Mark Morris.

Yes, I know I’ve gone a little crackers here but the artwork for these issues is awesome – if you don’t know either of the magazines go and get yourself a copy now!