Hotel Stormcove, Projects by Friends

Atthis Reading: September 11

Hello!

On September 11, 2022, you can attend the first Atthis Arts Author Reading, live at 2:00 PM EDT or 8:00 PM CEST. In other words, it’s at 20:00 that Sunday evening in Belgium, the Netherlands, and the rest of the Central European timezone. And for my frequent Australian reader (hi Nala!), I’m afraid it’ll be 3:30 AM for you, but there will be a recording afterwards!

This will be the first time LS Reinholt and I are doing an author reading together and I think it will be so much fun! We’ll pick a fragment from our short story “Dragon in the Cove” from Five Minutes at Hotel Stormcove. Every author (or, in our case, author team) will have 5 minutes to read, making the whole event last 90 minutes. And there’ll be a lot you’ll want to hear: the authors include E.D.E. Bell emself, Ava Kelly, Ether Nepenthes, Gigi Ganguly, Gregory A. Wilson… I’m excited about every single name on the list, but I suggest you check the link here to find out which part of the Atthis family you’re about to meet! With 14 authors from 3 continents, you’re bound to discover some great new writing.

Atthis Arts Author Reading

See you there!

Better put the tea and the towels ready.

Love,

Minerva

Projects by Friends, the dragon of ynys

Pride Month Instagram Interview

Hello everyone, and happy Pride Month!

It’s been a while since you heard from me on this blog, and a lot has changed: I moved house and stopped working as a pharmacist. It’s time to properly dive into writing and creating again!

And although, if you’re watching the news, the world isn’t making it easy to feel celebratory this month, we all do our best to find safety and joy.

Natasha aka @bibliophile.nat was so kind as to publish an interview about The Dragon of Ynys, being an author, and being queer: you can read it here! (Note that it continues in the comments below the post, due to Instagram’s character limit.) Thank you so much for having me, Natasha.

And while we’re celebrating, I’d also like to do a shout-out to my good friend and editor E.D.E. Bell: eir book Just Bart (which I recommend wholeheartedly to everyone looking for a kind, funny read) just won a Midwest Book Award!!! Congratulations, Emily!

One more thing while I’m here: everyone interested in a gritty fantasy trilogy and/or a TTRPG in the same universe should go have a look at the Grayshade Kickstarter. This is a collaboration between Alligator Alley Entertainment and Atthis Arts – so you know it’ll be good.

Talk to you soon!

Love,

Minerva

Ink, Projects by Friends, Skulls & Spells

Flash publication in Ink!

Hi!

Great news: my genderfluid flash piece “Not Alone” will be part of Queer Sci Fi’s Ink anthology! This story was my 300-word entry for the yearly flash fiction contest that also gave us 2019’s Migration and 2020’s Innovation anthology. The release of Ink is planned on August 10, 2021, and by that time, Queer Sci Fi will be announcing honorable mentions (still proud of getting one last year!), judge’s picks, and three winners. Check out the full list of stories that will be published in the new anthology here – notice the names of friends L.S. Reinholt and Ava Kelly. Congratulations to these 120 writers!


While I’m here, an update on the Skulls & Spells Kickstarter. They took a great start and are now 58% funded. Let’s hope this keeps going! Their latest update talked about a secret stretch goal, so I can’t wait to see what Jinx and Jonas have in store. And, of course, I’m extra invested, as L.S. Reinholt and I have our story “The Bound Heart” in this book. If you like magical horror from queer creators, I’ll ask you once again to please consider supporting this Kickstarter.


Two more things on the topic of Kickstarters:

  • Alia Terra, the illustrated book of dragon fairy tales in English and Romanian, written by Ava Kelly and published by Atthis Arts, which I kept talking about in my previous posts, is fully funded and reached its stretch goal of becoming a fully illustrated book! I’m so happy we’ll get to see all the beautiful dragon art by Matt Spencer. If you missed the Kickstarter, you can still preorder your copy via BackerKit through July. The Dragon of Ynys can also still be added to your order there!
  • Xenocultivars is a plant-themed speculative fiction anthology about queer growth from Speculatively Queer. I’d love to see this book happen, but with only 5 days to go they’re still a little under half funded, so they need all the help they can get. Check out their Kickstarter and their wonderful queer flag cactus stickers here!

Love,

Minerva

Projects by Friends

More awesome dragons from Atthis Arts!

Hello!

Another cute dragon project from The Dragon of Ynys publisher Atthis Arts is approaching with an impressive beating of wings! Check out a sample of the beautiful art that will be found inside the illustrated book Alia Terra – Stories from the Dragon Realm on this Kickstarter page! The stories (in English and Romanian) are written by my good friend Ava Kelly, illustrated by the incredibly talented Matthew Spencer, and edited by the wonderful E.D.E. Bell. More info about all of them can be found under the “Our Team” banner on the Kickstarter page.

What else you’ll find there? A clip where you can hear Ava talking with subtitles in 13 languages (yes, there’s also Dutch – you may want to put it on full screen to see all the languages in the subtitle menu), info on the book and on the rewards that you can add to your own dragon hoard, and of course a chance to actually make this magical project happen by pre-ordering your own copy. Please check it out and consider supporting them! And if you can’t, it would be appreciated very much if you spread the word.

Love,

Minerva