book release – Page 2 – Minerva Cerridwen

Release of Innovation anthology

8 August 2020 Minerva Cerridwen

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

Innovation anthology, Neon Horror Zine

Release of Neon Horror and a flash fiction acceptance!

15 June 2020 Minerva Cerridwen

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

Community of Magic Pens

Release of Community of Magic Pens

4 May 20202 May 2020 Minerva Cerridwen

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.

–

I hope you’re all well!

Lots of love,

Minerva

Space Opera Libretti

Release the Space Divas!

6 January 2020 Minerva Cerridwen

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!!!

Cover for "Space Opera Libretti" (2020)

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!

Geen categorie

Happy New Year!

1 January 2020 Minerva Cerridwen

I wish you all a wonderful 2020!!!

Minerva's Christmas and New Year's card from 2019 — 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!

Anthologies published in 2019 — 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!

Gay Apparel

A surprise for the holidays: Gay Apparel

15 December 201916 December 2019 Minerva Cerridwen

‘Tis the season to be jolly!

I have a brand new publication in Gay Apparel: A Queer Holiday Flash Fiction Anthology!

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 to an LGBTQIA-supporting charity of your choice. By recent, I mean less than a week 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

Hotel Stormcove

Release Day at Hotel Stormcove

7 May 2019 Minerva Cerridwen

Five Minutes at Hotel Stormcove is out now! This book with bite-sized stories in all genres has something for everyone and lets you expand your horizons.

L.S. Reinholt and I co-wrote the fantasy short Dragon in the Cove. The anthology also contains science fiction, romance, crime, quiet stories like the one about the cat, and so much more.

So far I’ve read about a third of the book and there hasn’t been one story yet that I didn’t like! And for my writer-friends, it may be nice to know that the Atthis Arts team has been an absolute joy to work with.

Get the book on Amazon US, Amazon Deutschland, iBooks, Nook, Kobo, or another retailer of your choice that I didn’t conveniently get the link from yet 😉

Find it on Goodreads here.

Enjoy your stay at Hotel Stormcove!

Sherlock Holmes

Steampunk Sherlock Holmes anthology out now!

21 April 20196 May 2019 Minerva Cerridwen

Happy Easter!

Both volumes of Sherlock Holmes: Adventures in the Realms of Steampunk are now available as ebook and paperback!

Volume 2, Mechanical Men and Otherworldly Endeavours, contains The Adventure of the Purloined Piston Valve by L.S. Reinholt and me. An original Sherlock Holmes story with a hint of feminism and some interesting inventions!

Get it now from Amazon US, Amazon Deutschland or a retailer close to you, and find it on Goodreads here.

Volume 1, Tales of a Retro Future, can also be found on Amazon and Goodreads.

The World’s Greatest Detective in the Retro Futuristic Realms of Steampunk!
Imagine a slight change to our historical timeline where the Industrial Revolution heated up much quicker than expected. Technological marvels such as airships, trains, battleships, and submarines came into being much earlier. They were followed by steam-powered wonders such as mechanical men, flying ships, and even crafts capable of reaching the deepest fathoms of the sea or traveling to distant celestial orbs.
That is the world where Sherlock Holmes and his Boswell, Dr. Watson, find themselves in Sherlock Holmes: Adventures in the Realms of Steampunk.

Mechanical Men and Otherworldly Endeavours – Volume two of the anthology features stories with a focus on robotic creatures and otherworldly adventures. See Holmes team up with intelligent animals from an alternate Earth, switch bodies with Dr. Watson, and travel to another dimension.

Table of contents:
• The Adventure of the Purloined Piston Valve by L.S. Reinholt & Minerva Cerridwen (The Dragon of Ynys)
• The Deductive Man by Paul Hiscock (Under the Weather)
• The Adventure of the Tiger’s Topaz by Derrick Belanger (Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure of the Primal Man)
• Sherlock Holmes and the Moongate Sabotage by Derek Nason (Sherlock Holmes: Adventures in the Realms of H.G. Wells Vol. 2 )
• The Adventure of the Brompton Mausoleum by Paula Hammond (Alternative Truths)
• A Second Case of Identity by S. Subramanian (Airship 27: Sherlock Holmes, Consulting Detective)
• Doctor Bear, I Presume! by Harry DeMaio (The Casebooks of Octavius Bear)
• The Adventure of the Violent Violets by Dr. Watson (The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes)
Plus an introduction by Editor Derrick Belanger

darkling's beasts and brews

Darkling’s Beasts and Brews is now available!

25 December 20186 May 2019 Minerva Cerridwen

My last release post of 2018! Merry Christmas!

My poem Frankenspider and my haiku have been published in Darkling’s Beasts and Brews: Poetry with a Drink on the Side! You can buy it on Amazon and add it on Goodreads. For my European friends Bookdepository may be the cheaper option to acquire it.

Fun fact: L.S. Reinholt, with whom I’m co-writing several projects, also has two poems in this!

Welcome to the Machlelf Cemetery! Featuring your favorite graveyard host, Darkling introduces you to some of the beasts and creatures roaming around Lycan Valley and shares many of her favorite recipes and concoctions from Darkling’s Recipe Box. Includes more than 70 alcohol and non-alcohol drink recipes and corresponding poems in 7 categories: Coffee and Tea, Cocktails and Mixed Drinks, Smoothies, Milkshakes, Shots, Punch and special Bonus Clown Recipes section.

Something awesome happened last year when I first shared the good news of getting this poem and haiku accepted. I showed the haiku to my friend, artist Anneke Schat, and she surprised me with these beautiful Shodo artworks, titled “Fingernail”.

They catch the spirit of my haiku marvellously and I’m so honoured that a world-renowned artist like her finds inspiration in my work, just like I find inspiration in hers. Thank you again, Anneke!

Now let’s all raise a glass of some horror-poetry brew and enjoy the holidays! See you in 2019!

love & bubbles

Love & Bubbles is out now!

20 October 2018 Minerva Cerridwen

Since last Thursday, Love & Bubbles is out in the wild!! I couldn’t post this on the day itself because I was having an awesome time in London – Hamilton was great! And I even found the courage to tell the people at the Gay’s the Word bookshop that Love & Bubbles was coming out. *proud*

Anyway, now you can buy this collection of queer underwater love stories on Gumroad, Amazon.com or Amazon.de (and the other Amazons worldwide, of course). At the moment I’m typing, the paperbacks haven’t been listed on Amazon yet, but they should be up soon and they’ll be available through the same links. So if you don’t see the physical books listed yet, return to the page in a couple of days and you should be able to order your copy (shipping cost-free in many countries)!

I hope you’ll enjoy the anthology!

Remember, aside from buying the book, the best way to support projects like this is by leaving reviews on both Amazon and Goodreads, so more people will hear about its existence. Thank you!