Author of Fairy Tales, Fantasy, and Science Fiction
Today I would like to talk about the newest book release by my friend and editor of The Dragon of Ynys, E.D.E. Bell. It is titled Just Chad and collects 25 adventures of a robot named Chad, whom we got to know in the first part of the Just Duology: Just Bart.
I’m so, so honoured that E.D.E. Bell dedicated a book to me, and not just a book, but this one. Everyone, grab your copy!
Love, beeps, and boops,
Minerva
Hi!
To promote last week’s release of Queens in Wonderland, LS Reinholt and I were interviewed by editor Theresa Halvorsen on the Semi-Sages of the Pages YouTube channel.
You can watch this interview, which includes the reading of a fragment of both of our stories, here:
If you’re thinking it would be amazing to watch interviews and readings from the other authors of the anthology as well, you’re in luck! The YouTube channel contains a whole list of author interviews by now, which you can find here. (If you’re reading this post sometime in the future: it might be easier to find them if you enter “Queens in Wonderland” into that page’s search bar.)
I hope you’ll enjoy watching the interviews! (Even when they sometimes contain nervously grinning Cheshire cat-dragons. I was sticking to the theme!!!)
Queens in Wonderland is a collection of short stories inspired by Lewis Carroll’s iconic books Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass. It includes LS Reinholt’s “Oosh Lea in 1D Land” and my own “Good-Natured Anxiety for the Queer Creature”. All of the stories contain LGBTQIA+ characters and themes. You can now buy the book in ebook and paperback format, via Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and add it on The Storygraph and Goodreads.
Hello everyone!
It’s release day!!! The anthology Queens in Wonderland is out now: a collection of 19 new short stories, inspired by Lewis Carroll’s iconic books Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass.
Queens in Wonderland contains my story “Good-Natured Anxiety for the Queer Creature”, about the White and Red Queen who are chasing the same moth—for very different reasons. The style is closely based on Lewis Carroll’s own whimsy, and under all the absurdity, the story winds into the journey of allowing yourself to take up space as a trans and/or non-binary person, and the role community plays in that. I particularly loved playing with the White Queen’s memory, as that works in the opposite direction from most people’s memories, which makes her one of my favourite characters from the original books.
The title of my story is a direct quote from a scene of Through the Looking-Glass in which Alice is anxious that Humpty Dumpty might fall off the wall.
My friend and (in other projects) co-writer LS Reinholt also has a story in this book: “Oosh Lea in 1D Land”. The anthology was edited by Theresa Halvorsen and Chris Bannor.
You can now buy the book in ebook and paperback format, via: Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and add it on The Storygraph and Goodreads.
Are you ready to take a trip down the rabbit hole?
Embark on an enchanting journey through a Wonderland where queens reign supreme and the tapestry of love, identity, and self-discovery is woven with threads of LGBTQIA+ brilliance. Queens in Wonderland beckons you down the glittering landscape of diverse tales inspired by Lewis Carroll’s iconic books.
In this daring anthology, a young transgender man and an Indian princess teach each other their true worth, the Queen of Hearts’ executioner defies the Queen to protect the man he loves, and Alice, seeking a return to Wonderland, finds her Wendy. Every page is filled with delightful interpretations of your favorite characters, celebrating the strength, resilience, and beauty found within the LGBTQIA+ community.
This anthology is a testament to the power of storytelling, illustrating the magic that happens when queens, imagined lands, and queerness intersect in the most unexpected places. So don a crown, a top hat, or a tiara and step through the looking glass, to revel in these curious tales from Queens in Wonderland.
Hi!
Queens in Wonderland is coming out later this month – but the ebook preorders are up TODAY! Happy unbirthday, indeed!
Queens in Wonderland is an anthology edited by Theresa Halvorsen & Chris Bannor and it will be out on February 28! All the stories are based on Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-glass, with queer characters. It contains 19 stories, including my own “Good-Natured Anxiety for the Queer Creature” and LS Reinholt’s “Oosh Lea in 1D Land”.
Starting today, a new video will be posted every few days on the Semi-Sages of the Pages YouTube channel to promote this anthology. There will be lots of author interviews, episodes about the wondrous world of anthologies, a Wonderland immersive, and celebrations of the upcoming release.
Today’s video is an author interview with K.R. Cervantez: check it out!
The interview with LS Reinholt and me will be up on March 7.
And as I’m looking forward to these wonderful stories, I steadily keep working on several projects that you’ll hopefully be hearing more about soon…
Sending Hearts and Spades, Clubs and Diamonds,
Minerva
When writers submit to an open call of submissions, there’s usually only a very small chance of the work being accepted. Even when your story is AMAZING, these magazines get loads of submissions, often from many different parts of the world, and have only limited places to fill.
Now, back in October, Unstamatic did something that—as far as I know—was unseen before. They promised to publish every story submitted (as long as it wasn’t actively harmful). After opening to submissions for only twenty minutes, they received over 400 stories, poems, and artworks. One of these submissions was my queer horror poem The Witches, and as this giant issue is now online on their website to read for free, you can also find my piece here. They have a very handy “Random” button on this page, so you won’t have to scroll through 400+ titles to find something that speaks to you, but can just sample these unselected pieces and get an idea of what writers submit when they feel they can get just anything published. You may be surprised!
Love,
Minerva
P.S. Mind that Atthis Arts’ Traveling Treasure Trove Kickstarter is still going until the end of November! YOU could be the one who pushes them to the minimum goal. It’s not too late to grab your treasures! Or just an audiobook + ebook for as little as $1.
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
The story has been entered into the webs! You can get it on Audible via this link, or if you already have the Audible app, simply entering “The Dragon of Ynys” in its search bar should lead right to it.
If you were a Kickstarter backer, you should have received it in your emails last Sunday (Feb 6). And if you’re a Kickstarter backer who uses Audible and wants to be able to listen to it there, too, you should keep an eye on the emails with Kickstarter updates, where Chris will explain how that works.
Enjoy listening and have a great weekend!
First of all…
Happy New Year!
January was over before I knew it, so I know my wishes are rather late, but I do wish you the very best for 2022!
And this way, I can start a new blogging year with extremely exciting news… The audiobook for The Dragon of Ynys is finished!!! It sounds amazing and I can’t wait for everyone to discover the amazing voices Ryan H. Reid created for Violet, Snap, and all their friends!
Kickstarter backers will have received an email with a link to the audio files by now. (Enjoy!!! And if you’d like to leave a review, which is always super helpful – the audiobook edition is up on The StoryGraph and will be added to Goodreads as well once it is released on Audible. For now, this is the Goodreads link for the ebook version – I’ll share the specific one for the audiobook edition in my next post, or you can look for it by hovering over the cover and clicking “other editions”.)
If you weren’t able to acquire it via Kickstarter, the audiobook will be on Audible soon. They are currently checking the files, which can take up to 2 weeks, so we expect it to be up there before the end of the month. Of course I’ll make a new post here to alert you all when that happens!
In other news, Dragon editor E.D.E. Bell will have a new book out soon with magic and dragons and queer characters. You can preorder Night Ivy here!
And my other dragon sibling, friend Ava Kelly, is looking forward to the release of their book of fairy tales which is SO beautifully illustrated by Matthew Spencer: Alia Terra: Stories from the Dragon Realm. It will be out on March 1, with sales info coming soon, and can be added to your Goodreads or The StoryGraph shelves.
Now I’ll let you go to listen to the audiobook! This is really a Thing That Exists now! Aaaaah!!
Love,
Minerva
With the minimum goal doubled, the Audiobook Kickstarter has ended successfully last night! Thank you all so much for your support!
I’ll keep you all updated here on the progress, of course. For now, you can read the newest update on the project here, from Atthis Arts.
Thank you and have a wonderful day! I hope you can feel our celebratory vibes all over the world.
Minerva
The full set of count-down dragons is counting down the hours with us! It’s almost like New Year’s Eve came early. To see them all in detail, you can check Instagram.
There are now exactly 5 hours left in the Kickstarter for the audiobook of The Dragon of Ynys, narrated by Ryan H. Reid. It will end on December 16 2021 2:00 AM CET. So if you’d like to preorder a copy of a full fairy tale audiobook with an aro ace main character, trans and lesbian side characters, a dragon, and a message of acceptance for as little as $1, best be fast!
Or just enjoy the silly dragons, of course! ^^
Thank you for being here!
Minerva Cerridwen 