Tag: queer fiction

the dragon of ynys

An Invitation to Join the Book Tour

Minerva Cerridwen

Hello!

Last month, IQARUS Book Con had a very fun Scavenger Hunt where I managed to win the first prize: a book tour with Silver Dagger Book Tours! That means my book will be touring from blog to blog, whether it be in the shape of reviews, spotlights, guest posts, or author interviews. This will take place from June 14 until July 14, 2021. During that time, there will also be a giveaway of an Amazon gift card via Silver Dagger.

Would you like your blog to be one of the stops of this book tour? You’d be most welcome! You can sign up to become part of the tour via this link. Thank you for supporting the dragon on his long flight!

The Dragon of Ynys - Book Tour and Giveaway 6/14-7/14 - Silver Dagger Book Tours

When going on an adventure like this, I am always ready to follow baker Juniper’s advice and bring my rolling pin. Especially now that there is an actual Dragon of Ynys rolling pin! This was an item in the Rainbow Crate Book Box for April. I still can’t believe my book has a fandom item! And even better: I got my own rolling pin in the mail, so now I can make The Dragon of Ynys biscuits!

Photo of Minerva holding up the rolling pin

To see the rolling pin among the other items from the April box, check out this post from Rainbow Crate on Instagram.

I’ll be back with more exciting news soon! For now, it’s time to go prepare the tour.

Love, dragons, cupcakes, and swords,

Minerva

Projects by Friends

More awesome dragons from Atthis Arts!

Minerva Cerridwen

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

the dragon of ynys

Tomorrow’s Reading

Minerva Cerridwen

Hi!

Just dropping a quick note about the Reading in Ferndale Library, which I talked about in my previous blog post. It’s tomorrow, at 12:00 EDT/18:00 CEST (click here to see what time this is for you).

The Zoom link is now available, so I can tell you the reading will take place on this address! And for more info, I will once again refer to the Facebook event.

See you tomorrow, if you can make it!

Edit: This event is now over, so I have removed the links.

the dragon of ynys

Reading in Ferndale Library

Minerva Cerridwen

Hi!

Back in March, when I talked about donating the proceeds for The Dragon of Ynys to Ferndale Pride, I mentioned that there would be an author reading in May, co-hosted by Ferndale Library. That event is happening next Thursday, May 20!

It will, of course, be an online event – I’m still waiting impatiently for that teleportation technology for quick hops from Belgium to Ferndale, Michigan. Fortunately, we can have just as much fun online. I’ll be reading from The Dragon of Ynys, and then I’ll be answering questions from readers. You can find all the info about the event on the Facebook page: click here. The Zoom link will be found there on the day before the reading, and the event itself starts at noon Ferndale time (18:00 Belgian time – in other words, 12 EDT/18 CEST).

See you there!

Minerva

the dragon of ynys

Rainbow Space Recording

Minerva Cerridwen

Hi!

A quick note to say that you can find the Rainbow Space Magic reading with Elle E. Ire, Ava Kelly and me on YouTube! You can also watch the rest of the panels and readings here.

If this gets you in the mood to attend a virtual con live, you can now sign up for IQARUS, which takes place on May 8-9! This book con is named “International Queer Authors and Readers Uniting Stories” and you can see the guests listed here. (I won’t be speaking at the con myself, but I’ll definitely be there to listen!)

Also, the Ferndale Pride Promo for The Dragon of Ynys was prolonged all through March. If you buy a copy of my novella through the publisher’s website, all proceeds will be donated to Ferndale Pride. So you’ll get a queer story in paperback AND ebook format, AND support charity at the same time. Awesome, right? This will also earn you an invitation for my author event on May 20. Come celebrate with us!

Love,

Minerva

the dragon of ynys

Rainbow Space Magic virtual con

Minerva Cerridwen

Hi!

Next weekend, March 12-14, 2021, the second edition of Rainbow Space Magic Virtual Con is taking place!

The con is starting with a series of free workshops on Friday, March 12, and will then continue with different interesting panels and exciting readings by LGBTQIA+ authors. You can see the full schedule here!

Everything is free to attend; you just need to register as a participant on this page.

This is the very first con I’m attending as an author! I’ll be doing a reading on Saturday, March 13, at 11 AM ET. (For my local friends: that’s 17:00 in my time zone in Belgium!)

Ava Kelly and I are sharing a reading slot to read a short fragment from each other’s dragon books: Havesskadi and The Dragon of Ynys. You may have read more about these two stories, which were written at the same time, in my blog post about our recent short story Lost in Ynys.

We look forward to having fun with each other’s texts and hope to see you there! You’ll have the possibility to send us questions after the reading.

Rainbow Space Magic also supports a number of charities, which are listed here.

And speaking of charity, the Ferndale Pride Promo for The Dragon of Ynys has been extended all through March! So if you buy my novella directly from Atthis Arts this month, you know that all proceeds are going to a good cause. Please spread the word!

Thank you and lots of love,

Minerva

the dragon of ynys

Ferndale Pride Promo

Minerva Cerridwen

Hello!

From March 1 (today!) until March 14, all proceeds for The Dragon of Ynys are going to Ferndale Pride when you buy the paperback (and included ebook) via the Atthis Arts website.

Atthis Arts is located in Ferndale, close to Detroit, Michigan. As a local publisher, they are proud to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community and to promote the charities this Pride organisation supports in turn. I’m honoured and happy to let The Dragon of Ynys, with its queer cast of characters and message of acceptance, help out!

Grab your copy of the book here or get one as a gift for a friend!

If you already have your copies, you can also donate directly to Ferndale Pride via this link. Please spread the word if you can!

Ferndale Pride is set to take place on Saturday, October 2, 2021. You can find all information about the event on this website.

As part of the promotion, everyone who orders The Dragon of Ynys via Atthis Arts during these two weeks will be invited to an author reading, where you can hear me stumble over my words do my best dragon voice, and you’ll have the opportunity to ask questions. It’ll be fun! We’re still deciding on a date for this event, so more information will follow later, but it’ll probably be sometime in May. The event is co-hosted by the Ferndale Library.

Mind that only the proceeds from book sales directly via the Atthis Arts website will be donated; sales via other book shops or retail sites like Amazon are not part of this promotion.

More information on The Dragon of Ynys, as always, can be found here.

Happy Pride!

P.S. More awesome news: the ebook of The Dragon of Ynys is going to be part of the Rainbow Crate Book Box this month! AND they’re going to have a fandom item in their April book box… Exciting times!!!

P.P.S. If you want to hear me read earlier than May, you can join my reading on the Rainbow Space Magic virtual con on Saturday, March 13. Ava Kelly and I are sharing a reading slot to read from each other’s dragon book at 10:00 AM CT/17:00 CET. Register here to participate! We hope to see you there.

the dragon of ynys

Lost in Ynys: a crossover story with characters from Ava Kelly’s Havesskadi

Minerva Cerridwen

Once upon a time in 2017, two befriended authors were writing a story for the same call for submissions. One of the stories was The Dragon of Ynys, which you probably know something about if you’re on this website. The other was Havesskadi, an epic fantasy with a magic castle, an asexual character and of course (since that was in the submission call)… dragons!

Havesskadi got published a few months before my Dragon, in February 2018. When the original publisher closed, it was also re-published. It came out with NineStar Press on February 24, 2020. That’s exactly one year ago!

To celebrate its anniversary, Ava and I have written a short story together. Lost in Ynys finds the two main characters of Havesskadi accidentally ending up in the world of Ynys and calling in Sir Violet’s help. Read it here!

Askanath the Ancient with a copy of "The Dragon of Ynys" and "Havesskadi"
Photo by Ava Kelly

Community of Magic Pens, Innovation anthology, Neon Horror Zine, Paranatellonta, Space Opera Libretti, the dragon of ynys

Minerva Cerridwen’s Awards Eligibility Post 2020

Minerva Cerridwen

’tis the season…

I haven’t made an awards eligibility post before, but as I see them going around on social media, I thought it couldn’t harm to list my publications of 2020.

Novella (fantasy)

The Dragon of Ynys

My novella The Dragon of Ynys came out in September 2020 with Atthis Arts. Mind that it is a re-publication after revising the story I published in May 2018 with Less Than Three Press, so it may not be eligible for some awards, as it’s not a first edition. (Both editions were published in the US.) However, aside from many smaller revisions, the 2020 edition has a brand new epilogue and afterword, and the 2018 edition had only appeared as an ebook, not in print. The new edition is available both as ebook and in print, and the new cover was designed by Ulla Thynell.

The Dragon of Ynys (24,000 words) is a fairy tale with an aromantic asexual main character, trans and lesbian supporting characters—and, of course, a dragon. The genre is fantasy, and it is suitable for all ages. You can read all about it here.

Also, if you’re looking for an editor to nominate: E.D.E. Bell is the amazing editor of The Dragon of Ynys as well as the anthology Community of Magic Pens (see below).

Short stories (science fiction)

I had 4 short stories published in 2020. There are no reprints among these.

1: Stars from the Stars in the anthology Space Opera Libretti, edited by Jennifer Lee Rossman and Brian McNett. (Published in the US, 4600 words.)

Simon is a siren who lives alone on a rock in space, until he’s picked up by the Stars from the Stars ship to compete in the universally beloved talent show. Even though he’s completely confident in his abilities, he might learn a thing or two on the way…

This story is inspired by shows like America’s Got Talent… in space!

2: Memory Malfunction in the anthology Community of Magic Pens, published by Atthis Arts and edited by E.D.E. Bell. (Published in the US, 2100 words.)

“Memory Malfuction” is about an android applying for a job as an intergalactic antiques salesman. The company bosses, however, have their doubts…

3: The Lost, co-written with L.S. Reinholt, in the anthology Neon Horror, published by The Haunted Bouncy Castle. (Published in the UK, 3000 words.)

The Lost is a science fiction horror story 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.

4: The Emperor’s New Helmet, in the anthology Innovation, published by Other Worlds Ink. This flash piece of 300 words received an honourable mention in the 2020 Queer Sci Fi Contest. (Published in the US.)

Paranatellonta

Ever since August 2013, I write ten-sentence stories based on photos made by my friend Fie. This project is called Paranatellonta. Every edition (294 at the moment of writing this post!) is published online on Tumblr and available for free, so even though I’m not sure this would fit into any awards, feel free to take a look at the newest stories or find yourself a random story from sometime in the past 7+ years. The stories from 2020 are editions 273 to 296.

Paranatellonta updates on the 1st and 15th of every month. Fie and I celebrate every tenth edition by switching roles: in those editions I take a picture and Fie writes a story.

We first discovered this concept when we enjoyed Erin Morgenstern and Carey Farrell’s Flax-golden Tales and became inspired.

Edit 20/11/20: Atthis Arts also has an awards eligibility post up now, which you can find here.