Neurodiversiverse

Introducing The Neurodiversiverse

Hi!

I’ve got some big news!

See this cool new science fiction anthology with short fiction, poetry, and art that celebrates human neurodiversity? The one called The Neurodiversiverse: Alien Encounters?

Well… It includes a short story written by me!

Banner for The Neurodiversiverse: Alien Encounters Kickstarter

I’m so proud that my story is part of this new universe. The book celebrates human neurodiversity, with a focus on own voices stories told from the perspective of folks who are neurodivergent themselves, featuring autism, ADHD, PTSD, OCD, synesthesia, anxiety, and more. Representation is so important, as you’ve probably heard me say many times if you’re here to read this. Personally I cannot wait for this anthology to come out!

About 45 creators have worked on this book, including Cat Rambo, Tobias S. Buckell, M. D. Cooper, Ada Hoffmann, Jody Lynn Nye, and my Atthis Arts friends Clara Ward and Stewart C. Baker. It was edited by Anthony Francis and Liza Olmsted, with cover art by Barbara Candiotti.

You can preorder it now, and directly support all of these creators, on Kickstarter. The campaign will run until May 13. Please don’t miss it! Aside from the ebook and paperback edition (with a discounted early bird price!), you can add an original sticker, tote bag, or pin to your hoard, order bundles of books from Thinking Ink Press, and even acquire a special hardcover edition with slipcover that will be exclusive to this Kickstarter.

From the campaign:

“The Neurodiversiverse is for anyone who loves science fiction that stretches the mind!

In fact, when we first voyaged to your planet, we noticed that some members of your species coped better than others with the symphony of thought process found across the galaxy. These beings, whom many of you call neurodivergent, have diverse thinking styles enabling extraordinary responses to mind-bending situations. 

Since your species communicates with words and images for enjoyment, we thought collecting stories, poems and art describing neurodiverse encounters with aliens would not only provide entertainment and edification to lovers of science fiction all across your globe, but also would facilitate our attempts to infiltrate your society. 

The realized form of that collection is our science fiction anthology, The Neurodiversiverse: Alien Encounters!”

Read more about the Neurodiversiverse here!


As if that news wasn’t big enough, there’s something else I’d really like you to know. Snap, my dragon of Ynys, is on a T-shirt! And on a tank top! In different colours! Including purple!

The pop-up shop with Atthis Arts merchandise will be open until April 30. Artist Matthew Spencer created a brand new design that combines elements from the Atthis Arts stories, and you’ll recognise Snap as one of the three featured dragons. (Want to recognise all of the elements? Get some Atthis Arts books!) Aside from those shirts, there is also the option of a hoodie and a pair of sweatpants with Graystick, from the E.D.E. Bell comics inspired by Gregory A. Wilson’s Gray Assassin Trilogy. Make sure to have a look at these handsome, soft cotton clothes before the shop disappears!

Illustration on the Atthis Arts shirts, created by Matthew Spencer

Queens in Wonderland

A Semi-Sages of the Pages Interview!

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.

Cover for "Queens in Wonderland"

Queens in Wonderland

QUEENS IN WONDERLAND out now!

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.

Cover for "Queens in Wonderland"

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.

Queens in Wonderland Announcement Graphic

Queens in Wonderland

Happy Unbirthday!

Hi!

Queens in Wonderland is coming out later this month – but the ebook preorders are up TODAY! Happy unbirthday, indeed!

Queens in Wonderland Announcement Graphic

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

Rise, the dragon of ynys

Rise has risen!

The Rise anthology came out yesterday!

Cover of Rise: Queer Sci Fi's Tenth Annual Flash Fiction Contest

This anthology is packed with 120 stories under 300 words each, all with a speculative element and queer characters. One of these stories is my little piece “Ace-tral Projection”, and the book also includes L.S. Reinholt’s “Flood”.

You can buy the book in ebook, paperback, AND hardcover format. Find all the info and buy links via the publisher’s website, and add the book on Goodreads here.

The winners of this edition were Aidee Ladnier’s “Getting The Proper Rise” in third place, Sorren Briarwood’s “Dead Name” in second place, and Meghan Hyland’s “So High Up We’ll Never Hear Them Shouting” in first place. Congratulations!

The winner announcement can be found here, judge’s picks were announced here, honorable mentions were announced here, and the full list of stories in the book is on this page.

And we’ll continue celebrating today, because I have great news for everyone in Belgium who wants to buy The Dragon of Ynys at an independent bookshop: it is now available at Boekhandel Grim in Hasselt!

Happy autumn, and happy Ace Week!

P.S. My postcard sets are still available! Read about them here.

Paranatellonta, Rise

Flash Fiction: Rise!

Hi!

It’s that time of the year when the stories are being announced that will be part of the Queer Sci Fi Flash Fiction Contest anthology. The theme this year was “Rise”, once again prompting authors to write a story of 300 words, and I’m proud to say I submitted a story called “Ace-tral Projection” and it was selected. This is the fifth year in a row I have a story in the contest anthology! Everyone who’s friends with me on Duolingo knows I do love a good long streak.

You can read the full list of anthology picks via this link – and you may notice that my friend and co-writer LS Reinholt’s story “Flood” made it in there too! *high fives*

In other news, Fie and I posted the 359th edition of Paranatellonta yesterday—remember there’s a new post on the 1st and 15th of every month. Our next edition, on August 15, will be very special, and not just because 360 is a nice round number—we will celebrate that Paranatellonta will have existed for 10 years!!! Keep your eyes peeled. In the meantime, you can go read the latest editions via the main page (click on the “[time] ago and x notes” line under a post to enlarge both its photo and text, or click the “Random post” button at the top to be catapulted up to ten years back in time). As ever, everything Paranatellonta is free to read. Enjoy!

Love from rainy Germany, where I’ve been having a very cosy autumnish holiday in the middle of summer (but also some sunny hobbit adventures on mountains),

Minerva

Clarity

Clarity: Release Day!

The Clarity anthology is out today!

Cover of "Clarity"

This anthology is packed with 120 stories under 300 words each, all with a speculative element and queer characters. One of these stories is my little piece “Secundum Artem”.

You can buy the book in ebook, paperback, AND hardcover format, via: AmazonAppleBarnes & NobleKoboSmashwordsScribdVivlio, or add it on The StoryGraph or Goodreads.

Congratulations to the winners, judges’ picks, and honorable mentions of Queer Sci Fi’s Annual Flash Fiction Contest!

The winner announcement can be found here, judge’s picks were announced here, honorable mentions here, and the full list of stories in the book is on this page.

Enjoy all the queer flash fiction!

Love,

Minerva

P.S. Inktober is going well! I managed to draw something every day so far, and am happy with my result today, so I’m throwing it in here as a little extra:

Clarity

Clarity Cover Reveal

Hi!

Not long now before the Clarity anthology will come out – Wednesday, the 5th of October is the day! That means I’ll put up another post to celebrate that day – but for now, I want to show you all the cover.

Cover of "Clarity"

You can preorder your copy via the links on this page. The winners of the contest have also been announced: short summaries of the winning stories can be found here!

And if you want a little flash fiction appetiser, you are of course most welcome at Paranatellonta, where we’ve posted the 339th photo + story combination today.

Now it’s time for me to go draw something – happy Inktober to all of you who are joining the challenge! If all goes well, my first sketch of the month will appear on my Instagram by tonight.

Have a great weekend!

Minerva

Skulls & Spells

Skulls & Spells out now!

Queer horror anthology Skulls & Spells is out now from Artemisia’s Axe!

Order it directly from the publisher in Hardcover or Ebook format, and add it to your to-read list on The StoryGraph!

Here’s a Tiktok video from the publishers, showing off the gorgeous full-colour hardcover edition:

Aside from lots of other great stories, poems, and beautiful art, this book contains short story “The Bound Heart”, written by LS Reinholt and me. It’s a fantasy horror story with a witch main character, xyr snake familiar, and horrible things happening in the woods. If you’re into creepy and bloody stories, it’s a pretty cool one, if I say so myself. Mind the content warnings in the book’s table of contents!

This is the teaser art we did to promote the successful Kickstarter (illustration by LS, colouring by me):

The Bound Heart Promo Illustration

And if you’d like to hear another co-written story from LS and me (no horror, only fantasy!), remember to attend our reading on September 11! Read all info here, or reserve a spot for free right away.

Atthis Arts Author Reading - Sunday, September 11th, 2022 - 2 PM - 3:30 PM EDT

P.S. Happy September 1st! Here’s the 337th edition of Paranatellonta, freshly posted.

Clarity

Clarity about a flash piece

Hi!

Good news: my flash story “Secundum Artem” will be part of the Clarity anthology! That is the book resulting from this year’s Queer Sci Fi flash fiction contest, and I’m very proud to say it’s the fourth year in a row my story made it into the anthology. The book will contain 120 stories of 300 words or less, and is set to release on October 5, 2022.

You can see the full list of included stories in this Facebook post.

If you can’t wait to read a book of speculative flash fiction, find all the info about the previous editions Migration, Innovation, and Ink here on my website!

In other flash news (pardon my bad jokes), there will be an update about Skulls & Spells soon, and as on every 1st and 15th day of the month, Fie and I posted a new edition of Paranatellonta yesterday. The 335th already! I realise now that I’m writing this that we started the project in August, so we’ve been going for a whole 9 years – happy birthday, Para!

Enjoy the summer and stay hydrated!

Minerva