Neurodiversiverse, Paranatellonta

10 days left for a flourising new universe!

10 days left in the Neurodiversiverse Kickstarter!

Since my last blog post, the campaign has been labelled a Project We Love by Kickstarter and further Stretch Goals have been announced: bookmarks, goodie bags, an audiobook, and a sequel anthology!!!

But first, of course, we need to cross the minimum goal. Please keep sharing the Kickstarter link and consider preordering your own copy of the anthology!

Banner for The Neurodiversiverse with a Kickstarter Project We Love Logo


On a personal note, my grandmother passed away last week. I wrote the latest Paranatellonta edition in her memory.

Love,

Minerva

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

And also, Paranatellonta

Dutch Poetry Week – Poëzieweek

I’m writing this post in Dutch for once, to talk about Dutch poetry!

Hoi!

Het was deze week Poëzieweek. Op Gedichtendag leek het me wel leuk om heel snel een gedicht te schrijven en te posten op Twitter. Dat beviel me zo goed dat ik het de hele week volgehouden heb! Het was leuk om weer wat meer verbinding te voelen met het Nederlands en door mezelf te beloven dat ik de gedichten snel en ongepolijst zou posten, bleef ik er ook niet eindeloos over dibben. Een gedicht aan iemand tonen voelt veel meer als loslaten dan een verhaal, omdat de interpretatie nog zoveel vrijer is. We gaan mij dus allemaal heel dapper vinden omdat ik ze hier toch kom tonen! Hier is het resultaat van een week vol poëzie.

Dag 1 (Gedichtendag)

Ik wil ergens heen
een punt maken
duidelijk zijn

Ik wil ergens heen
om nieuwe dingen te ontdekken
de horizon verkennen

Het avontuur opzoeken
zodat iedereen wijst van “Kijk,
díé heeft er niet omheen gedanst.”

Maar ik blijf thuis.
Waar ik naartoe werk
is geen helder reisdoel.

Dag 2 (27/01/23)

Koekjes met de post uit Amerika –
Dat leek ons wat onpraktisch.
Vriendschap was een veel mooiere beloning
Gesprekken over gebak en chocola
Ervaringen met queerness en neurodivergentie.
Vorige week wist ik nog niet dat je bestond
Vandaag maak ik jouw pindarotsjes.
Het schermpje op het keukenblok straalt
Je gezicht een goedkeurend kunstwerk
Van postpakketjes data.

Dag 3 (28/01/23)

Later krijg ik een cactusbaard
met hele lange naalden
Niet om iemand pijn te doen
maar omdat m’n haar steeds faalde
te groeien waar ik het graag wou
en ik daarover baalde
kwam op een dag de goede fee
en bracht me stekelgenen
Ze plantte ze in mijn gezicht
en is daarna verdwenen
Sindsdien wacht ik met ongeduld
tot de pinnen uit mijn wangen
ver genoeg gevorderd zijn
om er bloempjes aan te hangen.

Dag 4 (29/01/23)

Een knuffel van een boek
Een blad langs links, een blad langs rechts
Ze vouwen om je heen
Een veilige cocon

Als nachtmerries tóch komen
Je wakker schrikt ver weg van rust
Verbeeld je je de vrede
Van weides in de zon

De stad der fantasieën
Verwarmt je hart met woordenthee
Je angst zakt weg in zacht
Een nieuwe droom begon

Dag 5 (30/01/23)

De grote oranje octopus
heeft hele lange armen.
Ze kronkelen steeds zo en zus
want hij wil de eindjes warmen
aan iemand met een zacht, droog vel
hij legt een koude zuignap
tegen de mensen aan, maar, wel,
zij delen niet zijn blijdschap.
Ze zetten zeven stappen terug
zo kan hij hen niet raken
en leert de octopus al vlug
dat zij de kou niet kunnen smaken
Dus wendt hij zich – na lang gedub
tot andere kameraden:
een beetje kou op dik geschub
kan vuurdraken niet schaden.

Dag 6 (31/01/23)

De zee klotst langs de kleurenboot
Het veel te blauwe water
Het grijs op weg naar later
De masten blozen rood

Een duikboot cirkelt door de lucht
Om onze tocht te stoppen
Het grijs kan hen niet foppen
Ons bootje zucht, maar vlucht –

Ooit zal de paarse wereld fier
Vol groene stippen staan
Het grijs vrolijk saffraan
Geen reis naar waar jij mag bestaan
De horizon een regenboog, te zien van elke pier
Geen land vol verf, maar overal, en zelfs gewoonweg hier.

Dag 7 (01/02/23)

Aftiteling

Wanneer een aarzeling weerklinkt
knikt het marktplein minzaam toe
Vrolijk om de mensen heen
weeft de klarinettist zijn avontuur
De toonladders, de dansers, de vlammen van het vuur
Alles hier beweegt op zijn ritme alleen
De lente komt, niemand wordt moe
Het lied een diep instinct

Diepzwart zakken de credits
Zijn feest kent nooit een eind.


Welk gedicht spreekt jou het meeste aan? Ik kom het heel graag te weten in de comments.

Liefs,

Minerva

P.S. Uiteraard is er ook een nieuwe post op Paranatellonta vandaag. Happy February!

And also

An Unsurprising Publication

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.

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

the dragon of ynys

How It Started

With almost $3000 on the counter (which would be a magical number to push us forward in the algorithms and general perception!), we’ve got a new update from narrator Ryan H. Reid where he is getting started on the audiobook. Ever wondered what the absolute essentials are to create an audiobook? Discover it in the new video!

At the time I write this, there are 64 hours left to preorder your The Dragon of Ynys audiobook on a “pay what you can” basis, starting from $1. And yes, offering just $1 is absolutely a legit option that helps us forward! We can’t express our thanks enough to everyone who is making this project possible and who helps us move towards the best possible quality.

The Countdown Dragons (or afteldraakjes) have all gotten their own micro-poem by E.D.E. Bell – you can see the whole thread of dragon drawings and poetry here on Twitter.

This was the latest little dragon, with 3 days to go:

Dragon Three

If you want to know what the Dragon of Two will look like, check the thread or my Instagram this evening (European time). Feel free to show them, and of course our Kickstarter, to all your friends!

Wishing you a very nice day with delicious tea (if you like tea),

Minerva