News

Love at the Event Horizon, a 2023 story

1/12/2023

It's December, but I don't feel like doing any kind of year-in-review post. There is so much grief in the world near and far. The calendar indicates the nearing of an ending, yet nothing seems complete, and too many of the hard things are ongoing.

It feels like such a small thing, but I suppose one offers what one can, and you never know what will bring someone else comfort. So, here it goes: I did have a short story out earlier this year that I didn't talk about much, even though it's one I'm pretty proud of. You will find it in the July/August issue of Uncanny Magazine; a story about ghosts in space, decomposing films, and queer love at the event horizon. I hope you enjoy it.

Also, Vajra Chandrasekera's brilliant new novel has been announced. You will find a description and ways to pre-order at the link, alongside a thorough and thoughtful roundup of resources about Palestine. I also highly recommend listening to this free episode of the Death Panel podcast with Rasha Abdulhadi, "Refusing Genocide."

Take care, everyone.

Nebula Awards Finalists!

8/3/2023

I am beyond thrilled and shocked to share that I am a Nebula Finalist in two categories this year!

"The Prince of Salt and the Ocean's Bargain" is up in the Novelette category, and Vampire: The Masquerade - Sins of the Sires is among the finalists for Game Writing. I am incredibly honored to find my work on a ballot filled to the brim with absolutely brilliant people. Here’s the whole list.

Also, "Ribbons" is on the Locus Recommended Reading list!

Thank you very much for reading, sharing, voting. It really means the world.

An Odyssey turns three!

11/12/2022

My interactive Greek epic retelling, An Odyssey: Echoes of War, came out about three years ago by Choice of Games. I think this game contains some of the best prose I’ve ever written. If you like Greek myth retellings in the vein of Madeline Miller’s Circe or enjoy games like Hades, this one might be for you.

And since Greek myth retellings seem to be something people enjoy reading as well as something I enjoy writing, I thought I’d take this opportunity to post a round-up of all the short-form retellings I’ve done over the years. There are of course elements of Greek myth, especially Greek tragedy, given my background in theatre, in most of my work. For example, Vampire: The Masquerade - Sins of the Sires is structured along different arcs that mirror ones from Greek myth (Cassandra, Atreides, Medea, Oedipus, and Achilles). But here are some more explicit retellings that should be easily recognizable:

“The Names of Women” in Strange Horizons (2018), is retelling the myth of Tereus, Procne, and Philomela. Fragmented times, fragmented people, and myths that bind until they don’t.
“The Shape of Gifts,” published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction (2020), features a gender-challenged Tiresias studying birds and trying to avoid the traps of fate.
“One’s Burden, Again,” published in Clarkesworld (2019), is based on the myth of Sisyphus--but in space!
“Every Black Tree,” published in Beneath Ceaseless Skies (2017), is loosely based on the Bacchae and retells the myth of Pentheus, except in this version of the story he's come back from his dismemberment at the hands of his mother.
“The Nightingales in Plátres,” in Clarkesworld (2017), blends the story of Abraham with Agamemnon’s dilemma at Aulis. A retrofuturist tale in which the Greeks made it to Mars in the 1960s.

I hope you enjoy these! And if you do, here’s a round-up of Greek myth retellings by Greek authors in The Linguist Magazine you might find of interest. If your favorites are not on the list, drop them in the comments!

Awards Eligibility 2022

16/11/2022

Can't believe it's awards season already! Here are some things I published in 2022.

SHORT STORY
“Ribbons” (4,200 words), my trans take on the green ribbon tale, in the January/February issue of Uncanny Magazine. This is one of the most vulnerable stories I’ve written.

NOVELETTE
“The Prince of Salt and the Ocean’s Bargain” (9,600 words), a queer fairy tale, in the September/October issue of Uncanny.

GAME/INTERACTIVE NOVEL
Vampire: The Masquerade - Sins of the Sires by Choice of Games: Vampires in Greece pondering identity as a masquerade. Very queer and gender feely, because of course, but also pretty dark, because of course. Each playthrough should be novella length, 35,000-40,000 words, and you can play the first three chapters for free.

I hope you enjoy these, and, if you are nominating for awards, thank you for considering my work and supporting your favourite creators!

"The Prince of Salt" - new novelette now out

8/9/2022

Publication news from me!

I have a new novelette out in the September/October issue of Uncanny Magazine. It's called "The Prince of Salt and the Ocean's Bargain" and it's a queer fairy tale about desire and what we're willing to let go of in order to get what we want.

Also, if you were looking for an audio version of "Ribbons," my trans take on the green ribbon tale originally published in the January/February issue of Uncanny, you can now head over to PodCastle.

I hope you enjoy these!

2022 Emerging Writer Award

2/6/2022

A bit late posting this, but I'm incredibly honoured and proud to share that I've won Moniack Mhor's 2022 Emerging Writer Award (formerly The Bridge Award).

If you know me, you know there's little I like less than talking about myself, so head to Moniack Mhor's website for more information about the award and all the wonderful writers celebrated this year, as well as a few words by me about winning.

I can't wait to head to the gorgeous Moniack Mhor for a writing retreat in the near future!

Just, seriously, look at this place.

Vampire: the Masquerade - Sins of the Sires is out now

27/3/2022

So I wrote a Vampire: the Masquerade interactive novel for Choice of Games, and now it's finally out in the world.
It's about vampires in the Balkans, Greek tragedy, and identity, that masquerade.

Find it here, with links to all the usual platforms (Steam, Play Store, App Store, Amazon, web).

"Ribbons" out in Uncanny Magazine

13/1/2022

I've mentioned a favourite new thing previously, and now it's available to read! "Ribbons" is made primarily of fairy tale scraps and gender feels. It's a story that means a lot to me, so I'd be grateful if you gave it a read.

Find it here, alongside a gorgeous cover, fiction by Leah Cypess and Christopher Caldwell and poetry by Mehnaz Sahibzada and Sonya Taaffe.

"Wednesday’s lover is a challenge: he just became human again after spending a few years as a bird. Some enchantment or other. A nettle shirt, perhaps, a kiss gone wrong. Jan knows better than to ask after other people’s curses."

Things I published in 2021, aka the Year-in-Review Post

29/12/2021

Novella
Mad Milk (19,700 words) came out in the November/December 2021 issue of F&SF. It’s a queer story and a messy story, about what happens when people and cultures relate to one another through the vocabularies, narratives, and practices of conquest alone.

Games & Interactive Fiction
Betwixt is a text-based choose-your-own-adventure app that helps you find clarity, courage and self-insight written in collaboration with Hazel Gale and Elitsa Dermendzhiyska. The first part is available in the App store.

“Pockets, or When the Giants” came out in the Strange Lusts/Strange Loves issue of erotic interactive fiction of Strange Horizons. It’s a story about gender, transition, and the things we hold on to.

Short Fiction
“Oh Man’s Land” was in Professor Charlatan Bardot’s Travel Anthology to the Most (Fictional) Haunted Buildings in the Weird, Wild World alongside a veritable wealth of incredible fiction.

“The Shadowed Undertows” came out in a gorgeous issue of The Deadlands (August 2021). A story of loss and death and birds (of course).

“A Welling Up” was in Strange Horizons (May 2021). A story about family and looking for each other. A woman sick with lakes.

“All the Ophelias in My Flat,” probably my favorite flash I’ve ever written, was published in Sylvia Magazine (June 2021). Based on true events.

I think that's everything!

Also, one of my favorite new stories, “Ribbons,” is forthcoming in Uncanny in a few days. This story means more to me than I can say. If you only ever read one thing by me, read this one.

Wishing everyone a great end to 2021, and a better 2022.

New story out in The Deadlands

20/8/2021

Hello from the scorching hell that is August in Greece, but I do come bearing gifts.

"The Shadowed Undertows," a short story about love lost and found, the bleached feasts of the underworld, and (is anyone surprised?) birds, is now available to read in issue #4 of The Deadlands, edited by the wonderful E. Catherine Tobler.

The rest of the issue will gradually be available online, too (and you're in for a treat!), but you can read everything now with a subscription. If you can, please support the magazines that publish fiction you enjoy, either by subscribing or spreading the word.