I’m very pleased to announce that a new short story has been published in The Siren’s Call winter issue. This is a dark fiction and horror publication, and my story is both of those things.
“To Loneliness” is the story of a vampire who has been groomed from a very young age by one much older than himself. It’s a story of manipulation, gaslighting and control as well as the search for revenge.
You can read it free in issue #56 of The Siren’s Call, available here.
As fitting to an anthology that “highlights and explores gay male cultural experiences and is dedicated to and in celebration of gay men and their cultural history”, there is a range of genres on display.
My short story, “Lightning Fingers” is a dark, superpowered gay coming-of-age that questions who we will protect and what we might do in order to fulfil this desire.
“Pink Triangle Rhapsody” from Lycan Valley Press is out in December 2021, but you can pre-order a pack here.
My newest flash fiction (just 300 words) is out in the annual anthology from Queer Sci Fi, this year themed around ‘Ink’.
My story, called ‘Meet Cute’, involves a weapons expert meeting a soldier on the field of battle in a far flung future war. Beneath the business of war, there’s a surprising spark between the two women.
Read about the other anthology entries: ‘Abyssal Dark‘ in the ‘Innovation’ anthology. And ‘Starfall‘ in the ‘Migration’ anthology. Both from Queer Sci Fi.
The new anthology from The Great Void Books, Water Turns Red, is a collection of 21 short stories exploring the minds of killers and the detectives that are after them.
My story, Loose Ends is a little different because it is also science fiction. I took inspiration from film noir and crafted a suite of characters who fit into that genre, but who also subvert it in a variety of different ways. I really enjoyed the voice and feel of writing this and am very proud to see it up in print.
You can get a copy of Water Turns Red on Amazon.
It is a difficult thing to write flash fiction, especially when limited to 300 words or less! I’m honoured to once again be included in the Queer Sci Fi 2021 Flash Fiction Contest and Anthology.
The theme provided this year was ‘Ink’, which I took fairly literally in some respects, and very much not in others. My story is about what the title implies, but the location of the frontline of a futuristic war is a little unexpected. This is a queer anthology, so my main characters are women loving women as well. But you’ll have to get the anthology to find out more.
‘Ink’ is out on 10 August 2021, more details over at Queer Sci Fi.
Read about the other anthology entries: ‘Abyssal Dark‘ in the ‘Innovation’ anthology. And ‘Starfall‘ in the ‘Migration’ anthology. Both from Queer Sci Fi.
My beautiful husband, Carl De Villa has just released a new single, with lyrics written by me, called ‘Flaws’. It is about beauty being in the eye of the beholder and learning to love the skin we’re in. It’s kind of an earworm, I’m proud to say, and I’ve found myself muttering the chorus to myself without even realising I’m doing it.
‘Flaws’ is the first single from Carl De Villa’s upcoming album, ‘War Cry’, which will drop on 16 November. You can find Carl on Facebook to get all the updates.
Listen to ‘Flaws’ on Apple Music now.
Over the years I have had short stories published in a number of genres and with a range of publishers. And three of these have been with Transmundane Press.
The first was Mischa and the Mermaid in the Underwater anthology. I wrote this story as an homage to childhood holidays in various coastal towns, memories of beach combing and rock walking and a fascination with creatures of the deep and pulp horror, even as a child.
The next story was a little later, with The Cult of the Hyalad in the In The Air collection of short stories. I wrote this because I have always loved thunderstorms and lightning and wondered what the elemental spirit of such an event might look like.
And the newest short story published with Transmundane Press is Chasing the 999 in their On Time publication. This is a thought experiment on the logistics of time travel with a few little twists thrown in as well.
Looking forward to seeing what the future will bring.
Transmundane Press have announced their upcoming anthology On Time, which features another of my short stories, Chasing the 999.
In my short story, the 999 is an almost mythical age predicted by an probability AI wherein you can enter stasis aboard a huge ocean liner and be transported to a parallel future in which you are immortal. It is rare and coveted, and Luke might just have cracked the code.
I’ve previously has stories published with Transmundane Press in their Air anthology with Cult of the Hyalad, and in their Underwater anthology with Mischa and the Mermaid.
This flash fiction piece is very clearly and almost too literally inspired by the phenomena of the bilateral gynandromorph butterfly. I am fascinated by and adore this natural occurrence in the wild, and so transplanted it into the world of butterfae.
For those not in the know, butterfae are fairies with butterfly wings. My story follow one such fae as they hesitantly join the migration, aided by two young friends. It’s a light, hopefully beautiful moment in a fantastical time.
You can get the ebook of “Migration” from Queer Sci Fi (with a whopping 120 stories in it) here.
Adrik Kemp 