Podcast: The Mechanist’s Daughter

There’s a new fantasy fiction podcast and digital zine on the block, Imagitopia, and I am honoured to report that my story, The Mechanist’s Daughter, features as its first ever podcast. The Mechanist’s Daughter first appeared in Gears, Ghouls and Gauges: A Steampunk Anthology in 2020. This story is less dark than my usual fare, so if horror isn’t your usual jam, you might find this more to your taste.

To listen to the story and/or read along, you can find it here:

https://www.imagitopiapod.com/podcast/episode/77a7b416/episode-001-the-mechanists-daughter

Coming soon – Remains to be Told: Dark Tales of Aotearoa

A new anthology of horror tales and poems, set in and about New Zealand, is coming out on 1 October 2023 from Clan Destine Press – and I have a story in it. I am always excited about new releases, but this one comes with a couple of extra servings of excitement. One, I get to work with New Zealand’s Queen of Horror, author and editor Lee Murray. I’ve never met Lee in person (that will change at the end of September when I get to see her at Conflux in Canberra), but I imagine that she has two houses – one that she lives in, and one to hold all her author copies and award trophies.

And two, this anthology contains a poem by Neil Gaiman. Which means I am sharing a Table of Contents with Neil Gaiman.

For more information about Remains to be Told, check out this great post from Ginger Nuts of Horror. (Oh, and did I mention NEIL GAIMAN?!?)

No Patience (For Jam Hands)

I am fiercely proud of all of my children. The oldest, Declan, has a degree in Wildlife and Conservation Biology and is currently employed as a graduate environmental advisor. The youngest, Zoe, is in her first year of a teaching degree and is a talented dancer. And as I have mentioned previously, my daughter Alia is currently working towards a Bachelor of Creative Arts, with a plan to complete a Master in Arts Therapy. They have all chosen fields of study in which they have a deep and abiding interest and in which they can see themselves making a positive impact on the world. However, their endeavours don’t all lend themselves easily to having their mum show off about them on her blog (as Zoe remarked recently when we were attending an art exhibition for one of Alia’s classes, “you can’t really hold an essay exhibition”).

So, with that in mind, here is another piece from Alia, an assignment for which she received a mark of 98%. I post it mostly as a proud mother, but also to make an observation. A casual viewer might see a quirky and interesting music video; as someone who knows the artist well, I could see how much of herself she put into the work. It works both ways, with Alia as one of my beta readers easily able to identify inspiration and elements in my writing that come from personal experience. I struggled with this a little when I first started writing, as I wasn’t comfortable with giving readers glimpses into my inner world. Now, I only wish I had started my creative writing journey with Alia’s courage.