Microinterview with Rachel Rodman

We welcome Rachel Rodman, author of the poem “Two Hybrids” in The Future Fire #71, for a brief chat in the microinterview series.

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Art © 2024 Fluffgar

TFF: What does “Two Hybrids” mean to you?

Rachel Rodman: I love hybridization.

The most exciting kind of creativity combines elements that are infrequently combined. I also love the stylistic challenge of merging objects and identities from different sources: Froggie’s sword + the runcible spoon; a winged creature + a half-amphibian who hunts dragonflies, pooling their talents to survive a long journey through the sky. (Many more examples can be found in my recent book, Mutants and Hybrids, which was published by Underland Press.)

“Two Hybrids” is also exciting to me because it feels like a breakthrough. It is one of several projects that began as a short story. For a very long time, I worked and reworked these pieces, getting nowhere. Eventually, however, it occurred to me to convert these failed stories to poems.

After that, things went quickly.

TFF: What are you working on now?

RR: More poetry. More short fiction.

I am also working on a long-form, “quantum fiction” project. In quantum fiction, events are both happening and not happening. When one outcome occurs, so does its opposite. (An early example of quantum fiction is a story called “Schrödinger's Fever,” which was published in Why Vandalism?) Quantum fiction is non-linear. It is internally contradictory. Within this genre, the usual stylistic divisions don’t make sense.

Poetry? Prose?

When my writing feels most authentic, these categories stop mattering.

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Extract:

When her parents die,
she converts
the pea-green boat
to
a pair of prosthetics—
wooden extensions of her own wings
(which are only half sized).

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Reminder: You can comment on any of the writing or art in this issue at http://press.futurefire.net/2024/10/new-issue-202471.html.

Microinterview with Sebastian Timpe

Sebastian Timpe, artist of “Deep Sea Baby” and cover artist of The Future Fire #71, joins us for this week’s microinterview.

Art © Sebastian Timpe 2024

TFF: How did you go about illustrating “Deep Sea Baby”?

Sebastian Timpe: This was a very interesting piece to approach from a visual perspective, it had two stories going in it and one of them is a conversation with no visual elements attached. After reading it once I knew the first illustration had to be the white flowers in the lungs. It was such a striking visual. For the second illustration I decided to do a travel poster because the vacation aspect of the location seemed very important to the story.

TFF: How do you go about visualizing the truly alien?

ST: I use a lot of reference material in my work so visualizing something outside our world is very difficult. I prefer to play with strange versions of our reality, like the jellied mushrooms or the indigo sky.

TFF: Is there a difference for you between creating artwork to order, and composing purely from your own imagination?

ST: For me the deadline is the largest difference. Working on my own projects I'll often pick them up and put them down on a whim/when the inspiration strikes. Creating artwork to order means I have to actually finish it!

TFF: What or who would you most like to draw, paint, sculpt or photograph?

ST: I've just gotten into Dragon Age so I will probably be doing some fan art in the future.

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Reminder: You can comment on any of the writing or art in this issue at http://press.futurefire.net/2024/10/new-issue-202471.html.

Microinterview with Vanessa Fogg

We’re delighted to chat today with Vanessa Fogg, author of “That Small, Hard Thing on the Back of Your Neck” in The Future Fire #71.

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Art © 2024 Ellis Bray

TFF: What does “That Small, Hard Thing on the Back of Your Neck” mean to you?

Vanessa Fogg: To me, this story is about the masks/skins that we all wear. The ways we pretend to better fit in, to get along, for status and popularity and ease of living and maybe even (for some people) sheer survival. And it’s also about the psychic costs of living that way.

TFF: What are you working on next?

VF: I admit that I’ve been blocked for a few months now. But I’m trying to write a short (and maybe satirical?) horror piece now, and I’m excited about some earlier stories I wrote that should be coming out in 2025 or so—including a tale about a Faerie prince touring our modern world and going viral on social media, a story about the search for immortality (based on Chinese myths and legends), and what I think of as a little weird horror piece where a Eurydice-figure talks her lover into the Land of the Dead.

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Extract:

You are thirteen and in the shower when you find it. A hard, dangly little thing, like a tag, stuck to the back of your neck. It’s stuck just where your neck bones merge into your back, between your shoulders. Reflexively, you try to brush it away, swat it off, as you would to a bug. It stays stuck. Hot water sluices over you, and the thing is slick and hard to grasp, but you manage. The thing feels like metal. It’s small and rectangular, and there’s a little round opening at the top, where the tip of your finger fits.

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Reminder: You can comment on any of the writing or art in this issue at http://press.futurefire.net/2024/10/new-issue-202471.html.

Microinterview with L.E. Badillo

Today our old friend L.E. Badillo, artist of “In the Field” in The Future Fire #71, dropped by for the next installment in our microinterview series.

Art © 2024 L.E. Badillo

TFF: How did you go about illustrating “In the Field”?

L.E. Badillo: “In the Field” had some nuclear fallout vibes and I tried to portray a toxic atmosphere humans could not directly interact with. I tried representing this with a yellowish background and smokey textures.

TFF: What else are you working on now?

LEB: Besides my artwork, I'm exploring interactive fiction with programs like Inky and Twine. Hopefully, I can join a team and make a game or at least release some small games in the near future.

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Reminder: You can comment on any of the writing or art in this issue at http://press.futurefire.net/2024/10/new-issue-202471.html.

Micro-interview with Faith Allington

We’re joined today by Faith Allington, author of “Deep Sea Baby” in The Future Fire #71.

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Art © 2024 Sebastian Timpe

TFF: What does “Deep Sea Baby” mean to you?

Faith Allington: The title comes from Marika Hackman's haunting cover of the song “I Follow Rivers”; the longing in it really resonated. From a character perspective, my story is about familial love and grief, how these can change the landscape of ourselves until we are unrecognizable. From a plot perspective, it's about our planet's changing climate and a future where humanity is no longer the dominant species.

TFF: If we encountered an alien intelligence (from another world, or from an undiscovered part of our own), would we ever be able to communicate with them?

FA: I think humans can be excellent at communication, and once we got over the shock, we could find a way to communicate with them. Assuming they'd want to talk to us.

TFF: What are you working on next?

FA: I'm revising a feminist horror novel so I can query it, and in the meantime, working on a short horror story about a young woman who gets a summer internship at an unusual new cemetery.

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Extract:

The sea is glassy and lustrous with moonlight when Johanna arrives. The vacation town of Fairhaven’s only hotel crouches on the shore, bold lines blurring to ghostlike in the dark. The air is pure salt, corroding her skin and etching her lungs as she watches the indigo horizon.

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Reminder: You can comment on any of the writing or art in this issue at http://press.futurefire.net/2024/10/new-issue-202471.html.

Micro-interview with Cécile Matthey

Cécile Matthey, artist of “Whiskey Mud” in The Future Fire #71 and TFF’s in-house artist, joins us for a micro-interview.

Art © 2024 Cécile Matthey

TFF: How did you go about illustrating “Whiskey Mud”?

Cécile Matthey: Another story involving elephants ! Of course, I couldn't resist drawing them. I found a lovely photo of two elephants lying in the water, seemingly having a conversation. I used it as a model for one of the illustrations. The second illustration was more complicated… I wanted to show Chalt as a brain, in his pool of nutrient fluid. But I wanted it to look pretty… As I often do, I turned to the natural world. Given the shape of the elephant's brain, the idea of a sort of seashell came quite naturally. As for the cables, they were suggested to me by the water lilies, whose very long stems plunge deep into the water. The two fish are a wink: they are called ‘brain fish.’

TFF: Can you tell us about an artist whose work you're particularly enjoying at the moment?

CM: It's a writer: I fell in love with Pierre Pevel's book Les enchantements d'Ambremer. The story takes place in a refreshing Parisian steampunk universe, packed with classic references, reminiscent of Maurice Leblanc (Arsène Lupin), Jules Verne, and of the finest adventure films. There is a whole trilogy, called Le Paris des Merveilles. I have seen it has even been "translated" into comic books. I'm definitely going to read one!

TFF: What else are you working on now?

CM: I am working hard on my collages. I have the opportunity to exhibit them next year in a local bookshop. It's quite a challenge! (Some examples can be seen here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/caeciliana/53155901622/in/photostream/.)

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Reminder: You can comment on any of the writing or art in this issue at http://press.futurefire.net/2024/10/new-issue-202471.html.

Micro-interview with Shelly Jones

We welcome Shelly Jones, author of “In the Field” in TFF #71, for a short chat about her story, aliens, writing and cosy mysteries!

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Art © 2024 L.E. Badillo

TFF: What does “In the Field” mean to you?

Shelly Jones: My day job is as a professor at a small college. I wrote “In the Field” thinking about how future AI/robotics might change my day to day life as an educator. I am forever fascinated by the persistence of life, of the ways we can continue despite the world crumbling around us. I am also interested in the ways we need to pivot and re-define what's been in front of us the whole time as a method of survival, of resistance.

TFF: Would you like to meet aliens from another world?

SJ: While I don't believe in little green men versions of aliens, I do believe there must be some kind of other life out there in the vast beyond. If they ever encountered earth, I hope they'd find humans to be kind and empathetic creatures.

TFF: What is the most important thing to remember about writing?

SJ: To be persistent and remember to just get words on the page. You can always go back and change those words, find shinier, prettier, more perfect words—but you can't if there are no words to begin with.

TFF: What are you working on next?

SJ: A bit of a shift in genre! I'm working on my cozy mystery series about a board game shop owner and her femme gaming group. If you like nerdy, game-related puns, look for the first in the series, which debuts in Fall 2025.

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Extract:

The professor pulls down a shoebox of cassette tapes from the bookcase. Her office is full of boxes like this on every shelf, stacks in the corner waist-high. Her life’s work: collecting the voices of people who no longer exist. I look at the delicate ribbons loose in their cartridges and consider that my ancestors were once made of such crude materials, reels of magnetic tape spooling their thoughts.

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Reminder: You can comment on any of the writing or art in this issue at http://press.futurefire.net/2024/10/new-issue-202471.html.

Micro-interview with Devan Barlow

Devan Barlow, author of the poem “A Moon Witch Seeks a Shell” in The Future Fire #71, joins us for the first in this season’s micro-interviews.

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Art © 2024 Melkorka

TFF: What does “A Moon Witch Seeks a Shell” mean to you?

Devan Barlow: This poem is part of a series of lunarpunk pieces I’ve been writing about these moon witches. Each piece helps me sort out a little more about the setting and the characters, and in this instance gave me the chance to combine two of my favorite things—lunarpunk and sea creatures.

TFF: What is the most important thing to remember about writing?

DB: Keep reading—and reading things that aren’t the genre you’re working in.

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Extract:

On the opposite shore, I hope
another moon witch
convinces a mollusk our cause is just
Sometimes, the most difficult conversations are those
between witches upon the same moon

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Reminder: You can comment on any of the writing or art in this issue at http://press.futurefire.net/2024/10/new-issue-202471.html.

My Augmentation: A Look at Star Trek: Discovery’s Airiam

Guest post by Jordan Hirsch

[CW: mental health issues]

Picture it: a Family-Feud-style board. Steve Harvey at the mic. A studio audience silent and waiting. The question: what comes to mind when thinking about Star Trek?

Survey says: space, utopia, starships, Vulcans.

Mental health? [X]

Disability representation? [X]

Bodily autonomy [X]

While these are good answers and cases could be made for each of them when looking at specific episodes, none of the above have historically been major themes in the long-running franchise.

But let’s rewind from the 23rd century back to 2018.

The past six years have been some of the hardest of my life. I won’t go into too much detail, but between religious trauma, broken relationships, and losing what I thought was my dream job on top of the ongoing pandemic, the necessary civil uprising here in Minnesota after George Floyd was murdered, and the general despair of our political climate, my mental health plummeted. This manifested in depression and anxiety disorder, which my nervous system translated to vertigo-like symptoms, digestion issues, some agoraphobia, and probably other things I’ll realize down the road weren’t normal for me.

I don’t share this laundry list of experiences for pity, but for context and solidarity with anyone who might be dealing with something similar.

It took more than two years to discover the above symptoms were due to my anxiety disorder, after finally seeking medication during a ten-day, unrelenting panic attack. I was prescribed an SSRI, and let me tell you, I wish I’d started it so much sooner. At the time, though, I experienced what I now know so many others have when starting medication for their mental well-being.

Was I a failure? Weak? Would I be taking these pills for the rest of my life?

Would I even be myself while on these meds?

Should I survey 100 people to see what they said, top 6 answers on the board? Thankfully, answers for me lay elsewhere.

Star Trek: Discovery, which just wrapped its fifth and final season a few months ago, reignited the franchise when it came on our screens in 2017. In many ways, it truly went where no Star Trek had gone before. From the first on-screen canon gay couple to re-designed Klingons to darker and grittier storylines, Discovery paved its own frontier.

Other Trek series have dipped their toes into themes of mental health before, in episodes such as “It’s Only a Paper Moon” of Deep Space Nine, “Extreme Risk” of Voyager, and season 3 of Enterprise. However, these arcs were contained, leaving little to no lasting effects that would come up for characters later in the series. Discovery, however, tackled these issues with multiple characters over multiple seasons, and one in particular has made a lasting impression on me as I’ve navigated my own health.

Airiam is a quiet and steady member on Discovery’s bridge. Unfortunately, for most of the first season and half, we don’t get to know much about her. She’s dutiful, she’s smart, she’s dependable. She has friends on the ship, and she’s even third in command. She also has a tragic backstory.

When returning from eloping, Airiam was in a tragic shuttle accident that damaged most of her body and killed her husband. To stay alive, she had to be cybernetically augmented, with most of her body needing to be artificial. Now, Airiam’s brain can’t store memories properly, and when her artificial storage reaches capacity, she has to choose which memories to delete and which ones to keep.

None of this stopped her, however. She still pursued her Starfleet career, she still spars and trains with shipmates, she still rocks at board game night.

Airiam lives on her own terms, and (spoilers) heroically, she dies on her own terms as well, sacrificing herself after becoming infected by a malicious AI.

We see a lot of on-screen deaths in Discovery, but we rarely see any post-death ceremonies. However, we do get to see Airiam’s funeral, and during that time, her crewmates share what she meant to them, speaking of her impact, her resilience, her loyalty, and her outlook on life.

However, it was what Airiam’s friend and Discovery’s pilot Keyla Detmer said that puts my own sentiments into words: “[Airiam] showed me that my augmentation didn’t make me an imitation of myself. It made both of us new, that there could be a future.” You see, Keyla had been injured in the Klingon War, losing an eye and having her own augmentation.

Her words cut right to my core as I questioned if starting medication would alter my identity.

The analogy isn’t perfect; they never are. But what is perfect is the way this character gave me permission to need my own augmentation, the way she assured me I’d still be me, even while on medication.

My SSRIs aren’t permanent like Airiam’s augmentations. I can change my dose, stop taking them, choose something else with my doctor’s advice and supervision. But even if they do need to be a tool in my toolbox for the rest of my life, that doesn’t mean that I’m less myself. That doesn’t mean I’ve failed or I’ve forsaken all or part of who I am. On the contrary, I’m more myself than I’ve been in a very long time.

Would I have made it here without Airiam?

The optimist in me likes to think so. But I owe the Star Trek: Discovery writers and creators and the two actresses that played Airiam (Sara Mitich and Hannah Cheesman) so much for making this journey easier for me. For helping me embrace what proper medication could do for my brain, my body, my life. For showing me that an augmented me is still entirely me. For giving me permission to, once again, live life on my own terms.

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Jordan Hirsch’s poetry chapbook, Both Worlds, is available from Bottlecap Press (https://bottlecap.press/products/both).

Jordan Hirsch writes speculative fiction and poetry while occupying the ancestral and current homelands of the Dakota people, Mni Sota Makoce. She is a recent graduate of Concordia University’s MFA in Creative Writing program and is a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association. You can find more of Jordan’s work on her website (jordanrhirsch.wordpress.com).

New issue: 2024.71

“Europeans brought with them the view that men were the absolute head of households, and women were to be submissive to them. It was then that the role of women in Cherokee society began to decline. One of the new values Europeans brought to the Cherokees was a lack of balance and harmony between men and women. It was what we today call sexism. This was not a Cherokee concept. Sexism was borrowed from Europeans.”

—Maria Mankiller

Issue 2024.71

Short stories

• ‘Whiskey Mud’, Jonathan Olfert - art by Cécile Matthey
• ‘Deep Sea Baby’, Faith Allington - art by Sebastian Timpe
• ‘That Small, Hard Thing on the Back of Your Neck’, Vanessa Fogg - art by Ellis Bray
• ‘In the Field’, Shelly Jones - art by L.E. Badillo
• ‘Deirdre’s Skin’, Amalie N. Ingham - art by Sarah Salcedo

Poetry

• ‘A Moon Witch Seeks a Shell’, Devan Barlow - art by Melkorka
• ‘Two Hybrids’, Rachel Rodman - art by Fluffgar

Download e-book version: PDF | EPUB

Full issue and editorial

Micro-interview with Joel Bisaillon

Joel Bisaillon, artist of “Transmogrification” in The Future Fire #70, is with us for the next in this season of micro-interviews.

Art © 2024 Joel Bisaillon

TFF: How did you go about illustrating “Transmogrification”?

Joel Bisaillon: I have to be honest. It wasn’t easy. Like any piece you try to do the author justice by honoring their work with the best of your understanding. Having chosen most of my labels as a goth/punk kid, I’ve understood the labelling others cast out towards me, but I know that mine was personally elected. This isn’t that whatsoever. This is part of the character's core being and to get that right without falling into a caricature of what a straight white male might project isn’t the easiest. I want to ensure the protagonist is respected, and the story is honoured. So, in short with more hearty and thinky than arty.

TFF: What is the thing you lost and wish you could find again?

JB: Focus.

TFF: How do you imagine early digital graphics will be seen by future art historians?

JB: Unfortunately, I don’t think that digital art will be that significant to future artists or historians. I know it’s a bleak outlook but with the advent of generative AI instilling the acceptance of demanding unearned rewards without learning the skills to do so, and the fact that one can simply copy/paste digital art we have lost the ability to be enamoured by its uniqueness. Art Historians (should they recover from this) will see a “dark ages” loom over this time saturated with big-breasted inbred anime girls corrupted by the generation loss of AI feeding upon its product like Goya’s Saturn Devouring His Son.

TFF: Have you ever seen a piece of art that you wished was alive?

JB: I know I’m an odd duck for this but Diane Arbus’ photograph – Child with Toy Hand Grenade. That kid has seen some shit and needs to unleash it.

TFF: Can you tell us about an artist whose work you're particularly enjoying at the moment?

JB: Recently I’ve been enjoying the old pulp horror/sci-fi art of weird tales and one of my favorites is Lee Brown Coye. Amazing macabre black and white ink works yet whimsical.

TFF: What else are you working on now?

JB: Besides my own webcomic Eirgsmoth, I’ve a few projects due for Roses & Wildflowers Magazine. Oh and still trying to quit my day job.

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Reminder: You can comment on any of the writing or art in this issue at http://press.futurefire.net/2024/07/new-issue-202470.html.

Micro-interview with Zoe Kaplan

Zoe Kaplan, author of “The End of Rain” in The Future Fire #70, joins us for today’s micro-interview about her story, mountains, and other friends.

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Art © 2024 Joyce Chng

TFF: What does “The End of Rain” mean to you?

Zoe Kaplan: “The End of Rain” is a reflection on the end of a relationship. It's abstracted in the story, enough so that (hopefully!) all kinds of readers can resonate with it, but it grew out of one real specific friendship I had as a teenager. It was intimate and sustaining until it wasn't. Not every relationship gets to be forever, which sucks, but I'd like to think we're both stronger for the time we had together. At least, I am—and their Instagram makes it look like they're doing okay, too!

TFF: Which natural or geographical feature do you feel most affinity for?

ZK: I grew up in the Appalachian mountains, and they have my heart forever. And I love to be in a forest! The denser the trees, the less sky I can see, the better. I love the way a forest makes you feel so held.

TFF: What are you working on next?

ZK: I've got a story coming out at the end of this month from Dragon Gems. It's a contemporary sapphic retelling of Sleeping Beauty, with magic and swords and penthouses and subways. It should be a lot of fun! Follow my socials or my newsletter to be notified when it comes out. 😊 Beyond that, I'm currently working on a Gothic ghost story that's turning out way longer than I expected, so wish me luck taming that beast.

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Extract:

I made my home on a patch of damp farmland. I was young and so was she, her trees mere saplings next to the neighboring forests. I tilled her soil and trimmed her branches, and in return, she provided me with fruits and grains, more than I could eat.

It rained often in those days. I would lie on the grass and let the water seep into us both as we talked for hours at a time. We were sustained like that for perhaps two years, growing into each other like vines.

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Reminder: You can comment on any of the writing or art in this issue at http://press.futurefire.net/2024/07/new-issue-202470.html.

Micro-interview with Katharine A. Viola

We’re delighted to be joined today by Katharine A. Viola, artist of “Matryoshka City” in The Future Fire #70, for a very quick chat.

Art © 2024, Katharine A. Viola

TFF: How did you go about illustrating “Matryoshka City”?

Katharine A. Viola: This was such an intriguing story with great details, so it wasn't too hard to find something I wanted to paint. The macabre imagery of bodies in boxes really stood out to me.

TFF: Would you like to visit another planet?

KAV: Yes! Supposedly it rains diamonds on Neptune, so I'd like to go there with a couple of large bags!

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Reminder: You can comment on any of the writing or art in this issue at http://press.futurefire.net/2024/07/new-issue-202470.html.

Micro-interview with R.M. Pérez-Padilla

Today’s micro-interview is with the wonderful R.M. Pérez-Padilla, author of “Transmogrification” in The Future Fire #70.

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Art © 2024 Joel Bisaillon

TFF: What does “Transmogrification” mean to you?

R.M. Pérez-Padilla: I wrote “Transmogrification” when I, like Max, was a few months into HRT, balancing new gender euphorias and the strangeness of a changing body. Rereading it now, three years later, I find it holds a special place for me as a marker of my gender journey. The title is partly inspired by a favorite poem, “notes on the seasons” by trans Puerto Rican poet Roque Salas Rivera, which speaks about “wait[ing] for transmogrification.”

TFF: What is the most important thing to remember about writing?

RMPP: That it is at its best when it is honest, and that it can be anything! All my work has improved when I’ve been able to let the characters and the story lead me to new possibilities, even if they're not quite in line with my original plans.

TFF: What are you working on next?

RMPP: I’m currently editing a (hopefully final!) draft of my romance/science fiction novel, starring an augmented human, a surveillance AI, and an alien ex-revolutionary. Like “Transmogrification,” the novel explores how our intimate relationships, romantic and otherwise, can heal our wounds and help us to become more truly ourselves.

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Extract:

“You tried to finger yourself and had a panic attack,” my girlfriend concludes. Not unkindly, but not with much gentleness, either, like I’m the dumbass for not realizing what I experienced. Which, generally speaking, is the issue with us.

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Reminder: You can comment on any of the writing or art in this issue at http://press.futurefire.net/2024/07/new-issue-202470.html.

Micro-interview with Toeken

This week we’re joined by Toeken, artist of “The Ships That Sang” in The Future Fire #70, for our series of micro-interviews.

Art © 2024 Toeken

TFF: How did you go about illustrating “The Ships That Sang”?

Toeken: Gorgeous piece of work by Joss Cho. I began sketching after reading the piece about a dozen times, designing and painting about twenty-something screwheads (chucking most of them away ~ less is more, right?) and then painting/assembling the portholes so they don't look quite so 'obvious.'

TFF: How do you imagine early digital graphics will be seen by future art historians?

T: Any art of real value, creatively speaking, is born of effort and, to some extent, torment. Hopefully the 'art historians' of the future will still be able to recognize this.

TFF: What is under your bed?

T: I'm looking after two dogs right now. And they are both under my bed. They don't like the heat… or each other, it seems.

TFF: Can you tell us about an artist whose work you're particularly enjoying at the moment?

T: Again, there's a whole bunch but the works I've been digging into lately by Christophe Jacrot, Laura Rich, Eric Brenner, Ikkō Narahara and Juan Ruiz are extraordinary.

TFF: What else are you working on now?

T: I've just finished a few pieces for Shoreline of Infinity, The Future Fire (obviously), Lovecraftiana Magazine and working on a cover with the author Simon Bleaken. There's also a short graphic novella that I'm trying to finish that's based on Phil Emery's excellent tale, 'Hammek', who I've worked with in the past on the graphic novel Razor's Edge. There's an illustrated spec fiction/horror anthology that I've been wanting to finish for years on the way too.

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Reminder: You can comment on any of the writing or art in this issue at http://press.futurefire.net/2024/07/new-issue-202470.html.

Micro-interview with Mary Soon Lee

We welcome old friend Mary Soon Lee, author of the poem “What Heroines Read” in The Future Fire #70, for a quick chat about poems, animals and fantasy.

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Art © 2024 Dr T. Eratopo

TFF: What does “What Heroines Read” mean to you?

Mary Soon Lee: I primarily hoped the poem would entertain readers. It's part of a series of poems with similar titles ("What Trolls Read," "What Aliens Read," "What Cacti Read," etc.), and the series as a whole draws on my lifelong addiction to reading. This particular entry in the series has also been infiltrated by my feminism.    

TFF: Into which animal would you like to be able to morph?

MSL: A dragon. Or, for real-world animals, then a cat, either a small house-cat or a snow leopard. I am very partial to guanacos, alpacas, llamas, but I'd prefer to be a cat.

TFF: What are you working on next?

MSL: I'm writing standalone poems, plus poems that add onto slowly-growing poem sequences, including the series mentioned above with "What Heroines Read." I have completed another poetry collection, though it isn't in submission yet (nearly!) And an illustrated print edition of my epic fantasy The Sign of the Dragon is inching closer to publication: the wonderful Gary McCluskey recently completed the forty interior illustrations.

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Extract:

The selfsame canon that any hero does—
From Airavata to Zeus: A Pantheon,
The Point of Swordsmanship,
The Care and Feeding of Sidekicks.

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Reminder: You can comment on any of the writing or art in this issue at http://press.futurefire.net/2024/07/new-issue-202470.html.

Micro-interview with Auke Pols

Auke Pols, author of “The Transformative Three and the Clean Cooking Revolution (grant no. 437-775)” in The Future Fire #70, joins us for this week’s microinterview.

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Art © 2024 Cécile Matthey

TFF: What does “The Transformative Three and the Clean Cooking Revolution (grant no. 437-775)” mean to you

Auke Pols: The story was inspired by watching one too many superhero movies in which hyper-competent individuals solve world problems (usually other hyper-competent individuals) through technology and violence. Which made me wonder what superpowers one would really need to tackle wicked issues in international development, an area in which I’ve done both research and teaching. Unsurprisingly, it quickly became clear that the story would become a kind of antithesis of the classic superhero story. For one, the focus is on communities and institutions rather than individuals. Instead of flashy destruction, it is about creation, patience, hard work and upscaling. And most importantly, it is about setting aside individual agency and your own convictions and being open to the wants and needs of the other. In the words of Ernesto Sirolli: “Want to help someone? Shut up and listen!” All this made it a challenge to write—but a deliciously subversive one!

TFF: Who is the most interesting person you've ever met while travelling?

AK: Visiting Eastern Europe, I once met a friendly and somewhat melancholic old Russian logician. I was mostly impressed by his dedication to his craft when his university board had instigated book bans, because they were ‘of the Devil’.

“What do we do with the Devil?” he asked his students.
“We fight him!’ was the answer.
“What do you need to fight an enemy?” he asked.
“Knowledge of the enemy!’ was, after some deliberation, the response.
“So if someone bans you from gaining knowledge about the enemy, should we not regard him as being in league with the enemy?”

His logic was ruthless, his dedication to his craft admirable. He also got fired. I never met him again: I hope the best for him.

TFF: What is the most important thing to remember about writing?

AK: Two things come to mind—I hope you’ll indulge me. The first is that speculative fiction is important because it shows us that things can be otherwise, for better or worse. As the proverb says, we live in interesting times. This is a problem, because many people are suffering from their more violent aspects, and many more will suffer before we are through them. But a crisis is also always an opportunity to question our assumptions of what we really value as individuals and as society, how to share what we have and what future we want to create for our descendants. Good writing can help us think through these fundamental questions.

The second is that writing (and reading) is a way to help process emotions, your own and others’. Many years ago, a friend who I knew from Live Action Role-Playing died in a tragic accident. Our friend group deliberated on how to deal with this in the game, as characters perishing is not that unusual. So I wrote a story in which his character was called away on an epic quest from which it was clear that he could never return. It helped us deal with the grief, and for me, it was a realisation that I could not only write for fun, but that my writing could also do emotional work.

TFF: What are you working on next?

AK: I’ve just finalised a post-apocalyptic steampunk novel in which an elderly and an armless priest have to solve a murder in a crumbling island city. Currently I’m starting up a spiritual science fiction novel following a diplomat, a veteran and a scientist on a peace mission to a group of powerful aliens, whose welcoming gift to humanity may expand its consciousness—or destroy it entirely. Of course, finishing writing a novel is not quite the same as publishing it, so no promises on when you’ll be able to to read it—but I’ll keep The Future Fire updated!

More news in my LinkedIn or Hebban (Dutch).

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Extract: 

The sun sets in a dusty orange haze when our jeep bumps over the dirt road towards the low brick houses of the Bihari village. To anyone else it would have looked like the many villages dotting the North Indian countryside that we passed earlier, by train and by jeep. But when you’re a team of superheroes—determined Grace, silent Vlinder, Vinod sleeping in the back and me, Bram, you know when there’s change in the air.

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Reminder: You can comment on any of the writing or art in this issue at http://press.futurefire.net/2024/07/new-issue-202470.html.

Micro-interview with Joyce Chng

Joyce Chng, artist of “The End of Rain” in The Future Fire #70, joins us today for this month's micro-interview series.

Art © 2024 Joyce Chng

TFF: How did you go about illustrating “The End of Rain”?

Joyce Chng: What I did was to let the images come to me while I read the story. It was lyrical and beautiful, immediately inspiring some visual imagery. The first was the mandala of water/droplets, followed by two people embracing.

TFF: Have you ever had a close affinity with a piece of land or other geographical feature?

JC: Interestingly enough, I have had close affinity to… the sea. I feel calm when I touch sea water. As for land or geographical feature, I love mountains, hills and cliffs.

TFF: Have you ever seen a piece of art that you wished was alive?

JC: Mona Lisa, by Leonardo Da Vinci. I am intrigued by her and her backstory. Her eyes seem to indicate a warm personality who loves to laugh.

TFF: What else are you working on now?

JC: A YA duology (Sapphic, swords, friendship, coming-of-age) and a collection of my own SFF stories.

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Reminder: You can comment on any of the writing or art in this issue at http://press.futurefire.net/2024/07/new-issue-202470.html

Micro-interview with Alexandra Brandt

We’re joined by Alexandra Brandt, author of “The Shape of Her Shadow” in The Future Fire #70, for a quick chat about monsters, #metoo and magic.

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Art © 2024 Fluffgar

 

 TFF: What does “The Shape of Her Shadow” mean to you?

Alexandra Brandt: I wrote this story in early 2018, in the middle of all the #MeToo revelations, and completed it the day after the Women's March in Washington, DC. We know who was in power in the US at the time. As an American and a woman, I was… really angry. Prior to that, I don't think I'd ever written a story while angry! I felt powerless (and to be honest, I still do)—but I needed to write something in the face of all that. Something that didn't give in to despair. For me, “The Shape of Her Shadow” is both rage and hope.

TFF: Who or what is your favourite monster?

AB: I don't think I have a favorite, but I did just watch Nimona last night, and she's pretty delightful.

TFF: What magical power would you like to possess?

AB: To open a door and have it go anywhere in the world in an instant. Preferably in a way that I could bring people along with me. (If I asked for any world-changing powers, I fear that I would abuse them in the name of "fixing" everything…)

TFF: What are you working on next?

AB: I have these three Sapphic fey historical romantasy novellas out right now, but they really need to be a proper novel. So my next goal is to make the novel happen and publish it by December.    

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Extract:

I wonder which monsters they mean: the shadowy creatures lurking deep in the Wilds that I and mine must soon enter… or these warlike men who now claim to protect my daughters from them.

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Reminder: You can comment on any of the writing or art in this issue at http://press.futurefire.net/2024/07/new-issue-202470.html.

New issue: 2024.70

“If we continue on this path of little by little destroying forests, destroying rivers, destroying air, the consequences are going to be awful for humans and cultures around the world, for all forms of life. And I want people to wake up.”

—Nemonte Nenquimo

Issue 2024.70

Flash fiction

• ‘The End of Rain’, Zoe Kaplan - art by Joyce Chng

Short stories

• ‘Transmogrification’, R.M. Pérez-Padilla - art by Joel Bisaillon
• ‘The Shape of Her Shadow’, Alexandra Brandt - art by Fluffgar

Novelettes

• ‘Matryoshka City’, Albert Chu - art by Katharine A. Viola
• ‘The Transformative Three and the Clean Cooking Revolution (grant no. 437-775)’, Auke Pols - art by Cécile Matthey

Poetry

• ‘The Ships That Sang’, Jess Cho - art by Toeken
• ‘What Heroines Read’, Mary Soon Lee - art by Dr T. Eratopo

Download e-book version: PDF | EPUB

Full issue and editorial 

Micro-interview with Mahaila Smith

And this week we’re joined by Mahaila Smith, author of the poem “Manipulating the Light” in The Future Fire #69, to talk about solarpunk, climate crisis and future work.

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Art © 2024, Fluffgar

TFF: What does “Manipulating the Light” mean to you?

Mahaila Smith: I wrote “Manipulating the Light” after reading The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson. This book made me think about the specific impacts of the climate crisis in India and the technology being adopted in response. I find it important to read and write solarpunk in settings where the climate crisis is experienced most severely. The poem centres around a sapphic relationship which, as a queer person, was significant for me to include.

TFF: What are you working on next?

MS: My novelette in verse, Seed Beetle is forthcoming with Stelliform Press in 2025. This story explores themes of eco-dystopia, feminism, social organizing and the relationship between marine life and outer space. It is set in a Southern Ontario community that has experienced widespread desertification and loss of land to industrialization. The community looks to a robotics corporation to heal the land through its megafaunal automated beetles, however community members are harmed by exploitative labour practices and non-consensual brain implants.

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Extract:

The open skylights lance
drops of sunlight that slip
through prisms and bounce
off mirrors, leaving a spill
of colour and light
at the altar of the temple.

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Reminder: You can comment on any of the writing or art in this issue at http://press.futurefire.net/2024/04/new-issue-202469.html.

Micro-interview with Katharine A. Viola

Katharine A. Viola, artist of “Sunrise over Neo-Tokyo” in TFF #69, joins us for today’s micro-interview on her work in this issue and other art.

TFF: How did you go about illustrating “Sunrise over Neo-Tokyo”?

Katharine A. Viola: The author made great use of imagery when describing the city’s relationship with nature. I really enjoyed how the two concepts meshed together and the picture I painted represents the image I had in my head while reading the story.

TFF: If you were able to draw a map of a real or imaginary place, what would that be?

KAV: Map of the universe!

TFF: What would be the most important thing for you to hold onto if civilization started to break down in your city?

KAV: Morals and integrity, though I would imagine it would be difficult as very little is ever black and white.

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Reminder: You can comment on any of the writing or art in this issue at http://press.futurefire.net/2024/04/new-issue-202469.html.

Micro-interview with L.E. Badillo

Please welcome L.E. Badillo, artist of “Space Gardens” in The Future Fire #69 (and cover artist) for today’s brief chat about illustrating and artistic medium.

 

TFF: How did you go about illustrating “Space Gardens”?

L.E. Badillo: L. J. Lacey wrote a great story that was easy to work from. The feeling of loneliness and a repressed need to fill that place in one’s life played a huge part in my approach. A feeling of desolation, duty, and the perseverance of age.

TFF: What's the most unusual or challenging medium you can imagine working with?

LEB: I’d love to fully commit to working in oils. That’s an area I’ve never been able to put real time in. I find the amazing works of Bram and Patrick J. Jones equally intimidating and inspiring.

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Reminder: You can comment on any of the writing or art in this issue at http://press.futurefire.net/2024/04/new-issue-202469.html.

Micro-interview with Lae Astra

We welcome Lae Astra, author of the poem “Sunrise over Neo-Tokyo” in The Future Fire #69, to join us for a brief chat about their work and the future.

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Art © 2024 Katharine A. Viola

TFF: What does “Sunrise over Neo-Tokyo” mean to you?

Lae Astra: Being able to imagine a better future is such a necessary and beautiful thing. I wanted to tell the story of one possible future that bloomed vividly in my mind while writing, one where we coexist peacefully with the fellow beings who share our planet.

TFF: What are you working on next?

LA: I am currently on a break from writing, but I hope to dream up more stories and pieces of art that connect to hopeful futures.

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Extract:

At the observation deck of Skytree 22,
we sit waiting for hatsuhinode,
the first sunrise of the new year.

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Reminder: You can comment on any of the writing or art in this issue at http://press.futurefire.net/2024/04/new-issue-202469.html.

Micro-interview with Katie Kopajtic

We’re delighted to welcome Katie Kopajtic, author of “Terranueva” in The Future Fire #69, over for a quick chat.

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Art © 2024 Melkorka

TFF: What does “Terranueva” mean to you?

Katie Kopajtic: “Terranueva” is how I honor my experience marrying into a Puerto Rican family. My wife's hometown of Dorado has earned a reputation for an increasing number of wealthy continental American residents, as the government continues to spend on development to encourage further gentrification.

It is also a love letter to cross-generational relationships in a family, and to the jibara lifestyle as a means of resistance against colonization. Jibaro is simply the term used to describe a laborer of Puerto Rico's mountainous regions, but it can also be wielded as an insult, synonymous with country bumpkin, hick, or someone who is uneducated. But a new generation of Puerto Ricans have reclaimed jibaro as a culture to be honored, and worth preserving, especially as resort development continues to threaten the island's natural landscapes and working class.

TFF: What is the oldest memory you have?

KK: My oldest memory is of being a toddler and watching my immigrant grandfather Mirko play the accordion while my grandmother sings Croatian ballads. Mirko was a proud Yugoslavian, and a jibaro in his own way. His ‘old world’ ways and nostalgia for the village had an impact on my father and his siblings, and it continues to inspire me.

TFF: What are you working on next?

KK: My next project is completing my feature length documentary Heritage Fantasy, which tells the story of a struggling actress's journey to connect with her Croatian heritage and overcome her self-doubt: Believing that making a film about her roots will help with her brand and overall marketability, she travels to Croatia and interviews three generations of her family, uncovering themes of escapism, longing, and the artist's struggle. But when her film fails to solve her problems, she must confront her own expectations of what success means.

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Extract:

Even with a healthy brain, Marisol would not have recognized her old neighborhood. Turf grass yawned from the wrought iron gate to the ocean, crisscrossed with glittering quartz pathways that led to identical cream condos. She stared at The Ritz Bungalow #4 (‘Pearl’), supposing that the concrete walls, at least, hadn’t changed.

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Reminder: You can comment on any of the writing or art in this issue at http://press.futurefire.net/2024/04/new-issue-202469.html.

Micro-interview with L.J. Lacey

L.J. Lacey, author of “Space Gardens” in The Future Fire #69, joins us for today’s micro-interview.

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Art © 2024, L.E. Badillo

TFF: What does “Space Gardens” mean to you?

L.J. Lacey: “Space Gardens” reflects two concepts that are critical to me as a writer and thinker. First, we must embrace knowledges from throughout the world, and prioritize life over profits in the ways we implement those knowledges. Second, we need more and many representations of older people, especially women and nonbinary folks, who can inspire us to see a worthwhile future, both for ourselves and for our planet.

TFF: What are you working on next?

LJL: I am in the midst of two longer projects. My eco-fantasy novel is in the final stages of revision, and my newest project is a solarpunk novella.

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Extract:

Rita swept the small porch for a third or fourth time, glancing up to scan the rocky landscape for Ana’s ambling form. It had been an unsettling day and Ana’s absence only added to Rita’s feeling that things were off. Seeing nothing but the setting sun spreading a glow across the mountainside, Rita sighed and made the “ssspppss” sound that let the cats know dinner was ready. She kept the broom handy in case Vali was lurking about and gave a stern look to the small pack of dogs lazing in front of the house. A few rumbles of annoyance emerged from the dogs at the feline swarm taking over the side of the house, but they had already been fed and were content to stay put.

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Reminder: You can comment on any of the writing or art in this issue at http://press.futurefire.net/2024/04/new-issue-202469.html.

Micro-interview with Ellis Bray

Ellis Bray, artist of “Sun-Dappled Sheets of Methane Rain” in The Future Fire #69, joins us for today’s micro-interview celebrating the release of the hopeful SF issue.

TFF: How did you go about illustrating “Sun-Dappled Sheets of Methane Rain”?

Ellis Bray: I actually created a couple of pieces for this one. The first one was a view of Saturn through a rain-streaked visor but I felt like it didn’t get the full feel of the story, which had a sense of longing to me. So I found a reference photo of someone staring off into the distance in a field, and used a combination of Procreate and NASA’s free images to build up the painting, using the reference to add our main character to the scene.

TFF: What famous work of art would you like to hang over your bed?

EB: It’s probably cliche, but I’m in love with Van Gogh’s “Starry Night.”

TFF: What's the most unusual or challenging medium you can imagine working with?

EB: Marble. Bernini’s ability to create flesh from hard rock is witchcraft, I’m pretty sure.

TFF: Can you tell us about an artist whose work you're particularly enjoying at the moment?

EB: I really love watching the adventures of Lisa Snellings’ poppets, which are handmade ceramic tiny dolls that she then professionally photographs in unusual situations. It’s so creative, and the poppets are eerie and gorgeous.

TFF: What else are you working on now?

EB: I’m in the early stages of a tattoo career, so I’m finishing up the last parts of the training before I can start taking clients. It’s a huge leap in mediums but everything else (color theory, composition, style) is roughly the same, which helps a lot.

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Reminder: You can comment on any of the writing or art in this issue at http://press.futurefire.net/2024/04/new-issue-202469.html.

Micro-interview with Amanda Cook

We’re delighted that Amanda Cook, author of “Guidelines for Living Your Fairy Tale (in no Particular Order)” in The Future Fire #69, is joining us for a quick chat.

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Art © 2024 Joel Bisaillon

TFF: What does “Guidelines for Living Your Fairy Tale (in no Particular Order)” mean to you?

Amanda Cook: When I wrote “Guidelines…”, I already had a trunked story about Red Riding Hood getting tired of how her fairy tale was being read and literally carving her own path into a new story. She goes on to help all the other female fairy tale characters find their way to a happier existence on their own terms. This poem is sort of an extension of that story and also a reminder to myself that I don't have to wait on anyone else to forge my path in the world, but it's also okay to ask for help when I need it.

TFF: What was your favourite fairy tale when you were a child?

AC: I loved all the fairy tales I read as a child, but I was particularly drawn to Alice in Wonderland in book form. There was something about the absurdity of Wonderland that I loved, and again, Alice was a protagonist who eventually made her way home by thinking for herself (and with a little help here and there). I also loved Disney's Belle in Beauty and the Beast, because I was and still am that quirky, daydreaming, book-reading girl who loves libraries.

TFF: What is the most important thing to remember about writing?

AC: I've come to learn over the years that I should write for myself, first and foremost. If I find I really connect with a piece I've written, whether it's poetry or prose, I tend to think (or, at the very least, hope) there is someone else in the world who will connect with it too.

TFF: What are you working on next?

AC: I'm in between projects and trying to write more poetry. I may end up creating a chapbook of some of my favorites later this year. I also have another poem that's supposed to be published by the end of 2024 that I can't wait to see in the world!

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Extract:

If you happen to find yourself
Locked in a tower, read away
Those quiet days and enjoy
The gift of alone time

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Reminder: You can comment on any of the writing or art in this issue at http://press.futurefire.net/2024/04/new-issue-202469.html.

Micro-interview with Melkorka

Melkorka, artist of “Terranueva” in The Future Fire #69, joins us for today’s mini-interview on the subject of antiquity, materials and art.

TFF: To which famous wedding (in any period of history) would have you liked to be invited?

Melkorka: Cleopatra and Mark Anthony’s! I am obsessed with Egypt, and hope to visit one day.

TFF: What's the most unusual or challenging medium you can imagine working with?

M: Old cassettes—I have found the tape to be quite unwieldy. Though as the fantastic work of Erika Iris Simmons demonstrates, it's worth persevering.

TFF: Can you tell us about an artist whose work you're particularly enjoying at the moment?

M: Henry Meynell Rheam. I am particularly enchanted by his work ‘The Fairy Woods.’

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Reminder: You can comment on any of the writing or art in this issue at http://press.futurefire.net/2024/04/new-issue-202469.html.

Micro-interview with Marc A. Criley

For today’s micro-interview we are joined by Marc A. Criley, author of “Sun-Dappled Sheets of Methane Rain” in The Future Fire #69.

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Art © 2024 Ellis Bray

TFF: What does “Sun-Dappled Sheets of Methane Rain” mean to you?

Marc A. Criley: The solar system is full of wonders, so far only glimpsed through our robotic spacecrafts’ cameras and sensors. How astonishing is it going to be when we can go and see them with our own eyes?

TFF: Would you like to visit another planet?

MAC: See question 1! 😁 Seriously, all the places in SDSoMR exist—I’d like to visit them all just to get started on my planetary “bucket list.”

TFF: What is the most important thing to remember about writing?

MAC: Write the story you want to write—and read. Tell it the way you want to tell it; don’t muffle your unique voice, make sure the story is your story.

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Extract:

A few scattered raindrops float down from a hazy orange sky. They’re as big as my child-thumbs, plopping onto my enviro suit and spotting the visor. The liquid methane evaporates fast, leaving sooty splotches. The rain tapers off. Dad and I wait. I get antsy. Dad sighs.

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Reminder: You can comment on any of the writing or art in this issue at http://press.futurefire.net/2024/04/new-issue-202469.html.

New issue: 2024.69

“L’abolition [de la peine de mort] a connu une irrésistible progression à travers le monde. Ce mouvement, comme en Europe, influence le droit international dont, en retour, les évolutions confortent l’abolitionnisme et lui donnent les assises nécessaires pour connaître un rayonnement encore plus grand.”

—Robert Badinter, 1928–2024

Issue 2024.69

Special issue on hopeful SFF

Flash fiction

• ‘Sun-Dappled Sheets of Methane Rain’, Marc A. Criley - art by Ellis Bray

Short stories

• ‘Space Gardens’, L.J. Lacey - art by L.E. Badillo
• ‘Terranueva’, Katie Kopajtic - art by Melkorka

Poetry

• ‘Sunrise over Neo-Tokyo’, Lae Astra - art by Katharine A. Viola
• ‘Manipulating the Light’, Mahaila Smith - art by Fluffgar
• ‘Guidelines for Living Your Fairy Tale (in no Particular Order)’, Amanda Cook - art by Joel Bisaillon

Download e-book version: PDF | EPUB

What is your favourite optimistic or cozy SFF?

We’ve been thinking a lot about optimistic, cozy or otherwise nice SFF recently, so we’d love to hear your thoughts about this category of genre fiction (whether written, visual, or in any other medium); give us your favorite examples of happy SFF, spoopy horror, even gritty utopian thinking, or tell us about why you think these kinds of fiction work or are needed (or otherwise). To start us off, a few editors, authors and other friends of TFF give us their examples.

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M.L. Clark

Some stories carry great wisdom in their simplicity, and it can take a lifetime to realize the strength of their gentleness. I've returned to My Neighbor Totoro at many phases of life, each time with a deeper sense of comfort and astonishment. It's not just that the story illustrates that one need not have antagonists to develop emotional weight: that realization comes with early viewings. Later, though, one watches the film and notices everything not included in this postwar Japan snapshot of a childhood impacted by a sick mother and soothed by animist wonder. One considers what the director lived through, and the antagonism he saw shape and shatter lives, before choosing to lean into the inner life of deeply feeling human beings. One remembers, too, the Cold War world into which this film was released in 1988, and the fact that Studio Ghibli launched another film the very same day, about a boy and his little sister dying in war-torn Japan. The world is often a difficult place in which to retain a sense of wonder, and hope. But still, even in difficult times, we manage to create oases of uplift in our art. My Neighbor Totoro reminds us that we contain multitudes--and that the gentle and kind in them are very much worth protecting.

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Cécile Matthey

Image © James Gurney via Dinotopia wiki

In 1860, biologist Arthur Denison and his young son Will set out on a Darwinian voyage of exploration in search of unknown lands. But during the voyage, their ship is caught in a storm and sinks. With the help of dolphins, they are transported to the lost island of Dinotopia: a land where humans and dinosaurs live together in perfect harmony.

James Gurney’s 1992 novel recounts, in the form of a richly illustrated travelogue, Professor Denison's discoveries as he explores this incredible and exciting new world. As a trained professional, he records his experiences in meticulous details: the flora and fauna, the often spectacular architecture of the cities, the daily life (celebrations, sports, art, food…), the history of the island, the peculiar alphabet… With him, we meet dinosaurs tending human children, working as translators, craftsmen or timekeepers, and we even fly on a Quetzalcoatlus’s back.

To me it’s a great feelgood piece: it is full of wonder, freshness and humour, reminding me of the stories by Jules Verne (and of my childhood love for dinosaurs!). What's more, James Gurney’s realistic and detailed illustrations are a real treat for the eyes. It is an optimistic and hopeful piece too, because it shows a peaceful, culturally advanced and well-organised world, where two radically different species manage not only to live together peacefully, but to work together while learning from each other. In short, « Dinotopia » is a must !

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Toby MacNutt

When I want to be wrapped up in a cozy read I reach for Erin Morgenstern's The Starless Sea. Its layers of symbols, books, and myths weave around the romance and adventure (can a cozy book have a sword, a gun, some poison, a bit of light arson? sure!) like the most exquisite blanket. Its improbable spaces are softly lit, time-worn, rich with color and texture and scent. Everything is warm, dreamy, golden—and every complex thread ties up just right in the end. The lost are found, the key meets the door, the left-behind are reunited. Also—of course—there's queers!

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Djibril al-Ayad

I’ve long felt that a utopian setting need not be perfect in every way, lacking in conflict and adventure—any more than a dystopia is a completely unlivable hellscape with no redeeming features—it only need show by example one or a few ways in which our own world could be better with a bit less cruelty, greed, bigotry or self-destruction. Just so is Vonda N. McIntyre’s Starfarers tetralogy: famously invented as a hoax response to a boring panel about SF TV shows, then written by popular demand, this glorious space opera show features not a military starship but a literal university campus in space (faculty and staff rather than crew, a principal rather than a captain, decisions made by senate rather than a command structure); multiple queer, polyamorous, accepting relationships; multi-generational or inter-species friendships; posthumanism and eco-engineering; a space artist making fake archaeology; wonderfully alien aliens; and a science fiction writer as alien first-contact specialist. And while the world isn’t perfect (the principal is even more of a politicking bureaucrat than any vice chancellor I’ve worked under), conflict and peril abound, not all of the positive characters—even protagonists—are entirely likeable, they’re wonderful books, full of comforting adventures, and I could happily read a dozen more volumes. And really: why has no one made the TV show yet!

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Please share your examples of hopeful or cozy SFF, whether utopian, optimistic or just comfort reading, in the comments below. Or feel free to ping us on Mastodon or Bluesky to join the conversation there instead.

Micro-interview with Avra Margariti

Avra Margariti, author of the poem “Homunculi of Creation” in The Future Fire #68, joined us for a lightning chat about alchemy, cosmogony and mythology.

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Art © 2024 Melkorka

TFF: What does “Homunculi of Creation” mean to you?

Avra Margariti: I have always been an avid reader of historical alchemy and its related customs. This is how I first encountered the concept of the homunculus. A homunculus is an artificial humanoid being that can be created through alchemy. So I asked myself—what if that act of creation was also a cosmogony, the birth of the universe on the largest scale?

TFF: What are you working on next?

AM: I’m trying to write more speculative stories that use characters from Greek mythology in new and surprising settings. I've also been trying to write more literary Weird, though I'm not sure yet what exactly that means to me. (so far: seahorse pregnancy stories, apparently).

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Extract:

He pulls out of His womb
A reliquary of small and inviting things:

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Reminder: You can comment on any of the writing or art in this issue at http://press.futurefire.net/2024/01/new-issue-202468.html.

Micro-interview with Fluffgar

We’re chatting again with regular TFF illustrator Fluffgar, artist of “The Rose Sisterhood” in The Future Fire #68, about this issue, castles and fairytales.

TFF: How did you go about illustrating “The Rose Sisterhood”?

Fluffgar: Castles. Everyone knows Scotland has castles. That's where I began with these illustrations. In particular pink castles. The colour is down to a very old tradition of lime washing the exterior of such buildings. The pinkish result is known to has inspired the fairytale pink castles of Disney among others.

TFF: What was your favourite fairy tale when you were a child?

Fluffgar: I have a vague recollection of a fairytale about a person who is reborn over and over as different things. I think it could have been an animation of part of “The Tale of Taliesin.” But the emphasis seemed to be more on the cycles of life. So it may have been a different tale.

My current favourite is a tale about The Cailleach. Don't let the title fool you, it’s about her. “Bride and Angus” as told by David Campbell.

There's also Scàthach. Which is an interesting one.

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Reminder: You can comment on any of the writing or art in this issue at http://press.futurefire.net/2024/01/new-issue-202468.html.

Micro-interview with Jennifer R. Donohue

Jennifer R. Donohue, author of “The Ensanguined Shore” in The Future Fire #68, joins us for a chat about mythology, mythography, and the sea.

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Art © 2024 Sebastian Timpe

TFF: What does “The Ensanguined Shore” mean to you?

Jennifer R. Donohue: I’ve been a reader of Greek mythology practically since I could read; D’Aulaire’s Book of Greek Myths is one of the first longer books I remember reading. I checked it out from my local public library, and pored over the stories and the illustrations. I even have a copy of that same edition now, that I bought at a church rummage sale. I don't have it at hand, so I can't double-check how whether/how detailed the material from the Iliad is there, but the Harpies and Sirens are definitely mentioned, and that’s largely where “my” sirens come from, bird people with wings, but also arms, and bird legs, and powerful voices that can hurt, or soothe, or beguile. I read the Fagles translation of the Iliad in college, and the detailing of everybody's interpersonal conflicts on the beach outside of Troy, in addition to the ongoing war, really gripped me. Transporting it to a future setting, and inserting a journalist like National Geographic or Evan Wright’s Generation Kill, was an approach that flowed freely once I happened upon it, and there were some scenes that I had crystal-clear in my mind's eye as I wrote them, like I was scrolling through the longform article that Patty would later publish.

TFF: What is your favourite (real or literary) sea creature and why?

JD: I really like crabs, actually. Horseshoe crabs specifically, and that's reflected in my short story “Nothing Left But Mud,” which takes its title from “The Crab Who Played With the Sea” by Rudyard Kipling. I like crabs in general, though, I think that they're weird and interesting little guys, and certainly have more crab stories in me. I don't think it's because my Zodiac sign is Cancer, but maybe that's a strong contributor and I'm just in denial about it.

TFF: What are you working on next?

JD: I've got Run With the Hunted 7: [title to be determined? maybe The Casino Job] started for its October release. I’m also releasing, throughout 2024, a werewolf trilogy! Learn to Howl comes out on March 5, and the other books will come out in July and September.

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Extract:

Most of us have bags packed when it comes down from command that there’s a freeze on leave, again. Groans and growls ripple through the ranks as us officers are told via HUD, and we tell our soldiers.

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Reminder: You can comment on any of the writing or art in this issue at http://press.futurefire.net/2024/01/new-issue-202468.html.

Micro-interview with Toeken

We’re pleased to have over for a chat our friend Toeken, artist of “Bone Planet” in The Future Fire #68.

TFF: How did you go about illustrating “Bone Planet”?

Toeken: I read Petra Kupper’s fascinating poem quite a few times, making sure I could get a handle on it, then left it alone for a couple of days before firing up the digital tablet. Aside from a few pencilled layers the piece is a combination of photographs and digital art. For example, the initial background template is a shot I took of a sunset outside my home and then digitally painted over.

TFF: Tell us about an artist whose work you're particularly enjoying at the moment?

Tk: There’s always a bunch but right now it’s Rahul Chakraborty, Rachael Mia Allen and Andrea Sorrentino.

TFF: What is your favourite example of hopeful, cosy or low-stakes SFF or horror?

Tk: I just finished with Carlos Ruiz Zafón’s The Shadow of the Wind. Fantastic, creepy stuff.

TFF: What else are you working on now?

Tk: I just finished some stuff for Shoreline of Infinity magazine, a couple of private commissions while working with the writer Phil Emery on a science fiction/noir project.

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Reminder: You can comment on any of the writing or art in this issue at http://press.futurefire.net/2024/01/new-issue-202468.html.