Micro-interview with Vanessa Fogg

Welcome, Vanessa Fogg, author of “Microseasons of the Dead” in The Future Fire #67 (and many previous stories), to the micro-interview series, where today we focus a lot on seasons…

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Art © 2023, Cécile Matthey

TFF: What does “Microseasons of the Dead” mean to you?

Vanessa Fogg: For me, “Microseasons of the Dead” is about using a calendar year format to work out some existential thoughts on life and death. It was inspired by the microseasons of the traditional Japanese calendar, which consist of 72 “microseasons” with beautiful names such as “East Melts the Ice” and “Evening Cicadas Sing” (translations taken from this article).

 

TFF: What is your favorite day or season of the year?

VF: Autumn, hands down. As Keats put it, Oh “season of mists and mellow fruitfulness”! I love everything about fall: the mists, the rain, the brilliant colors, the clear light of fall. Cozy sweaters, fuzzy pajamas, soups and stews, everything pumpkin spice. If I could live in just one season, it would be fall.

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Extract:

Crack and splinter of heavy ice. Cold sunk deep in your bones. (How is it that you can still feel your bones?) A mountain of snow. White sky.

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Reminder: You can comment on any of the writing or art in this issue at http://press.futurefire.net/2023/10/new-issue-202367.html.

Fae Visions release and blog carnivale

Tomorrow sees the launch of Fae Visions of the Mediterranean: An Anthology of Horrors and Wonders of the Sea, edited by Valeria Vitale and Djibril al-Ayad and released by Futurefire.net Publishing. This anthology of 24 pieces of fiction or poetry, translations and multilingual pieces, which Publishers Weekly calls an “unusual, lyrical collection,” features authors such as Rhys Hughes and Claude Lalumière, and poets including Maria Grech Ganado and Mari Ness (see full table of contents).

Over the next few weeks we will be posting interviews and other blog posts from the authors and editors of this volume, both here and elsewhere. If you'd like to take part in this blog carnival, please give me a shout and we'll be happy to set up an interview or guest blog post on the theme of Mediterranean culture, diverse or multilingual horror and dark folktale, seamonsters, or other topics relevant to the anthology. We'd also love for you to review the book, even if just a rating and short comment on Amazon or Goodreads; a limited number of review copies are available on request. And if not, please signal boost our interviews, blog posts, teaser images, and other posts that come out here during the month of May. Many thanks!