When I first got into fiction writing, I took a class that focused on short stories. These are a wonderful medium not only to practice the craft, but also to learn about giving and receiving critique. Although I focus most of my energy on novels these days, I still dabble in the short story world. By my best count, I’ve written around 20 short stories, all of them in the SF/F genre.
Although there are dozens of paying markets for SF/F short stories, I’ve had the best luck with themed anthologies. There’s one series of anthologies that I’ve been trying to crack for a while now: Rhonda Parrish’s Magical Menageries, which are published by World Weaver Press. Last year, they announced a call for submissions for what would be the final anthology in that series. EQUUS.
I write fantasy, and I love horses. I’ve hosted several horse-themed articles for my Fact in Fantasy blog series. In other words, I had to go for it. So I wrote a story that featured flying horses and sent it in. Luckily, Rhonda either liked my story or grew tired of telling me no (keyword: persistence), so my story got in. And today I get to share the glorious cover!
Here’s the description:
There’s always something magical about horses, isn’t there? Whether winged or at home in the water, mechanical or mythological, the equines that gallop through these pages span the fantasy spectrum. In one story a woman knits her way up to the stars and in another Loki’s descendant grapples with bizarre transformations while fighting for their life. A woman races on a unique horse to save herself from servitude, while a man rides a chariot through the stars to reclaim his self-worth. From steampunk-inspired stories and tales that brush up against horror to straight-up fantasy, one theme connects them all: freedom.
Featuring nineteen fantastic stories of equines both real and imagined by J.G. Formato, Diana Hurlburt, Tamsin Showbrook, M.L.D Curelas, Laura VanArendonk Baugh, VF LeSann, Dan Koboldt, J.J. Roth, Susan MacGregor, Pat Flewwelling, Angela Rega, Michael Leonberger, Sandra Wickham, Stephanie A. Cain, Cat McDonald, Andrew Bourelle, Chadwick Ginther, K.T. Ivanrest, and Jane Yolen.
If you love horses*, you should add EQUUS on Goodreads and check out the full anthology when it comes out in July. In the meantime, please help spread the word!
*If you don’t love horses, you’re pretty much dead to me.
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