Sunday Seeds: May Edition
Cornflowers, dandelions, maple trees, and all the rest of their towering and tiny green cousins send out their seeds on the winds, hoping to find fertile ground. Inspiration is much the same. A book, a song, a poem might land in just the right spot for you, on just the right day, giving life to a new idea. On the first Sunday of each month, I send out a handful of seeds that have drifted into my own path, in the hope that their beauty or their poignancy or their curiosity feeds your creativity.
Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree.
I had no idea I needed cozy fantasy in my life so badly until I found this book. A forty-something, battle-weary, coffee-loving orc named Viv who desperately wants a fresh start and opens a coffee shop in a town where no one has ever heard of coffee. Absolutely stuffed with enough baking descriptions to make you salivate throughout, and just so heartening and wonderful to read. I listened to the audiobook (which the author narrates) and it was well worth the wait on Libby. 5/5 stars.
Flower, Daughter, Soil, Seed by Eugenia Triantafyllou
Short fiction from Uncanny Magazine’s Issue Fifty which opens with the lines, “There isn’t a more resilient thing than a small flower. Your great-great-grandmother was a yellow daffodil.” Strong fairy tale vibes, beautiful, a little bittersweet, and a gorgeous ending.
The Prince of Salt and the Ocean’s Bargain by Natalia Theodoridou
More short fiction from Uncanny Magazine, Issue Forty-Eight this time. More fairy tale vibes. It’s descriptive and lush and a story-within-a-story.
This tweet from The Cryptonaturalist:
And finally, practically everything by Helen Ahpornsiri. These designs are made by hand with hundreds of leaves and flowers with traditional flower-pressing methods, and then arranged into art. I recently purchased this notebook from Bolen Books in Victoria, and I just need to hold it to feel creatively inspired.
Some exciting personal news! My flash fiction story “Enough” was published with Idle Ink yesterday! Content warnings include body horror, suggestion of off-page domestic violence and blood. Read it here.
And there are still some spots available in my Flash Fiction Workshop on May 13. If you’re in Victoria and interested in writing 100-word micro fiction stories, check it out! Registration here.