Something exciting in the world of my newsletter: a free fantasy short story as a thank-you gift for subscribers!
Stone Grown is set in the greater world of my latest fantasy novel Seeker of the Lost Song and its sequel-in-progress. It’s historically-inspired, character-driven, and draws on Finnish and Filipino folklore and customs.
As a Deadmedia subscriber you’ll also get monthly updates on what I’m working on, book news, thoughts on creativity, and other exclusive content. Subscribers got their copy of this brand-new story yesterday but if you’d like to join us, you can do so here!
My existing community helped me choose to write a story as a new subscriber gift, and I’m so happy with the choice. It feels life-affirming to have something created and out there in the world within a few months. In a way it reminds me of my old zine days. It’s also my first short story in four years, and it’s great to get back to my roots in that way too.
I have to thank my friend Katie Li for her self-guided short story writing course. Katie is a super-prolific, multifaceted, generous writer. She’s one of my inspirations, always considering ways to deepen her relationship to writing and creativity, and coming up with thought-provoking and unique ideas to do just that. You might remember that she interviewed me about The Quiet is Loud. Even though we did it via email, I felt her insight, her thoughtfulness, as vibrantly as if we’d been face-to-face.
So when it was time to write Stone Grown, I knew that Katie’s course would be perfect. From Song to Story helps writers create a short story inspired by a song, from idea generation to completed work. You form an intimate understanding of all components of the song to build an intricate foundation for a story. It’s honestly like no other writing course I’ve ever done. Its 45 exercises delve deep. My resulting short story is in conversation with my chosen song, but its characters and theme carry the thread in their own unique way.
History & folklore story inspirations
Here’s a quick rundown of some of Stone Grown’s historical & folklore inspirations:
- Turku Castle* in the medieval period, under Swedish rule. Specifically:
- The labyrinth carved into the wall in the Ladies’ Parlour to trap evil spirits
- The Scriptorium
- Tuonela, the Finnish land of the dead, and its associated characters
- Pre-colonial Filipino death rituals
*I visited Turku Castle in 2015 – read about it here!