BackStory: Five Questions with Lindz McLeod Author of Harald Hardrada Intensifies What inspired you to write ‘Harald Hardrada Intensifies’? I’d been thinking about Harald Hardrada for a while; he’s quite the character! I’d been teaching myself Danish ahead of a…
Harald Hardrada Intensifies
Harald Hardrada Intensifies by Lindz McLeod As history tells it, Harald Hardrada waded into the battle of Stamford Bridge with both hands on his sword, cutting men down left and right. Buoyed by battle-rage, he refused to wear body armour…
BackStory: Four Questions with Katie Oliver
BackStory: Four Questions with Katie Oliver Author of Fragments What inspired you to write ‘Fragments’? This originally appears in an as yet incomplete novella-in-flash I have languishing in my drafts. I was writing about Eve’s life, which features an event…
Fragments
Fragments by Katie Oliver 1. Eve has been informed by her mother of what is to happen: there can be no negotiation. She smooths her brown dress over her knees, focusing upon the weave of the linen; the pulled threads…
BackStory: Five Questions with Patience Mackarness
BackStory: Five Questions with Patience Mackarness Author of Enkidu’s Harlot What inspired you to write ‘Enkidu’s Harlot’? I first read the Epic of Gilgamesh while living on the island of Bahrain, sometimes identified with the mythical land visited by Gilgamesh…
Enkidu’s Harlot
Enkidu’s Harlot by Patience Mackarness Back then I was a legend, at the top of my profession. They called me queen of harlots. When rumours of Enkidu first reached the city of Uruk, I was planning my retirement. I had…
BackStory: Three Questions with Avra Margariti
BackStory: Three Questions with Avra Margariti Author of All the King’s Puppets and All the King’s Strings What inspired you to write ‘All the King’s Puppets and All the King’s Strings’? I was talking with a US-based friend about the…
All the King’s Puppets and All the King’s Strings
All the King’s Puppets and All the King’s Strings by Avra Margariti King Alexander dreams of puppets. Stringed dolls of tanned wood and fabric-scrap fatigues fighting losing battles for freedom. You must never forget that we are foreigners, his father…
Backstory: Five Questions with Genevieve Allen
Backstory: Five Questions with Genevieve Allen Author of Half Past Two What inspired you to write ‘Half Past Two’? Almost all of my pieces are inspired by two things: nature, and the stories of LGBTQ+ people throughout history. The inspiration…
Half Past Two
Half Past Two by Genevieve Allen The wallpaper was growing increasingly difficult to ignore. That morning, Lyle had felt the same vague distaste for its sugary green and twee mauve flowers that he always had. Then he’d read the paper,…