Two Fic Tuesday for April 7th

Hi, hello and welcome!

This week we're going to feature a single author again! I had a great time doing this before, and I'm indulging myself a second time.

I found Ayida Shonibar's work this last week, and I'm so glad I did. It is beautiful, full of emotion and a little bit of weirdness which is exactly the kind of thing I gravitate toward. We even get some queerness in, which I'm always here for. Add in that they've written some nonfiction on an excellent topic, and I knew I wanted to shout about them this week.

Recs

Heritage, or This Body of Folklore - Apex
This was fascinating, and beautiful, and I read it multiple times just because I loved it as much as I did. This was the first story I read from this author and I'm so glad it was. I found myself immediately wanting to dive into their work and it was propelled me to make this week's newsletter all about them.

The Homeowner's Bride - Ayida Shonibar - OTHERSIDE
Oh, oh I loved absolutely everything about this too! Haunted house things! Queerness! Revenge on terrible people! This was such a delightful story and one that left me feeling so, so very good. I adored everything about it.

Bonus rec

Climbing the Fungal Ladder: Towards Transcending Barriers - Ayida Shonibar - Strange Horizons
Okay, this was really, really great. While I knew a lot of the information presented in this article, I was so excited to get all the book recommendations! Not only that, but the ways that were brought up on how to explore fungi in a fictional context made my brain tingle so happily and be excited to think of new, weird, interesting ways to integrate some into my own fiction.

I wish all of you many good stories,

• Vale

PS: If you want to find me elsewhere, I'm on Bluesky at @howsweetthewords and I have a Ko-fi and Patreon where I post prompts, more personal/writing updates, microfiction, and miscellany. Tiers start at $1, but there is the occasional free post as well.