My secret identity*

* Rumours of secretness may be somewhat exaggerated. Sounds cooler than a pen-name, though, right?

So, as well as my usual weird/SFFH content, I also occasionally like to write more straightforward, romance-flavoured urban fantasy. So that you know what you’re getting, I’ll be publishing those stories under a pseudonym, Louise Long.

And I’m pleased to say that my first story under that name, “Beach Dirt on Bare Feet”, is out now as part of Her Magical Pet, an anthology of f/f romance stories featuring, as you might expect, magical pets! It’s about a psychic, a distrustful selkie, and a smartass dolphin.

All profits from the anthology will go to OutRight Action International, which fights for LGBT+ rights around the world.

Available now on Amazon.

News, of the good variety

I’ve been querying for a few months now, gnawing my fingernails to the quick like a self-cannibalising hamster, but I can finally stop! Because I’ve signed with a fantastic agent, Sandra Sawicka of Marjacq Scripts, and I’m looking forward to working with her to make my book the best it can possibly be.

And, while I’m sharing good news, this might also be a good time to mention that my story “Diamonds and Pearls” will appear in the Winter 2021 issue of Fireside Quarterly, and will be popping up on the website shortly after. Fireside is absolutely fantastic, as you’ll be well aware if you read any SFF short fiction, so having something of mine appear in its pages is pretty damn awesome, not gonna lie.

Issue 1 of Gwyllion now up for pre-order!

Well… the title pretty much says it all. The first issue of new Welsh SFFH mag Gwyllion is now available for pre-order. It features “We Speak in Tongues of Flame”, my little fabulist story about art, language, and resistance, which originally appeared in the Resist Fascism anthology from Crossed Genres nearly two years ago.

My contributor copy came in the post yesterday, and I’m really enjoying reading the other stories. So far, my favourite has been “Kissed by Lightning” by Sarah Jayne Tanner. Plus, look how pretty the cover is!

You can order your copy here.

Hello, and an update

Hi! Welcome to my new website. I’ve never been much good at keeping up with blogging, so I’ll be using this page mainly to post updates when I have news.

For example, my story “We Speak in Tongues of Flame” which originally appeared in the 2018 anthology Resist Fascism from Crossed Genres, is going to be reprinted in the first issue of Gwyllion, a new SFF magazine from Wales. It’s an awesome-looking project run by marginalised people — please do check it out if you can. The first issue will be out in September.