I have another very exciting announcement to make!

My short story ‘Maid of the Wave’ has been accepted by the fabulous No Sleep Podcast. It is available to listen to on Episode 22 of Season 21, an audio anthology about ‘chilling changes’. It is featured on the premium version of the episode. Check out No Sleep to give it a listen and let me know what you think https://www.thenosleeppodcast.com/episodes/s21/21×22 .

After an endless cycle of submissions and rejections, I am so happy to see that my work is starting to get the recognition that I feel in my heart that it deserves.

This story was inspired by a tale of mythological creatures rooted in Scottish folklore. I have familial ties to Scotland and have spent time on the Isle of Cumbrae, where my story is set.

As in my last post, I’ll leave you with a short excerpt from my story, which I hope will encourage you to listen to the full version over at No Sleep.

…

I can’t stay out here much longer, I know I am cutting it close already, wasting precious time. He will want the linen folded, the basins bleached, the tatties peeled and the mince stewed. If he comes home from a hard day at sea to find I’ve been neglecting my chores, he will make me atone for my laziness. I should go. But the sea air, the way it chills and warms my bones at the same time, the way the salt prickles my skin, the lashings of the bitter wind as it steals my breath from my lungs, I crave it like a wain craves its maw’s embrace. Just a little longer.

I remember how I used to play here as a wee one, right here on this very beach. The other pups and I, we would play and scrap for hours, before our maws would call us back onto the shore to warm up. I remember it clear as day, as if it were yesterday, basking by my mam’s side as she slept, feeling the sun’s rays heating my skin. I remember the visitors of Cumbrae would watch us from afar, sometimes even snapping photos as we basked upon the pebbles. All the maws would warn us wee ones to never let a stranger get too close. They would bark and scald anyone who dared try to. I think about my dear mam often. I think of her sweet face and her kind eyes. I think of how I should have heeded her.