Curious Fictions

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Fiction

Kite Dancer

Published Oct 14, 2019 · 6,036 words (22 minutes)

Fantasy Historical steampunk alternate history World War I WWI

In an alternate World War I, the German Empire lures China to its side of the war with the promise of returning the land taken from them by the Japanese. For Germany, the largest benefit is gaining the considerable talent of China's kite dancers and their ability to command the wind. For Ke-fung, she wants the freedom of her hometown, and a way to prove her worth in the wake of the injury that has taken her sight.

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Fiction

Stephen Dedman

The Pretender

Published Oct 13, 2019 · 6,054 words (23 minutes) · 1 like · 55 views

Fantasy Historical arthurian polyamory LBGQT characters Camelot Matter of Britain

An Arthurian tale first published in Realms of Fantasy (with wonderful Alan Lee artwork!), and my contribution to Pride Month here in Perth. Many thanks to Phyllis Ann Karr for her invaluable THE KING ARTHUR COMPANION.

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Fiction

Elizabeth Hopkinson

The Legend of the Bradford Boar

Published Oct 9, 2019 · 927 words (4 minutes) · 83 views

Classic Fantasy Historical retelling Yorkshire myths and legends local legend

Discover the Yorkshire legend of the Bradford Boar, retold by Elizabeth Hopkinson. A fearsome boar guards the well. Can anyone defefat it?

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Fiction

Wendy Nikel

One Who Does Not Sleep

Published Oct 7, 2019 · 3,048 words (12 minutes) · 31 views

Classic Fantasy Historical magic young adult coffee

When a bag of magical beans goes missing, a girl tasked with waking the city must confront the being she most fears.

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This shot was taken in the medieval Turku Castle, Finland. A group of Chinese tourists suddenly stormed the entrance as I were taking a couple of shots of the courtyard. Interesting though, this made the shot much better, as they appear to be very ghost-like, thanks to a long exposure. The visitors now became the Castle Ghosts in my photo.

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Fiction

James Van Pelt

Aubrey Comes to Yellow High

Published Oct 2, 2019 · 4,100 words (15 minutes) · 95 views

Fantasy Literary Fiction Historical western six gun high school

Everyone sees high school as a metaphor: maybe it's a circus, or it's a ladder, or it's a dog eat dog world. For Aubrey, high school is a wild west shootout, only it's a bit more literal for her and the stakes couldn't be higher.

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Fiction

Charlotte Platt

A Braiding Friendship

Published Oct 2, 2019 · 1,323 words (5 minutes) · 48 views

Fantasy Historical Strange folklore spooky stranger danger be polite

A companion piece to some of my other Scottish folklore tales, A Braiding Friendship is a story of one unlucky Viking traveler and his unusual evening. This story is based off a mix of Orcadian folklore and locations with as much history as I could reasonably bring in a short word count.

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Featured September 27, 2019

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Fiction

Alex Isle

Candle to the Devil

Published Sep 26, 2019 · 5,687 words (21 minutes) · 4 likes · 174 views

Fantasy Science Fiction Historical

In the far-flung space colony of New Ceres, everyone is stuck in the past, but no one is willing to talk about it. When Mary Bennet and Professor Moriarty arrive, anachronisms in a time machine, they become embroiled with the local criminal element as they seek to discover what happened to Earth. Australian author Alex Isle has received the Aurealis and Ditmar awards, and published many short stories, as well as a YA fantasy novel called Scale of Dragon, Tooth of Wolf.

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