New publication! The Bones and the Bird

bird at night

In case you missed my announcement on Twitter the other day, my newest short story, The Bones and the Bird, is out in Psychopomp Magazine! It’s a dark fairy tale about a witch who can change her shape by eating feathers and bones, until one day the process goes wrong.

I’m really proud of where this got published, because it’s a fantastic journal and one I’d been submitting to for AGES. Every story I had that fit them, I submitted, but none made the cut. Until this one! Huzzah!! When I got the acceptance letter I nearly did a hundred back flips, and I don’t even know how to do ONE back flip, so thank goodness I just happy-danced instead. 😉

Thank you so much to those who have read, and for those who’d like to, you can find it in that link up top. Hope you enjoy!

13 thoughts on “New publication! The Bones and the Bird”

  3. A deliciously evil story, Noel! Congrats on publication. I love how it starts and ends with the same line, the circular quality of the witch changing back and forth. Also, the language of mountains, “alpenglow and meadowshiver, of leafblush and rivertumble.” These reminded me of your mention of sparkle-booms on the 4th of July, all imaginative terms that show rather than tell. Well done! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Thank you so much!! A bit evil, yeah, but he had it coming. 😉 Haha, I’m glad you like my re-naming of things. Alpenglow is actually a real term – it’s the word for when dawn light starts to edge over a snowy mountain top and gives it a red tinge. That word inspired me to create the others. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  7. Fantastic story Noel – the descriptions of the land, particularly of the mountain being a beast with a prickly green back were vivid and accurate. What I like most about it is the sense of completeness – the ending ties perfectly to the beginning and as a reader you are left satisfied. Never easy to achieve that in a short word count but I think you managed the perfect balance between descriptive prose and central story. Well done, and especially happy for you that your perseverance has paid off at a journal you clearly love.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • What a lovely comment, thank you! I have a tendency to overdo description but of all the stories this seemed like a fitting place for it, hehe, so I’m glad it came out well. And I really like cyclical/bookended stories, so I’m glad that worked too. Thank you for your thoughtful, kind comment!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

Let's chat!