Continuing my series highlighting the six tales in my new fantasy anthology The Dark Forest Within, this time I’m taking the proverbial magnifying glass to the fifth story in the anthology: Winged.

Written just a couple of months ago and added to this collection at the last minute, this short story wasn’t one I’d originally intended to include, as I thought it might benefit from a rewrite in a few months, after I’d set it aside for a while. However, my wife persuaded me otherwise. Winged fits the anthology’s main theme like a glove, with another journey into a dangerous forest, albeit a rather different journey from the one in Ravenseed, Wulfric’s Quest, and indeed Bloodmire, the final story in this volume.

Winged is a direct prequel to Ravenseed, set one year beforehand. In the first act, it features Sir Matthew and Sir Peter, their squires Robin and Hugh, and their horses, all of whom feature in the main narrative of Ravenseed. However, whilst they are main characters in the novel, they are side characters here, riding in escort to Winged’s protagonist, a mysterious woman of the King’s court called Lady Amelia. At the advice of the King’s wizard, she undertakes a dangerous quest for reasons that she initially keeps secret from those escorting her. But Sir Matthew, Sir Peter, and the others are only instructed to escort her so far, to the end of the Forest of Arden. From there, she is to continue alone.

As the first act of the story progresses, it becomes clear there’s a lot more to Lady Amelia than meets the eye. She appears to have unusual powers. What’s more, when the party faces danger from attacking bandits, it becomes abundantly clear that she doesn’t require the protection of knights. Her escort is merely to keep up appearances. But what does she seek in the Forest of Arden, and why does she intend to travel off the safe paths through it, into areas where demons lurk in the most dangerous parts of the wood?

Per the other Dark Ages-set tales in this volume, Winged owes a tonal debt to Arthurian myth. Carefully tiptoeing around spoilers, I’d add that the finale echoes ideas found in the climax of Ravenseed, though again, I stress Winged is a standalone story. You don’t need to have read Ravenseed first, nor will reading this first ruin any part of that novel. There is, at one point, a tiny tease of the dark events ahead of Sir Peter and the others, but again, nothing is spoiled, and this story ultimately does not concern the knights.

One other tiny point of interest: The first draft of this story featured a sequence involving a dragon. I felt it didn’t work, so I cut it out and reworked that entire section. By strange coincidence, this is the second time I’ve written a scene involving a dragon, only for it to be subsequently cut. The first draft of Ravenseed featured a chapter about a dragon that was entirely removed (more on that here, if you’re interested). Perhaps I’m not destined to write about dragons. But even without dragons, I hope you enjoy Winged.

The Dark Forest Within is out now in ebook or paperback via Amazon here (in the UK) and here (in the US). For Draft2Digital and its various outlets, you can pick up ebooks and paperback copies here.

Continuing my series highlighting the six tales in my new fantasy anthology, The Dark Forest Within, here’s a look at the fourth story in a bit more detail: Wulfric’s Quest.

As the centrepiece of this anthology, Wulfric’s Quest is the longest of the tales (at 27,000 words). It’s a standalone novella that works well on its own, but it also can be interpreted as a sequel to Ravenseed. On the other hand, I might prefer to see it as being set in a parallel universe, one leap over from ours. I should add that by “sequel”, I mean a sequel to Ravenseed’s Dark Ages-set narrative, not the framing story in the present. However, no characters from Ravenseed appear in Wulfric’s Quest other than (possibly) those alluded to at a couple of points. I’m treading carefully here to avoid spoilers. At the same time, I must reiterate that reading Wulfric’s Quest before Ravenseed will not spoil the latter in any way.

The plot involves the titular Wulfric, a peasant farmer sent by his village on a perilous journey to track down the reclusive wizard Vulcyth. The villagers believe Vulcyth will be able to prevent a supernatural attack on their settlement, as foretold in a vision. Along the way, Wulfric is given shelter by Elise, wife of the knight Sir Roderick, who is presently away with the King fighting a war in the north. Elise and Wulfric experience a powerful mutual attraction that seems mysterious and magical, though both restrain themselves. Events take a turn for the peculiar when Sir Roderick turns up, and Elise says she’s never seen him before in her life, claiming he is an impostor. Sir Roderick insists he is the one and only Sir Roderick but claims to have never been married and that he doesn’t know Elise. Together, they journey into a forbidden forest, hoping to find Vulcyth and discover answers to the various mysteries. But an evil power conspires against them.

Of all the tales in this collection, I’m particularly proud of Wulfric’s Quest. Amid the darkness, danger, romantic longing, and mystery, it’s shot through with a melancholy undercurrent that draws tonal inspiration from Kazuo Ishiguro’s underrated novel The Buried Giant. Other tonal inspirations come from obvious sources (Arthurian mythology). At any rate, I hope you enjoy Wulfric’s Quest.

The Dark Forest Within is out now in ebook or paperback via Amazon here (in the UK) and here (in the US). For Draft2Digital and its various outlets, you can pick up ebooks and paperback copies here.

Continuing my series highlighting the six tales in my new fantasy anthology, The Dark Forest Within, here’s a bit more about the third story, Window of the Soul.

Originally published for Medium and Substack subscribers in late 2023, Window of the Soul is inspired by the many dismaying news headlines about book banning in America. With libraries increasingly under pressure from nasty right-wing groups like Moms with Nothing Better to Do (I mean Moms for Liberty, sorry), this is a bit of a hot topic in the US at present. In the UK, we don’t have quite the same problems. However, there are unpleasant authoritarian mutterings from both the left and right at times, and we can’t afford to be complacent. It should come as no surprise to learn I’m anti-censorship to the marrow of my bones. I believe a good library should contain something to offend everyone.

With all that said, I didn’t write Window of the Soul as a political statement (heaven forbid). Rather, it is a coming-of-age story about spiritual awakening and having one’s mind and horizons expanded in the best possible way. At the same time, although this is a story about children, it isn’t a story for children (nor are any of the tales in this volume).

The story is set in a parallel world gripped by a civil war between East and West. In the East, a young adolescent girl, Inessa, finds herself at the mercy of a domineering, abusive, paranoid stepfather who wishes to cut out her eyes and replace them with “double-glazed” synthetic eyes. He believes this will protect her from the evil spirits that may enter her soul if she reads books containing propaganda from the West. Inessa’s mother continually argues against this, but will she prevail? In the meantime, Inessa receives a secret summons to the nearby woodland and discovers a mysterious hidden library.

Tonally, this drew inspiration from Guillermo Del Toro’s dark fantasy film Pan’s Labyrinth, along with elements of Alice in Wonderland, so that should give you an idea of what to expect. The latter segments of this story don’t skimp on violence, torture, and other horrors, but despite such grimness, there is a hint of hope at the end. On top of this, Window of the Soul is the final story in this volume to partly take place in extra-dimensional spiritual planes. As such, it ties together with the first two stories rather neatly.

The Dark Forest Within is out now in ebook or paperback via Amazon here (in the UK) and here (in the US). For Draft2Digital and its various outlets, you can pick up ebooks and paperback copies here.

Over the next few weeks, I’m highlighting each of the six novellas and short stories contained in my new fantasy anthology The Dark Forest Within. Continuing the series, here’s a closer look at the second story, An In-Between Christmas.

Originally published for Medium and Substack subscribers last December, An In-Between Christmas is a thematic spin-off from an earlier tale entitled In-Between. However, this novella is a standalone piece requiring no prior knowledge of the previous story. I originally intended also to include In-Between in this anthology but ultimately decided the narrative – about a recently deceased man harassed by ghostly political campaigners – didn’t really fit the themes and tone of this collection. It would be better suited for a future volume of satirical stories.

However, An In-Between Christmas fits the anthology theme like a glove. The “In-Between” of the title speaks of a realm between life and death (as in the previous story) but this time, the living can access it via a mysterious portal that appears in a hospital corridor. Why does it appear there? I won’t spoil those details, but I will say the plot involves Sophie, a young struggling writer, attempting to contact her comatose father, who is at the point of death. She is joined by a young man called Yousef, who has prior experience within the In-Between, having undertaken a journey of his own there too. Mysterious adventures ensue, but Sophie is also drawn deep into the traumatic secrets of her past, which she must confront before reaching her father.

As with Papercut, this story is set in the days just before Christmas, which is why I put them back-to-back in the collection. This story is a little darker than Papercut, but not as dark as some of the later stories in the anthology. Like Papercut, there’s a romantic element, and (at one point) winter wonderland landscapes. However, An In-Between Christmas touches on grimmer subject matter at times, including alcoholism, bereavement, and another theme I won’t reveal, as to do so would be a spoiler. There are also monsters. Feel free to add your own symbolic interpretations for these, as I’m honestly not sure what part of my psyche this story came from, inspiration-wise, beyond a pathological need to entertain.

The Dark Forest Within is out now in ebook or paperback via Amazon here (in the UK) and here (in the US). For Draft2Digital and its various outlets, you can pick up ebooks and paperback copies here.

Over the next few weeks, I’m highlighting each of the six novellas and short stories in my new fantasy anthology, The Dark Forest Within. To start, here’s a look at the first tale in the collection: A short story entitled Papercut.

The oldest story in the volume, Papercut, was originally written in 2018, the same year I wrote my novel Ravenseed (I consider The Dark Forest Within a companion piece to that novel). I submitted it for inclusion in the Dragon Soul Press anthology First Love. Because supernatural themes were permitted in the brief, I offered this contribution. It was accepted, and the story was traditionally published before rights reverted to me. I’m including it in this collection because it remains a favourite among my short stories. Also, it fits the anthology theme like a glove.

The story concerns Gabriel, a lonely teenage boy living with his strict Jehovah’s Witness mother. He is visited in dreams by a mysterious paper girl. I don’t want to get into too many further plot specifics (I wouldn’t dream of spoiling it), but a surreal romantic adventure ensues, visiting the occasional dark corner. That’s not surprising, as the story deals with darker themes, including oppressive religious legalism, absent fathers, and overcoming fear. It’s also set at Christmas, along with the second story in this volume (I thought they’d go well together).

Inspiration for this story came from a variety of eclectic sources. A-ha’s iconic video for “Take on Me” influenced some of the pictures I saw in my mind whilst writing. Stop-motion visual effects guru Ray Harryhausen provided further inspiration, specifically regarding his classic Jason and the Argonauts (1963). There’s even a pseudo-Cronenbergian riff in the story, though I’d hesitate to call it “body horror” in the way one expects from his films.

Ultimately, Papercut is a sweet and fairly straightforward opener compared with the more complex tales that present themselves later in the anthology. I daresay it will strike a chord with anyone who has been in a cult, for one thing, but it mostly emerges as a feel-good modern fairytale.

The Dark Forest Within is out now in ebook or paperback via Amazon here (in the UK) and here (in the US). For Draft2Digital and its various outlets, you can pick up ebooks and paperback copies here.