It’s that time of year! I started writing and submitting short fiction in January, and I also joined social media platforms like Twitter then too—which meant that I was seeing awards eligibility posts all the time. I remember thinking, “wow, I wonder if I’ll get to do this next year,” and then… immediately feeling very silly, because what were the odds, really, that I would have a story to share?
Well! Turns out: I have a story to share!
Probably like many people, I tend to feel anxious about promoting myself. (Writers: why are we like this?) But more experienced friends have told me that this time of year doesn’t have to be about making the case for yourself for awards; it can just be about sharing work that you hope more people might read. That’s my goal, then: to share this story I love. Having my first publication in one of my absolute favorite magazines still feels surreal, and the generous response the story has gotten has meant so much to me. If you haven’t read it yet, I hope you enjoy it, if you get a chance to do so. And if you’ve already read it… thank you very, very much.
So! For your consideration:
LINDEN HONEY, BLACKCURRANT WINE
BENEATH CEASELESS SKIES #411
JULY 2024
“Linden Honey, Blackcurrant Wine” (short story, 3300 words) is a hopeful queer reimagining of a melancholy folktale. In the original, a mortal girl dances with a beautiful woodmaiden in a magical birch grove—but eventually they’re separated, never again to be reunited. The story ends on a note that breaks my heart every time: “Still nothing ever again gave her quite so much pleasure as the dance with the woodmaiden. She often went to the birch-wood in the hope of seeing the maiden again. But she never did.”
My story brings that girl, now an old woman, back to the forest—and back to her woodmaiden. It’s a story about second chances. Mostly, though, it’s a story about hope, about queer joy and queer futures, about allowing yourself to accept the love you deserve.
REVIEWS
MARIA HASKINS: “What a gorgeous, tender love story. Robinson’s prose gleams and shimmers as she tells us the tale of Irena, who is now an old woman, who goes back to see the love of her youth: a woodmaiden living among the birches. It’s a story of love and regret, but also of hope and joy, and every detail is bright and sparkling with life.”
CHARLES PAYSEUR: “M. R. Robinson’s ‘Linden Honey, Blackcurrant Wine’ anchors an issue focused on choice, grief, and time. In it, Irena has grown old and outlived a husband she never really loved, though she didn’t hate him either. But in marrying him she turned her back on a magical relationship, choosing her obligations to family and society over the longing in her heart. Sixty years later, she has a chance at least to explain herself to the lover, a woodmaiden, she left behind, and Robinson weaves nostalgia, longing, and regret into a powerful and memorable narrative that simultaneously urges that it’s never too late to act out of love, and acknowledges that time is not infinite, and choices have at times heartbreaking outcomes. It’s a lovely story.”
VANESSA FOGG: “Sixty years ago, when Irena was only seventeen, she met someone in a birch grove. Sixty years, but Irena has never forgotten. And though she is no longer young or as beautiful, she now walks to the grove to find that someone again. A gorgeous fairy tale of love and of aging, of passing time and life. And of love re-found.”
A MAN ON GOODREADS: “Too many words.”
ELIGIBILITY
This story is eligible in short fiction categories for all genre awards, apart from those that are region-specific (for example, I am not Canadian, to my continued disappointment). I’ve also been told that I should mention that this is my first year of eligibility for the Astounding Award, though it would be funny to nominate someone for the Astounding Award based on… one short fairy tale retelling.
Thank you for reading and for your consideration. In a world where there are so many amazing short stories being published every month, I really appreciate everyone who has chosen to spend a bit of time with my words this year.
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