“Longing for Shadows” to Appear in PHP’s Exquisite Poison Anthology
In 2003, my mother bought me a veritable TOME of mythology, even though she thought it was bizarre that a thirteen-year-old girl would be interested in a dusty book of folklore. I was utterly enchanted, and still go back to that book often. With that said, I’m excited to share that my Gothic reimagining of the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice will appear in Phantom House Press’s upcoming anthology, “Exquisite Poison.”
Read an excerpt of “Longing for Shadows” below, then head on over to PHP’s website to pre-order your paperback copy.
If Eurydice had family, he might have sent for them, but her father was a river god with fifty daughters or more—so many, surely, that one would not be missed. Her mother was mortal and long-dead. So, Orpheus prepared her body for burial himself, though there was little point. She was already washed, already anointed with sweet-smelling oils, already wearing her finest gown. Concerning appearances, there was little difference between a wedding and a funeral.
When the work was done, he played her a final song, singing:
“Sleep among shadows, dear Eurydice.
Why did the gods grant you breath,
if only to take you from me?”
Then, he set his lyre aside, fully intending never to pick it up again. He had never considered that his divine wife might die. Her limbs were hewn from solid oak. Her blood ran the pale gold of sap. She might have lived forever if she had only tread more carefully.
“Exquisite Poison” is slated for release in August 2022. While you wait, be sure to check out the full list of contributing authors.
