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Debut Novel (WIP)
My debut novel will be titled The Urchin, The Artist & The Abomination, and is the expanded version of my short story, The Artificer’s End (see Interesting Times: a Hopepunk Anthology below). I have a cover artist lined up now too, so as soon as that is with me, I shall pop it on here!
Describing your own work is hard, so I’ll let my blurb do the talking:
A century after her violent death, Doctor Decima Fidelis awakens, more machine than woman.
The evil force that burned her world to the ground has spread across the void of space, crushing the once mighty Great Empire, until only one colony remains.
To stop humanity’s extinction, Decima must team up with one of the survivors, a young workhouse girl that she has spared from death. Together they will face impossible danger, other survivors, and learn to work together in order to bring hope back into the galaxy.
Will they be able to overcome the enslaved weapons of the Artificer? Or will humanity breathe its last?
Thematically, the story will be about forgiveness and redemption, and also covers subjects of societal inequality and misogyny. This novel will also be a diverse one, as representation is something I am passionate about!
Published Works
Heads and Tales: The Other Side of the Story
Edited by Chapel Orahamm
My first ever published short story!
This was a really fun introduction to how the world of indie writing and publishing works, and I got to work alongside a team of amazing authors who I had previously been fanboying over in Skullgate Media’s Tales From the Year Between collections!
I got to work with the amazing Ark Horton (seriously, read her Telverin Trilogy books) on a re-telling of Hansel and Gretel, which was great fun!
In the Wake of the Kraken
Edited by C. Vandyke
This anthology was an absolute honour to write for, considering how blown away I was by Skullgate Media’s two previous anthologies, Achten Tan: Land of Dust and Bone and Under New Suns!
My story in this anthology follows an alien assassin for hire, as he sets out to rescue a kidnapped dignitary’s daughter from an abandoned mine. It’s definitely one of my more action packed ones!
Welcome to Simmins, Detective Spencer
Edited by Chapel Orahamm
My second adventure with the (expanded) Heads and Tales crew! This anthology focuses on the mysterious town of Simmins, where the winter has brought something much more sinister than just snow…
My story here follows a simple woodcutter, who ends up having to save a mysterious woman from a horde of very dangerous and incredibly un-jolly Christmas elves…
Shatterlore: Myths of Past and Future
Edited by Mara Lynn Johnstone
This anthology features a collection stories around myths and legends, be they featuring elements from those famous tales, or straight up reinventing them in a new genre (there’s even a cyberpunk one!)
My story here was very Pratchett inspired, and follows the adventures of a couple of teenagers living in England in the 1990s, who just happen to come across a real life Ancient Greek Chimera!
I’m still pretty proud of this story, I think I managed a good balance of humour, action, and seriousness!
The Major Arcana
Edited by Katherine Shaw
This was a really fun anthology, with stories inspired by tarot! Again, expect a lot of different genres and approaches here, there’s a lot of range!
I have two stories in this one:
The Devil & the Department Store sees the return of the characters from my Shatterlore story, as they end up caught in a shopping center, having to survive a devilish trap with their wits and plenty of 90s teenage snark.
The Rage of the Empress is a story about a disgraced former ruler trying to escape her vengeful husband’s armies, only to be ambushed in a forest. Plenty of action again here, as an underestimated royal relies on the lethal skills she has learned during her lifetime to survive.
Zehlreg Augustus Grindstone’s Spectacular Western Oddity Emporium: a Weird West Anthology
Edited by Suzanna Lundale and Marc Tizura
I absolutely loved working with End of the World Publishing on this one, my short story being selected was such an delight, seeing as how I’d never written a Western story before!
This story is The Last Regret, in which two cowboys spend the evening in a saloon with a particularly spectacular troupe of dancing girls. They only have one rule – don’t touch the performers…
Interesting Times: a Hopepunk Anthology
Edited by Suzanna Lundale and Marc Tizura
Another adventure with End of the World Publishing, what a treat! This anthology introduced me to Hopepunk, and what a fantastic genre it is too! As with all anthologies here, expect some amazing stories written by top drawer authors!
My story here is my very favourite of the ones i have written, The Artificer’s End. It follows a young girl called Millicent, whose planet is being invaded by bloodthirsty mechanical cyborg horrors intent on wiping out the human race. But hope is reborn when one such cyborg wakes up from its servitude, and has a plan to save humanity!
My debut novel, The Urchin, The Artist & The Abomination, is essentially a fully expanded and slightly re-imagined version of this story, I’m very excited to get to the point where I can publish it at last!
Craig Rathbone - Writer 