Blog Post
The last collection of short stories I published was in 2008. It's an eclectic mix which I entitled And the Angels Sang, named for the lead story. To my delight, it has met with quite a bit of positive reaction from both readers and reviewers.
In the ensuing years, I've crafted a number of other short stories in between operating a publishing house and all the demands of being an administrator in our other business, one which pays the bills. A lot has happened during that time: our son married his life-buddy, three major surgeries, a failed attempt at elder care, renovating this old stone house which was built c1847, and as I write this, into the second year of a global pandemic.
And somewhere in all that still writing, still exploring ideas and what-ifs. I do have to admit a reluctance to writing short fiction. The literary form seems so restrictive to me, perhaps more having to do with the fact I have too much to say and want to make an epic out of everything. But short story writing is good discipline.
Having said that, I'm giving you 10 short works of fiction in this collection, spanning the boundaries of science fiction, speculative fiction, fantasy, magic realism and absurd fantastica. Apparently, I don't much like writing in just one genre, either. Creative fences drive me batshit crazy, although I do very much appreciate fences around this sanctuary we are privileged to call home. But there is a theme to this collection, a common thread I think you will find through all the stories. What it is, I will leave up to you to decipher, and thus we will have a silent communication.
I've arranged the stories in some loose graduation of dark to light, and again have chosen to use the lead story as the title for the collection. But the title Dreams of the Moon is more, because as a child, and then an adolescent, I firmly believed if I arranged myself just so in the bed, so that when the moon shone in my window, something wonderful would happen. It never did. But I still felt compelled to answer the call of that pale, eerie light.
And then there were all the moonlight walks in the deep of the night which took place well into adulthood. Wonderful moments. Moments I remember with clarity and wonder, whether moonlight so bright on a winter's night that the trees by the river cast indigo shadows across the snow, or a brace of geese rising up and across that silver face. And as with all things, there is the dark side of the moon: a sleepless night fraught with sorrow and a desperate attempt to rescue someone I dearly loved.
All of these moments influence and underscore what I write. It's there in these 10 stories. Darkness and light. Wonder and sorrow. The ambiguity, sometimes, of reflected light. Dreams of the Moon.
The sixth story in the collection, “The Intersection," was written for, and published in, Strangers Among Us, Tales of the Underdogs and Outcasts, edited by Susan Forest and Lucas K. Law. It is an anthology exploring the triumphs rather than the tribulations of people who live with mental health challenges.
This was probably the most difficult of all the short stories I've ever written, because mental health issues have been very real within my family, and the cause of some of my greatest heartache. For the most part, I've been fairly private about those issues, because I will not break the trust of the people around whom those issues revolve. So, when Susan Forest approached me about writing a piece for the anthology, I didn't think I could do it. There was just so much grief attached to the subject, and so much invested trust, and I didn't think I could honour the concept Susan and Lucas were striving to create.
But then I remembered a moment in the tragedy I had known, and saw the connection in that, the hope, because in dealing with mental health challenges often it's not just about seeking and receiving qualified, medical and psychological care, but building and securing reliable, and safe human connections to see you through those moments when the dark dog comes calling.
So it was The Intersection came to be. I realized we will always have these issues, and we will always have to find ways to cope with those moments when we hit a wall. What would that look like in the near future? Would it be possible to connect to people in a tangible manner so that no matter the distance, or where life takes us, we could always be together, find solace, sanctuary, and thus the paralyzing panic of trying to cross a busy intersection came to be. Such a simple thing - to cross an intersection - made impossible because of a crippling panic attack, and then ameliorated by the touch of a brother's hand, even if he isn't there.
Well, at the risk of being coy, you'll have to read the story in order to find out how all of that resolves itself.
Dreams of the Moon is available in trade paperback and ebook, either directly through my website or through your favourite online bookseller wherever you live in the world. It's also available through elibrary services globally.
Bio
Lorina Stephens has worked all sides of the publishing desk: writer, editor, publisher. From freelance journalist for regional and national periodicals, to editor of a regional lifestyle magazine and then her own publishing house, Lorina has been at this professionally since 1980 and has witnessed publishing evolve into the dynamic form of self-expression which exists today. For 12 years she operated Five Rivers Publishing as a house which gave voice to Canadian authors. Due to life circumstances, Lorina had to change direction, and so now the house exists as a bit of a vanity press for her work.
Lorina's short fiction has appeared in literary and genre publications such as On Spec, Neo-Opsis, Postscripts to Darkness, Polar Borealis, to name a few; novels under her own house, Five Rivers Publishing, non-fiction under Boston Mills Press and an anthology co-edited with Susan MacGregor, Tesseracts 22: Alchemy and Artifacts.
Lorina's oeuvre consists of:Mostly Lorina is an introvert. You won't find her at conventions. On social media she mostly lurks. If you really want to know what Lorina Stephens is about, read her work. It's that simple. If you're curious, visit her at: fiveriverspublishing.com.
