Episode 203 - Out of Canon, Into the Fire
Welcome to Season 2, Episode 3 - Out of Canon, Into the Fire! The panel discusses self-published books and stories and fanworks in the spec fic landscape. Hear about All the Songs by Caitlin Sweet, Death and the Taxman by David Hankins, Kingshold by D.P. Woolliscroft, and The Scottish Boy by Alex de Campi.
All the Songs by Caitlin Sweet
“All the Songs” by Caitlin Sweet is a novelette published in Fusion Fragment #23 in 2024. It’s a coming of age story about Odi, a girl who lives in a post-apocalyptic modern-day world. She and her family (or found family, rather) inhabit an old shopping mall, which we learn through clever descriptions and context clues.
It's never explicitly described, but the world outside of the mall is seemingly torched, hot, and violent. At first, there is still the sound of gunfire, the occasional fighter jet flying over the mall, but it fades out over the years. The rain is toxic, seemingly indicating a nuclear conflict. A few members of the community venture out and most are killed, the ones that return fall ill, then spread it to the community - it shrinks from 32 to 15.
Odi grows up with Katu - a younger boy who can read - and their grandmother, who they call Atvah. We watch Odi progress through puberty, discover her sexuality, and lay with men in the community in hopes of being able to become pregnant.
Interspersed through the novella are passages about a pod of whales - most specifically, a female whale who is trying to survive and tend to her young. These scenes have moments that mirror what is happening in the larger story.
A beautiful and tragic story told through gorgeous lyrical prose.
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Death and the Taxman by David Hankins
The Grim Reaper is taken over by a third party and is no longer doing his job. The rightful reaper must recover his role or the world is in a heap of trouble. Follow Reaper as he struggles to survive in the “real” world and fight the imposter.
Frank Totmann, a dying IRS auditor, has a trick up his sleeve. Through a supernatural body swap, Frank swaps lives with Death and leaves the Grim Reaper trapped in his failing human body. Now Death must figure out how to reverse the switch before his own time runs out - all while navigating human life and the attention of Hell’s bureaucratic authorities!
The book is published by Lost Bard Enterprises that only publishes David Hankins. He has a website where you can purchase his e-books and some paperbacks.
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Kingshold by D.P. Woolliscroft
When the King and Queen of Edland are killed by Jyuth, the ancient wizard who founded the kingdom, he decides it’s time to end the monarchy and let the people elect their next ruler. But introducing democracy to a kingdom rife with corruption, inequality, and competing ambitions proves far from simple. The story follows a colourful cast of characters, including Mareth, a down-on-his-luck bard; Neenahwi, the wizard’s frustrated daughter; and Alana, an intelligent palace servant drawn into political intrigue. As rival factions vie for power, the kingdom is swept into a dangerous struggle involving assassinations, conspiracies, pirates, and monsters.
At its heart, Kingshold is a fantasy adventure about what happens when an established power structure falls—and whether ordinary people can genuinely shape their own future.
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The Scottish Boy by Alex de Campi
Set in 1333 during the war between England and Scotland, the novel follows Harry de Lyon, a young English knight eager to prove himself. After a brutal raid on a Scottish stronghold, Harry is ordered to take a mysterious, fiercely independent Scottish captive named Iain mac Maíl Coluim as his squire. As Harry tries to train Iain, he discovers that the boy is far more educated and sophisticated than he first appeared, and that his true identity conceals a dangerous secret. As Harry rises in the English court, the two develop a passionate, forbidden romance that threatens their loyalties and their lives amid the political intrigue and violence of medieval Britain.
The Scottish Boy is a slow-burn romance about two men caught between their growing love for each other and the brutal political and social realities of their time.
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