Amanda Downum
Still So Strange
Dreams of Shreds & Tatters
ISBN-13 978-1781083260
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When Liz Drake's best friend vanishes, nothing can stop her nightmares. Driven by the certainty he needs her help, she crosses a continent to search for him.
She finds Blake comatose in a Vancouver hospital, victim of a mysterious accident that claimed his lover's life--in her dreams he drowns. Blake's new circle of artists and mystics draws her in, but all of them are lying or keeping dangerous secrets. Soon nightmare creatures stalk the waking city, and Liz can't fight a dream from the daylight world: to rescue Blake she must brave the darkest depths of the dreamlands. Even the attempt could kill her, or leave her mind trapped or broken.
And if she succeeds, she must face the monstrous Yellow King, whose slave Blake is on the verge of becoming forever.
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The Poison Court
Savedra Severos is no stranger to intrigue. Mistress to the king of Selafai and daughter of a rival noble house, she navigates the treacheries of court with every breath.
On the eve of delicate peace talks, the court mage is found murdered. As Savedra investigates, she stumbles further into a web of secrets that enmeshes three kingdoms--entangling spies and sorcerers, lovers and enemies, strangers and kin. Among those secrets are Savedra's own, dangerous enough to destroy her king and her family if they come to light.
Traitors walk the palace halls, but the danger is more than political. Spirits prowl the city. Once a force of justice, now they seek only retribution--and they prey on those with blood on their hands. In a court fueled by schemes and secrets, not even Savedra is safe from their venomous touch.
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Short Fiction & Poetry
Still So Strange (Fossils and Ephemera)
ISBN-13 978-1-77148-439-8
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Drawing heavily on Lovecraftiana and myth, these are tales of devil's bargains, love songs to monsters, and the people--human and otherwise--who inhabit liminal spaces. Ghosts, gods, and ghouls make their way as best they can, one step sideways from the mortals around them.
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Spanning a decade of writing, Still So Strange is Amanda Downum's first collection of short fiction (and the odd poem), and includes stories previously released in Strange Horizons, Realms of Fantasy, and Weird Tales, as well as original, unpublished work.
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Finalist for the 2019 World Fantasy Award for Best Collection.
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"Fossil Heart" - What The #@&% Is That, edited by John Joseph Adams & Douglas Cohen, November 2016.
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Reprinted in Nightmare Magazine, August 2016.
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Also available on podcast.
"The Sea Inside" - The Mammoth Book of Cthulhu, edited by Paula Guran, April 2016.
"Spore" - Dreams From The Witch House, edited by Lynne Jamneck, April 2016.
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Reprinted in Nightmare Magazine, August 2019.
"Snakebit" - Strange Horizons, April 2014.
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Also available on podcast.
"Bone Garden" - A Fantasy Medley 2, edited by Yanni Kuznia, November 2012.
"Red" - Brave New Love: 15 Dystopian Tales of Desire, edited by Paula Guran, March 2012.
"Blue Valentine" - End of An Aeon, edited by Bridget & Marti McKenna July 2011.
"Spell 81A" (With Elizabeth Bear) - Shadow Unit Episode 3.04, August 2010.
"Aconite & Rue" - On Spec #78, Fall 2009.
"The Tenderness of Jackals" - Lovecraft Unbound, edited by Ellen Datlow, October 2009.
"Pinion" - Not One of Us #40, October 2008.
"Ballistic" (With Sarah Monette, Emma Bull & Elizabeth Bear) -Shadow Unit Episode 5, April 2008.
"Ghostlight" - Not One of Us #39, April 2008.
"Catch" - Weird Tales #347, Nov-Dec 2007.
"The Salvation Game" - Fantasy, Summer 2007.
"Ebb" - Not One of Us #37, April 2007.
"Smoke & Mirrors" - Strange Horizons, November 2006.
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Reprinted in Best New Romantic Fantasy 2, edited by Paula Guran.
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Reprinted in Circus: Fantasy Under the Big Top, edited by Ekaterina Sedia.
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Podcast on Far Fetched Fables no. 31.
"Snake Charmer" - Realms of Fantasy, October 2006.
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Reprinted in Magic City: Recent Spells, edited by Paula Guran.
"The Garden, The Moon, The Wall" - Ideomancer, September 2006.
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Reprinted in Running With the Pack, edited by Ekaterina Sedia.
"Flotsam" - Strange Horizons, August 2006.
"Brambles" (flash) - Cabinet des Fees, August 2006.
"And In the Living Rock, Still She Sings" (poem) - Aeon Speculative Fiction #8, August 2006.
"Dogtown" - Strange Horizons, June 2006.
"Gingerbread & Time" (flash) - Cabinet des Fees, May 2006.
"Wrack" - Strange Horizons, February 2006.