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FANTASY SHORT STORY – First Edition New Magazine

Look what just arrived in my hot little hands…the first ever edition of SCAFFOLDING MAGAZINE!

How to Scalp a Doll - Rosemary A JohnsMy short story – HOW TO SCALP A DOLL – was commissioned for this special first edition.

Danny, a lonely long distance driver, is trapped in a world of human trafficking. He saw the slaves as no more than dolls. Until one day, he broke his boss’ rule, opened the back of the truck and looked inside…

The sea was a smudge of blue against the horizon; the salt was sharp on the dead air. Danny stiffened. For a moment, when he stared out across the beach, he saw rows of scalps, no longer miniature but life-size – brunette, blond, and bald. Danny blinked. And then they were gone.

The magazine also includes an interview with me.

Rosemary A Johns - fantasy author

 

I discuss the short story…

The girls are invisible because they’re viewed as less than human.

…why I write fantasy…

…it allows me to give a voice to the forgotten. Or the deliberately hidden.

…and freedom.

The free have choices. But that’s often hard to face. Ourselves.

The Editor reviews BLOOD DRAGONS:

‘The kind of book you’re likely to pick up a second time, finding new dimensions…an empowering book…about true love. It is a book with formidable literary ambition. Rebel to the core, Rosemary trailblazers through stigma… Highly recommended. 5*

Click here to read more.

Scaffolding Magazine

 

EMPOWERING FANTASY – How Books Can Break Down Walls

Blood Dragons was featured in the first edition of the literary magazine Scaffolding:

5* “The kind of book you are likely to pick up for a second time…an empowering book” – Scaffolding Magazine

From my days as a teenager spellbound by the world of Buffy the Vampire Slayer every week (dangerous thrills wrapped in snarky comedy…learn from the best), I’ve loved the idea that fantasy can be empowering…and fun.

I only write what I’m passionate about – a writer’s voice should be in their works.

As a playwright I loved to challenge audiences: make them laugh one minute, cry the next. Always? Question one little lie society teaches us, as Light would say, ‘cradle to the grave’: money makes you happy, disabled people can’t succeed, old people are boring or democracy can’t fail.

Trick of it is to create a world, characters and plot so exciting that readers are pulled into these questions.

“A book that stands behind causes, that advocates inclusion, that denounces walls and barriers.”

Light is a Blood Lifer and Kathy is a human. Their love is forbidden. In the wild 1960s Light realises that not as much divides the species as he’s always been taught. That maybe Blood Life isn’t about freedom but control.

That love can be free…

“Trailblazes through the stigma of mental health and disability in some of the most authentic ways we’ve ever read.”

My son is an autistic savant: everything he sees he remembers. My main character’s chief talent is his photographic memory: living as a vampire and witnessing all the glories and horrors, this becomes both a blessing and a curse.

His first true friend is an autistic vampire. Both elected because of their exceptional talents.

“A book with a formidable literary ambition… Highly recommended.” 

In Rebel Vampires Light battles for love, family or home. Always he fights for freedom. Those walls and barriers? Light won’t rest until they’re tumbled down, smashed at his feet.  Welcome to the Rebel Age!

Start your rebel adventure into Blood Dragons here!

Blood Dragons Rebel Vampires Volume 1 - Rosemary A Johns
BUY NOW

 

 

 

STUNNING AUTHOR INTERVIEW – Vampires, Domination and James Dean

 

Rosemary A Johns - Fantasy Author

Sometimes as an author you have chats with magazines, interviewers or TV hosts where everything just clicks. They get you, the book and more than that: how to challenge it.

You discover something about writing, yourself and life, as well as discussing your work in a far more fascinating way than you ever could alone.

That’s what happened with Scaffolding Magazine.

Freedom, domination, terrorism, my childhood, writing tips and James Dean… 

And did I mention how gorgeous the podcast is..?

Start your escape into the Rebel Vampires series here

 

 

FANTASY SHORT STORIES – New Magazine

I love short stories. They’re the quiet gems of the writing world – done right? They catch your imagination, worm under your skin and squeeze your heart…

The great ones..? You never forget.

A short story is harder to write than a novel. Flash fiction is the hardest of all. I’ve been a traditionally published short story writer since I was fourteen (of course the editor didn’t know I was a kid…)

I write science fiction, fantasy and dark fiction. What I really write? Emotion. That extra something, which will grab you and not let go.

My most recent short story is being featured in the very first edition of a new literary magazine Scaffolding. It’s passionate about the same things I am: inclusion, gender and mental health. The magazine itself pairs the very best writers with the most stunning artists.

The story “How to Scalp a Doll” is dark fiction about a human trafficker who makes the mistake of opening the truck door…then his whole world is turned on its head.

It’s about siblings, fear, loneliness, freedom…and what it means to be alive.

Danny had always hated geese…

Rebel Vampires will also be part of the magazine long-term, offering rewards to readers who subscribe. Click here to find out more.

Start the Rebel Vampires adventure today here.

What’s your favourite short story – and why have you always remembered it?

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