First Look: Prose
24 days ago
– Wed, Sep 16, 2026 at 12:16:49 PM
Hello friends!
Today's highlight/sneak peek post features a piece of fiction that will be in the digital and print editions of the anthology.
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"The Cat Knows" By
Hope F. LeeThe cat knows everything, or so everyone says. Whatever you might need: if it’s help with your lessons, advice for your business, or anything else you can put into words for it to understand, the cat can help! All that you have to do, in return, is give the cat everything it asks for—no matter what the cost might be.
It wasn’t always this way, for better or for worse. It wasn’t all that long ago when the wizard council unveiled the cat to the world—just a year ago, or was it two? Three? It can’t have been more than five, because Felix was still on the wizard council five years ago, and you would have remembered if he was on the unveiling committee.
“This is,” the wizards proclaimed for all to hear, “the cat!”
At a glance, the cat seemed almost normal, like any other that you might see employed in a barn, or on a sailing ship, for a certain sense of the word employed. It looked so normal, in fact, that many of those who had otherwise been excited to see what the wizard council was showing off this time started to lose interest and turn away, deciding that they cared more about the call of their stomachs than whatever this was. You were one of them.
And then, the cat opened its mouth. That part wasn’t unusual. The fact that understandable words came out of its mouth, and not simply mindless caterwauling—now, that part was unusual.
“Good morning,” said the cat. “I am the cat. Ask me anything, and I will answer.”
One of your neighbors, Arthur, shouted out, “Why don’t cats like me petting them?”
“That depends,” said the cat, “and I cannot answer with certainty, but one possibility is that you are simply too loud for them to enjoy your company.”
Arthur shut up rather quickly after that, though that might not have been entirely intentional on his part and more to do with the fact that everyone else in the crowd had suddenly and spontaneously decided that the cat was more interesting than an early lunch after all.
[...]
✦ HALFWAY THERE ✦
25 days ago
– Tue, Sep 15, 2026 at 05:39:19 PM
First things first: THANK YOU!
We have officially hit the halfway mark. Halfway funded. Halfway to bringing this anthology to life. You did that. Every backer, every share, every comment, it all adds up.
Now, there was an achievement to unlock, a mystery sticker to reveal, and it's time to deliver!
Now, the sticker pack has four celestial designs for everyone who'd like to add a pack to their pledge, or pledges at the Meteor or Celestial bundle levels.
We still have 47% to go and 16 days left on the clock. Here's how you can help us get to fully funded (and beyond):
✦ Share the campaign link with someone who'd love it
✦ Post about your favorite tier or reward item on social media
✦ Upgrade your pledge while early bird deals are still available
Halfway to our goal is incredible. Let's keep going until everything is unlocked!
With so much gratitude,
Maegan
First Look: Poetry
25 days ago
– Tue, Sep 15, 2026 at 07:00:27 AM
Happy Tuesday!
Today's highlight/sneak peek post features two poems that will be in the digital and print editions of the anthology.
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Barbara Anna Gaiardoni submitted a set of tanka poems, here is
"Failed stars"
empty space
between stars,
brown dwarfs
measured in light years
our wishes and thoughts
Here is the beginning of
100indecisions "Afterimages (a cozy haunting)"
on autumn nights the house would come alive in layers,
like thin almost-voices slipping through static.
there were ghosts under the wallpaper, brown and faded,
sometimes with a faintly floral print or a few stripes
where a pattern used to be. we found a phantom curled
around the pipes in the basement once, and others
that clung to lightbulbs in the attic and the kitchen,
a fine mist between glass and filament. the lights only flickered
on special occasions. we thought sometimes
the bulbs burned out faster than they ought, but
that was a small sacrifice and we didn’t mind.
[...]
