Nova Scotia Vol 2 anthology, edited by Neil Williamson and Andrew J. Wilson, is now available to order! It celebrates the depth and breadth of Scotland's dazzling science fiction and fantasy landscape from its haunted islands to its transformed cities and everything in between. Jenni Coutts created the gorgeous cover art.
You can order the book on its own, or buy the bundle anthology deal - both from the Luna store.
Today we'd like to introduce you to Chris Kelso and the story "The Retreat".
About the author:
Chris Kelso is a award-winning, multi-translated author, editor, and (sometimes) musician from Ayrshire. You can find out more about him at www.chris-kelso.comÂ
Chris on the story:
I've almost forged a 'career' out of writing about desolate loners who are running away from their problems, but "The Retreat" was my attempt to embody a different type of character. The basic premise of someone going on an interstellar artist retreat has been knocking about in my head for a while, to the point where I've had a few dreams about it; something about the vacuum-silence of an empty space freighter, the eternal vista of stars - it just feels like the perfect writers environment to me! When it came to a central character I wanted to get out of my own body and away from the predictable author-avatars who populate the majority of my fiction. Writing from the perspective of someone with a different gender, sexuality, and faith to my own felt long-overdue. They say 'write what you know', but I think it's sometimes far more interesting to expand your artistic consciousness to new horizons. Whether or not I achieved it is another matter, but working in education has opened my life up to many new people and I wanted to bring some of that new experience to my fiction - and pay tribute to my new friends/peers. I suppose that's been my biggest inspiration.Â
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