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 Jane McKie and the story "Night Snow".
About the author:
Jane McKie is a prizewinning poet and speculative fiction fan. She has written several poetry collections, the most recent of which is Carnation Lily Lily Rose (Blue Diode, 2023).
Jane on the story:
The idea for the story began, as the story itself begins, with the image of snow. In this case it is a snow scene at night in a very particular location that resolved in my mind during the process of writing. As well as the hush, the snowfall, the notion of some sounds dampened and others amplified on a snowy street in the early hours of the morning, I began to ask a question about what it might feel like to be unconscious and frozen. More importantly, what might it feel like to be woken up from vitrification in a world that had changed irrevocably? I’ve long been interested in the possible emotional effects of life-extension and our seemingly relentless quest as a species for immortality; the ideas in this story played out from a preoccupation with what, for want of a better description, could be called ‘the boredom of vampires’. What surprised me in the writing of it – especially as a poet (there are no surprises that it first grew from an image!) – was how quickly the central character defined herself and took on her own voice. The story became – I hope – as much about her as about the underlying concept. She sent me back to a time as an undergraduate in Edinburgh when the pubs were open until the wee hours, the long-defunct all-night bakery was a regular port of call, and the weather was always icy (that last part probably isn’t true, but we have to shore up Edinburgh’s Gothic credentials, after all…). The protagonist is my guide into the past and into the future. We might have shared some experiences, but she isn’t me. I really don’t know if I would make the same decisions she does at the beginning and end of the story. Would you?Â
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