Donna Scott’s Shelfie
I am definitely a bit of a book magpie, and the kinds of books I have are an eclectic mix. A long time ago, I used to like arranging the books nicely and aesthetically, but I acquire them far too quickly and abundantly to do more than an occasional half-tidy and put things I want to read soonish in a pile next to the shelves seen here, which are your standard IKEA Billy ones from about 25 years ago.
I have managed to keep all my Storm Constantine books together, within gazing distance from my desk (as I miss her), and she’s a writer whose books I return to every so often when I want to read something familiar and beautiful. I recently had a lovely chat with a fella at Eastercon who told me how he dressed as one of her Wraeththu types for a con in the `90s, which made me think of her again.
I think Storm was very much at the vanguard of modern dark fantasy, and indeed of independent publishing when she started Immanion Press.
Donna Scott’s Shelfie (with badger)
One of my favourite books of Storm’s is Burying the Shadow, which is a standalone novel that reimagines vampires as eloim – an artisan race who are kept in isolated courts by their patrons who donate their blood in exchange for access to eloim cultural works at any time of their choosing. The eloim are threatened by a strange disease called the Fear, and so eloim siblings Beth and Gimel, reach out to a souslcaper, Rayojini, as her unusual guardians. Rayojini is an initiate soulscaper who they wish to help them find the cure for the disease before they either succumb to it, or before the secret of their nature is exposed, which would also put them in danger.
The writing is beautifully gothic, and the story is layered and lush as it examines isolation, the power of healing, and growing into one’s true self. It’s a prime piece of Storm’s writing, and full of the sensuality, gender diversity, and focus on ritual that are typical of her work. I made the mistake of lending someone the copy I bought in a Wolverhampton bookshop in 1992 and never got it back, but a decade later I went to my first convention, Grissecon (a convention held in Stafford in 2003 to celebrate Storm’s work), and so was able to pick up a signed hardback there. Little did I know I was also getting some new friends for life and a future career in publishing at the same time.
You can also see David Barnett’s early novels on the shelf – I cut my editorial teeth on those. Look how he’s flying now! I think I have most of Chaz Brenchley’s output too. River of the World and Bridge of Dreams are hiding behind the Missy figurine. Two lovely fantasy novels about water magic that are well worth seeking out, but my goodness, the covers make them look a bit Mills and Boon. I tend to have mostly fantasy top left, science fiction on the bottom, and horror on the right. And everything else everywhere else.
Donna Scott is a writer, editor, stand-up comedian, and founder of The Slab Press. She is the editor of the long-running anthology series The Best of British Science Fiction, published by NewCon Press.
Shelfies is edited by Lavie Tidhar and Jared Shurin.
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