Interzone editor Andy Hedgecock and Lancashire writer and poet Claire Massey have started an online magazine of speculative fiction. It’s called Paraxis, and you can read it here.
This first issue is on the theme of Power. It features stories by Conrad Williams and Nicholas Royle as well as my own story ‘The Upstairs Window’ and some arresting artwork by Beth Ward, Aurelia Milach and Claire Massey herself. Andy and Claire have clearly put a lot of thought into this project and the results, I think, are fantastic. They’re already seeking submissions for future issues so there’s plenty to look forward to.
Claire’s own site is here, and is well worth a visit for her online collection of ‘strange maps’ alone. Claire has a strong interest in fairy tales and her writing blends myth and contemporary reality in a subtle and evocative way. Her story ‘Chorden-under-Water,’ which you can read at the site, rings with that peculiarly English mysticism you might find in a song by Sandy Denny.