Category: plants

Ruins Speculative Fiction Zine

~ Kathryn ~ Leave a comment

My newest zine, Ruins, collects seven illustrated pieces of speculative short fiction about the people and places left behind after the world has moved on. 

“Ruins” is a theme that’s near and dear to my heart for two reasons.

The first has to do with the spaces I occupy both in my imagination and in real life. I’m a big fan of dark fantasy video games, which often involve exploring gorgeously ruined spaces. In the real world, I live in a part of Philadelphia that has a bold culture and a strong sense of community, but its infrastructure has definitely seen better days. Over the course of a normal day, I pass by (and occasionally through) multiple abandoned structures. Both in video games and in my own neighborhood, seeing those sorts of spaces makes me want to know their stories.

The second reason is more personal. It’s embarrassing to admit this, but the Covid pandemic was nothing short of apocalyptic for me. For reasons beyond my control, almost everything in my life was destroyed suddenly and without warning. I survived and rebuilt, of course. Still, it would be difficult to say that I’m not haunted by the ruins of everything that ended just a few years ago.

As a writer of speculative fiction, it’s therefore not so much the apocalypse that interests me, but rather what comes after. Even when the world ends, life is still well worth living. What I wanted to do with the stories in Ruins is to share my experience of the chaotic joy of transition and the gentle beauty of decay. Though the stories are told from the perspective of a variety of human and inhuman narrators who have found themselves in strange circumstances, I hope that a sense of calm and quiet optimism shines through their words.

Paper copies of the zine are available on Etsy, and you can download a free digital version from Itch.io here:

🌿 https://digitalterrarium.itch.io/ruins-zine
🌿 https://www.etsy.com/listing/4485202424/ruins-speculative-fiction-zine

I also want to give a shout to Dinchen, who created to beautiful pixel art for the zine’s front cover. Dinchen takes commissions via VGen (here), and links to all of their socials are on their Carrd site (here). Many thanks and much love also to RainbowPhilosopher, who created the atmospheric painting on the zine’s back cover. You can find links to her socials and her portfolio on DeviantArt (here), and she’s active on Instagram (here). I’m very honored to have been able to work with such friendly and talented artists!

Urban Gardening with Aerith Gainsborough

~ Kathryn ~ Leave a comment

I’m excited to share a short story titled “Urban Gardening with Aerith Gainsborough,” which is based on the Final Fantasy VII Remake prequel novel, Traces of Two Pasts. This story is about Aerith’s relationship with the planet, especially how it manifests through her love of plants and flowers.

Despite the nurturing elements of her personality, something I love about Aerith is that she’s always kind but never fails to speak her mind. There’s an edge to her personality that I can’t help but admire, especially when she’s being passive-aggressive. It’s always fun to write characters who have this sort of complexity.  

You can read my story on AO3 here:
https://archiveofourown.org/works/65035672

On a personal note, I live in South Philadelphia, which is about as close as you can get to the Sector 5 slums in real life. I played FFVII Remake for the first time last October, and I fell so head-over-heels in love with Aerith that I was inspired to begin planting flowers in my neighborhood. I know it sounds trite to say “Aerith is an inspiration,” but she really is.

The illustration of Aerith showing off the small garden at the Leaf House orphanage was created by the bright and shining Artofpipeur, who posts colorful character portraits on Instagram (here).

In Praise of Moss Disability Zine

~ Kathryn ~ Leave a comment

In Praise of Moss is a zine that argues against the myth of productivity while celebrating the value of a diversity of contributions to our culture and communities. Not everyone can be a tree, and that’s okay. Moss is an equally important part of an ecosystem.

I wrote this zine from a perspective that respects people of all abilities, but I think it’s important to acknowledge the more challenging aspects of disability. Disabled people are often expected to “pull their weight,” usually with the assumption that there’s only one way to measure success. In addition, people who live with invisible disabilities are often met with frustration and accusations of laziness when we’re unable to work or behave “normally.”

Moss is a useful metaphor for a recontextualization of what it means for disabled people to be useful to our communities and valued in our relationships. By exploring how moss can support an entire ecosystem, we can craft a model for how disability positivity can benefit society.

In addition, moss is remarkably adept at surviving disaster, which makes it an engaging analogy for resistance against the pressures of self-optimization exerted by neoliberal capitalism. While my focus is on disability, I believe that all readers can benefit from a shift in perspective that encourages us to grow naturally without worrying about productivity. 

When I write about “resisting productivity,” I’m speaking from the position of someone in academia who is directly affected by the myth that hard work will lead to prosperity. I hate the way this myth is weaponized against disabled people in the realm of higher education, and I want to destroy it. Very softly and quietly. Like moss.

While I love the lo-fi DIY aesthetic of many of the disability zines I’ve found on Etsy and in indie bookstores, it was important to me to create an attractively formatted physical object that feels good in my hands and accommodates my own disabilities by being easy to read. I want people who encounter this zine to feel that it’s valuable, and that they’re valuable too. I was fortunate to be able to work with Fireball Printing, a local Philadelphia service that creates gorgeous full-color publications.

If you’re interested, you can order a copy of the zine from Etsy, or you can download a free digital version on Itch.io.

🌿 https://digitalterrarium.itch.io/in-praise-of-moss
🌿 https://www.etsy.com/listing/1881401704/in-praise-of-moss-disability-zine

Legend of Zelda Forest Zine Preorders Open

~ Kathryn ~ 2 Comments

I’m excited to share the news that preorders are now open for The Whispers of Hyrule, a Legend of Zelda fanzine celebrating Hyrule’s beautiful green spaces and the creatures that make their homes in the trees.

I contributed a short story about Majora’s Mask titled “The Brave Tale of the Heroic Swamp Princess.” My story follows Link and the Deku Princess as they venture through the swamp on their way home from the Woodfall Temple. I did my best to capture the exuberant spirit of the Deku Princess, who helps Link work through the trauma he experienced in Ocarina of Time, as well as the warm atmosphere created by the vibrant plant growth in the swamp.

It’s been a privilege to see the drafts shared by the writers, artists, and musicians who have joined me on this journey. From sunlit meadows to deep forest shadows, everyone has worked hard to convey the wonder and mystery of getting lost in the woods. I know I say this about every fanzine, but this book is going to be gorgeous.

Preorders for the zine are open until April 23, and three stretch goals have already been exceeded. If you’re interested, you can check out the project at the following links:

🌿 https://thewhispersofhyrule.bigcartel.com/
🌿 https://culturesofhyrulezines.tumblr.com/
🌿 https://thewhispersofhyrule.carrd.co/