“Nym had never managed to catch more of Raika than her scent—like smoke and leather and wood. The very first time, she’d followed its trail to a top-shelved jar of nightbloom essence, five milliliters emptier than last marked. Beneath the bottle, Nym left a scrap: Caught you.”

I have a story out in the latest issue of OFIC Magazine! “Where Flowers Take Root,” co-written with Ansel Xiu, is:

a queer f/f fantasy adventure romance
a hopeful, indulgent little story about finding homes in each other
“fantasy, mixing poisons for great justice, toxic kingdoms, sneaky note-passing, exploring the city at night, nosegays & nose gays (you’ll see), masquerade balls and hidden identities and perilous escapes oh my”

A digital copy of the issue is $8 USD, and you can get yours here.

It’s hard to believe this little story is out in the world! We completed it in late 2019/early 2020, right before the pandemic hit; I still remember our initial brainstorming meeting at the hot bar of a Whole Foods, where we tossed around archetypes and landed on “apothecary + thief.” Ansel and I are still friends now, though it was a close thing: we butted heads about things as small as word choice, and as big as the entire plot. Our writing interests have diverged since, but who knows—maybe we’ll collab again someday.