Each anthology I put together is a time capsule of sorts because they reflect where I am in my life, my heart and my mind when I put them together. Given the exact same anthology theme and submissions the anthology I’d curate in December 2019 would be different than the one I’d put together in March 2021 which would also be different than the one I’d edit in November 2024.

The way I phrase my call for submissions would be different, the number of spell slots I could spare to signal boost that call would vary, the stories which speak to me the loudest at each of those times would be different…

You get the idea.

At the time I began putting this one together I just so happened to feel like I was also putting part of my life back together as well. Thankfully, water is my happy place, so spending hours and hours and hours reading stories about water and the ocean — about its depths, its beauty, its dangers — was somewhat restorative for me. But once I had chosen my Table of Contents and looked into the sort of odd mirror that a TOC is, I was able to see something else. I was sad. Deep down in my bones sad. Sorrowful, one might say. And the stories I’d chosen reflected that.

Some stories are more sorrowful than others but there’s an undercurrent that moves through the entire collection. This isn’t a downright depressing book, honest it’s not, but as the cover suggests, it’s more of a fog-filled night with a lonely lighthouse than it is palm trees and dancing turquoise waters.

But, frankly, that’s exactly how I like it.

Though we’ll ‘officially’ be releasing it at When Words Collide in Calgary this weekend, Saltwater Sorrows hit the shelves today and I’m incredibly proud to have it out in the world.

Deep, mysterious, beautiful . . . dangerous . . .

Women and the sea have been tied together in myth and story from the beginning of time. Tales of women being drawn to the sea or being left on the shore, waiting for their men’s return, have been passed down through the ages.

But what mysteries lie beneath the sparkling placid waters? What power drives the wind and waves crashing against the shore? There is transformation and exaltation—magic—in the ocean and women alike. And both know that while the sea gives, the sea also takes.

Sink into the icy depths of the ocean with these stories by: E.E. King; Natalie Cannon; Morgan Melhuish; Paul A. Hamilton; Laura VanArendonk Baugh; Sarah Van Goethem; Adria Laycraft; Dino Parenti; B. Zelkovich; Lisa Carreiro; Lea Storry; Nikoline Kaiser; Elin Olausson; Chandra Fisher; Hayley Stone; V.F. LeSann; Catherine MacLeod; and Jennifer R. Donohue.

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Or ask your local library to order it in! 🙂

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