AustLit

'Two trees grow on either side of the old church, one called Winter Sweet and the other Winter Grieve. Felicity, owner and cook of the restaurant that now occupies the church, named her business after the former. Tonight, it is business as usual—twelve patrons are booked for the dinner service, and she and her assistant, Owen, are the only ones working. A charming older man, Owen seduces Felicity into a romantic tryst after the diners leave. Little does Felicity know, however, that his intentions are far less than honorable and will trigger a series of unfortunate events.'

Source: Tangent Online (https://tangentonline.com/e-market-quarterly/grimdark-25-january-2021/)

'Multi-award winning creators Ellen Datlow and Kaaron Warren teamed up on Facebook a few years ago when Ellen posted photos of antique tools and Kaaron wrote microfiction pieces to accompany them, without either of them knowing what the tools were for.

'This chapbook collects and preserves their playful interaction for readers to enjoy.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'People come to The Angelsea , a rooming house near the beach, for many reasons. Some come to get some sleep, because here, you sleep like the dead. Dora arrives seeking solitude and escape from reality. Instead, she finds a place haunted by the drowned and desperate, who speak through the sleeping inhabitants. She fears sleep herself, terrified that the ghosts of her daughters will tell her "it's all your fault we're dead." At the same time, she'd give anything to hear them one more time.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'The Sixth Falling Star by Kaaron Warren continues the themes of displaced people, with Jena who commands a barge for ferrying the dead along the canals; a grim journey towards some unknown sacrifice; a brokered peace with the invaders but at such great a cost. A new ecosystem functions so much better than the destructive, old human ways, but the purpose for it all is terrifying.'

Source: Foreword.

'The Time-Ball Tower of Tempuston houses the worst criminals in history. Given the option of the death penalty or eternal life, they chose eternal life. They have a long time to regret that choice.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'There are many grief holes.

'There's the grief hole you fall into when a loved one dies.

'There's another grief hole in all of us; small or large, it determines how much we want to live.

'And there are the places, the physical grief holes, which attract suicides to their centre.

'Sol Evictus, a powerful, charismatic singer, sends a young artist into The Grief Hole to capture the faces of the teenagers dying there. When she inevitably dies herself, her cousin Theresa resolves to stop this man so many love.

'Theresa sees ghosts; she knows how you'll die by the spirits haunting you. If you'll drown, she'll see drowned people. Most often she sees battered women, because she works to find emergency housing for abused women.

'She sees no ghosts around Sol Evictus but she doesn't let that stop her. Her passion to help, to be a saint, drives her to find a way to destroy him.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

A mattress bears witness to all manner of psychological and gothic horrors.

'A small car is discovered at a local bazaar in Refuge. It's recognised as a child's toy from a long time ago. It shouldn't exist. The mystery takes the narrator on a quest for the truth. But does she really want to know?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.