"Kirstyn McDermott's prose is darkly magical, insidious and insistent. Once her words get under your skin, they are there to stay." -Angela Slatter, author of All the Murmuring Bones and The Path of Thorns\nHard Places collects the very best of Kirstyn McDermott's short fiction written over the past twenty years along with a previously unpublished novella. From unsettling obsessions and brutal body horror to unexpected monsters and ghosts drifting through suburbia, these stories run the gamut of horror and the contemporary gothic. By turns harrowing, provocative and poignant, this collection will haunt you long after the last page is turned.

Hard Places

Literature & Fiction

McDermott, Kirstyn

Genre Fiction

Trepidatio Publishing

Product Description Burnt Sugar is a dark and evocative re-imagining of a classic story from the award-winning Kirstyn McDermott. Ideal for fans of Jane Yolen, Theodora Goss, and Catherynne M. Valente.Decades after the incident in the woods, Gretel has forged a good life in a small village, running a bakery and taking care of her brother and the stray, bedraggled women who find work as her apprentices. Business is good, and when it's not, Gretel took more from the witch than a knack of making sweet treats and gingerbread, just as her brother returned home forever changed by the torture he experienced.The book of magic hidden beneath the stairs has kept Gretel and her household comfortable for years, but it also calls to Gretel in the night, demanding she return to the woods and replace the witch they killed. For years, she's been resisting, determined to keep Hansel and her apprentices safe.Then Hansel's drinking goes too far and Gretel realises her brother is dying. Finally, the seductive call of the book's magic might be too strong to deny...Burnt Sugar is the first novella in Kirstyn McDemott's Never Afters series. Dark, powerful, and brimming with magic, these tales weave a reimagined world in which fairy-tale girls grow up to find both love and heartbreak, family and friendship, loss and forgiveness.﻿ About the Author Kirstyn McDermott has been working in the darker alleyways of speculative fiction for much of her career. She is the author of two award-winning novels, Madigan Mine and Perfections, and a collection of short fiction, Caution: Contains Small Parts. Her stories and poetry have been published in various magazines, journals and anthologies both within Australia and internationally, with her most recent work being Never Afters, a series of novellas that retell classic fairy tales. She holds a PhD in creative writing with a research focus on re-visioned fairy tales and produces and co-hosts a literary discussion podcast, The Writer and the Critic. Kirstyn lives in Ballarat, Australia, with fellow writer Jason Nahrumg and two distinctly non-literary felines. She can be found online at www.kirstynmcdermott.com.

Burnt Sugar: A Never Afters Tale

Brain Jar Press

The New Wife is a bloody tale of ghosts, vengeance, and dark curses from the award-winning Kirstyn McDermott, sure to appeal fans of Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber and Angela Slatter's Sourdough stories. 
Bluebeard's seventh wife is the first to survive his wrath, courtesy of ghostly warnings and the timely intervention of her brothers. The village burns her murderous husband, his crimes laid bare and his wealth passed on to her... but even after his death, Bluebeard's house won't allow anyone to leave. All wives-living and dead-remain trapped in their husband's manor, even as the man who terrorised them proves to be less dead than they had hoped. 
Haunted by his vengeful ghost, can the wives find a way to break the curse that would bind them in darkness and torment forever? 
The New Wife is the second novella in Kirstyn McDermott's Never Afters series. Dark, powerful, and brimming with magic, these tales weave a reimagined world in which fairy-tale girls grow up to find both love and heartbreak, family and friendship, and moments of loss and forgiveness.

The New Wife: A Never Afters Tale

Each story in the Scenes from the Second Storey anthology was inspired by a track from The God Machine's album. Quirky, dark, insightful and sometimes downright disturbing, these tales reflect the emotions and images our authors experienced when they heard 'their' song from Scenes from the Second Storey. If you love The God Machine or are looking for a collection that boasts a stable of talented Australian writers, you must grab a copy of Scenes.

Scenes from the Second Storey

Warren, Kaaron

Hood, Robert

Haines, Paul

Sparks, Cat

Conyers, David

Dowker, Felicity

McKiernan, Andrew J.

Short Stories & Anthologies

Morrigan Books

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Books by McDermott, Kirstyn