Violent Delights & Midsummer Dreams offers a hauntingly beautiful twist on the Bard's classic tales. From the moody streets of Venice to the eerie forests of Athens, these stories delve deep into the dark and mysterious side of Shakespeare's world. With each author bringing their own unique vision, be prepared to be transported to realms of love, betrayal, and supernatural intrigue. Whether you're a die-hard Shakespeare fan or just love a good Gothic tale, this collection is sure to leave you spellbound. Edited by Damon Barret Roe and Cassandra L. Thompson.
Authors
Melissa Brinks is a freelance writer, editor, and podcaster. Melissa graduated in 2014 from the University of Washington with a bachelor’s degree in English with a creative writing emphasis, having spent several years editing and writing for newspapers and a literary journal. Since graduation, she has pursued writing as a career and has published many articles for a variety of entertainment sites, including Game Rant and Women Write About Comics. Raised on a rich diet of fantasy novels and pop music, Melissa developed an early taste for the intersection of magic and modern society. Finding the lack and/or mistreatment of female characters in her favorite novels distasteful, she took to writing her own, kicking off a lifelong love of writing women slaying dragons, overcoming obstacles, and losing their cups of tea to misplaced curses. Melissa’s short story, “Damn It,” was published in Vibrations, Everett Community College’s arts and literature magazine, and can be found here. Her poem, “Cecaelia,” can be found in issue ten of AU, the University of Washington’s speculative fiction magazine. She currently co-edits the Women Write About Comics game section, co-hosts a podcast about geeky stuff and intersectional feminism, and tweets about cats and Sailor Moon.
My first novel, RELEASE, was published by Nightscape Press in 2015. I'm also the author of a number of short stories, including "I Love You Mary-Grace", as featured in The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Eleven (ed. Ellen Datlow, 2019). This story was also audio-adapted by Jason Hill, of Chilling Tales' Horror Hill podcast, and can be listened to here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5xBr... Some of my stories can be read online, including: "The Bridegroom" (stand-alone ebook, published by The Book Smugglers, also available for free on their site: http://thebooksmugglers.com/2015/10/t...) "Blue Highway" (Yen Magazine #65; winner of their first short story contest; available to read for free online: http://www.yenmag.net/artery/blue-hig...) "These Blasted Lands" (After The Fall, ed. Alex Davis; available to read for free online: https://boohoobooks.files.wordpress.c...)
