Welcome to Fox Pockets! Small but perfectly formed collections of stories by a den full of talented writers, put together by Fox Spirit books for your enjoyment.
The stories are flash fiction, giving the reader bite sized introductions to Fox Spirit and the writers we love to work with. All designed to fit perfectly into the pocket so you can take a little fox with you everywhere you go.
Stories in Fox Pockets wander unfettered between genres, mixing horror, fantasy, science fiction and crime.
Cover art is by the talented and fabulous Sarah Anne Langton who created an image for the collection as well as giving each book its own identity.
The series is based around the following themes: Piracy, Shapeshifters, Guardians, Missing Monarchs, Under the Waves, Things in the Dark, In an Unknown Country, Piercing the Vale, The Evil Genius Guide, Reflections
Opening paragraphs of Piracy
Becalmed by Den Patrick
‘We’ll live like kings,’ the captain said. ‘We’ll not want for anything. Even death will turn his face from us.’ That’s what the captain said.
No one has seen him in three days now. He retired to his quarters and locked the door. The first day was all crying. The second day there were voices tangled in dispute, then a scream. We’ve not heard anything since. No one wants to go in there.
We’re becalmed. The sea is as flat as any mirror, reflecting the dull grey of the sky. The sun is a smudge of white light behind indistinct clouds that stretch to the horizon in every direction. Rotting fish float in the water, unholy flotsam, and I know in the marrow of
my bones we’ve brought this on ourselves.
The Absent Friend isn’t like most ships, certainly not most pirate ships. Not that I’m an expert. This is my first time signed on under that shady profession. Still, how many ships willingly let women aboard? Much less three of them. And the none-too-small issue of
them being witches. The captain calls them theurges, and I dare say there are prettier names, but we all know they’re witches. They were part of the captain’s great plan.
They say worse things happen at sea and here is the proof. From the perils of stealing dreams to the danger of your own imagination welcome to Piracy. Here are tales of the high seas, the skies and even space, filled with fierce women, strange beasts and adventure.
Contents: Becalmed – Den Patrick, The Trouble With Daydreams – Catherine Hill , Black Ethel’s Beast – Kit Marlowe, No Quarter – Rahne Sinclair, Leave the Pistol Behind – Chloe Yates, Past Lives – Jenny Barber, Nora – Margrét Helgadóttir, Plunder – Francesca Terminiello, Insurgent – Christian D’Amico, Geronimo – T.F.Grant, Pieces of 2^3 – Rob Haines, The Real Deal – Ruth Booth, True to The Song – Asher Wismer, Silvermelt – Emma Teichmann, Skyway – K.C.Shaw, X Marks the Spot – S.J.Caunt
It’s not that simple any more. Here are werewolves, skin walkers, demons and unknown dangers. Nothing can be relied upon, not species, not shape, not gender.
CONTENTS: Carlos – K.A.Laity, Eigi Einhammer – Rahne Sinclair, Bultingin – Josh Reynolds, The Lion – Margret Helgadottir
Job Security – Francesca Terminiello, Reliquary – Rob Haines, Cloud Like a Bunny – K.C. Shaw
To Fly – Michael Pack, Boyfriend from Hell – Fiona Glass, Mask – Jonathan Ward, Mimicans – Emma Teichmann
Javier Reborn – Alec McQuay, War Most Willing – Asher Wismer, Metamorphic – S.J. Caunt
To Fox Tor Mire – Jenny Barber, Seductions – Den Patrick
What if the thing you were afraid of was what stood between you and a bloody death?
What if the fate of worlds was in our hands? What if God just couldn’t take it any more?
CONTENTS: PHASED by Colin Sinclair THE GUARDIAN by Geraldine Clark-Hellery BUFFALO DOLLS AND HEADLESS SOLDIERS by Jack Hanson ARABESQUE by Chris Galvin SWUNG by Paul Starkey OF THE GLARE by Alec McQuay GATEWAY by Jonathan Ward DEFIANT by Christian D’Amico RE-SEMBLANCE by Emma Teichman WARDEN OF VALDR by Rahne Sinclair LOST BONDS by Margrét Helgadóttir FAVOURS THE PREPARED by James Fadeley WRECKED by Den Patrick FAT ANGELS by Alasdair Stuart MY GUARDIAN’S GUARDIAN by Catherine Hill WELL OUR FEEBLE FRAME HE KNOWS by Chloë Yates
From runaway Kings to Oliver Cromwell’s head, from the local pub to outer space, from a drag club complete with Red Queen…we bring you Missing Monarchs.
After all when a king can be found in a car park, where else can royalty lose themselves.
CONTENTS: Graham Wynd – Headless in Bury, Emma Teichmann – In Absentia, Lou Morgan – Oliver Cromwell’s Other Head, Jonathan Ward – The Collector, Victoria Hooper – The Lost Queen, Ro Smith – The Runaway King, Geraldine Clark Hellery – The Blooding, Rahne Sinclair – Monarch of the Glen, Michael Pack – Paths in the Forest, Jo Thomas – the Lost Kingdom, Christian D’Amico- Matriarch, Paul Starkey – Checkmate, Chloe Yates – Tits up in Wonderland
Delve into the deep dark waters of vast unexplored oceans with these flash fiction pieces. With over 95% of this watery world still unexplored anything could and does happen here, Under The Waves.
CONTENTS: Emma Maree – Leviathan Rises, S.J.Caunt – Goldfish, Jennifer Ganoung – Petra and the World Turtle, Margret Helgadottir – Ocean Sky, Den Patrick – Tempest, Rahne Sinclair – My Immortal, Steven Poore – That Sinking Feeling, G Clark Hellery – The Blue Planet, Alec McQuay – Curse, K.C. Shaw – Puck Pool, Ben Stewart – Fire and be Damned, Fran Terminiello – Footprints, Nathan Lunt – Wife of Watsorus, Chloe Yates – Tuna Surprise, Hardeep Sangha – In Absentia
What lurks in the dark just out of sight? What horrors are waiting for the unwary? What about mole people? This latest Fox Pocket is a collection of strange, scary and sometimes humorous tales considering all manner of … things in the dark.
CONTENTS: Andrew Reid – Rise of the Huntress, Stephen Poore – Junior Twilight Stock Replacer, Andie Percival – Running from Sleep, Ben Stewart – Close your Eyes, Carol Borden – Thomas Hobbes Vs The Mole People, Chloe Yates – The Devil’s Haemorrhoids, Craig Leyenaar – Down by the River, Danie Ware – Smile, Den Patrick – Occlusion, James Fadeley – Selachimorpha Caesar, Jennifer L Barnes – A Boomstick and Popcorn Seasoning, Jenny Barber – In Darkness Dreaming, Kit Marlowe – The Ransom of Red Witch, Margret Helgadottir – Nightmare, Rahne Sinclair – See you in the morning, Sarah Cawkwell – Things, Sarah Langton – Welcome to the Northern Line, W.P.Johnson – Shelob Headlines the Ox
Other Worlds, unfamiliar territory, places we should not be! Wanderers in strange lands and those who have strayed just a little off the path face their fates in an unknown country. A selection of short and flash fiction exploring the unfamiliar, new worlds and new perspectives.
CONTENTS: Alasdair Stuart – Overwatch, Cindy Dunham – An Unexpected Storm, Jonathan Ward – Hiatus, Christian D’Amico – Lianus Invaded, James Fadeley – Stroppendrager, Philip Thorogood – Reversal, Craig Leyenaar – Walking of Worlds, Ashley Fox – Somebody Else, Kim Bannerman – Cape of Storms, Jenny Barber – The Strongest Conjuration, Tracy Fahey – Wherever you go there you are, Ed Fortune – A long lost land, Chloe Yates – The City is of Night but not of Sleep, Margret Helgadottir – Arnhild, Sarah Langton – Are you Listening, Rahne Sinclair – Finding Home, Paul Currion – And Eve Called Her Husbands Name, Emma Teichmann – Tombstone
Ghost stories, a cat that can cross between our world and the fae and stories that go beyond life and death. Piercing the Vale is a collection of short and flash fiction that goes exploring beyond the veil of life and also strays into fairy realms.
CONTENTS: Alasdair Stuart – Connected, Alec McQuay – All and Nothing, Jonathan Ward – A Tale of Days Long Gone, Paul Starkey – Just Another Breakfast, Jennifer Williams – The Ghost Trap, Darren Goldsmith – Soul Punch, Ben Stewart – A Curious Tale of Life and Death, Tony Lane – Tentacles in Town, Rahne Sinclair – The Captain, Asher Wismer – Solid Glass, Chloe Yates – Intimacy, Colin Sinclair – Claudia, Tracy Fahey – The Cillini, Jenny Barber – Dead Women’s Tales, Craig Leyenaar – all Fun and Games, Jo Johnson Smith – For My Next Trick, Carol Borden – The Lost City of Osiris, Steven Poore – Take me with you
To be a truly successful Evil Genius requires several things: a secret lair, loyal but incompetent henchman, a large button marked ‘Stop’ (preferably red), and a willingness to prolong the hero’s death long enough to gloat about your Master Plan. Anything less and you’re not trying hard enough, or maybe trying too hard. One of those, certainly. Wait, don’t open that box…!’ – Evil Genius #39, foiled again… A collection of short and flash fiction from new and established voices exploring the mind of the evil genius.
Evil Genius Guide was guest edited by Darren Pulsford
CONTENTS: Alec McQuay – Mallory Untouched, Andrew Reid – The Great Day of her Wrath, C.M.Kempe – How to Seduce Anyone, Colin Sinclair – His Masters Narrative Voice, Steven Poore – Full Compliance, Ben Stewart – Getting the Most from your Kaiju, R.J. Booth – Dame Ammonia, Emma Teichmann – Project Domination, Victoria Hooper – Evil Genius Guide, Chloe Yates – Professor Von Holinshed, Steven Harrison – Project Number 6, T.J. Everley – The Right Honourable Satan,
Who are you really? What is left when the mirror cracks, what hides behind a reflection and would you have done anything differently? Reflections explores the choices people make and their image of themselves in a collection of quirky short and flash fiction.
CONTENTS: Alasdair Stuart – The Birthday Archipelago, E.J.Davies – All Heart, Den Patrick – Shattered, Chris Galvin – Starting Over, G Clark Hellery – All the Fun of the Fayre, Andrew Reid – The Shining Knight, Greg Smith – Mirror Image, Asher Wismer – The Sole, Chloe Yates – A Demonic Soliloquy, Colin Sinclair – Number Game, Esther Saxey – There is a Willow, Rahne Sinclair – Self Absorbed, Alex Helm – Seven Years, N.A.O Rawle – Tickets to Ride, James Everington – Premonition
Reviews
Weirdmage: Piracy ‘It is short, as are the stories in it, and it is all the stronger for it. This is excellent for those that want some short fiction that will fill a few minutes now and then. For those that like their fiction to come with a piratical leaning, this is an absolute must.’
Neil Williamson: Piracy ‘Did I mention the cover design? How much I love it? No? Well I do. Look to your left. See what I mean? I reckon artist Sarah Anne Langton has created something truly iconic with this set of simple elements and limited palette.’
The Eloquent Page: Shapeshifters ‘Traditional horror rubbing shoulders with steampunk, dark fantasy and science fiction, I felt spoiled for choice. Fox Spirit have left the submission themes for the Fox Pocket series deliberately ambiguous and this ambiguity has paid dividends.’
Tony Lane : Guardians This book feels very different from the other Fox Pockets. It starts out quite slow and cerebral and then picks up pace in the second half.
Tony Lane : Shapeshifters The aggressive and animalistic side comes across really well in these stories, but more disturbing is how crap humanity seems in comparison to these predators. It gives you pause.
Tony Lane : Piracy This book has strong characters of both genders portrayed in a manner that demeans neither. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am looking forward to the next one.
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