Welcome to the 36th installment of Writer Spotlight. This week’s focus is Malina Douglas. I’ve reviewed six of Douglas’s pieces, 11 of them individually on InkFoundry’s “Get WYSR” feed. (In case you didn’t know, InkFoundry is a wonderful and free resource that aggregates short fiction and poetry pieces!)
Recurring Themes:
Beautiful imagery / vivid descriptions
Tea!
Grief / loss
Day One - Nov 9
Elladora searches for treasure in a dragon’s den.
“Liquid Blue Reveries for a Grief-Heavy Heart”
Kyle’s daughter convinces him to visit his late wife’s planet.
The Pairing: (Spoilers)
These two stories seemed pretty different to me.
Individually:
“A Flash of Silver Scales” This upends the dragon and the princess tropes wonderfully. There are themes of learning how to love someone different from yourself and dragon shifting.
“Liquid Blue Reveries for a Grief-Heavy Heart” This story had beautiful, vivid prose with lots of imagery of herbs, flowers, and teas. There were themes of loss, grief, and how to move forward after a loss.
Day Two - Nov 10
Deizara and her grandmother build a new home after fleeing the war in the north.
4. “From the Darkest Soil, Wonders Will Bloom”
Ingrid loses a childhood friend and herself to grief.
The Pairing: (Spoilers)
Both of these stories have themes of loss and grief and learning how to live again afterwards, which reminded me of “Liquid Blue Reveries.”
Individually:
“Threads of Potential” This story has themes of escaping war/refugees, loss, rebuilding a life, weaving magic, and hope for the future.
“From the Darkest Soil, Wonders Will Bloom” This story has elements of vivid imagery of flowers and herbs, which reminded me of “Liquid Blue Reveries” as well.
Day Three - Nov 11
Sly Simon makes a good profit off the smiles he steals.
Angeline searches for her lost memories, unaware that she is being hunted.
The Pairing: (Spoilers)
Both these stories have themes of lost joy and horror.
Individually:
“Secondhand Smiles” This story had a darker, more sinister vibe, though it ended on a positive note. Simon gave me Grinch vibes, someone who has let the bad things that happen to them make them into a terrible person. The themes that jump out at me are resentment/bitterness and karma.
“The Hunted, the Haunted” Tea! This one has tea in it, reminding me of “Liquid Blue Reveries.” There is lots of beautiful imagery as well, echoing “From the Darkest Soil” and “Liquid Blue Reveries.” This one also had themes of stalking from an ex.