Minerva Cerridwen's Blog

(scroll down for English)

Hiep hiep, het is de Week van het Nederlands!

Gisteren ging ik al meespelen met dicteespel De Schrijfwijzen en won ik met mijn derde plaats een mooie Poëtische Parkerpen, waar ik heel blij mee ben! Het was een gezellige avond.

Aangezien de Nederlandstalige kant van mijn Paranatellonta-YouTubekanaal toch ook een beetje een terugkeer naar mijn moedertaal betekent, postte ik speciaal voor de start van deze Week van het Nederlands al een nieuwe editie. Die kan je hier bekijken: het is de 401ste editie van Paranatellonta, getiteld “Ratatosk op rust”.

Vergeet niet om je te abonneren op mijn YouTubekanaal zodat je steeds melding krijgt wanneer er een nieuwe video verschijnt. Op dit moment ziet het er haalbaar uit om om de 2 weken een nieuwe video te plaatsen, waarschijnlijk op vrijdagen, dus de volgende video’s zullen normaal gezien op 17 en 31 oktober verschijnen. Ik zit alvast boordevol ideeën voor die halloweeneditie …

Wees ook zeker niet verlegen om een reactie te plaatsen op YouTube, want dat is de grootste motivatie om nieuwe edities te blijven maken!

Tot snel!

Minerva

Now, for my English-speaking friends:

Hi!

As making the Paranatellonta YouTube videos not only in the original English but also in my native Dutch feels like a celebration of the Dutch language to me, I found myself creating a new edition sooner than I had initially expected. Neatly in time for the Week of the Dutch Language!

The second edition of Paranatellonta on YouTube is online now, featuring the 401st Paranatellonta story, “The Retirement of Ratatoskr”. Watch it now here and don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel, as that will be the best way to be alerted of every new video. At this moment it looks feasible to have a new video online every two weeks, probably on Fridays, so look out for them then. Please do let me know what you think in the YouTube comments, as that’s the most motivating thing for me to keep making new editions!

I’m already full of ideas for the Halloween edition, though of course there’ll still be another one before that, on the 17th of October.

See you there!

Minerva

Hi!

In the last few Paranatellonta editions we already hinted at it, and here it finally is: our big news!!!

From now on, Paranatellonta is also going to appear in audio format on YouTube! Every edition will appear both in English and in Dutch on this channel.

The first set of videos gives you the two parts of the 400th edition of Paranatellonta. I’m embedding the English version in this post. You can find the Dutch videos via this link.

To be alerted of new videos, please subscribe to the channel. Comments, likes, and shares with friends are of course most welcome!

Fie and I hope you’ll enjoy this new chapter in the Paranatellonta adventure. New photo-and-story combinations will of course keep appearing on every 1st and 15th day of the month.

While I’m here, I’d like to give a shout-out to my friends at Atthis Arts. The Kickstarter for the audiobook of their comedic noir novella Hornytown Chutzpah by Andrew Hiller is in its last day. Please check it out! I’m very curious about this book myself.

Atthis Arts has also worked hard to support the African Translation Project, which also has only one more day to fund the translation of the final book, published by Paivapo Press. I donated a poem to this project myself, which you can buy here, or you can get the entire Art Shop Bundle to support the African Translation Project here.

Thank you, and happy autumn!

Minerva

Hi!

As the one thing that can make the summer heat a little more bearable is, of course, a book, I have good news: the 2025 Summer Sale at Smashwords has begun! My publisher Atthis Arts is participating, which means that the ebook for The Dragon of Ynys is currently at 50% off, as well as all other Atthis Arts ebooks, including some of my favourites Alia Terra, Be the Sea, Pluralities, One Arm Shorter Than The Other, duology Just Bart & Just Chad, short story collection Awkward Tomatoes, and anthologies Five Minutes at Hotel Stormcove and Community of Magic Pens. Enjoy!

Atthis Arts will also be present at Seattle WorldCon 2025, August 13-17. If you’re going, they’d love for you to pay them a visit and say hi. And of course there will be books to buy at their table!

Finally, it’s the first of July, so here’s the 405th edition of Paranatellonta. Thank you for reading!

Stay hydrated!

Minerva

Hi!

I’ll continue the quick flash update style of my previous post, since I have a lot of short messages.

1) Great news about The Neurodiversiverse: Alien Encounters, the anthology which includes my short story “The Space Between Stitches”: it has won the Silver IBPA Book Award in the category Neurodivergent Communities!

2) In the first week of June, I’ve participated in Workshop Week for the third year in a row. It’s always so much fun to learn new techniques that I will no doubt apply to postcards soon. Here’s a tiny glance at the pieces I learned to make with teachers Type Affiliated, Mabz Brisson, Shayda Campbell, Aurelia Thomson, Lindsey Bugbee, Julie Marriott, and Terry Runyan. You can still follow my artsy explorations on my Instagram.

3) Yesterday was the 15th day of the month, so of course Fie and I also posted a new edition of Paranatellonta – number 404!

4) In May, I had my Storytelling exam, allowing me to mark my third year at Knst academy as successful. I’m continuing the Storytelling course next year with great enthusiasm! If you’re in the area of Hasselt, you can start your first year in September with the same brilliant teacher, on Mondays from 19:00 until 21:00. (Mind that this course is taught in Dutch.) Info via this link, scroll down to “Storytelling 18+”.

5) Ulla Thynell, the artist who created the cover of my novella The Dragon of Ynys, will have a book out with Atthis Arts soon! Faraway Dreaming is an art book and story of forest, peace, and a calming night journey. Dragons, hills, and magic to soothe your soul. I know I’m ordering several, both to keep and as gifts. The Kickstarter is already successful, so the book is definitely happening! Rewards start from $1. Go take a look!

6) Speaking of cool artists affiliated with Atthis Arts, Dhiyanah Hassan made this amazing handdrawn dragon fairy portrait of me! I’m still so delighted with how it turned out; I really feel seen. You can commission your own portrait from Dhiyanah via this link.

7) I’m looking forward to a week in Denmark in July! I’m sure it will bring lots of inspiration and relaxation. And I’m going to see the H.C. Andersen House, which feels extra special as my first published story ever, Match Sticks, was inspired by one of his fairy tales. 

That’s all for today!

Have a wonderful summer!

Minerva

 

Dear friends,

2025 started horribly for me and my family. My mother passed away in January, far too young and without warning. My world was flipped upside down and I’m still trying to find my footing, so writing a blog post hasn’t been at the top of my priorities.

However, today is a very special day that I do want to give some attention: Fie and I have just posted the 400th edition of our photography and flash fiction project, Paranatellonta. You can check out this festive double edition here (post 1) and here (post 2). As ever, you can read all editions of Paranatellonta for free, so please come and join our celebration!

While I’m here, let me add a quick flash of positive things that happened in the past months:

1) The Neurodiversiverse is a finalist for the IBPA Book Award in the Neurodivergent Communities category. The winners will be announced at the IBPA Book Award Ceremony on May 16 in St. Paul, Minnesota.

2) Atthis Arts’ catalogue came out, so if you work at a bookstore or want to see a beautifully illustrated list of this kind publishing house’s books, you can do so here. Of course this includes my novella The Dragon of Ynys, and anthologies Community of Magic Pens and Five Minutes at Hotel Stormcove, which each contain one of my short stories.

3) Also at Atthis Arts, fairy tale Wishing Well, Wishing Well by Jubilee Cho (1998-2024) came out last week. If you liked The Dragon of Ynys, you’ll want to check this one out! Author royalties are donated to Los Angeles-area efforts dedicated to directly supporting LGBTQIAP+ people in crisis.

4) If you backed the Be the Sea: Audiobook and Hardcover Editions Kickstarter and selected a physical reward, your set of Sea Creature postcards should have arrived by now. I’m very proud of how they turned out! You can still buy other postcards designed by me via this site.

5) Finally, if you’re in my area, you can come and listen to me telling a story in Dutch on the stage of Alden Biesen’s International Storytelling Festival on the evening of April 26! My performance is part of the Tales & Ales Festival, on the “open podium” for new talent sometime between 19:00 and 20:00. Don’t hesitate to contact me if you’re able to come listen and want more information! You do need a ticket for all of the Tales & Ales Festival.

Enjoy spring,

Minerva

I wish you a magical new year, full of wonder and inspiration. Don’t let the atelodemiourgiopapyrosaurus rush you! (The link brings you to the 393rd edition of Paranatellonta, which was posted on January 1, 2025.)

Now it’s time for the reveal of the Mystery Card, of which I’d given a sneak peek back in November. You can get it for yourself via this page.

I have a feeling 2025 will become a special year!

Love,

Minerva

P.S. If you’re a reader looking for titles to fill into your awards ballots this season, here’s a link to my 2024 eligibility post.

 

1: Short story “The Space Between Stitches”, science fiction, about 3900 words.

Published in anthology The Neurodiversiverse: Alien Encounters, Thinking Ink Press, August 2024, USA. Edited by Liza Olmsted and Anthony Francis.

Available formats: paperback and ebook.

The transportation device of a tiny flame-shaped alien called Ibb breaks down on planet Earth. Ibb meets a human and discovers the species’ problem-solving talents. Both main characters of this story are non-binary and the book focuses on neurodivergence, including but not limited to ADHD, anxiety, and autism.

2: Short story “Good-Natured Anxiety for the Queer Creature”, fantasy, about 4200 words.

Published in anthology Queens in Wonderland, No Bad Books Press, February 2024, USA. Edited by Theresa Halvorsen and Chris Bannor.

Available formats: paperback and ebook.

This re-imagining of classical elements from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass into a brand-new, queer story about self-acceptance is a wild ride. It doesn’t require knowledge of the Wonderland universe, but knowing your Lewis Carroll may spark some extra smiles.

3: Short stories in Paranatellonta Issues 369-392

Self-published on paranatellonta.tumblr.com, each photo-and-story combination is available to read for free.

Available formats: digital, only on paranatellonta.tumblr.com.

Paranatellonta is a photography and flash fiction project running since August 2013, posted on the 1st and 15th day of each month. Fie takes a photo which inspires a ten-sentence story written by me, Minerva Cerridwen. The project itself was inspired by Erin Morgenstern and Carey Farrell’s Flax-golden Tales (2009-2014).

Personal favourites of this year include:

371: Aberrant Shrub (sf, about 260 words);372: Extract from A Travel Guide to the Fairy Realm (fantasy, about 280 words);379: The Queen’s Wedding Dress (fantasy, 250 words); 384: Envious Green (fairy tale, 340 words);387: Distraction (fantasy, 340 words).

Issues 370, 380, and 390 were special editions where we swapped roles, meaning that for those issues, I took the photo and Fie wrote the short story.

4: Work as a Fan Artist

As a friend of author Clara Ward and a fan of their novel Be the Sea (Atthis Arts, 2024), I got to work on the successful Be the Sea: Audiobook and Hardcover Editions Kickstarter campaign last summer and made a piece of fan art for the book for every day of the campaign. Check out the 26 Sea Creatures of the Day, 8 of which have been made into postcards as backer rewards. There’s crochet, drawing, painting, and origami creatures, and even a Double Chocolate Cookie Fish.

Bonus: Friends’ eligibility posts

Indie publisher Atthis Arts

Author Clara Ward

Scroll down for English – scroll naar beneden voor Engels.

Hallo!

Deze keer begin ik eens in het Nederlands, want dit gaat over mijn tweede officiële publicatie in het Nederlands! Hoera!

Ik heb een wedstrijd gewonnen die georganiseerd werd door Vermeylenfonds en Creatief Schrijven vzw, met als thema “Schrijf je lijf”. Je kan mijn gedicht “Presentatie” hier lezen en het hele nummer van het magazine DNG hier bekijken. (Het gedicht staat op bladzijde 3; bladeren kan met het pijltje naar rechts.)

Ik maak van de gelegenheid gebruik om jullie er ook aan te herinneren dat ik deze zondag, 15 december 2024, aanwezig zal zijn op de Queer Winter Market in ‘t Werkhuys, Zegelstraat 13, 2140 Borgerhout, van 13:00 tot 18:00 uur. Je kan onder andere postkaartjes en boeken komen kopen (The Dragon of Ynys, The Neurodiversiverse: Alien Encounters, en meer!) – en natuurlijk ben je ook welkom om gewoon gezellig een babbeltje te slaan of een boek te laten signeren. Hopelijk zie ik jullie daar!

Hello!

I won a contest organised by Vermeylenfonds and Creatief Schrijven vzw, on the theme “Schrijf je lijf” (“Write your body”). You can read my poem “Presentatie” here and see the entire issue of DNG magazine here (Dutch only; the poem is on page 3, and you can flip through the pages by using the arrow on the right).

While I’m here, I’d like to remind you that I’ll be at the Queer Winter Market in ‘t Werkhuys, Zegelstraat 13, 2140 Borgerhout, from 13:00 to 18:00, on this Sunday, December 15th, 2024. You can come and buy greeting cards, books (The Dragon of Ynys, The Neurodiversiverse: Alien Encounters, and more!)—and of course you’re welcome to just come in and say hi or to have a book signed. I hope to see you there!

Minerva

Scroll down for Dutch – scroll naar beneden voor Nederlands.

Hi!

Woosh, time is flying by! December is fast approaching, so I thought it would be fun to give you a sneak peek at my new holiday card, which you can order directly from me!

All the information on how to buy this holiday card and/or the other designs is in this post. Feel free to contact me directly if you want help, more information, or just a chat about how dragons are great companions to celebrate the end-of-year holidays with!

If you’d rather buy your cards live, I will be at the Queer Winter Market in Antwerp on Sunday, December 15, 2024! The market will take place in ‘t Werkhuys, Zegelstraat 13, 2140 Borgerhout, from 1:00 PM until 6:00 PM. There will be lots of wonderful queer art, and I’ll be bringing cards, books, and more!

Poster by Queer Market Antwerp:

For my readers who understand Dutch, I’ve participated in NovemberVers this month. NovemberVers is a project organised by Vanessa Daniëls and Creatief Schrijven, which encourages writers to create a piece of poetry on every day of November. I managed to post a new poem every day and will continue to do so until November 30. You can read all of the results via this page on Azertyfactor (Dutch only). Enjoy!

And soon I will be able to share news about a new publication in Dutch… Stay tuned, and happy winter!

Minerva

Hoi!

Wauw, de tijd vliegt! December komt er alweer aan, dus ik dacht dat het leuk zou zijn om jullie al een eerste detail van mijn nieuwe feestdagenkaartje te tonen.

Je kan het kaartje rechtstreeks via mij bestellen. Alle informatie daarover is te vinden in deze post (in het Engels), waar je ook de andere ontwerpen van mijn kaartjes voor de feestdagen kan zien. Je mag mij zeker ook meteen een berichtje sturen zodat ik je in het Nederlands kan helpen, meer informatie geven, of zodat we gewoon even kunnen babbelen over wat een leuk gezelschap draken zijn tijdens de eindejaarsfeesten.

Als je je kaartjes liever offline komt kopen, dan kan dat op de Queer Winter Market in Antwerpen op zondag 15 december 2024! De markt zal plaatsvinden in ‘t Werkhuys, Zegelstraat 13, 2140 Borgerhout, van 13:00 tot 18:00 uur. Er gaan heel wat toffe queer kunstwerken te vinden zijn en ik breng mijn kaartjes, boeken, en nog meer leuke dingen mee.

Poster gemaakt door Queer Market Antwerpen:

Deze maand heb ik deelgenomen aan NovemberVers, een project van Vanessa Daniëls en Creatief Schrijven dat schrijvers aanmoedigde om dagelijks een stukje poëzie te schrijven. Ik heb elke dag van november een nieuw gedichtje gepost en zal dat ook blijven doen tot en met 30 november. De resultaten kan je allemaal via deze pagina op Azertyfactor lezen. Veel plezier!

En binnenkort kan ik nieuws delen over een nieuwe uitgave in het Nederlands … Nog even geduld en een fijne winter!

Minerva

Wait—what??

Am I the only one who’s freaking out about it being mid-October again already?

Well, that means the winter holidays will be upon us in just two shakes of a lamb’s tail, so here’s my reminder that you can order my holiday card designs again this year! I’ll have 3 available designs: the colourful “Holiday, Holly and Tree” and the whimsical “Creatures’ Winter Wreath”, both designed in 2023—and a brand new handdrawn black-and-white design this year, currently known as the Mystery Card!

All these cards will be folded A6 cards (that is 10.5 cm x 14.8 cm, when folded). The inside of the card is left blank so you can add your own message to your loved ones.

Are you curious about the Mystery Card yet?

The reason why I’m doing a Mystery Card is that I like to surprise the people I send a card myself. Last year my solution was to make a second design for myself, but this year I thought it would be fun to throw a little mystery into the mix. What do you think?

Prices for my holiday cardsPrice table for my holiday cards.How to order your cards

Orders can be placed directly via my Paypal, but please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or want me to calculate the exact price for your order. Just let me know how many cards you want, whether to include envelopes or not, and your address. (Please don’t forget to include your country!)

If you order directly, please specify the following in your order:

how many cards you want of each type:Holiday, Holly and Tree (per 1), e.g. “10x holiday tree card”Creatures’ Winter Wreath (per 1), e.g. “5x wreath card”Mystery Card (per 1), e.g. “3x mystery card”Don’t forget to specify whether you want envelopes as well. (€0.50 per envelope)Specify your address. If no other address is specified, I will assume your Paypal address is the correct address for shipping.

If you want to place an order of 30 cards or more, best get in touch with me first so we can look into the best shipping option for your area.

I hope my cards will once again bring a little cheer around the world!

Not in the holiday mood yet?

I get it, we’re still looking forward to Halloween! My all-season set of 10 postcards designed in 2023 is still available too (click here).

Mind, though, that it’s probably a good idea to order your cards early to make sure you’ll be able to send them in time for the holidays.

Thank you, and enjoy your autumn!

Minerva