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Between Two Seas: A Collection of Short Stories
The best-selling author of the Order of the Seers trilogy, To Find You, and The Wolf Queen series brings you four new stories that delve deeply into the beautiful and terrifying contradictions that dwell within all of us.
This genre-bending collection explores the catalysts and consequences of transformation through the tales of a murderous fairy, a wayward explorer, a young girl carving a new fate from the ugliness of her world, and a father and son who hold the power of life and death in their hands.
The truth is often terrible, but within it is the power to grow - the power to change - if we are willing to swim the distance
between who we are
and
who we can become.
This genre-bending collection explores the catalysts and consequences of transformation through the tales of a murderous fairy, a wayward explorer, a young girl carving a new fate from the ugliness of her world, and a father and son who hold the power of life and death in their hands.
The truth is often terrible, but within it is the power to grow - the power to change - if we are willing to swim the distance
between who we are
and
who we can become.
124 pages, Paperback
Published August 17, 2021
About the author
Cerece Rennie Murphy
20 books390 followersMy name is Cerece Rennie Murphy, but, among my 5 siblings, I am known and teased by my superhero name, Wonder Worry, (and yes, I am a little worried about your reaction to what I just said). While in my youth, I used my superpower to whip minor setbacks into epic tragedies in 60 seconds flat, I no longer have the time to hone the skills I once possessed, which were handed down to me VERY CAREFULLY by my mother and her mother before.
Instead of spending my days imagining worst case scenarios, I am now on the front lines of true disaster prevention – treading the fine line between boo-boos and permanent brain damage, fighting crimes of curiosity, omission, absent-mindedness and sleep deprivation. I carry others down the winding, bumpy road of youth that starts out at the nexus of unique and brilliant but intersects with narcissistic serial killer at some distant point I hope fervently to avoid. As you might have guessed, I am a wife and mother of 2 small children. Luckily, my family lights up the sky so I never stumble too hard or lose my way.
I would lament the luxury of needless worry, but alas, I don’t have the energy. As I write this, I am losing a battle fought between my trusty sponge and a hardened glob of half-eaten cheese that traveled from the kitchen to the living room rug in the palm of a very small, but mischievous hand. Its stronghold on the fibers suggests occupancy of at least 2 days, but I’ll never know for sure. Rather than despair, I’ve chosen to retreat to my keyboard, noting that I have won the war - most of the rug is un-cheesed.
Before I worried. Now, I write.
I look forward to slowly, quietly, in my own shy way, becoming a part of this community. If you would like to get to know me and my work a bit better, you can visit my website at www.cerecerenniemurphy.com
Instead of spending my days imagining worst case scenarios, I am now on the front lines of true disaster prevention – treading the fine line between boo-boos and permanent brain damage, fighting crimes of curiosity, omission, absent-mindedness and sleep deprivation. I carry others down the winding, bumpy road of youth that starts out at the nexus of unique and brilliant but intersects with narcissistic serial killer at some distant point I hope fervently to avoid. As you might have guessed, I am a wife and mother of 2 small children. Luckily, my family lights up the sky so I never stumble too hard or lose my way.
I would lament the luxury of needless worry, but alas, I don’t have the energy. As I write this, I am losing a battle fought between my trusty sponge and a hardened glob of half-eaten cheese that traveled from the kitchen to the living room rug in the palm of a very small, but mischievous hand. Its stronghold on the fibers suggests occupancy of at least 2 days, but I’ll never know for sure. Rather than despair, I’ve chosen to retreat to my keyboard, noting that I have won the war - most of the rug is un-cheesed.
Before I worried. Now, I write.
I look forward to slowly, quietly, in my own shy way, becoming a part of this community. If you would like to get to know me and my work a bit better, you can visit my website at www.cerecerenniemurphy.com
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
October 8, 2021
In Between Two Seas, author Cerece Rennie Murphy has written 4 short stories that speak to the black experience related to oppression, rage, excellence, and power. But most of all, the overcoming of everything this wicked world lay in their path. The writing is excellent and the mix of genres ensures quality entertainment while making you think, which is the very best kind of reading experience in my opinion. Absolutely check it out!
July 23, 2022
This was beyond delightful!
I am so excited Cerece has a back catalogue to explore; her writing is fantastic!!!
Much love to Jennifer for gifting this to me.
💙💙💙Just another book you made me fall in love with💙💙💙
I am so excited Cerece has a back catalogue to explore; her writing is fantastic!!!
Much love to Jennifer for gifting this to me.
💙💙💙Just another book you made me fall in love with💙💙💙
January 27, 2026
This is my first Fantasy book! I had to read a book about speculative fiction. This was one of the books that was recommended. So because this genre is new to me, I wanted to try something short. This book was perfect with the 4 short stories.
Feast of Fifolet-Tells the story how one race kills the people of the Fifolet without question! Takes from them and destroys their community. And then when one of them needs help, they want help from the Fifolet.
First Blood- Noemi mother was raped by her master and her momma just couldn’t care for her like she wanted because it reminded her of what happened to her. Noemi refused to let that be her. So when master try to do the same to her knowing she was her daughter, she killed him. And his wife was happy that she did it but tried to kill get but Noemi mom risk her life for her daughter to be free by killing the master’s wife and herself!
Blue Honey- Charles knew there was a cure for his wife’s and son’s cancer. Unfortunately the wife died before he can find it. So he isolated himself from everyone to find the cure he knew was in the tunnel near him. He found it and it immediately began to cure his son. He kept it quiet because he knew that the human race would destroy it. Sounds familiar!👀👀
Human-Now this one! An alien that can be anyone in the world chooses to be a black woman in a world where black women are the least protective and respected. But her reasoning stating that black women had to learn how to survive so they learn a lot of skills and live a more purposeful life because of it! And that is exactly what she did! Survived!
Feast of Fifolet-Tells the story how one race kills the people of the Fifolet without question! Takes from them and destroys their community. And then when one of them needs help, they want help from the Fifolet.
First Blood- Noemi mother was raped by her master and her momma just couldn’t care for her like she wanted because it reminded her of what happened to her. Noemi refused to let that be her. So when master try to do the same to her knowing she was her daughter, she killed him. And his wife was happy that she did it but tried to kill get but Noemi mom risk her life for her daughter to be free by killing the master’s wife and herself!
Blue Honey- Charles knew there was a cure for his wife’s and son’s cancer. Unfortunately the wife died before he can find it. So he isolated himself from everyone to find the cure he knew was in the tunnel near him. He found it and it immediately began to cure his son. He kept it quiet because he knew that the human race would destroy it. Sounds familiar!👀👀
Human-Now this one! An alien that can be anyone in the world chooses to be a black woman in a world where black women are the least protective and respected. But her reasoning stating that black women had to learn how to survive so they learn a lot of skills and live a more purposeful life because of it! And that is exactly what she did! Survived!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 1, 2021
Won this on Goodreads giveaways. Generally liked the stories but was hung up on the biology and behavior of the bees in the third story. As a beekeeper and biologist - nothing made sense about the bees.
October 6, 2023
a couple of the stories i really loved but some of them ended very abruptly and i wish it was expanded on a bit more :( solid 3.5 stars
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August 7, 2021I'm so excited to share these stories with you!
August 11, 2024
I really enjoyed this short story collection. Every story feels unique in its writing style and voice. And there is a great variety of plts and themes. Thus, you don't need to worry about the stories to be blurring into each other, when you feel to binge-read several stories.
April 6, 2025
The stories in this book are beautiful and bittersweet. From the luxurious feel of the cover to the expertly woven words, this book transports you back through time and into other worlds. Each tale immerses you in the tale and leaves you thinking about the deeper sense notes layered beneath the ink.
August 21, 2026
I got my copy of this book from a local book festival and I was captivated with the storytelling of Cerece Rennie Murphy. The book cover is enchanting and the stories had me drawn in from the first page onwards!
In this collection, we have four stories of endurance, revenge, survival, courage, compassion and enlightenment. The themes of the story cover many facets of African American culture and feature concepts that will resonate with POC readers. Here the characters face different forms of systemic tyranny and they fight or escape to freedom and create a life they desire. Some of these enemies are inhuman monsters while others are just regular monstrous humans. These characters have different emotional scars but they also have deep love for their kin and to that end they give everything for their survival. Some of the problems do not get fixed at the end but the characters keep surviving. I can't say too much about the plots, they work better when you don't know what to expect. There is one sweet family story embedded in the collection, wait until you read that one!
Each story had the potential to be expanded into a larger novel, but the nature of each piece also allows readers to draw their own conclusions and interpret the stories in personal ways.
These are my ratings for each story:
Feast of the Fifolet (10 stars)
First Blood (9 stars)
Blue Honey (8 stars)
Human (10 stars)
I decided to rank each story on a scale of 1 to 10 because the five star rating was not enough to describe how I liked each story. Overall a memorable experience.
In this collection, we have four stories of endurance, revenge, survival, courage, compassion and enlightenment. The themes of the story cover many facets of African American culture and feature concepts that will resonate with POC readers. Here the characters face different forms of systemic tyranny and they fight or escape to freedom and create a life they desire. Some of these enemies are inhuman monsters while others are just regular monstrous humans. These characters have different emotional scars but they also have deep love for their kin and to that end they give everything for their survival. Some of the problems do not get fixed at the end but the characters keep surviving. I can't say too much about the plots, they work better when you don't know what to expect. There is one sweet family story embedded in the collection, wait until you read that one!
Each story had the potential to be expanded into a larger novel, but the nature of each piece also allows readers to draw their own conclusions and interpret the stories in personal ways.
These are my ratings for each story:
Feast of the Fifolet (10 stars)
First Blood (9 stars)
Blue Honey (8 stars)
Human (10 stars)
I decided to rank each story on a scale of 1 to 10 because the five star rating was not enough to describe how I liked each story. Overall a memorable experience.
July 1, 2025
I met Murphy at Awesome Con, and after talking with her and learning more about her books, I decided to give them a go. This collection of short stories was worth reading. I was expecting a bit more fantasy and sci fi, and all except for one story offered that. (And even though that one story wasn't in the sci-fi-fantasy genres, it was still engrossing.)
Murphy's writing style is so much of what I like, I'm looking forward to picking up more books by her.
Murphy's writing style is so much of what I like, I'm looking forward to picking up more books by her.
February 18, 2024
What a wonderful find! I bought this book directly from the author at a comic book convention and forgot all about it until a friend on instagram recommended it on their page. Was I ever foolish for not reading it sooner. The author’s short stories explore different genres(fantasy, historical revenge, sci-fi, weird western), imbuing each of them with her own exciting flair. Highly recommended!!!
September 2, 2021
A wonderful collection of fantasy stories. I enjoyed each one. Great storytelling!
August 17, 2022
Great short stories, wished some of them were longer books!
December 20, 2022
4 stars 🌟
‘First Blood’ and ‘Human’ were fascinating to read.
‘First Blood’ and ‘Human’ were fascinating to read.
September 30, 2024
Beautiful and captivating stories. Highly recommend
May 20, 2025
Brilliant and beautiful
March 27, 2026
Feast of the Fifolet and Human were not my cup of tea, but Blue Honey and First Blood will stay with me for a long time.
January 28, 2025
This collection of stories has all the things that should be included in books, stories, and novels more often. Black fairies. Black aliens. Black scientists. And even slaves claiming their time!
I think every black person, especially black women, should read this collection. From the first short story, the storytelling is amazing and pulls you in. These stories were inspired by the events of 2020 and each one of the stories portrays the grief, regret, anger, and desperation black people all over the world felt during that time. I don't think this could have been written any better. Thank you for this!
Recommending for those who would enjoy a mix of black history with fantasy, sci-fi, and even western themes.
I think every black person, especially black women, should read this collection. From the first short story, the storytelling is amazing and pulls you in. These stories were inspired by the events of 2020 and each one of the stories portrays the grief, regret, anger, and desperation black people all over the world felt during that time. I don't think this could have been written any better. Thank you for this!
Recommending for those who would enjoy a mix of black history with fantasy, sci-fi, and even western themes.
June 26, 2025
This is a stunning collection of short stories. The very first story about nature's revenge pulled me in. I kept it on my nightstand because I plan to read the stories again!
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews