A Woman Unbecoming

by Rachel A. Brune (Editor), Carol Gyzander (Editor), Carina Bissett

A thwarted female defense attorney releases the baying of the hounds under a full moon, signaling the death of an era—and the birth of a new one under the Old Gods.

Most funerals are celebrations for the living—unless the guests decide to tempt fate and the guest of honor.

A bicycle ride becomes a contest of egos, but the male pursuers aren't the only ones hungry for the race to end.

These women are going to cut the world and let it bleed.

Crone Girls Press presents A Woman Unbecoming, a charity anthology of horror and dark tales to benefit reproductive healthcare rights. Award-winning and up-and-coming authors share over two dozen stories and poems. If you like intense characters, powerful women, and twists you won’t see coming, then you’ll love this fierce anthology co-edited by Rachel A. Brune and Carol Gyzander.

Explore A Woman Unbecoming to revel in women’s rage, power, and agency—and support reproductive healthcare rights today.

Genres: Fiction

318 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 23, 2022

About the author

Rachel A. Brune graduated from the NYU Tisch School of the Arts in May 2000, and was immediately plunged into the low-stakes world of entry-level executive assistant-ship. Her unexpected journey out of that world and into the military is chronicled in her self-published book Echoes and Premonitions.

Rachel served five years as a combat journalist, including two tours in Iraq, and a brief stint as a columnist for her hometown newspaper. After her second tour, she attended graduate school at the University at Albany in NY, where she earned her MA in Political Communication, and her commission as a second lieutenant in the military police corps.

Although her day job has taken in her in many strange, often twisted directions, Rachel continues to write and publish short fiction. She released her first novel, Soft Target, in early 2013. In addition to writing for the online military interest zine "Task & Purpose," she blogs her thoughts about reading and the writing life at The Infamous Scribbler. You can also follow her on Twitter, where she goes by the handle @rachelabrune.

Reviews

[Ann Stolinsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this anthology from the Horror Writers of America booth at Philcon.
When Roe v Wade was dismissed from history, when a woman’s right to her own body was taken away from her, so many people, male, female, gender-fluid, became angry. More than angry. This anthology is Crone Girls Press reaction.
Edited by Rachel A. Brune and Carol Gyzander, this is a charity anthology to benefit reproductive healthcare rights.
The stories and poems within are provocative, disturbing, incredibly creative, and so well-written. These are not fluffy, feel-good stories. These are stories with meat to them. After reading a few, I put the book down, and just said wow.
I recommend this highly, not just because I believe in the charity sales will benefit, but because it’s just so damn good.

[Jim Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Horror And Rage And Power

This anthology was birthed by the overturn of Roe V Wade and is full of horror, anger, and resolve in a collection of stories and poetry I’m still feeling as well as thinking about.
Crone Girls Press does not disappoint.

[Elina Vaysbeyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Woman Unbecoming is a bold and blistering anthology that channels women’s rage, agency, and power into a series of chilling and emotionally resonant horror and dark fiction pieces. Co-edited by Rachel A. Brune and Carol Gyzander, the collection brings together more than two dozen stories and poems from both award-winning and emerging voices, each exploring transformation, reclamation, and the consequences of a world that underestimates or suppresses women.

From courtroom metamorphosis beneath the full moon to funerals where fate is challenged, to a bicycle race where predatory pursuit turns both literal and supernatural, the anthology delivers a spectrum of unsettling, creative, and intelligently crafted narratives. It captures the sense of women refusing to stay small, quiet, or contained even if the world must bleed because of it.

Unapologetic, intense, and filled with emotional and thematic depth, this is a standout collection for readers who appreciate feminist horror, speculative fiction with purpose, and stories that bite back.

[Spencer Koelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall this anthology was very emotionally satisfying. The title story is good fun, as well as SPLASH and After the Funeral presented well w"ith a certain Southern Gothic flare. The few stories that didn't work for me stood out in that respect. The Church of Women" just never felt like it belonged in a horror anthology, "the Line" is the only one I didn't finish, and "A Crucible Feast" didn't have any foreshadowing that worked for me.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book because it was a fundraiser for reproductive rights and I'm a fan of Crone Girls Press. Instead of several short stories/novellas, it's tons of very short stories and poems, so it's easy to read several at a time. The stories are all about raging against the patriarchy (Yay!) but there's a huge variety of takes on it. I enjoyed it a lot.

[Joel Doetsch · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this to support the cause of reproductive healthcare rights. Glad to support the cause, but the book itself is only alright. Some of the stories are interesting, but a lot of them are kind of bland with very cardboard characters. I don't see myself picking this one up again

[Victoria Kelly-Garcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love supporting anything that benefits reproductive healthcare rights!