Rachel Kendall, the editor of Sein und Werden — an eclectic and energetic online lit mag for which I reserve abundant affection, since several of my own works have appeared there over the years — has been having quite the year! I refer to two items:
- Her debut novel, Stranger Days, was released unto the world just a few weeks ago. It is a fast and engaging read, told in an epistolary form, recommended to lovers of Paris, existentialists, aesthetes, and bohemians. A great deal of attention is lavished on descriptions of Parisian landmarks and the features, quirks, and attitudes of the city’s denizens … I don’t know whether to call our diarist a flâneur or a tourist! (I think the former, since she actually applies some observational effort, logging details that a casual tourist might not catch.) The psychology is dark and twisted, I hasten to add; let us not imagine that this is merely some foray into fashionable Frenchiness! No, no, it is also a foray into freakish delusion and mental illness!
- Sein und Werden has been nominated for a British Fantasy Award for Best Periodical! I know who I’m rooting for!
Congratulations to Rachel for these stellar achievements: I hope her year gets even better!