Storyfeather Gazette: A magic-wrangling glove, giant enchanted peas, a race in space, and a ceremonial food fight

Published over 2 years ago • 3 min read

June 2024: Issue 1

Greetings!

In this issue: a roundup of my short stories around the theme of mayhem, and podcast episodes about wishes and curses. These were all released in May 2024.

Circle format, a three-quarters view of Nila's smiling face from a photo with an oil paint filter applied.

TALES OF MAYHEM

The theme of the May 2024 stories was mayhem. It was the month of…May-hem. I thought mayhem was a bunch of wild stuff happening all at once with elements of danger, maybe. When I looked up the definition in a few places, I learned that the origins of the word meant something far more serious, purposeful bodily harm. In the May stories, I focused on the less gruesome versions of the definition.

The theme of the year is Frontiers. So, what are the frontiers of mayhem? Or how to people deal with mayhem in a frontier situation? And what do peas have to do with it?

In this season of the podcast, I sometimes have episodes grouped by theme. In May that theme was...wishes and curses.

And now, on to the stories. Enjoy!

SHORT STORIES

(Pssst, if you want to watch a trailer of the story, a progression video of the artwork, and learn some background info, press the image.)

THE UNEASY PEAS FACTORY

A merchant appears in a town full of strife with the promise of relief in the form of a strange little thing called a "pea."

READ

GIF: Duration, 6 seconds. Digital drawing. A left hand reaches up from bottom left, fingers flourished. The hand wears a long black glove and is entwined by whorls of light in different colors. Sparks of different sizes float around the hand. A small burst of light shoots from the middle and ring fingers. Watermark of “Storyfeather” along back of hand. Copyright notice at bottom center reads “Copyright © 2023 Nila L. Patel.” Lines from the story appear: “‘Magic is mayhem, they say, and mayhem cannot be tamed. Site URL appears at bottom center.

THE GLOVE OF GERTAWYN

A long ago magician invented a way for humanity to harness the whimsical, chaotic force of magic.

READ

Digital drawing. Seen from behind, shoulder level up, two people in the cockpit of a spaceship. At left is a person who appears to have the head of an elephant with a band around the head, keeping the visible ear held down. One golden hoop adorns the ear. The person’s hand is wrapped around a throttle control. At right is a human woman with her left arm raised in front of a large glowing display. Full and partial words are visible that read “Sabotage. Detect. Hull Port. Panel 3.4.” Random faint diagrams are also visible. Through the cockpit window, a glowing stream of rainbow color arcs toward top left, with discrete bits visible in the stream. Above the stream is another ship shaped like a glider. Distant stars at top right. Watermark of “Storyfeather” along top of sabotage display. Copyright notice at bottom right reads “Copyright © 2024 Nila L. Patel.” Text from the story displayed: “Humans are naturals at this kind of thing.” Site URL appears at bottom center.

THE RING AROUND THE ROES E RACE

Two humanoid friends enter a race where cheating is punishable by banishment, but sabotage is expected.

READ

GIF. Duration, 5 seconds. Digital drawing. A humanoid cat wearing shirt, vest, and trousers sits with legs crossed in a booth, and raises a teacup, elbow resting on table. The cat’s tail hangs over the seat at right. Large tufts of red hair between his ears are styled. His left hand holds a pipe. He is half-smiling. At bottom left corner is a cluster of three purple mushrooms with humanoid faces at the top of the stalk. The central mushroom has a wide fluted cap. The other two have thin folded up caps. Behind the mushrooms and beside the cat’s right arm, the top of a jug is visible. Part of a cake is visible on the table. Behind the cat’s left shoulder, top half of a fairy with a slightly upturned mouth, pointy ears, scaly wings, and spiky hair. The fairy’s color scheme is orange. Watermark of “Storyfeather” along the cat’s vest. Copyright notice at top left reads, “Copyright © 2023 Nila L. Patel.” Lines from the story appear: “Soul and imagination were also necessary for the working of fairy magic.” Site URL appears at top right.

BATTLE OF THE FEAST FOODS

A visiting dignitary attends a special feast held in honor of a difficult past and ending in a lighthearted battle.

READ

I'm in my 11th year of storytelling. The overarching theme for the Year Eleven stories is Frontiers. To explore even more press the button below:

PODCAST EPISODES

Press the button labeled "Listen" below to watch a trailer, listen to the episode, and read the story.

THE EVERYDAY GOD WHO WISHES TO SLEEP

Long ago, the human heart experienced an extraordinary change, all because one god wanted to find a quiet place to sleep.

LISTEN

GIF: 6 seconds. Text displayed: “There’s a scientific explanation for it…For the wishes coming true.” Text fades. Digital drawing. At left, a child seen from waist up and from the back, wearing a bright hoodie and a flower pin in short bobbed hair, with right arm bent at the side, and right hand holding a coin. The child stands in front of a fountain with a central goblet-shaped piece spouting water over the edge. A smaller goblet-shaped piece sits above the first, spouting water, and another piece that extends beyond frame spouts water down. Small translucent fish swim in schools and clusters in the air around the fountain. Watermark of “Storyfeather” around bottom curve of fountain. Subtitles appear at the bottom: “‘…people say the fish eat our wishes and then turn them into reality.’” Website URL appears at bottom left.

A WISH UPON THE FOUNTAIN FISH

The youngest of three siblings makes a wish at a mall fountain, where unseen fish supposedly live, helping people’s wishes come true.

LISTEN

NINE WISHES IN THREE TALES

A restless fairy creates a restless trinket with the power to grant its bearer three wishes, but as each wish is granted, the last wish fades away.

LISTEN

DRAUGAMUNNINN

A desperate people once made a monstrous bargain with a demon, and monsters they became.

LISTEN

Text displayed: “I didn’t earn what happened to me. The curse that fell on me was meant for another.” Text fades. Digital drawing. At center, a girl seen from knees up and from the back, wearing a hooded robe or dress, and holding the right hand behind her back. The head of a pink carnation is held in the right hand. Different sections of the girl’s hair are of different colors and textures. In front of her at waist level, soft rays of light beam out at symmetrical angles. Watermark of “Storyfeather” at center right. Website URL appears at bottom right.

AURORAMORPHOSIS

A girl accidentally passes before a warlock who is laying a curse on someone, and wakes the next morning to find that the curse has fallen upon her instead.

LISTEN

I'm in my 7th season of podcasting. The overarching theme for the Year Seven episodes of Storyfeather is Prompts. (I used writing prompts to inspire most of the stories). To explore even more press the button below:

~WHAT'S COMING UP IN JUNE 🤔?~

The monthly theme for the June short stories is Cartoons—it's Cartoon June. If the basic definition of “cartoon” is “a series of images drawn to give the appearance of movement,” how can I explore the frontiers of cartoons? Maybe I can stretch that definition a bit, as I do in the first story of the month, about a scribe and a dragon. Some other possible stories to explore are a set of haunted art markers, or a cartoon that seems to be predicting the future.

In this season of the podcast, I sometimes have episodes grouped by theme. And sometimes not. June’s podcast episodes don’t share any particular theme.

Think you might have missed a previous issue? You can read most back issues of the Storyfeather Gazette right here:

STORYFEATHER GAZETTE ARCHIVES

The second issue of June will come out in two weeks. I’ll give you a behind-the-scenes preview of the fiction-writing book I'm working on, specifically some of the Storyfeather stories I use as examples.

If you’ve got any feedback on this (or any) issue of the Gazette, you can reply to this email.

Till next time.
—Nila

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I have stories to tell you!

Storyfeather Gazette: A magic-wrangling glove, giant enchanted peas, a race in space, and a ceremonial food fight

THE UNEASY PEAS FACTORY

THE GLOVE OF GERTAWYN

THE RING AROUND THE ROES E RACE

BATTLE OF THE FEAST FOODS

THE EVERYDAY GOD WHO WISHES TO SLEEP

A WISH UPON THE FOUNTAIN FISH

NINE WISHES IN THREE TALES

DRAUGAMUNNINN

AURORAMORPHOSIS

~WHAT'S COMING UP IN JUNE 🤔?~

I have stories to tell you!