Artist: Herbert James Draper

I love this cover. It illustrates perfectly the longing of the witch in the novel. In my head that is what The Witch Sea is about. Longing to belong, to have someone to love and to love you back.

Being responsible for holding the magical net surrounding her island is becoming a difficult task for Meriel. She is no longer certain of the beliefs that her mother and grandmother have tried to imprint on her.

Both Meriel’s longing and the longing of the sea-people shines through Diemer’s prose. Very minor-key and absolutely lovely.

The author makes a point of this being a lesbian fantasy short story. Once it was pointed out to me, I could see it.

The Witch Sea won first place in the Kissed by Venus Fresh Voices short story competition.