MILTON, ONTARIO, December 3, 2021 – A rabbi walks onto a spaceship and meets a suburban witch in training and Satan buying Hell’s computer system. It’s not a joke—it’s a sample of the stories in the upcoming short story collection Imaginary Friends by science fiction author Arlene F. Marks.
The new collection features stories published in anthologies and magazines like Polar Borealis and H.P. Lovecraft’s Magazine of Horror, as well as original fiction and tales from Marks’ other worlds, such as her six-book space opera series Sic Transit Terra. The eleven-story collection closes with an all new novella “Manua’s Children”, a story of secrets and magic in the pastoral setting of Earth’s first exoplanetary colony.
The title Imaginary Friends comes not only from the obvious connection of the authors’ creations, but also refers to the characters in the stories who receive help, or hindrance, from various visible or invisible figures of their own. The stories range from hard science fiction to superhero to urban fantasy, with many of the stories having elements of other genres within them. This is the first time that Marks’ short fiction has been collected in a single volume and the first time several of the stories have been published.
The book will be released in May 2022. Cover art will be revealed in January 2022, with preorders for the book opening at that time in bookstores everywhere.
About the Author
Arlene F. Marks has been writing and selling fiction in various genres for over thirty years. A retired teacher, travel agent, fashion consultant and more, Marks now spends her days writing on the shores of Nottawasaga Bay in Ontario. Marks’ last novel, Adventures in Godhood, was released November 12, 2021, and she has written multiple other novels currently in consideration with publisher Brain Lag.
Publisher
Milton, Ontario-based science fiction and fantasy publisher Brain Lag will be releasing Imaginary Friends, its 34th title, in trade paperback and ebook formats. This will be Brain Lag’s fourth single-author short story collection, from three different authors. The publisher has been in operation since 2010 and has sixteen signed authors. After releasing eight new books each in 2020 and 2021, Imaginary Friends joins eleven other books scheduled for release in 2022, one new title being published every month.
Media inquiries and requests to contact the author can be directed to publishing@brain-lag.com.
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