August
A hot month filled with hot releases!
I blinked and now it’s August. This is a big month for me in terms of releases, starting with the publication of my debut short fiction collection The Astronaut Among the Flowers and Other Stories. This book comes out August 18, but you can pre-order it now from any of the places my publisher’s linked, or from wherever you get your books.
In fact, pre-orders are super important when it comes to the success of a book. They tell booksellers that this is a book they should stock, or in the case of sites like Amazon, that it’s in demand. They tell my publisher that readers are interested in what I’m writing. And they help generate more buzz so people who might not have come across it are more likely to.
That said, if money’s tight right now, I get it. You can still help out by spreading the word about this book. You can also ask your local library to carry it. And if you’re on Goodreads, you can add it to your “Want to Read” list which helps bring it to the attention of other Goodreads users, and will serve as a reminder for you.
And as always, reviews are also super helpful, so if you read this or any of my books, please remember to review on Goodreads, Amazon, or wherever you review books. Reviews don’t have to be long or in-depth. You can even copy/paste the same one in multiple places. A minute of your time could mean all the difference to me.
Speaking of reviews, this book just got a glowing review from Alan K. Dell. Among other things, Alan had this to say:
“A superbly written and deeply human collection from P.A. Cornell. Cornell’s writing is deeply character-driven and each [story], no matter the length, draws you in with the human connection—Even for the non-human characters. The titular story, “The Astronaut Among the Flowers” was a personal favourite, but it’s so tough to pick because all of them are honestly great. Cornell’s prose is easy-to-read and versatile. You can go from beautiful descriptive writing that tugs at the heartstrings in one story to an action-packed fist-fight in the next. The transition is effortless and shows the author’s exceptional range.”
Stars and Sabers recently revealed the cover of this collection and shared it here. This includes some information about the artist, Loreto Salinas Retamal. I also wrote a little thing about Loreto:
The cover was completed almost a year ago and I have to say it’s been really hard to keep it under wraps because I love it so much. The art is based on some of my descriptions in the title story for my collection “The Astronaut Among the Flowers,” a brand new science fiction piece that means a lot to me. I can’t wait for you to read it.
I also recently shared the introduction from New York Times Bestselling Author, Jonathan Maberry. I’m honored that Jonathan took the time to read my work and write this piece for my collection, and I’m incredibly moved by what he had to say.
If you missed it, Reactor Magazine recently listed The Astronaut Among the Flowers and Other Stories as a “Can’t Miss” indie title for August. You can read the entire article here, but here’s what they had to say about my book:
P.A. Cornell’s short stories have earned acclaim from across the SFF spectrum, including Alex Brown’s discussion of notable short fiction in early 2023. Cornell’s collection The Astronaut Among the Flowers and Other Stories is her first collection of short fiction; given that this year brought her second Nebula nomination, it doesn’t seem strange to think that we’ll be seeing another collection from Cornell before too long. (Stars and Sabers; August 2026)
Hmm…is there another collection from me already in the works? Time will tell. In the meantime, there’s this one, and you can order your copy today!
Aside from my collection, I also have a couple of pieces of short fiction coming out this month that I’m especially excited to see published.
I’ve spoken a lot about “A Game of Go” — the story I was forced to pull from Analog and that now appears in the August issue (Issue 4) of Adventitious. I have to say, I love the covers Adventitious sources. I mean, check out this art for Issue 4 by artist Kevin McKie:
How cool is this? As usual with this magazine, the issue will at first be exclusive to Adventitious’ Patreon subscribers (and yes, it’s very worth subscribing). Eventually, though, my story will be made free-to-read, and when that happens, I’ll announce it on my socials.
In the meantime, this issue has already been reviewed by Jay of Tar Vol on, who highlights my story as one of the ones that stood out for him. See what he had to say here.
The other story I’m excited about is “The Devil in the Desert,” which will be out on August 25 in Flame Tree Publishing’s Folklore Horror anthology. This one won’t be free-to-read but I really hope you’ll consider purchasing this anthology. Flame Tree puts out high quality books filled with equally good stories from both contemporary and classic authors. I’m especially happy with how this one turned out. It’s a horror story that incorporates elements of Chilean lore, with a little family lore, and some history about the California gold rush. You won’t want to miss this book!
And I haven’t forgotten about my other book, Shoeshine Boy & Cigarette Girl, which came out earlier this year. This one recently got a lovely review from Turn & Work. Check it out!
RECENT FICTION SALES
My sff story “Tanya Gathers Pebbles” was just accepted for publication by the Missed-Fits anthology from publisher Calendar of Fools. This story involves mysterious invisible portals that appear around the world, and the one woman who can sense where they are. I look forward to sharing it with you soon.
FORTHCOMING PUBLICATIONS
RECENT INTERVIEWS
If you missed it, a while back I spoke with Daniel Coolbaugh of The Fantasy and Sci-Fi Fanatics Podcast and that episode came out on July 5. We talked about my books, my short fiction, and lots more. It was a great interview. Watch it on YouTube or listen here:
Or wherever you get your podcasts.
Daniel and I enjoyed our chat so much, in fact, that we plan to talk again this very month. We’ll likely focus a bit more on my collection, since it’ll be my latest release, but I’m sure that won’t be all. I’m looking forward to this conversation, since Daniel always asks great questions. I’ll share the link once it goes live.
I also recently talked to Alan K. Dell about my approach to fiction-writing. You can read that interview here.
WHAT I’VE BEEN UP TO
As many of you know, I occasionally participate in flash fiction writing contests run by the Codex writers group. Last month marked the start of Flash Savior of the Universe 2026, and that continues into August.
So far I’ve written two new flash pieces and hope to write a third before the contest is over.
For those who may not know, the contest is for “bragging rights” because the main idea is to motivate participants into writing. The real reward is to come out of it with some new stories, which you’ll hopefully sell later.
I skipped this particular contest in 2021, but otherwise have participated annually since 2019, and during that time it has led to seven sales for me. Those stories are:
Shiny Things (Things With Feathers: Stories of Hope)
So Many Things to See (Trollbreath) *More on this one later
Tabula Rasa (Departure Mirror Quarterly - Reprinted in Polar Borealis)
Hard Times at The Four Pines Motel (Short Circuit)
Side Effects May Vary (Winner of the Unicorn Mech Suit Short Story Contest)
The Space Between Us (Lightspeed)
Twelve Things that Will Occur Immediately Following Your Invention of Teleportation (Factor Four)
And now for something a little different: C.J. Tavares has been up to some pretty cool stuff of her own. She created this really great self-insert TTRPG designed to get players reading more fiction. Several authors donated stories, including me. Give her game a try when you get a chance!
WHERE TO FIND ME NEXT
August 22 at 2pm, I’ll be in Toronto for the launch of my new book The Astronaut Among the Flowers and Other Stories. This event will take place at Bakka-Phoenix Books. If you’re in the area, come by and say hi. I’m told there will be snacks and I’ll also have some SWAG to give away.
RANDOM STORY I LOVE
Each month I choose a story that has stuck with me to share with you. I offer it without comment, leaving it up to you to determine what you think of it. If you enjoy the chosen story, I encourage you to seek out more work by the author.
This month’s story is:
“The Stories We Tell Each Other” by Matt Krizan
*For all stories, see the individual publications for content warnings
THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY: “So Many Things to See”
Spoilers ahead, so read the story before going on.
Earlier, I mentioned that my first time participating in the Flash Savior of the Universe contest was back in 2019. It was during that particular iteration of the contest that I wrote “So Many Things to See” though during the contest it went by the title “Imagine the Possibilities.”
The story was very well received by the other contest participants that year, landing me in first place in my division for the week—the first time I’d scored that well during a Codex contest.
I’d previously had an idea about writing a story that involved a pair of sisters walking through a post-apocalyptic setting. I knew one of them would be blind, but I didn’t really know where the story was going, beyond that.
Fun Fact: The names “Lia” and “Elke” were borrowed from a couple of people in my life. “Elke” was a friend I had in kindergarten. What’s interesting is that while this name is generally pronounced El-kah, the girl I knew pronounced her name El-Kay, so that’s how it reads in my head. “Lia” was the name of my paternal grandmother’s sister, who died of TB when they were young girls. The use of her name here is a bit of a tribute.
So in the third round of that year’s contest, I saw the prompt: “Think about the themes/styles that tend to show up frequently in your work and pick one. Now take that story element and subvert it or use it in some other unexpected way.”
One thing I write a lot about are human relationships of all kinds. I especially like writing about siblings, but up until that point I’d mostly written about sibling relationships that weren’t so great. I thought I’d subvert it by depicting one that was positive, for a change.
For me, the story is really about the love these two sisters have for each other. It’s not so much about their world, or even the fact that Elke is blind. These of course factor in, but my focus was on the fact that whatever happens, they’re there for each other.
When I first wrote the story, it was a bit longer than the 1000-word limit the contest has. I had to trim it considerably, and though it scored well, comments repeatedly said it would be even better longer. I agreed, so it was a version closer to the original that I ultimately sent out on submission.
Fun fact: Aside from being about a sibling relationship, this story also explores another subject that I’m interested in. We rely so much on our technology these days, but I often think of how we’d fare if it was suddenly taken away from us. In this case, it’s a failing ocular implant, though Elke weathers the loss rather well. It’s also an exercise in the power of imagination, something I’m very familiar with, as a fiction writer.
One thing that was important to me when writing a disabled character was that I didn’t want her to be completely dependent on other people. Elke was born blind, but she functions as normally in her world as anyone—to the point that Lia doesn’t at first realize her implant has failed completely. In Lia’s mind, her little sister relies on her. But by the end we see that it’s actually Elke who’s been using her imagination to keep her sister’s morale up.
If you know anything about survival in extreme circumstances, one of the key things that can help someone get through the worst of times is a positive mindset. Elke may be young, but she intuitively understands this, and finds a way to make sure both their spirits are lifted.
In the end, Elke dies. I could’ve gone either way with this, but I like to think that she had enough spirit and life in her that this is something that will be carried forward through her sister. Their love, after all, can never die. And it might also have subconsciously had something to do with my grandmother’s sister dying. This time it’s Lia who lives.
Lia has a tough road ahead, going on without her sister, or her parents, but Elke doesn’t leave her alone until she gets her to a good place where she can make a fresh start. In many ways, Elke saves her. Lia thought she was the strong one and now sees that it was always Elke, but she’s learned from her sister, and that’s a strength she’ll carry with her for the rest of her life.
Fun Fact: In the story, Lia sings “The Itsy Bitsy Spider” to Elke. Like many moms, it’s a song I’m very familiar with. I learned it in childhood and later sang it with my kids. Later still, when I was briefly a daycare provider, I would sing it with the kids in my care. It’s a fun song with hand gestures kids love, but it’s also about resilience. When the rain falls, it’s disaster for the spider, but then the sun comes out and she just gets right back to climbing up that water spout.
In keeping with the theme of a positive attitude, Lia practices something she learned from her parents: she counts her blessings each day. To be clear, toxic positivity is definitely a thing, and I’m not saying that’s what we need to aspire to. But it doesn’t hurt to stop and look around now and then and take note of any silver linings—while also acknowledging that some things just plain suck. This is something I try to do for myself, and I find it helps me take things for granted a lot less.
While I was still sending this story out on submission, I remember one of the comments I got in a rejection was that the editor wanted to know more about the events leading up to this post-apocalyptic world. Clearly this was not the editor for me, because—as the name of this newsletter says—it’s not really about that. And that’s true for a good portion of my work.
Sure, I could’ve written something more in line with what this editor wanted. I could’ve written about some war maybe or an EMP, or certainly done more than just hint at some catastrophe. But to me, that’s a whole other story. And it might even be a good story. But it wasn’t the story I wanted to tell.
Ultimately, it found its home in Trollbreath magazine with an editor who understood what I was going for. I’m glad I didn’t compromise my vision for it, because I really like the way this one turned out, and many readers do too.
“So Many Things to See” was originally published in May 2025 in Trollbreath, Issue 4.
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Cheers!
P.A. Cornell
Congratulations on the upcoming release! I really enjoyed reading about the stories behind your collection and your writing process. Your emphasis on human relationships over spectacle is refreshing, and I hope The Astronaut Among the Flowers and Other Stories reaches a wide audience. Wishing you a successful launch!