"The sun is now unbridled and unwilling to weaken itself-"
"The Warren", Belladonna
Belladonna invites you into thirty-seven new worlds, each one resembling our own but somewhat twisted, often lovely, and always close. Within this curated collection, Bettinger artfully blurs the line between magical realism and narrative fiction. Her characters act out buried impulses, budding desires, and tenderest shoots of hope. Her settings are laced with poetic prose grounded in earthen and apocalyptic metaphors, but with a structure and pace not found in traditional fiction. Each story is accompanied by illustrations from the author that compliment the deep emotion and shrewd efficiency of her storytelling.
From one of the most well-practiced voices in short format fiction, Autumn Bettinger's debut book returns to themes of haunting loss, broken romantic relationships, life saving friendships, motherhood, and what connections will remain at the end of the world.
Belladonna is proudly published by Friendly Monster Press in Portland, Oregon, USA.