February's podcast guest is none other than legend of the horror genre, Ramsey Campbell. Bea finds him at World Fantasy Con 2025 in Brighton to discuss his novel, An Echo of Children, which offers a terrifying glimpse into the practice of exorcising children. An illuminating conversation in which Ramsey reflects on 60 years in the genre and how he continues to find inspiration, refine his craft and unsettle his readers six decades on.

This month Flame Tree is releasing a new edition of his 1980s novel Incarnate, a classic exploration of malevolent dreams and monstrous forces. If this episode has got you curious about Ramsey Campbell’s novel, An Echo of Children, you can listen to an extract in our October episode ‘Not So Alive and Spooky’ or find out more on our website.

Biography

Ramsey Campbell was born in Liverpool in 1946 and lives in Wallasey. First published by Arkham House at just eighteen, he has become one of the most acclaimed voices in modern horror, blending psychological unease, the uncanny, and cosmic dread across a body of work that spans decades. His many honours include lifetime achievement awards from the World Horror Convention, the Horror Writers Association and the World Fantasy Convention. In 2015 he was named an Honorary Fellow of Liverpool John Moores University for services to literature. Several of his novels have been adapted for film, including The Influence and The Nameless which is being adapted by Netflix . A longtime BBC film reviewer and President of the Society of Fantastic Films, Campbell remains a defining figure in contemporary horror.

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Music is an extract of Sunbeams by Allen Stroud, from his Fractal Series album, licensed courtesy of fpl-digital 2025.

This podcast is hosted and sometimes narrated by Beatrix Ambery (also audio editor), Olivia Jackson (also podcast coordinator), Shilpa Varma and Nick Wells (also producer).

Chosen from hundreds of wonderful tales, short stories such as these are selected by our short window open submission process, giving opportunities to writers of all levels of experience, culture and location. Look out for our submission announcements, and see the full list here: flametreepublishing.com/gothic-fantasy-book-series-list.html

Our full range of thematic short stories, epic tales, mythology and folklore titles are available at all good bookstores, online and in retail, and at flametreepublishing.com

Flame Tree Publishing, Independent Publisher of the Year 2024, British Fantasy Society. Beautiful Books, Timeless Storytelling, Fresh Perspectives.

The Flame Tree Myth and Fiction podcast is created and © copyright 2025 Flame Tree Publishing Ltd.

Content Warning: This episode contains distressing descriptions of childbirth and loss.

Full disclosure, today’s two stories share little more than the word “bride.” One takes you down a shadowy, unsettling path; the other is delightfully quirky and unfailingly sweet. They’re less companion pieces and more contrasting tales but if there’s a thread that binds them, it’s this, love has a way of blooming in the most unexpected places.

Featuring

‘I Exist’ by Lyndsay E. Gilbert (04.54) , read by Amanda Benzecry. A twisted gothic tale, with the unsettling use of a Sheela Na Gig type figure; found in our Gothic Fantasy collection, Terrifying Ghosts.

‘The Forest Bride’ from Hungarian Folklore (33.12), first published in English by Parker Fillmore in 1919, read by Olivia. An endearingly sweet story about a marriage to an unconventional bride. This one can be found in our brand new Kalevala & Finnish Myths & Tales short story collection.

Biographies

Lyndsay E. Gilbert is a hopeful YA author from Northern Ireland. She lives by an ancient castle looking out to sea. Her interests are reading, writing, science fiction and fantasy, horror, music, playing the fiddle, movies, fairy tales, cats, dogs and the ancient art of belly dance. Lyndsay has a few stories published in anthologies such as Steampunk Universe, Fae Visions of the Mediterranean and the up-and-coming Trouble the Waters. She is currently working on a horror novel about post-apocalyptic witches and can be found writing terrible poetry and procrastinating on Instagram @lyndsayegilbert.

Parker Fillmore (1878–1944) was an American author born in Cincinnati, Ohio. He most famously published Czechoslovak Fairy Tales (1919) and The Shoemaker’s Apron (1920).

Amanda Benzecry (voice actor) regularly narrates books for Audible, is on the panel for the RNIB and is a frequent contributor (both as a narrator and a writer) to TNF Soundings, providing audio material for the visually impaired.

‘I Exist’ is ©2021 Lyndsay E. Gilbert and appeared in Terrifying Ghosts (Flame Tree Publishing, 2021).

‘The Forest Bride’ from Hungarian Folklore was first published in ‘Czechoslovak Fairy Tales’ (1919), but more recently appears in Kalevala & Finnish Myths & Tales (Flame Tree Publishing,

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Music is an extract of Sunbeams by Allen Stroud, from his Fractal Series album, licensed courtesy of fpl-digital 2025.

This podcast is hosted and sometimes narrated by Beatrix Ambery (also audio editor), Olivia Jackson (also podcast coordinator), Shilpa Varma and Nick Wells (also producer).

Chosen from hundreds of wonderful tales, short stories such as these are selected by our short window open submission process, giving opportunities to writers of all levels of experience, culture and location. Look out for our submission announcements, and see the full list here: flametreepublishing.com/gothic-fantasy-book-series-list.html

Our full range of thematic short stories, epic tales, mythology and folklore titles are available at all good bookstores, online and in retail, and at flametreepublishing.com

Flame Tree Publishing, Independent Publisher of the Year 2024, British Fantasy Society. Beautiful Books, Timeless Storytelling, Fresh Perspectives.

The Flame Tree Myth and Fiction podcast is created and © copyright 2025 Flame Tree Publishing Ltd.

Love is arguably the most central and powerful force in stories across the world. From the very first myths ever told to the stories we’re still writing today, love has always been right at the heart of it all. If an alien landed on Earth tomorrow, I think one of the first things they’d figure out is this: humans love love, even when it hurts.

Featuring

‘A Mortal Breaks Aphrodite’s Heart’ by Ev Datsyk (03.48), read by Sabrina Robinson. We imagine Aphrodite as untouchable, but what happens when her heart gets broken? This reimagined, modern re-telling of Greek myth can be found in our Aphrodite collection.

‘The Brave Tin Soldier’ by Hans Christian Andersen (22.55), read by Bea. A familiar fairy tale for many of us, this one tells the tale of a little toy soldier who falls hopelessly in love with a paper ballerina. Discover more stories like this one in Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales.

Biographies

Ev Datsyk is a queer, second-generation settler living on the land known today as Canada. She primarily writes short stories and is passionate about the Oxford comma and questionable puns. Her work can be found in Haunted Words Press and Divinations Magazine, with a full publishing history accessible on her social media. You can find her at @evdatsyk on most platforms.

Hans Christian Andersen is regarded as a national treasure by his homeland Denmark, but his popularity extends far beyond his native shores. As one of the most translated authors in the world, there are hundreds of editions of his books in many languages.

Sabrina Robinson is an award-winning American actress and lover of whimsical stories. She most recently performed as The Bride in Blood Wedding at Tower Theatre and in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time at Putney Arts Theatre. For her role in Breakfast of Champions (streaming on Amazon Prime), Sabrina received the Best Actress award at the ÉCU European Independent Film Festival in Paris.

‘A Mortal Breaks Aphrodite’s Heart’ is ©2025 Ev Datsyk and appeared in Aphrodite (Flame Tree Publishing, 2025).

‘The Brave Tin Soldier’ by Hans Christian Andersen was first published in 1838, but more recently appeared in Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales (Flame Tree Publishing, 2020).

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Music is an extract of Sunbeams by Allen Stroud, from his Fractal Series album, licensed courtesy of fpl-digital 2025.

This podcast is hosted and sometimes narrated by Beatrix Ambery (also audio editor), Olivia Jackson (also podcast coordinator), Shilpa Varma and Nick Wells (also producer).

Chosen from hundreds of wonderful tales, short stories such as these are selected by our short window open submission process, giving opportunities to writers of all levels of experience, culture and location. Look out for our submission announcements, and see the full list here: flametreepublishing.com/gothic-fantasy-book-series-list.html

Our full range of thematic short stories, epic tales, mythology and folklore titles are available at all good bookstores, online and in retail, and at flametreepublishing.com

Flame Tree Publishing, Independent Publisher of the Year 2024, British Fantasy Society. Beautiful Books, Timeless Storytelling, Fresh Perspectives.

The Flame Tree Myth and Fiction podcast is created and © copyright 2025 Flame Tree Publishing Ltd.

Mischievous tricksters or benevolent guardians? Faeries crop up in mythology time and time again but their morality can never be taken for granted. Maybe it’s not a question of good or bad, but what the fair folk stand to teach us about ourselves. Today’s stories do exactly that, scrutinising the effects of messy fairy magic on human ambition.

Featuring

‘Weave Us A Way’ by Nemma Wollenfang (03.59), read by Sabrina Robinson. A story about fate and what it means to change it. This one can be found in our Epic Fantasy collection.

‘The Wishing Skin’ from Hungarian folklore, originally published by Baroness Orczy (19.01), read by Shilpa. This one also deals with a character seeking to change their life, but this time ambitions lead them awry. Borrowed from our brand new Faeries & Nymphs Myths & Tales book.

Biographies

Nemma Wollenfang is an MSc Postgraduate and prize-winning short story writer who lives in Northern England. Generally she adheres to Science Fiction – perhaps as a result of years in the laboratory cackling like a mad scientist – but she has been known to branch out. ‘Weave Us a Way’ was originally published in the winner’s anthology for the Felix Dennis Creative Writing Competition at the Stratford Upon Avon LitFest, where it was Highly Commended.

Baroness Orczy (1865–1947) was a Hungarian-born British novelist, playwright, and artist. Her successful play and novel The Scarlet Pimpernel established the popular “hero with a secret identity trope”.

Sabrina Robinson is an award-winning American actress and lover of whimsical stories. She most recently performed as The Bride in Blood Wedding at Tower Theatre and in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time at Putney Arts Theatre. For her role in Breakfast of Champions (streaming on Amazon Prime), Sabrina received the Best Actress award at the ÉCU European Independent Film Festival in Paris.

‘Weave Us A Way’ is ©2017 Nemma Wollenfang and was first published in Sharing Stories but more recently appeared in Epic Fantasy (Flame Tree Publishing, 2019).

‘The Wishing Skin’ from Hungarian Folklore was first published in ‘Old Hungarian Fairy Tales’ by Baroness Orczy in 1895, but more recently appears in Faeries & Nymphs Myths & Tales (Flame Tree Publishing, 2026).

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Music is an extract of Sunbeams by Allen Stroud, from his Fractal Series album, licensed courtesy of fpl-digital 2025.

This podcast is hosted and sometimes narrated by Beatrix Ambery (also audio editor), Olivia Jackson (also podcast coordinator), Shilpa Varma and Nick Wells (also producer).

Chosen from hundreds of wonderful tales, short stories such as these are selected by our short window open submission process, giving opportunities to writers of all levels of experience, culture and location. Look out for our submission announcements, and see the full list here: flametreepublishing.com/gothic-fantasy-book-series-list.html

Our full range of thematic short stories, epic tales, mythology and folklore titles are available at all good bookstores, online and in retail, and at flametreepublishing.com

Flame Tree Publishing, Independent Publisher of the Year 2024, British Fantasy Society. Beautiful Books, Timeless Storytelling, Fresh Perspectives.

The Flame Tree Myth and Fiction podcast is created and © copyright 2025 Flame Tree Publishing Ltd.

In the first Season 2 Special episode, Olivia journeys into fantasy worlds with acclaimed author Anna Smith Spark. Hailed as the Queen of Grimdark, Spark joins the podcast to explore her lyrical writing style, the role of motherhood in her work and the enduring importance of folklore in modern fiction. This conversation was recorded at the World Fantasy Convention over Halloween weekend.

Recently Anna Smith Spark’s books, A Sword of Gold and Ruin & its prequel A Sword of Bronze and Ashes have been released as special edition books with sprayed edges, custom end papers and delicately foiled covers. Both are masterpieces of folk horror and high fantasy that follow Kanda as she and her children fight against the darkness that threatens their world.

Biography

Anna Smith Spark is a critically acclaimed, multi-award short-listed grimdark epic fantasy novelist. She writes lyrical prose-poetry about war, love, landscapes, and war. Her writing has been described as ‘a masterwork’ by Nightmarish Conjurings, ‘an experience like no other series in fantasy’ by Grimdark Magazine, ‘literary Game of Thrones’ by the Sunday Times, and ‘howls like early Moorcock, converses like the best of Le Guin’ by the Daily Mail. Her favourite authors are Mary Renault, R Scott Bakker and M. John Harrison.

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Music is an extract of Sunbeams by Allen Stroud, from his Fractal Series album, licensed courtesy of fpl-digital 2025.

This podcast is hosted and sometimes narrated by Beatrix Ambery (also audio editor), Olivia Jackson (also podcast coordinator), Shilpa Varma and Nick Wells (also producer).

Chosen from hundreds of wonderful tales, short stories such as these are selected by our short window open submission process, giving opportunities to writers of all levels of experience, culture and location. Look out for our submission announcements, and see the full list here: flametreepublishing.com/gothic-fantasy-book-series-list.html

Our full range of thematic short stories, epic tales, mythology and folklore titles are available at all good bookstores, online and in retail, and at flametreepublishing.com

Flame Tree Publishing, Independent Publisher of the Year 2024, British Fantasy Society. Beautiful Books, Timeless Storytelling, Fresh Perspectives.

The Flame Tree Myth and Fiction podcast is created and © copyright 2025 Flame Tree Publishing Ltd.

Do you believe in ghosts? Have you ever seen one…or felt one?

Well today you’re in for a haunting. One story embraces the supernatural, it encourages the belief in things that cannot be explained, and the other sides with the sceptics amongst you, poking fun at the ghost story tradition. We’ll let you decide where you sit on the spectrum of superstition.

Featuring

‘Only Bella’ by Kurt Hunt (01.25), read by Nick. A beautifully written piece about a young woman who haunts a man night after night. We’ve also experimented a little with sound design in this reading.

‘A Ghost Story’ by Mark Twain (14.22), read by Bea. Twain takes everything we expect from a classic haunting and twists it into something absurd.

Biographies

Kurt Hunt was formed in the swamps and abandoned gravel pits of post-industrial Michigan. Tolkien and Alexander seeded his life-long love of genre, Le Guin and Zelazny expanded it, but he’s convinced that we’re currently living in the best and most transformative era of science fiction and fantasy. His short fiction has been published at Strange Horizons, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, PodCastle, Orson Scott Card’s InterGalactic Medicine Show, Kaleidotrope, and more. He is also a co-author of Archipelago, a collaborative serial fantasy adventure.

Mark Twain (1835–1910) was born Samuel Langhorne Clemens in Florida, Missouri. Twain’s name is synonymous with his American classics The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Twain was a very influential author whose works are timeless pieces that are still being taught today in classrooms to students of all ages.

‘Only Bella’ is ©2018 Kurt Hunt and appeared in Lost Souls (Flame Tree Publishing, 2018).

‘A Ghost Story’ by Mark Twain was first published in ‘Sketches New and Old’ (1875), but more recently appeared in Haunted House Short Stories (Flame Tree Publishing, 2019).

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Music is an extract of Sunbeams by Allen Stroud, from his Fractal Series album, licensed courtesy of fpl-digital 2025.

This podcast is hosted and sometimes narrated by Beatrix Ambery (also audio editor), Olivia Jackson (also podcast coordinator), Shilpa Varma and Nick Wells (also producer).

Chosen from hundreds of wonderful tales, short stories such as these are selected by our short window open submission process, giving opportunities to writers of all levels of experience, culture and location. Look out for our submission announcements, and see the full list here: flametreepublishing.com/gothic-fantasy-book-series-list.html

Our full range of thematic short stories, epic tales, mythology and folklore titles are available at all good bookstores, online and in retail, and at flametreepublishing.com

Flame Tree Publishing, Independent Publisher of the Year 2024, British Fantasy Society. Beautiful Books, Timeless Storytelling, Fresh Perspectives.

The Flame Tree Myth and Fiction podcast is created and © copyright 2025 Flame Tree Publishing Ltd.

In today’s episode we’re giving you a sneak peek at something that hasn’t been published yet, our upcoming Witchcraft collection. Out on the 20th of January, this anthology explores what it means to be a ‘witch’, including the rediscovery and reclaiming of that power, its links to nature and witchcraft mythology from around the world.

Featuring

‘What Bones Remember’ by Buhlebethu Sukoluhle Mpofu (04.14), read by Amanda Benzecry. An atmospheric, folk horror story that offers a fresh spin on Baba Yaga, a witch-like character from Slavic folklore. Find this one Beyond & Within’s Witchcraft.

‘The Witch’, was found in ‘Russian Folk-Tales’ by W. R. S. Ralston (37.58) before it appeared in Witches, Wizards, Seers & Healers Myths & Tales, read by Bea. A more traditional portrayal of a witch, seen in the likes of popular fairytales.

Biographies

Buhlebethu Sukoluhle Mpofu is a medical practitioner and author with hands-on research experience, having served as co-author on two peer-reviewed publications: ‘Are Cape Peninsula baboons raiding their way to obesity and type II diabetes?’ (2023) and ‘Advancements in Marburg (MARV) Virus Vaccine Research’ (2024). Her recent book Forgive, Love, and You: A Guide to Unburdening the Heart was published in 2025. You can find her on X/Twitter @shortbread00.

William Ralston Shedden-Ralston (1828–1889) was a British scholar of Russia and translator of Russian. He published translations of Ivan Andreevich Krylov’s and Ivan Turgenev’s works,as well as Songs of the Russian People as Illustrative of Slavonic Mythology and Russian Social Life (1872) and, of relevance to this volume: Russian Folk Tales (1873).

‘What Bones Remember’ is ©2026 Buhlebethu Sukoluhle Mpofu and appeared in Witchcraft (Flame Tree Publishing, 2026).

‘The Witch’ from Russia was first published in ‘Russian Folk-Tales’ by W. R. S. Ralston in 1873, but more recently appeared in Witches, Wizards, Seers & Healers Myths & Tales (Flame Tree Publishing, 2020).

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Music is an extract of Sunbeams by Allen Stroud, from his Fractal Series album, licensed courtesy of fpl-digital 2025.

This podcast is hosted and sometimes narrated by Beatrix Ambery (also audio editor), Olivia Jackson (also podcast coordinator), Shilpa Varma and Nick Wells (also producer).

Chosen from hundreds of wonderful tales, short stories such as these are selected by our short window open submission process, giving opportunities to writers of all levels of experience, culture and location. Look out for our submission announcements, and see the full list here: flametreepublishing.com/gothic-fantasy-book-series-list.html

Our full range of thematic short stories, epic tales, mythology and folklore titles are available at all good bookstores, online and in retail, and at flametreepublishing.com

Flame Tree Publishing, Independent Publisher of the Year 2024, British Fantasy Society. Beautiful Books, Timeless Storytelling, Fresh Perspectives.

The Flame Tree Myth and Fiction podcast is created and © copyright 2025 Flame Tree Publishing Ltd.

It’s 2026 and that means a brand new year and a brand new season of the Myth & Fiction Podcast. For many people, the New Year is about fresh starts, resolutions, new habits and clean slates. But it’s also a moment of closure, a chance to reflect on everything the previous year brought with it. So today’s episode sits between those two inevitabilities: beginnings and endings.

Featuring

The Chains That Bind by Brandon Ketchum (05.40), found in Odin and read by Frances Bodiam. This one draws heavily on Norse mythology and in keeping with this episode's theme, navigates the ultimate ending or Ragnarök from the perspective of the Norns.

How All Things Began From Norse Mythology (19.37), read by Olivia. The wonderfully strange and imaginative Norse creation myth. You can find this one in Sun Rising Short Stories.

Biographies

Brandon Ketchum is a speculative fiction writer from Pittsburgh, PA who enjoys putting a weird spin or strange vibe into every story, dark or light. He is a member of SFWA and the Horror Writers Association, and his work has been published with Air and Nothingness Press, Perihelion, Mad Scientist Journal, and many other publications, including the short story collections Legio Damnati and its sequel Civili Bellum.

Ethel Mary Wilmot-Buxton (1870-1923) was an English translator, author and teacher. Mainly writing accessible scholarly works for younger audiences, Wilmot-Buxton focused on creating educational narratives based on historical literature and events. As always, we must remind the reader that, as tales from mythology and folklore are principally derived from an oral storytelling tradition, their written representation depends on the transcription, translation and interpretation by those who heard them and first put them to paper.

‘The Chains That Bind’ is ©2024 Brandon Ketchum and appeared in Odin (Flame Tree Publishing, 2024).

‘How All Things Began’ from Norse Mythology was first published in ‘Told by the Northmen: Stories from the Eddas and Sagas’ by Ethel Mary Wilmot-Buxton in 1908, but more recently appeared in Sun Rising Short Stories (Flame Tree Publishing, 2024).

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Music is an extract of Sunbeams by Allen Stroud, from his Fractal Series album, licensed courtesy of fpl-digital 2025.

This podcast is hosted and sometimes narrated by Beatrix Ambery (also audio editor), Olivia Jackson (also podcast coordinator), Shilpa Varma and Nick Wells (also producer).

Chosen from hundreds of wonderful tales, short stories such as these are selected by our short window open submission process, giving opportunities to writers of all levels of experience, culture and location. Look out for our submission announcements, and see the full list here: flametreepublishing.com/gothic-fantasy-book-series-list.html

Our full range of thematic short stories, epic tales, mythology and folklore titles are available at all good bookstores, online and in retail, and at flametreepublishing.com

Flame Tree Publishing, Independent Publisher of the Year 2024, British Fantasy Society. Beautiful Books, Timeless Storytelling, Fresh Perspectives.

The Flame Tree Myth and Fiction podcast is created and © copyright 2025 Flame Tree Publishing Ltd.