Laura Holley
Blending creativity
& Dreams
Fantasy & Sci-Fi Stories
Published in Hemelein Publications in the LTUE 2025 benefit anthology God Save the King.
As the prince’s pet fox and closest friend, Ember has obeyed his command to guard the ill king in the darkness of night, despite her hatred for the man. But when a cloaked figure inexplicably appears and casts a killing curse on him, it becomes her responsibility to sniff out the assasin, discovering the truth about her own self among the secrets and passageways of the castle.
Awarded a Silver Honorable Mention under the previous title "Naia and her Imri'Hai" in 2024 by Writer's of the Future, the world's largest talent search for speculative short fiction.
Naia has been chosen by the Akua, creator gods, to navigate her people to a new island before the fire spirit Keahi escapes from the mountain. But when a hurricane destroys their canoes only hours before his eruption, she has no alternative but to face the gods themselves to buy her people more time.
Awarded an Honorable Mention in 2023 by Writer's of the Future, the world's largest talent search for speculative short fiction.
Penny's mom used to do magic—like baking hot, gooey, chocolate chip cookies in Penny’s plastic oven—but quit after her dad tragically died twelve years ago. After years of being shamed by friends for her memories, Penny finally decides to confront her mom … and finds answers she’d never have expected.
A young Jewish boy lives in hiding, orphaned by a massacre in medieval Prague. Forced to use ancient magic his mother disapproved of to steal food out of strangers’ dreams, one night he finds himself inside a murderer’s mind, forced to decide between stealing just enough to eat, or protecting others from the man by removing too much of his mind.
The grief of losing her toddler has already caused unbearable marital tension between Mei and her husband. When he collapses on the sidewalk just before their tenth anniversary dinner, she learns that he has been using his brain mod to manage his pain—too efficiently—and is forced to maker her own decision: to risk using hers the same way, or feel double deep pain of mourning herself.
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