From the Editor & Contest: Lucy Hannah Ryan’s You Make Yourself Another
Embodying flight & descent, damning wind & resurrected song, the gorgeous & garish & gone, Half Mystic Press’ newest short story collection opens its eyes to the world today. You Make Yourself Another by Lucy Hannah Ryan is a visceral, tender, & elusive meditation on transformation in its many guises. Named for an insult hurled at Hamlet’s Ophelia, You Make Yourself Another blurs genre & gender lines to illuminate a state of sharp, queer flux. From a girl whose illness has her slipping between the veil of life & death to a grieving model on the path of self-destruction, from the mystery behind a teenager’s disappearance to a woman’s journey through bodily autonomy via strange metamorphosis, this collection haunts & hollows in equal measure.
For the first time in several years, we’re delighted to celebrate release day with a contest for three paperback copies of the new book. You can enter on any public social media platform by sharing your response to the following question:
What does it mean to you to become new?
Answer in as many or as little words as you’d like using the hashtag #youmakeyourselfanother & tagging us @halfmysticpress. You can enter on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or TikTok. This contest is open worldwide & ends next Tuesday, April 25, at 11:59 PM EST. You must be over 18 years old or have parental permission to enter. Three entries, selected by Lucy Hannah Ryan, will receive a free paperback copy of You Make Yourself Another shipped anywhere in the world.
We’re unendingly grateful to the bloggers, editors, & journalists who shared their spaces with Lucy on the virtual tour for You Make Yourself Another. A few of our favourite quotes from reviews, interviews, & guest essays over the past fortnight:
“Ryan’s prose is lyrical & cutting—tinged with glimmering, queer magic. I have to be honest and say that short stories don’t always work for me. I often find I can’t lose myself in them the way I can with longer narratives. There’s something about the stories in You Make Yourself Another that held me in their palms and didn’t let me look away.” A review by Zeynep Sasmazel
“When I moved, when I danced and caught the rhythm, I didn't have to be myself anymore. I was music and machine, infallible and beautiful and panting for breath. Dance is very transportive, and I miss being able to be beyond my body. But of course, that’s the sleight of hand of the story, not the real meat.” An interview with Lucy Hannah Ryan for Kith Books
“Seven short stories that capture the realness of loss, love, escape, and transformation at its finest, all of which evoke a sense of connection, deep wonder and bizarrely enough, ease. Each story was vivid, brilliantly written, and thought-provoking. This is a little set of love letters about the rawness and realness of humanity.” A review by Sammantha Pollitt
“I did not dream the world in idylls. In the back alley of my mind a taxi leaked orange light against the worst of my wounding and I said, I want to leave that here.” An essay by Lucy Hannah Ryan for the Half Mystic blog
“What I enjoyed the most about this reading experience was Lucy’s ability to describe things in a way that made them tangible. It appealed to my sensibilities as each word and sentence evoked feelings I’ve personally dealt with before, such as the all-consuming yearning and the sometimes inevitable hopelessness that come with being trapped in a place where you feel like you don’t belong.” A review by Isabel
“But even in stories featuring dead characters, more often than not it’s my protagonists that do the haunting, looming like spectres over their own lives, trying to break through and feel real again.” An interview with Lucy Hannah Ryan for the Half Mystic blog
“For anyone who loves queer, feminist, literary horror, this is the short story anthology for you! These are also perfect for people looking to get into literary fiction or horror, as the stories are short but jam-packed with tension, memorable characters, and spine-chilling experiences.” A review by Quinn Lawrence
“Loss does what it says—creates an absence, an exit wound. Even less permanent losses can leave you hunched over, muttering I feel like a wounded animal to yourself as you pace your bedroom. I’m still thinking about it; can you have love without grief? I don’t know if you can.” An interview with Lucy Hannah Ryan for Healthline Zine
You Make Yourself Another is available for purchase in paperback ($15) & PDF ($7) editions. To those who’ve already preordered, thank you for your support of a debut author & an independent press. If you’d like the chance to win a paperback copy of the collection, you can answer the question “what does it mean to you to become new?” on any public social media platform between now & Tuesday, April 25, using the hashtag #youmakeyourselfanother & tagging us @halfmysticpress.
Thank you, friends, for holding our latest tessellating & snakebitten creation, parallax of itself, emblematic of firelight & intoxication. We’re deeply excited to bear witness to your metamorphoses, as you have to You Make Yourself Another. Every note of this song of our making & remaking belongs to you.