It begins with a seed. A dream. An idea, planted and encouraged to grow. A thought that buries deep down inside and puts out monstrous roots. Until, at last, the bloom erupts and showers the land with life.
It begins with a seed…
The menopause brings some unusual and unexpected changes, a woman wakes up after a party in a body that isn’t hers, a teen’s life changes forever when they embrace the truth about who they are, and a lone mother tries to bury her traumatic past but instead grows a terrible future…
An unsettling selection of quiet horror and dark speculative fiction brought together in a brand new collection from Australian Shadows Award-winner, Tabatha Wood.
Cover art: “The Life Inside” by T. Wood © 2021
Where to buy–ebook and paperback available:
Praise for SEEDS
“Tabatha Wood knows what scares you. SEEDS is an incredible collection that digs deep into your emotions, showing snippets of yourself and truths of your innermost thoughts in the actions of characters on the brink. There is strength when you least expect it, and creeping darkness around every corner. Seasonally perfect, SEEDS injects a deliciously creepy Halloween vibe into every story—a pleasure to read.”
~ Laurel Hightower, author of CROSSROADS and WHISPERS IN THE DARK
“SEEDS is wonderful from start to finish. This was a damn near flawless collection. Through SEEDS, Tabatha proves with vigour that she is an infallible writer that will always produce something of merit. This is her best selection yet, one that is as unique as it is diverse and emotional throughout.”
~ Aiden Merchant, author of HORRIFIC HOLIDAYS and SQUIRMING DISEASE
“Tabatha Wood has done it again and written a lot of short stories that challenge social norms, especially in regards of femininity and the existential integrity that humanity faces today.”
~ J Mills, author of WOEFUL REQUIEM
“If you enjoy authors like Ursula Vernon and Mercedes Lackey, if you enjoy strong female characters meeting some interesting challenges, if you enjoy intriguing stories with satisfying endings where the bad guy gets his desserts (sometimes literally) you’ll most likely enjoy SEEDS.”
~ Jay, book reviewer, writer and life coach
“Seeds is a captivating second collection from award winning writer Tabatha Wood. The collection as a whole is a great read.”
~ Penny Jones, author of MATRYOSHKA
Read more reviews at:
Table of Contents: (* denotes reprint)
SHOOTS (a burst of tendrils ~ flash fiction)
- Bloom
- Red-Eye *
- The Path Between the Trees
- Breathing Room
BUDS (a floret of promise ~ medium fiction)
- Marian
- The Box
- Best Boy, Best Friend
- Merry Christmas, Other You
LEAVES (an unfurling of fronds ~ short fiction)
- Becoming *
- Just Deserts
- The Nameless Ones
- That Quiet Voice
BLOOMS (a blaze of petals ~ longer fiction)
- Night Wolves *
- Birth Rites
- In Loving Memory
- Long Drop *
Red-Eye, first published in Midnight Echo #14, the magazine of the Australian Horror Writers Association, 2019
Becoming, first published online at Divination Hollow Reviews, June 2020
Night Wolves, first published in Black Dogs, Black Tales: A Charity Anthology for the Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand, 2020
Long Drop, first published in Outback Horrors Down Under, 2020
(For content warnings please see here.)
Want more?
Read an exclusive interview between myself and author CAMERON TROST at their blog about SEEDS, what my editing process looks like and why I believe more people should read weird, dark Kiwi fiction.
You can read the first story in the collection, “Bloom” for free on my blog here.