Mirrors in the Deluge by Rhys Hughes, published today – a riot of parody, pastiche and puns

DARTFORD, U.K. - March 6, 2015 - PRLog -- Elsewhen Press, an independent UK publisher specialising in Speculative Fiction, is delighted to announce the publication today of Mirrors in the Deluge, a collection of quirky tales from author Rhys Hughes. Hughes, widely known for his absurdist literature, describes himself as “a European writer of Fantastika” and is currently one of the most prolific and successful authors in Wales, having published more than thirty books and seen his work translated into ten languages. He urges readers new to his work to start with Mirrors in the Deluge, saying “as a gateway to my work as a whole it is ideal. The stories are lighthearted, satirical but upbeat, wistful but fiery.”

Hughes is also full of praise for publisher Elsewhen Press for whom he expresses “nothing but admiration and respect”. The first of Hughes’ books to be published by Elsewhen Press, Mirrors in the Deluge is a collection of 32 stories that take familiar speculative fiction elements and give them a lateral shift. Like much of his work these quirky tales between them encompass parody, pastiche and puns.

“The book appealed to us as soon as Rhys sent it,” says Peter Buck, Editorial Director at Elsewhen Press. “From the title of the collection – Rhys’ tribute to the classic 1930s fantasy novel Dwellers in the Mirage by Abraham Merritt – to the fact that it starts with a Premature Afterword and finishes with a Belated Foreword! Not to mention the fantastic (in all senses of the word) stories in between. Rhys explains that titles are important to him and a glance down the contents page not only makes that abundantly clear, but also gives a reader a foretaste of the delights to come.” The titles of the stories, though, are also calculated to misdirect the reader’s attention – much like a magician – as Buck remarks, “the title of each story gently leads an unsuspecting reader into preconceived ideas and expectations; expectations that are soon spun around, turned on their head (or other extremities), and pushed in an unexpected direction.” The stories include: The Soft Landing, Travels with my Antinomy, Vanity of Vanities, The Fairy and the Dinosaur, The Martian Monocles, The Prodigal Beard, A Dame Abroad, The Unkissed Artist Formerly Known as Frog, The Goat That Gloated, The Taste of Turtle Tears, The Bones of Jones, and The Haggis Eater.

Mirrors in the Deluge is published by Elsewhen Press today in a digital edition on all popular eReader platforms. It will be published in a paperback edition in June 2015.

Notes for Editors

About Rhys Hughes

Rhys Hughes was born in 1966 and began writing from an early age. His first short story was published in 1991 and his first book, the now legendary Worming the Harpy, followed four years later. Since then he has published more than thirty books, his work has been translated into ten languages and he is currently one of the most prolific and successful authors in Wales. Mostly known for absurdist works, his range in fact encompasses styles as diverse as gothic, experimental, science fiction, magic realism, fantasy and realism. His main ambition is to complete a grand sequence of exactly one thousand linked short stories, a project he has been working on for more than two decades. Each story is a standalone piece as well as a cog in the grand machine. He is finally three-quarters of the way through this opus.

Contact details:

Elsewhen Press contact: Al Murray

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Interviews with authors can be arranged through Elsewhen Press, contact Al Murray

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