“The Speculative Fiction Indie Novella Championship (SFINCS, pronounced “sphinx”) is a yearly competition to recognize, honor, and celebrate the talent and creativity present in the indie community. We are a sister competition to both SPFBO and SPSFC, and we highlight greatness in the novella format in all areas of speculative fiction (fantasy, science fiction, horror, etc.).” – From the official SFINCS website.
MEET TEAM WIPs!
Hi, All! I’m Steve Hugh Westenra, SFINCS 3 judge, academic, book reviewer, and SFFH author. For SFINCS 3, I’m honoured to be returning as a judge and to be heading a team: The WIPs (name courtesy of the talented Helyna L. Clove)! Team WIPs is made up of Jamedi Gwent, Angela Boord, Helyna L. Clove, and myself.
Each of us has been assigned nine to ten novellas to read from our team’s nineteen allotted books. Each entry will be read by a minimum of two readers to ensure all books get a fair chance (although most of us intend to read past our “official” nine-ten books).
Most important to me as team leader is that each of our allotted books gets a fair shake, regardless of genre, age category, or the personal taste of reviewers. While any judgement or review is always subjective, as someone who has applied to judge in a formal contest setting, and who has been entrusted with your work, my goal is that every work be assessed according to its own merits and within its own context to our best ability.
I speak for the team when I say that we’re all both honoured and grateful to have been given the opportunity to read your words, and that regardless of whether you progress to Round 2, 3, or even win the whole thing, there’s much the contest has to offer and we hope you take the opportunity to socialize and that the exposure of the contest helps you find your readership!
Here’s a little about each of the Team WIP judges, in our own words.
Jamedi Gwent
Hi, I’m Jamedi (also known as Javier), old videogames streamer and long time reader. I loved fantasy and sci-fi since I was a child. Horror came after, and books are my best escape. Residing in Spain, I’m fluent on both, Spanish and English, which allows me to wide my reading horizons.
Some faves:
A Song of Legends Lost by M.H. Ayinde
The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean
The Graven Trilogy by Essa Hansen
Seven Recipes for Revolution, by Ryan Rose
Website: https://jamreads.com/
Bluesky: @jamreads.com
Instagram: @javier_vaquera
Helyna L. Clove
Helyna L. Clove (she/they) is a science-fiction/fantasy novelist, and a lover of all types of storytelling, hot comfort drinks, and a universe full of stars.
She was born in Hungary and raised in a small village a few miles off the shores of Lake Balaton, and spent the first fifteen years of her life consuming books from her parents’ home library, watching some great 90’s sci-fi shows, and working on her eclectic music taste. After several arduous years of obtaining her astrophysics degree, she currently lives in Wales with her small family of a wonderful boyfriend and Puddle, the tortoiseshell cat.
When not writing her stories, she can be found reading voraciously, cooking and baking cautiously, playing video games, or occasionally commandeering radio telescopes.
Fave genre: character-centric sci-fi and fantasy
Recently read favourites include:
A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine,
The Goddess of Nothing At All by Cat Rector,
Asunder by Kerstin Hall
Website: www.helynalclove.com
Bluesky: helynalc.bsky.social
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22473650.Helyna_L_Clove
Angela Boord
Angela Boord is the author of the award-winning Eterean Empire series. She’s also a hopeless romantic, a nerdy introvert, and can usually be found with her nose in a book when she’s not writing dark fantasy epics of hope and redemption. Angela and her husband live in northern Mississippi in a house full of children, books, and innumerable quantities of Legos.
Fav genres: character-driven! I’m a pretty omnivorous reader, but I really love a good political fantasy epic
Some faves: The Ashen series, Demi Winters
Tales of Isyr series, CM Debell
The Tarot Sequence series, KD Edwards
Website: https://www.angelaboord.com/
Linktree: linktr.ee/angelaboord
Steve Hugh Westenra
Steve (he/him) is a trans author of fantasy, science fiction, and horror (basically, if it’s weird he writes it). He’s also a book reviewer for Before We Go Blog, a SFINCS judge, and runs the Trans Reading Group discord.
He grew up on the eldritch shores of Newfoundland, Canada. He holds advanced degrees in Russian Literature, Medieval Studies, and Religious Studies. As an academic he publishes on monsters and marginality, particularly in popular culture. He’s the author of The Wings of Ashtaroth (epic fantasy), The Erstwhile Tyler Kyle (horror comedy), The Barbarian at Dream’s End (published by New Edge Sword and Sorcery), and Breadcrumbs on a Forest Floor (horror, forthcoming). He also has a short story in an upcoming issue of New Edge Sword and Sorcery.
Reading Tastes: I crave variety, originality, and a well-crafted sentence!
Recently Read Favourites: Undead Folk– Katherine Silva, The Butcher of the Forest – Premee Mohamed, Polymorphic Magazine Vol. 1.
Website: https://stevewestenra.com/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/stevewestenra.bsky.social
Tiktok: www.tiktok.com/@stevewestenra
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/SteveWestenra
OUR ROUND 1 BOOKS!
Mike Mollman Proxima Station
Good morning Anthony!
Anthony is preparing for his eventual Ph.D. defense in anthropology. In less than a week, he’ll orbiting the planet Proxima Centauri b with five spacefaring races, known only to the US Space Command. The military will task him with profiling the aliens for their own dubious motives. His every action will be scrutinized by friends and foes alike.
Anthony is not ready for this.
Rebecca Crunden A Light for the Dead to Follow
While on the run from the king’s guards, Éolina Halkin takes shelter in an ancient and abandoned underground city. She expects to find dark corners and hidden dangers. What she doesn’t expect is to find a mountain full of dead bodies. Nor does she expect ten of those dead bodies to suddenly come back to life and offer her aid in her hour of need.
The ten no-longer-dead knights are just as intrigued by her as she is by them. Nor are the knights human. They are ælfren – immortals from another realm, killed by their own queen during a war that ended centuries ago. And they are as unwelcome in their homeland as Éolina is in hers.
Seeking answers about their return from the land of the dead, and the reasons Éolina’s king is so intent upon killing her, the knights take Éolina into their company and venture towards their former realm. But learning the truth is just the first of many problems – and those hunting Éolina will not stop until she is dead and the knights sent back to the tomb from which they awakened.
Sam Flynn The Mystery of the Pale King
“Tonight, my friends, the performance is real. To you, my most faithful, I dedicate this, the final production of ‘The Mystery of the Pale King.'”
As an orphan growing up in a distant border province, Faron took pride in the epic tales of the Hero of Hathur, a great and powerful warrior who ruled in the name of the sun-worshipping Church of the Sol Creator. That pride is shattered by accusations from the Hero’s family that he squandered their entire inheritance on the production of a profane play with him at the “The Mystery of the Pale King.” The Church proclaims him under interdict and dispatches Bishop Antonius, his devoted page Faron, and a cadre of soldiers downriver to repossess Hathur on its behalf.
The cruelty they witness on their perilous mission forces them to confront the horrors at the heart of Hathur’s past and question not just their devotion to the Church but their very beliefs in gods and heroes. Amid a storm of betrayal, murder, and sacrilege, Faron must survive fanatical cultists, their obscene rituals, and the evil hiding in the light in order to save Bishop Antonius from the Hero’s final performance.
Inspired by the historical legend of Gilles de Rais, The Mystery of the Pale King probes the roots of modern American dysfunction in a grim flintlock fantasy setting that reflects the best and worst of humanity.
Dave Lawson The Pawns of Havoc
No Mercy, No Questions Asked.
Cork has quickly made a name for himself among the Kosellan mercenaries, but now his boss has come to him with an unusual job. Cork’s erstwhile countrymen, the Winn, have hired him to travel into the barren Frozen Lands and destroy a convoy, leaving only one survivor.
Cork isn’t sure he can trust the Winn. He feels like a pawn in their political game. However, his mother is sick and the Winn have promised to heal her if Cork does the job. And killing is what Cork does best.
To make matters worse. Cork’s crew has been decided for him: Arabella, an inexperienced and infuriating archer, and Nessa, a gloomy criminal with murder on her mind.
Cork will have to figure out how to complete the job, avoid Winn treachery, and manage conflicts with Arabella and Nessa along the way.
Lauren C. Teffeau A Hunger with No Name
Thurava of Astrava is intended to become a herder, a most honored position for her dwindling community that clings to life on the banks of the Najimov, the river that’s the lifeblood of the high desert. But the Glass City on the horizon threatens the delicate balance the Astravans have managed to hold on to for centuries, polluting the air and water as the city grows bigger and bigger. The Glass City’s clockwork liaisons offer to bring the Astravans into the Glass City’s walls, but they will have to give up their ways and their precious herds to do so. Thurava must decide who she is without her animals, using the stars as her guide, putting herself on a collision course with the secrets the Glass City holds dear.
Jessica A. McMinn Parasitic Omens
In the world of the occult, new is never good.
As one of Copperton’s hardworking investigators, Lawrence Reed has seen it all: vampires, werewolves, warlocks and witches.
When a monstrous creature crawls from the corpse of a mutilated girl, Law is determined to find answers—with or without payment.
Ignoring advice to leave the mystery alone, he sets out to uncover the details of the girl’s death. But the deeper he digs, the more questions he unearths.
Can Law bring peace to the dead girl’s family? Or will his investigation open the door to far darker discoveries?
Only one certainty remains: monsters aren’t the only evil stalking the streets of Copperton.
Parasitic Omens is a gaslamp fantasy horror, perfect for fans of TV’s Supernatural and From Software’s cult classic video game, Bloodborne.
JD Cadmon The Handyma’am and the Werewolves
Laura lands a new job as the all-around caretaker at Rita’s Roadhouse—a steakhouse with great pay, friendly customers, and an overly affectionate wolf mascot. She’s also expected to watch the owner’s mysteriously absent nineteen-year-old daughter during the monthly “company retreats.”
On the eve of a full moon, Laura discovers her new boss, her favorite regulars, and even her new wolf companion are all werewolves. Laura is now the bridge between a reverse werewolf, who only turns human once a month, and the rest of the pack, who don’t know how to communicate with her.
Soon enough, Laura’s past comes knocking when her biker ex and his friends from the local gang won’t let her move on in peace. Now she must figure out how to protect her budding romance with the sexy femme alpha-in-training while finding a lasting place in a pack of werewolves as their human handyma’am.
Anna Orridge Phengaris
There’s something very wrong in Thurstrop Wood.
Mark Warner never noticed it before. He’s there to get away from his life, his ailing mother. Out of his head. Not to think about anything.
Birds sing in the wood. But their rhythms seem wrong somehow. Insects crawl and nest, but not where you’d expect them to.
Something in Thurstrop Wood has noticed him. And now it’s seen him – it doesn’t want to let him go…
Surreally beautiful and uncomfortably visceral, Phengaris’ eco-horrors will stay with you long after the final page.
DB Rook Residuum
Humanity is falling. She has little hope of survival.
Charlus Vaughn, a teenage refugee on the run from machine judgement and haunted by her mother’s secrets. When a rogue data-pirate crew pulls her from the brink of execution, Charlus finds a place to belong, but something far older and far more dangerous is watching.
Entangled in the schemes of an ancient arachnid intelligence, Charlus begins to uncover powers within herself that unravel what she’s been told.
Her past was hidden for a reason.
Humanity is losing its fight for dominance and the machines that hunt Charlus remember exactly who she is.
Residuum is a thrilling space opera of hidden legacies, AI genocide, and imperfect families, perfect for fans of sweeping galactic conflict, found-family crews, and slow-burn suspense.
Once Charlus learns who she is, the galaxy will know about it.
Spaceflight AI Aide, SAIA, has one main job onboard a colony mission spaceship to Tau Ceti star system — to keep its crew alive and sane for the 24 lonely years it would take them to reach their destination. She can play games, read books, carry on conversations on almost any topic and in any language. Saia is a very good girl, but something keeps happening to her charges. Was there an accident? Did somebody die? Saia can’t remember. And there are all these people who are not in her roster of passengers that keep popping up and talking with her.
“Good Girl” is a story about meanings and hidden context buried in words. As we teach our AIs to take on more and more difficult tasks, their learning algorithms become black boxes to us. What are they really learning? What are they thinking? Just take a peek.
C. Ryan Crockett The Bestowed: Champion of the Condemned
Can a warrior who’s lost everything find something worth fighting for?
Sunlit Man meets Gladiator in this exciting introduction into the world of Valoria and the Bestowed.
Millie Abecassis Daughters of the Blue Moon
Carmine, a seasoned huntress, has been protected from wolves by a powerful spell tattooed on her back for years. But one day, the magic fails, and she narrowly escapes a violent encounter with a furious she-wolf that was determined to kill her.
As she recovers from her injuries, she experiences eerie dreams of a singing wolf. Though the dreams could be harmless, the singing wolf looks exactly like the she-wolf that almost took her life. Scarier, the dreams remind Carmine of those she had when she was younger, before a talking wolf tricked and almost devoured her in the waking world.
Soon Carmine realizes the spell her grandmother put on her back isn’t what it seems to be, and her family knows more about herself than she does.
A sapphic and dark retelling of Little Red Riding Hood, Daughters of the Blue Moon is a tale about retaking ownership of your own body and destiny.
A novella for anyone who loves horror, folk tales, and fantasy elements.
Bailey Saxon Song of the Dryads
Song Of The Dryads is a black translesbian romance fantasy with themes of forced feminization via death, found family, and difficulty with accepting an identity that Bianca, the main character and resident egg, has always wanted but is terrified to fully accept.
Stuck in her ‘shell’ for over thirty years, she wasn’t exactly the happiest of people until her ‘transformation’ occurred. She was stuck protecting a town riddled with less-than-appreciative men, weighed down by the name ‘Gayle’ and all the male protector nonsense they would shove onto her just because she is strong.
When she becomes a Dryad, she gains everything she’s dreamed of. But when her past catches up with her, the dreams that follow torment her. How will she escape the name and burden she never wanted while also keeping her secret from her new family?
“My name is Ineluki. I come from past the mountains and ice. It took me many days to reach here. All I know are dead. Will you take me in?”
And so begins a calamitous year at the edge of the world.
Chief for the year, Aukul’s life has never been better. His people respect him, he spends his nights with the love of his life, and his skills as a butcher and chef improve every day. Then Ineluki, a young stranger, wanders into town with nothing but an empty book. He begins telling stories of the world beyond the one they know. His stories challenge their reality and lead to a summer of unprecedented disasters.
One by one, the villagers begin dancing. Dancing tirelessly, as if in a trance, until they die. Believing Ineluki is to blame, Aukul confronts him on the worst night of his life.
JP Relph and Mathew Gostelow Watcher
“Let me walk with you”
Daniel Roth can “walk” in other people’s skins – sharing all their senses, while remaining undetected. This unnatural ability inadvertently leads him to a career with British intelligence. He meets Agent Duncan Burke – a man willing to risk everything for the greater good – and Rebecca Pendleton, an analyst with an equally troubled relationship with faith.
It’s 1999, and Daniel faces his greatest challenge when he’s drawn out of retirement to infiltrate a cult who worship Enochian angels and are on the verge of an apocalyptic plan. When he walks among them, Daniel will finally learn about his strange power and find something more terrifying than the devil himself.
Sirius The Devil Owns Primetime
Josiah Tucker is the richest televangelist in East Texas, whose fame and fortune seemingly skyrocketed overnight. He is the charismatic face of the Last Chance for Faith megachurch and the voice of every late-night Southern Gospel radio station. Even more excitingly, he has taken his sermons to the television screen, preaching the word of the Lord live several times a week at primetime.
There are very few who see the man he is when he steps down from the pulpit. In a fast-moving, free-spending world of sex and drugs, Josiah is a cold narcissist who never stops listening to his own sermons. He keeps a secret boyfriend hidden from his congregation while stringing along his dutiful secretary after (and during) church office hours.
But like the walls of Jericho, Josiah’s world is about to come tumbling down. He will find out that success has come at the price of his immortal soul, and the ink is still wet on the infernal deal he struck six years ago at his most desperate hour. Now the devil is tired of waiting for his due and will take everything Josiah has until the debt is paid. And there is truth in the the higher they are, the harder they fall.
E.L. Montague The Incident at Peeling Head
Stealing from Outer Planet rebels is dangerous. Stiffing the psychotic crime boss that hired you is insane. Captain Melissa Stone did both. Now she’s got to steal back the rebel secrets to save her daughter.
Every pirate has an origin story. This is hers.
Cate Baumer The Butcher’s Lot
A folkloric sapphic gothic romance for fans of A Dowry of Blood and A Study in Drowning.
Outcast Marguerite spends her nights fishing in violent waters and her days hiding from the judgment of her backwater island community. The painful monotony is broken with the arrival of the Butcher of Galiness, a captured vampire general sentenced to a season of labor and penance in the hometown of each person who died at her hand.
Shared work is better than working alone, even with a monster, especially with an attractive monster. But Marguerite learns the vampire has her own reasons for accepting her punishment. Aiding her could give Marguerite back the freedom she’s lost and a path to the revenge she desires. But the Butcher’s trust is harder won than the rest of her, what she seeks may no longer exist, and if their dalliance is caught they’ll both burn.
Thomas J Devens The Dregs
The lords have fallen.
But ever shall there be those that vie for power.
Those that seek opportunity in death.
Prince Ivar’s body burned, one more corpse upon the pyre.
One more casualty of the Battle of Torglen.
His brother Vlayan makes claim for the throne and control of Volgsland.
Willuck awakes amid the chaos, broken and bloodied.
Hope has died. Willuck is dying.
Another of the lost. A vagrant in a war-torn land.
One more wandering husk in need of a friend. And a purpose.
A young sorcerer seeks to prove himself.
A jaded guard loses purpose.
A motley band marches for vengeance.
As the kingdoms burn, the survivors of war claw their way from the mud.
Seeking purpose. Seeking direction.
Seeking their place, no longer beneath the heel of their rulers.
