Motheater

In this nuanced queer fantasy set amid the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia, the last witch of the Ridge must choose sides in a clash between industry and nature.

After her best friend dies in a coal mine, Benethea “Bennie” Mattox sacrifices her job, her relationship, and her reputation to uncover what’s killing miners on Kire Mountain. When she finds a half-drowned white woman in a dirty mine slough, Bennie takes her in because it’s right—but also because she hopes this odd, magnetic stranger can lead her to the proof she needs.

Instead, she brings more questions. The woman called Motheater can’t remember her true name, or how she ended up inside the mountain. She knows only that she’s a witch of Appalachia, bound to tor and holler, possum and snake, with power in her hands and Scripture on her tongue. But the mystery of her fate, her doomed quest to keep industry off Kire Mountain, and the promises she bent and broke have followed her a century and half into the future. And now, the choices Motheater and Bennie make together could change the face of the town itself.

Linda H. Codega is a nonbinary queer speculative fiction author, television writer, and award-winning entertainment journalist. Co-founder of the tabletop roleplaying game news site Rascal News and an editor for Fansplaining, Codega is a Hugo Award winner, an ENNIE Award recipient, an Ignyte Award finalist, and a finalist for the Diana Jones Award for Excellence in Gaming. They are a member of the Trans Journalists Association and the Writers Guild of America, and previously were a first reader at Strange Horizons. Originally from Virginia, Codega spent a decade in New York State before relocating to Los Angeles, where they live with their dog, Zigzag. Please visit them online at LinCodega.com.