Adrik Kemp is an Australian author of speculative fiction, fantasy and horror tales. He identifies as queer, and happily lives in Sydney with his husband.
He has published short stories about aliens, mermaids, interplanetary pen pals, vampire cowboys, AI, ESP and much more. Notably, these have been published through Aurealis Magazine, Third Flatiron Press, Transmundane Press & Pride Publishing. He wants to explore as many varied worlds, situations and relationships as he can through words. Adrik has a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Technology, Sydney. He was honoured to be the winner of the 2015 OutStanding LGBTIQ Short Story Competition in Sydney, Australia. Adrik's Website
Adrik's Blog Adrik's Facebook Adrik's Goodreads Adrik's Amazon Author Central An Excerpt from "Mischa and the Mermaid" A Featured Interview for IN THE AIR An Explanatory note on Hyalads An Excerpt from "The Cult of the Hyalad" A Coming Out Story for National Coming Out Day First Prize in the "LGBTIQ OutStanding Short Story Competition" |
A short excerpt from "The Cult of the Hyalad":
In the centre of the beach, the sun beamed, and Bella spoke the names of the goddesses that had brought them such gifts. Astrape and Bronte, the sisters of lightning. She begged the Aurai, the sprites of the wind, and she pleaded with Hecate, goddess of all magic, to bring forth their reason for coming to the island, for forming their sisterhood. Her powerful words transferred to the runes and transmogrified the lightning-born glass into its most mystical form, a nymph, a hyalad. The sun warmed her skin and dried the moisture in her hair. Humidity crept from the forest over the women and their new familiars. Before Bella, her ephemeral hyalad danced upon the fresh glass surface, its chimes merging with that of the others to create an orchestra. Brilliant white bloomed like an enormous flower. From within rose a boyish creature, the pale counterpart to Edith’s green creation: a slim creature with huge diaphanous wings edged with bands that jingled as they fluttered in the breeze. Once born, it gazed with great expectation upon Bella. The bodies of all five newborn nymphs sent shimmering waves of colour across the beach and through the forest. The humanoid creations took quivering steps across the sand to greet one another, their notes singing as their fingertips connected. Above, the smaller spirits hovered, urging the larger to take to the skies. The air crackled. Emerald and white hyalads shot towards the sun, diving in and out of the light. The others flared their wings and held their arms out to their sides, palms pronated. Sunlight concentrated through their hands, and towers of sand drew up, only to be solidified into pristine monuments. |
