Stand Alone Stories
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‘Embracing Tradition’ Flash Fiction by Francesca Astraea

I wrote this for Halloween but I think Valentine’s season is actually better for it… When Jade, Rita and May refused to go to their company’s Halloween party, they used the excuse that they had plans. Then they had to make plans, in case anyone asked for details. May’s flat was the smallest but… Continue reading
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‘A Devil of a Time’ by Francesca Astraea, Illustrated by Tatchiana Michaela

A new story? In this year of our lord 2023? Well, I actually wrote this last summer to pitch to magazines. BUT STILL. Here you go. No blurb because you have this wonderful illustration by my friend Tatchiana Michaela, a Bristol-based illustrator (who is open for commissions if you’re interested!). As per, it was available… Continue reading
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The King of Banana Town by Francesca Astraea

Had a slightly… bananas… prompt. Wrote about racketeering. Enjoy! It wasn’t known as Banana Town when Gus moved there. The town, that is. It wasn’t known as much – just a crossroads with some houses, a petrol station and one of those everything-and-anything grocery shops. If it had a name, Gus scrubbed it out… Continue reading
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Reset. by Francesca Astraea
Take a deep breath and swap a truth for a truth. Rumour had it, the woman lived in a tree. Rumour had it, she used to be a tree. Wait, no, she was still a tree. Rumour had it, if you visited her on the right day, she would exchange a truth… Continue reading
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The Balanced Scales Agency by Francesca Astraea
The Balanced Scales Agency looked from the outside like every private investigator’s office in every film or TV show ever made about private investigators. Its shopfront was a faded green, tucked between two large, corporate, glassy buildings in London’s Square Mile. How it hadn’t been subsumed by developers yet, Bradley Henderson had no idea. Bradley’s… Continue reading
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Day Trip by Francesca Astraea
I wrote this little vignette as a response to a challenge my friend Tatchiana Michaela put on their Instagram. Essie didn’t love boats, but she had told herself she wouldn’t love hot-sun holidays either, so she knew she should give the boat trip a go. Half a day around the Mediterranean island she was staying… Continue reading
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Modern Loneliness by Francesca Astraea
This was inspired by Lauv’s song, Modern Loneliness, and by a lot of things I’ve been thinking about lately. The Post Office Neville ‘Are you waiting to post an item or buy stamps?’ The girl at the post office was young, although everyone looked young to Neville these days. He housed a sneaking suspicion that… Continue reading
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The Thief in the Night by Francesca Astraea
This is a commission for my friend Robyn. Her prompt: What is the least convenient personal habit for a detective? Write about that detective. Quigley Thompson had only been Junior Security Guard at Meadowlark Conservation Park and Society for three weeks, so he really wasn’t sure what to do with the woman in the staffroom.… Continue reading
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The Queen of Stormhaven (a Three Kingdoms story) by Francesca Astraea
Oh, you’re looking for a short story set in the world ofThe Princess and the Dragon and Other Stories About Unlikely Heroes? You find it, along with the rest of the book, on Amazon, Kobo, Barnes and Noble and various other retail and library services. BUY AND/OR BORROW HERE Continue reading
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Fraternising with the Enemy by Francesca Astraea
This is a commission for my patron Sarah, who sent me this prompt: ‘So you’re saying that you want me, a villain, to help you catch another villain? That makes no sense.’ Two colleagues met in the second-worst greasy spoon in the downtown area. The other customers were an alcoholic ex-radio DJ and a family… Continue reading
