A Mixed Bag of Tricks
In November 2023, the Armadillo Authors Society launched its first anthology: Mixed Bag of Tricks. Over 100 people attended the launch party held at Alienated Majesty Books.
Mixed Bag of Tricks marked the first time society members collaborated on a project. It started as an exercise, the literary equivalent of a double-dog dare. What would happen if we challenged one another to write outside of our genres and our comfort zones?
Participating members—and some special invited international guests—were paired up and instructed to challenge their partner with both a genre switch and a prompt. “I’m easily startled,” said Roanna Flowers, the comedy author of the group. “So, naturally my partner challenged me to write a horror piece. To make it extra, she asked for a “chicklit”/horror mashup. Thankfully, I had watched a lot of Night Gallery as a child. Serling definitely helped me from The Beyond!”
Beyond the challenge, Britta Jensen, writer/editor and publisher of Murasaki Press saw an opportunity. “There’s too much talent in this group to go unpublished,” said Britta. “This challenge offered us an opportunity to work together and publish together while also doing good for others.” The group agreed that 60% of the profits from the sale of each book would benefit the Writers’ League of Texas, a nonprofit that serves writers around Texas and the world with its online programming for authors of all genres.
Mixed Bag of Tricks features eleven short stories that explore cross-cultural clashes, relationships on new planets, mutual grieving, a humorous otherworldly visit to a bachelorette party, the laugh-out-loud complexities of married life, and so much more. This multi-genre mashup of stories, experimental in conception, celebrates the process of storytelling and the art of collaboration.
The anthology features stories by: Antonia Pròtano Biggs, Ishita Fernandes, and Armadillo Authors Society members Roanna Flowers, GESS, Ilene Haddad, Hollie Hardy, Britta Jensen, Heidi Kasa, N.J. Knight, Kara Stockinger, and E.A. Williams.
Mixed Bag of Tricks is available online at Bookshop.org and Amazon in paperback and e-book and for your Nook on Barnes & Noble. If you’re in Austin, you can purchase a copy (or order one if they’re out!) from Alienated Majesty, BookPeople, Reverie Books, and Vintage Bookstore & Wine Bar.
