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We’re joined by Christine Amsden, author of “Believe Me” in _The Future Fire_ #76, for the first of this issue’s microinterview series. * * * ** --- Art © 2026 Toeken TFF: What does “Believe Me” mean to you?** **Christine Amsden** : Many of us have experienced symptoms being misinterpreted and pain being ignored by medical professionals. Certain extreme cases have made the news in recent years, inspiring me to write this story. It’s not _my_ story, not exactly, but I can relate. It took nearly fifteen years for me to get a fibromyalgia diagnosis... fifteen years of pushing myself to try harder in physical therapy, fifteen years of taking antiinflammatory medication until I got an ulcer, fifteen years of wondering if it was all in my head. FIfteen years... until one person finally believed me and helped me get the diagnosis I needed. **TFF: What is your favourite real or imaginary monster, and why?** **CA** : My very favorite monster has to be Grover. One of my favorite books growing up—and then enjoyed reading to my own kids—was _The Monster at the End of this Book_. It's a fantastic take on how fear creates our own worst enemy. **TFF: What can you be found doing when you're not creating/writing?** **CA** : I enjoy knitting, chess, role playing, and a good cup of tea. * * * **Extract** > “There’s an alien in my brain.” The words sound clear in my head, but they come out slurred, more like, _S’an aleen mbain._ > > They don’t believe me. They never do. * * * **Reminder: You can comment on any of the writing or art in this issue athttp://press.futurefire.net/2026/05/new-issue-202676.html.**

Lauren Ferebee, author of “**Sentinel** ” in _The Future Fire_ #74, joins us for a chat about omens, preservation and evolution in the latest instance of our microinterview feature. * * * **** --- Art © 2025 Barbara Candiotti **TFF: What does “Sentinel” mean to you?** **Lauren Ferebee** : “Sentinel” was an interesting story to write because it took me a long time to get from the beginning to the end of the story—a few years. I found the process of writing it very meditative because I enjoyed spending time with the narrator in her solitary life. I remember starting with that image of the three dead birds and wondering what that omen meant. The story is kind of an oblique answer to that question. **TFF: Does there come a point at which some things are no longer worth preserving?** **LF** : I think preservation, from a nature/earth perspective, is a really interesting and thorny question, because I'm quite interested in rewilding and natural methods of restoring earth, such as mycoremediation. I don’t think preservation is the right word for the environmental work we need to engage in as we pass the point of no return for many climate issues. There’s a lot of evolution that needs to happen. There’s a lot of reckoning with the world the way it is now and how we move forward from that, because we cannot return. The inability to reckon with the present—the desire to preserve what is already gone—is so incredibly harmful. * * * Extract > The morning after I dreamed about Hannah’s mermaid, three dead seagulls washed up on the shoreline. I took note of each one, their bent bodies limp on the sand, then lifted them by their feet, feathers dripping, to take into the lab. An omen, I might have called it once. > * * * **Reminder: You can comment on any of the writing or art in this issue athttp://press.futurefire.net/2025/09/new-issue-202574.html.**

Please welcome Toeken, long-time collaborator and artist of “The Sons of Victor Levitak” and “Unblooded Gospel” in _The Future Fire_ #74, for this week’s installment of our microinterview series. --- Art © 2025 Toeken **TFF: What was the image that really stuck with you from “The Sons of Victor Levitak”?** **Toeken** : This is kind of funny in a way; after reading and re-reading Rowley Amato’s superb tale I started getting visuals involving what I can only describe as a disgruntled bowl of stew. At one point I spent so much time painting hunks of meat, potatoes and lentils that I thought the whole piece would be just that; a painting of an angry meal glowering back at you. Amato’s story was a beautiful haunting piece that was a real education for me for me as I went about researching the visual cues I wanted. **TFF: How did you go about illustrating “Unblooded Gospel”?** **Toeken** : As is usual for me this started out as a much more abstract response to Justin Taroli’s fascinating text, which in turn then morphed into a series of disparate sketches and drawings that were of a multitude of images, hospital tiles, the color schemes of Mount Sinai hospital, wearable archictecture, rib cages, dirty bandages and scan codes. Was a real treat to compose and arrange, and a challenge to edit out the things that I thought might give the game away in the narrative. **TFF: What is the most “punk” thing you've ever done or made?** **Toeken** : Not sure if it qualifies as “punk,” but I can recall quite clearly a Sunday afternoon dog rescue back in 2011. A little mutt owned by some neighbours had disappeared down an uncovered bolt hole while they were out walking near the mountains. Had a few drinks in me and thought “Why not?” With help from some friends I roped up and went down after the little fellow. What I thought was a ten meter vertical shaft turned out to be close to forty meters. After hooking up the dog (a miracle the poor animal was still alive given the depth he’d bounced down) to the ropes I had to wait a good fifteen minutes before being hoisted back out. I’m claustrophobic. That was one of the longest waits I’ve ever experienced and for years afterwards I would wake up in the night sweating and panicking about the whole thing. Dog was a-okay though! **TFF: What's the most unusual or challenging medium you can imagine working with?** **Toeken** : I’d like to try screwing up an ice sculpture or two. **TFF: Can you tell us about an artist whose work you're particularly enjoying at the moment?** **Toeken** : The sculpting duo of Liquette-Gorbach, Sarah Ross-Thompson’s prints and the photography of Phil Penman. All fantastic, inspiring stuff. **TFF: What else are you working on now?** **Toeken** : I’m working with Gavin Chappell on the late Gregory H.Bryant’s _Caves of Mars_ books, David Blalock on a _ParAbnormal Magazine_ project and finishing up the first issue of Phil Emery’s _Hammek_ graphic novel project. * * * **Reminder: You can comment on any of the writing or art in this issue athttp://press.futurefire.net/2025/09/new-issue-202574.html.**

This week we welcome Justin Taroli, author of “Unblooded Gospel” in _The Future Fire_ #74, for a super brief chat about his story, dreams and writing. * * * --- Art © 2025 Toeken **TFF: What does “Unblooded Gospel” mean to you?** **Justin Taroli** : “Unblooded Gospel” is a story that's been lingering in my brain for over a decade. I think I was waiting for permission to write it. I gave myself that permission earlier this year. **TFF: Have you ever used your dreams as inspiration for your writing or art?** **JT** : Yes. My dreams are generally very vivid, so I regularly take inspiration from my dreams. **TFF: What is the most important thing to remember about writing?** **JT** : You don't need anyone’s permission to write. Write whatever you want, whenever you want. Rejections mean nothing. Stand on your work. **TFF: What are you working on next?** **JT** : I’m currently seeking representation for my book of short stories. I’ll continue writing stories and eventually begin working on a new novel. * * * **Extract** : > There’s a guy at the bar with lips like wet marble and a credit score you can feel in your spine. He orders vodka neat. Who drinks vodka neat? People who don’t need mixers, or feelings, or food. People who glide. > > “Don’t,” says Marcus, leaning into me. “He’s one of them.” > > I laugh loud enough that it startles the couple next to us. “One of what?” > > Marcus just says, “They drink. But they don’t piss. Think about it.” * * * **Reminder: You can comment on any of the writing or art in this issue athttp://press.futurefire.net/2025/09/new-issue-202574.html.**

We’re delighted to be joined by Eleanor Glewwe, author of “Limue’s Alphabet” in _The Future Fire_ #74, for a quick chat about alphabets and languages, in this week’s installment of our micro-interview series. * * * ** --- Art © Barbara Candiotti TFF: What does “Limue's Alphabet” mean to you?** **Eleanor Glewwe** : I was inspired to write this story when an author I followed on Twitter—I wish I could remember who—urged writers to “go weird.” I don't remember where the idea for the plot came from, but “Limue’s Alphabet” is the closest I’ve ever ventured toward horror. I’m also pleased by how its non-linear structure came together, and I always like being able to infuse my fiction with some linguistics. **TFF: What language or writing system would you most like to learn?** **EG** : Thanks to my newish research focus, I’ve learned to read the Georgian Mkhedruli alphabet, but I would love to be able to understand everything I can sound out. Separately, I wish I could speak Taishanese, the language of my mother's family. There's one Taishanese word tucked into “Limue’s Alphabet.” **TFF: Is there an art-form or creator from distant history that you still look at with admiration or awe?** **EG** : Johann Sebastian Bach came to mind, but I’m not sure he belongs to “distant” history. I could also say Georgian traditional polyphony, which I think is pretty ancient (sorry, I’m a bit of a Kartvelophile). **TFF: What are you working on next?** **EG** : I think “Limue’s Alphabet” is the last piece of fiction I’ve finished; I’ve been writing very slowly lately. But I am working (on and off) on another linguisticky short story set in a near-future Upper Midwest (U.S.). * * * **Extract** In the dappled shade of a stand of bamboo, an old woman takes a stick and scratches two curved lines in the dusty yellow earth. _“Pai is for pera Limue’s plucked eye”_ * * * **Reminder: You can comment on any of the writing or art in this issue athttp://press.futurefire.net/2025/09/new-issue-202574.html.**