Breath of Life

Breath of Life is a collection of the works of author and poet L.H. Moore, whose history- and Afrofuturism-inspired short stories, poetry, and essays move between and blur the lines between horror, science fiction, and fantasy.

Reviews

"L.H. Moore has the soul of a poet, a lyricism flows through her words, be it story or essay. In Breath of Life, L.H. Moore crafts powerful tales of resilience rooted in history; the unyielding spirit of ancestors grounded in dreaming. Breath of Life is a collection reminding readers that even in the darkest times, hope can bloom.
—Maurice Broaddus, author of Unfadeable and Sweep of Stars

"[Breath of Life] ... is a gorgeous collection of Black-centered stories and poetry, with a substantial amount of horror and historical fiction, often in the same story!"
—Dawn Vogel, History That Never Was

"...there’s plenty to enjoy, and those who have followed Moore’s work through various SFF lit mags will be glad to find it collected in one place."
—Publishers Weekly

Description

In the short story “Roots On Ya,” a roots man in rural Virginia has to undo a crossing…and more. A scientist has a harrowing experience as she discovers more than she bargained for in the depths of underwater cave tunnels in “Rule of Thirds.” As a symbol of a new country is constructed, all is not what it seems in “With These Hands: A Tale of Uncommon Labour.” In the short story “Here, Kitty,” a young woman realizes that what is lost is not always meant to be found. As a young woman and her friends come of age, they discover a family legacy that will change them forever in the short story “A Clink of Crystal Glasses Heard.” All three of the “Bice” poems explore The Divine Comedy author Dante Aligheri’s obsession with Beatrice—from her biting, unamused point of view.

Find these and more in Breath of Life. With themes of family and identity, rooted solidly in history and imagining the unknown—both here on Earth and beyond—Breath of Life is an exploration of the unexpected.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
"Roots on Ya"
"Breath of Life"
"A Little Not Music"
"A Clink of Crystal Glasses Heard"
"Here, Kitty"
"Hidden"
"Empty Vessel"
"What Was THAT?!"
"Vox"
"A Place Called Home"
"Rule of Thirds"
"Peregrination" (with Chesya Burke)
"On Vision and Audacity"

About the Author

Writer, poet and historian L.H. Moore’s Afrofuturism- and history inspired speculative fiction and poetry have been in numerous publications and anthologies, such as all three groundbreaking Dark Dreams anthologies of Black horror writers; Bram Stoker Award Finalist anthology Sycorax’s Daughters; Black Magic Women; Chiral Mad 4 and 5, SLAY, Conjuring Worlds, StokerCon 2019, Humans Are the Problem anthologies; Fireside, Apex, and FIYAH Magazine. From Washington, D.C., Moore loves classical guitar, graphic novels, and video games.