The Fire Keeps: Feminist Mythology Retellings: Witchy Short Stories of Goddesses, Witches, Queens, and Women from Myth and Folklore (Smoke & Ember) by Ivy Spellman

They were never the villains. They were just the ones who got remembered wrong. Circe didn't turn men into pigs for fun. She had reasons. Macha didn't curse her husband's kingdom out of cruelty. Persephone didn't go to the underworld looking for power — she went looking for her daughter. Smoke and Ember: The Fire Keeps is a collection of eleven stories told by the women at the center of old myths — and by the women who survived in their shadows. Goddesses, queens, witches, and mothers from Greek, Celtic, Norse, Slavic, and Welsh mythology — each one finally telling the truth about what really happened. Inside this collection, you'll find: Circe — exiled to her island, explaining exactly what those men deserved Macha — the goddess who raced for her husband and paid for it Baba Yaga — sorting the worthy from the unworthy in her chicken-leg house Sigyn — holding the bowl while the world calls her loyal Blodeuwedd — the flower-woman who refused to stay made Read more