Fiona McKay
@fionamckay.bsky.social
Writer | THE TOP ROAD (AdHoc Fiction 2023) | DRAWN AND QUARTERED (Alien Buddha Press 2023) | THE LIVES OF THE DEAD (AdHoc Fiction July 2025) | Words in places | Autistic + ADHD
Ally to 🏳️🌈 and 🏳️⚧️
Free 🇵🇸 and slava 🇺🇦
Ally to 🏳️🌈 and 🏳️⚧️
Free 🇵🇸 and slava 🇺🇦
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Fiona McKay
@fionamckay.bsky.social
· Sep 2
"In The Lives of the Dead, the danger never fully goes away..." Emily Webber reviews Fiona McKay's novella-in-flash, The Lives of the Dead for SmokeLong. www.smokelong.com/review-the-l...
Review: The Lives of the Dead by Fiona McKay - SmokeLong Quarterly
Reviewed by Emily Webber Fiona McKay’s novella-in-flash, The Lives of the Dead [Ad Hoc Fiction, 2025] draws us into Kate’s life as she stands on the brink of marriage and motherhood. Reading this coll...
www.smokelong.com
Thank you so much to @smokelong.bsky.social reviews editor @erinvachon.bsky.social and reviewer Emily Webber for this thoughtful review of my novella-in-flash, The Lives of the Dead (available from @adhocfiction.bsky.social and also Amazon) ❤️
Two years into publication, it’s still amazing to see The Top Road @adhocfiction.bsky.social on its travels! Thank you @thewritelifeliz.bsky.social ❤️
Whoo-wee! Some great reading ahead of me. And the Sand and Gravel chapbook is soooo tiny and cute!
@themissourireview @fionamckay.bsky.social @travisflatt.bsky.social @sandandgravelpress.bsky.social
@themissourireview @fionamckay.bsky.social @travisflatt.bsky.social @sandandgravelpress.bsky.social
November 13, 2025 at 10:19 PM
Two years into publication, it’s still amazing to see The Top Road @adhocfiction.bsky.social on its travels! Thank you @thewritelifeliz.bsky.social ❤️
I’ve just finished reading this @travisflatt.bsky.social chapbook from @sandandgravelpress.bsky.social and my only complaint is that there are ONLY FIVE STORIES AND I WANT MORE!!!
November 11, 2025 at 12:11 PM
I’ve just finished reading this @travisflatt.bsky.social chapbook from @sandandgravelpress.bsky.social and my only complaint is that there are ONLY FIVE STORIES AND I WANT MORE!!!
Hey, come hear some readings tomorrow!! @travisflatt.bsky.social has a chapbook out and he will be reading along with friends (including me) to launch it!!
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Reading Nov. 2 at 3pm ET, celebrating my first chapbook "Five Stories" w/: @marioaliberto3.bsky.social , @aniking.bsky.social , @kleopatraolympiou.bsky.social , Katherine Plumhoff , @cbigs.bsky.social , @fionamckay.bsky.social , @thewritelifeliz.bsky.social www.sandandgravelpress.com/readings
Travis Flatt Chapbook Release 11/2 — SAND AND GRAVEL PRESS
www.sandandgravelpress.com
November 1, 2025 at 6:49 PM
Hey, come hear some readings tomorrow!! @travisflatt.bsky.social has a chapbook out and he will be reading along with friends (including me) to launch it!!
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Reposted by Fiona McKay
I also loved this piece by @fionamckay.bsky.social in @trashcatlit.bsky.social for reasons below. That, and it nails that (unfortunately familiar) high alert feeling. Great ending (I'd be more specific, but spoiler). ❤️
Two spotlights today featuring heroes 🦝
We loved @fionamckay.bsky.social's tense, relatable piece, the way it blurs realism and something uncanny, the way it makes us think.
Striking use of prompts: Broken Down Car, Soldier, Old Book
Read here: trashcatlit.com/the-good-peo...
We loved @fionamckay.bsky.social's tense, relatable piece, the way it blurs realism and something uncanny, the way it makes us think.
Striking use of prompts: Broken Down Car, Soldier, Old Book
Read here: trashcatlit.com/the-good-peo...
October 24, 2025 at 12:37 PM
I also loved this piece by @fionamckay.bsky.social in @trashcatlit.bsky.social for reasons below. That, and it nails that (unfortunately familiar) high alert feeling. Great ending (I'd be more specific, but spoiler). ❤️
Reposted by Fiona McKay
www.sandandgravelpress.com/interviews Interview with @travisflatt.bsky.social up! November 2nd release party over zoom (link on website) featuring @marioaliberto3.bsky.social @aniking.bsky.social @cbigs.bsky.social @kleopatraolympiou.bsky.social @fionamckay.bsky.social and Lucas Flatt.
Interviews — SAND AND GRAVEL PRESS
www.sandandgravelpress.com
October 24, 2025 at 3:40 AM
www.sandandgravelpress.com/interviews Interview with @travisflatt.bsky.social up! November 2nd release party over zoom (link on website) featuring @marioaliberto3.bsky.social @aniking.bsky.social @cbigs.bsky.social @kleopatraolympiou.bsky.social @fionamckay.bsky.social and Lucas Flatt.
Thank you so much to the lovely lionesses @theprideroars.bsky.social for nominating this piece of mine, In Your Orbit, for a pushcart ❤️❤️❤️
We are over the moon to be able to nominate the following pieces from theprideroars.blogspot.com for a Pushcart Prize, congratulations everyone!
@fionamckay.bsky.social
@ninamiller.bsky.social
@tomljanovic.bsky.social
@joycebingham.bsky.social
@sugarpigblog.bsky.social
@delgeo14.bsky.social
@fionamckay.bsky.social
@ninamiller.bsky.social
@tomljanovic.bsky.social
@joycebingham.bsky.social
@sugarpigblog.bsky.social
@delgeo14.bsky.social
October 23, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Thank you so much to the lovely lionesses @theprideroars.bsky.social for nominating this piece of mine, In Your Orbit, for a pushcart ❤️❤️❤️
I’m so grateful to @claudiamonpere.bsky.social for her generous and kind words about my Novella, The Lives of the Dead ❤️❤️❤️
Dazzling novella-in-flash @fionamckay.bsky.social. It weaves sections about motherhood and Kate's marriage to an extremely controlling husband with fairy tales retold from a feminist lens. Gorgeous prose, deeply moving.
October 23, 2025 at 5:15 PM
I’m so grateful to @claudiamonpere.bsky.social for her generous and kind words about my Novella, The Lives of the Dead ❤️❤️❤️
Delighted to have assisted at the birth of this wonderful piece by @rosaleenlynch.bsky.social ❤️❤️❤️
My role was to boil water and bring towels - all the brilliance was Roz’s 🎉🎉🎉
My role was to boil water and bring towels - all the brilliance was Roz’s 🎉🎉🎉
Thanks #MilkCandyReview for getting 'The Suitcase of Lost Belongings' out there! And thanks @corrineleith.bsky.social for the prompt and @fionamckay.bsky.social for the feedback to get there!
milkcandyreview.home.blog/2025/10/09/t...
milkcandyreview.home.blog/2025/10/09/t...
The Suitcase of Lost Belongings ~ by Rosaleen Lynch
She can’t take her children in the suitcase. They would fit if she emptied it. They could top and tail in the folds of the quilt she made of their clothes, but there’s not even enough room for thei…
milkcandyreview.home.blog
October 23, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Delighted to have assisted at the birth of this wonderful piece by @rosaleenlynch.bsky.social ❤️❤️❤️
My role was to boil water and bring towels - all the brilliance was Roz’s 🎉🎉🎉
My role was to boil water and bring towels - all the brilliance was Roz’s 🎉🎉🎉
I’m catching up with social media, and this lovely spotlight on my piece The Good People in @trashcatlit.bsky.social 😍
Two spotlights today featuring heroes 🦝
We loved @fionamckay.bsky.social's tense, relatable piece, the way it blurs realism and something uncanny, the way it makes us think.
Striking use of prompts: Broken Down Car, Soldier, Old Book
Read here: trashcatlit.com/the-good-peo...
We loved @fionamckay.bsky.social's tense, relatable piece, the way it blurs realism and something uncanny, the way it makes us think.
Striking use of prompts: Broken Down Car, Soldier, Old Book
Read here: trashcatlit.com/the-good-peo...
October 23, 2025 at 5:10 PM
I’m catching up with social media, and this lovely spotlight on my piece The Good People in @trashcatlit.bsky.social 😍
Reposted by Fiona McKay
Thank you for asking! I’ve just finished The Lives of the Dead by @fionamckay.bsky.social and it’s absolutely stunning! Loved the fairy tale references threaded throughout.
September 15, 2025 at 6:24 PM
Thank you for asking! I’ve just finished The Lives of the Dead by @fionamckay.bsky.social and it’s absolutely stunning! Loved the fairy tale references threaded throughout.
@dilyswt.bsky.social look what I got as a souvenir!! (Avoided the Biscoff!!)
September 15, 2025 at 10:23 AM
@dilyswt.bsky.social look what I got as a souvenir!! (Avoided the Biscoff!!)
Reposted by Fiona McKay
This was WONDERFUL Fiona. ❤️ I‘m just about to start Lives of the Dead which I‘m looking forward to immensely.
@fionamckay.bsky.social
@fionamckay.bsky.social
It’s lovely to be in the bin with all these trash cats @trashcatlit.bsky.social ❤️
Many thanks to Group 8 @smokelong.bsky.social Fitness who gave feedback on this 😘
Many thanks to Group 8 @smokelong.bsky.social Fitness who gave feedback on this 😘
The Good People
Fiona McKay ‘Cars these days don’t have a spare,’ the man says. Kate, looking in the boot of the car, is startled, her heart a flock of sparrows. The empty country road, her flat tyre. Where had he…
trashcatlit.com
September 9, 2025 at 6:55 AM
This was WONDERFUL Fiona. ❤️ I‘m just about to start Lives of the Dead which I‘m looking forward to immensely.
@fionamckay.bsky.social
@fionamckay.bsky.social
A very beautiful ghost story from @lauralnagle.bsky.social ❤️
Today's contributor spotlight comes with a side of Q & A 🦝
We loved @lauralnagle.bsky.social's contemporary ghost story, the MCs response, the light humour 👻
Read and listen here: trashcatlit.com/edwins-home/
Then get some writing wisdom from her excellent Q & A
trashcatlit.com/2025/09/08/q...
We loved @lauralnagle.bsky.social's contemporary ghost story, the MCs response, the light humour 👻
Read and listen here: trashcatlit.com/edwins-home/
Then get some writing wisdom from her excellent Q & A
trashcatlit.com/2025/09/08/q...
September 8, 2025 at 8:32 PM
A very beautiful ghost story from @lauralnagle.bsky.social ❤️
Reposted by Fiona McKay
Our first spotlight from our current issue 🦝
We loved Del's apocalypse, the humour in an unexpected interaction, the certainty of the MC.
A clever interpretation of prompts - Underground, Enhanced Human and Infectious Agent 🦠
Read here: trashcatlit.com/the-first-ra...
We loved Del's apocalypse, the humour in an unexpected interaction, the certainty of the MC.
A clever interpretation of prompts - Underground, Enhanced Human and Infectious Agent 🦠
Read here: trashcatlit.com/the-first-ra...
September 7, 2025 at 10:30 AM
Our first spotlight from our current issue 🦝
We loved Del's apocalypse, the humour in an unexpected interaction, the certainty of the MC.
A clever interpretation of prompts - Underground, Enhanced Human and Infectious Agent 🦠
Read here: trashcatlit.com/the-first-ra...
We loved Del's apocalypse, the humour in an unexpected interaction, the certainty of the MC.
A clever interpretation of prompts - Underground, Enhanced Human and Infectious Agent 🦠
Read here: trashcatlit.com/the-first-ra...
Reposted by Fiona McKay
Our second spotlight from the prompted stories issue 🦝
We loved the voice Joe gave the MC in this quirky crytozoological romp, the almost gleeful positivity.
A fantastic take on the prompts - Forest, Cryptid and Strange Photos 📸
Read here: trashcatlit.com/flash/
We loved the voice Joe gave the MC in this quirky crytozoological romp, the almost gleeful positivity.
A fantastic take on the prompts - Forest, Cryptid and Strange Photos 📸
Read here: trashcatlit.com/flash/
September 7, 2025 at 10:31 AM
Our second spotlight from the prompted stories issue 🦝
We loved the voice Joe gave the MC in this quirky crytozoological romp, the almost gleeful positivity.
A fantastic take on the prompts - Forest, Cryptid and Strange Photos 📸
Read here: trashcatlit.com/flash/
We loved the voice Joe gave the MC in this quirky crytozoological romp, the almost gleeful positivity.
A fantastic take on the prompts - Forest, Cryptid and Strange Photos 📸
Read here: trashcatlit.com/flash/
Reposted by Fiona McKay
"Kate, looking in the boot of the car, is startled, her heart a flock of sparrows. The empty country road, her flat tyre. Where had he even come from?"
Something wonderfully unsettlingly about this gem from @fionamckay.bsky.social, a piece with hidden depths
Something wonderfully unsettlingly about this gem from @fionamckay.bsky.social, a piece with hidden depths
It’s lovely to be in the bin with all these trash cats @trashcatlit.bsky.social ❤️
Many thanks to Group 8 @smokelong.bsky.social Fitness who gave feedback on this 😘
Many thanks to Group 8 @smokelong.bsky.social Fitness who gave feedback on this 😘
The Good People
Fiona McKay ‘Cars these days don’t have a spare,’ the man says. Kate, looking in the boot of the car, is startled, her heart a flock of sparrows. The empty country road, her flat tyre. Where had he…
trashcatlit.com
September 8, 2025 at 4:35 PM
"Kate, looking in the boot of the car, is startled, her heart a flock of sparrows. The empty country road, her flat tyre. Where had he even come from?"
Something wonderfully unsettlingly about this gem from @fionamckay.bsky.social, a piece with hidden depths
Something wonderfully unsettlingly about this gem from @fionamckay.bsky.social, a piece with hidden depths
Reposted by Fiona McKay
Great piece. And so topical. Bravo @fionamckay.bsky.social
It’s lovely to be in the bin with all these trash cats @trashcatlit.bsky.social ❤️
Many thanks to Group 8 @smokelong.bsky.social Fitness who gave feedback on this 😘
Many thanks to Group 8 @smokelong.bsky.social Fitness who gave feedback on this 😘
The Good People
Fiona McKay ‘Cars these days don’t have a spare,’ the man says. Kate, looking in the boot of the car, is startled, her heart a flock of sparrows. The empty country road, her flat tyre. Where had he…
trashcatlit.com
September 6, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Great piece. And so topical. Bravo @fionamckay.bsky.social
Reposted by Fiona McKay
"‘The world is gone crazy,’ he says."
Mmm-mmm good
Mmm-mmm good
It’s lovely to be in the bin with all these trash cats @trashcatlit.bsky.social ❤️
Many thanks to Group 8 @smokelong.bsky.social Fitness who gave feedback on this 😘
Many thanks to Group 8 @smokelong.bsky.social Fitness who gave feedback on this 😘
The Good People
Fiona McKay ‘Cars these days don’t have a spare,’ the man says. Kate, looking in the boot of the car, is startled, her heart a flock of sparrows. The empty country road, her flat tyre. Where had he…
trashcatlit.com
September 6, 2025 at 11:42 AM
"‘The world is gone crazy,’ he says."
Mmm-mmm good
Mmm-mmm good
Reposted by Fiona McKay
Absolutely a master at holdign the tension until the very last second is @fionamckay.bsky.social. In @trashcatlit.bsky.social "Kate, conscious of how close he is, how he’s breaching the unwritten boundary." 🔥
It’s lovely to be in the bin with all these trash cats @trashcatlit.bsky.social ❤️
Many thanks to Group 8 @smokelong.bsky.social Fitness who gave feedback on this 😘
Many thanks to Group 8 @smokelong.bsky.social Fitness who gave feedback on this 😘
The Good People
Fiona McKay ‘Cars these days don’t have a spare,’ the man says. Kate, looking in the boot of the car, is startled, her heart a flock of sparrows. The empty country road, her flat tyre. Where had he…
trashcatlit.com
September 6, 2025 at 7:56 AM
Absolutely a master at holdign the tension until the very last second is @fionamckay.bsky.social. In @trashcatlit.bsky.social "Kate, conscious of how close he is, how he’s breaching the unwritten boundary." 🔥
Reposted by Fiona McKay
This is a must read from @fionamckay.bsky.social The end gave me shivers.
It’s lovely to be in the bin with all these trash cats @trashcatlit.bsky.social ❤️
Many thanks to Group 8 @smokelong.bsky.social Fitness who gave feedback on this 😘
Many thanks to Group 8 @smokelong.bsky.social Fitness who gave feedback on this 😘
The Good People
Fiona McKay ‘Cars these days don’t have a spare,’ the man says. Kate, looking in the boot of the car, is startled, her heart a flock of sparrows. The empty country road, her flat tyre. Where had he…
trashcatlit.com
September 6, 2025 at 6:56 AM
This is a must read from @fionamckay.bsky.social The end gave me shivers.
Reposted by Fiona McKay
This gave me shivers down my spine. What a touching story, Fiona, congrats
It’s lovely to be in the bin with all these trash cats @trashcatlit.bsky.social ❤️
Many thanks to Group 8 @smokelong.bsky.social Fitness who gave feedback on this 😘
Many thanks to Group 8 @smokelong.bsky.social Fitness who gave feedback on this 😘
The Good People
Fiona McKay ‘Cars these days don’t have a spare,’ the man says. Kate, looking in the boot of the car, is startled, her heart a flock of sparrows. The empty country road, her flat tyre. Where had he…
trashcatlit.com
September 5, 2025 at 10:24 AM
This gave me shivers down my spine. What a touching story, Fiona, congrats
It’s lovely to be in the bin with all these trash cats @trashcatlit.bsky.social ❤️
Many thanks to Group 8 @smokelong.bsky.social Fitness who gave feedback on this 😘
Many thanks to Group 8 @smokelong.bsky.social Fitness who gave feedback on this 😘
The Good People
Fiona McKay ‘Cars these days don’t have a spare,’ the man says. Kate, looking in the boot of the car, is startled, her heart a flock of sparrows. The empty country road, her flat tyre. Where had he…
trashcatlit.com
September 4, 2025 at 3:43 PM
It’s lovely to be in the bin with all these trash cats @trashcatlit.bsky.social ❤️
Many thanks to Group 8 @smokelong.bsky.social Fitness who gave feedback on this 😘
Many thanks to Group 8 @smokelong.bsky.social Fitness who gave feedback on this 😘
Thank you so much for the lovely review @madeleinewrite.bsky.social ❤️😍❤️
The final line is just gorgeous - ‘I devoured it with tears in my eyes’ 🥹🥹🥹
The final line is just gorgeous - ‘I devoured it with tears in my eyes’ 🥹🥹🥹
September 3, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Thank you so much for the lovely review @madeleinewrite.bsky.social ❤️😍❤️
The final line is just gorgeous - ‘I devoured it with tears in my eyes’ 🥹🥹🥹
The final line is just gorgeous - ‘I devoured it with tears in my eyes’ 🥹🥹🥹
Delighted that my story The Tenth Testicle has dropped today in the Tenth Anniversary issue of @nffr.bsky.social… newflashfiction.com/the-tenth-te...
The Tenth Testicle by S.A. Greene | Issue #38
When a third testicle dropped, he asked her to enlarge his trousers so he could house everything more comfortably and she said which century do you think we’re living in?
newflashfiction.com
September 3, 2025 at 10:58 AM