Pride month launch for queer fantasy novel

A new queer-led fantasy novel drawing inspiration from the author's West Country roots is being released during Pride month.

Alexander Paul Burton, a British-Canadian author originally from Somerset, wrote independently published The Hollow Vale about loss, exile, and chosen family.

The story's theme is about a crumbling kingdom haunted by war, with Glastonbury and the south west's "legends and landscapes" woven into the book.

Mr Burton said: "This is a story for anyone who's ever felt like they don't fit the mould [and] the misfits who still believe in magic."

Mr Burton said growing up near the Vale of Avalon, he was "surrounded by myth but never quite [saw] myself in it".

"So behind this story is an unwavering belief that queer voices belong in the heart of our oldest storytelling traditions", he said, adding that the book is "equal parts fantasy epic and introspective elegy".

Mr Burton has also released original music inspired by the book and hand-drawn maps and documents.

To any aspiring writers, he said: "You don't need permission. You don't need perfection. You just need the guts to start. Your story matters."

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