Shining Moon Episode 10: Alternate History vs. Secret History

Shining Moon: A Speculative Fiction Podcast

Hello, and welcome to Shining Moon: A Speculative Fiction Podcast, Episode 10. Today we’ll continue our series by asking what it takes to write Alternate History and Secret History, what the differences between those two terms are, and we’ll explore some examples of each.

My guests this week are Anatoly Belilovsky, Marie Brennan, Laurence Brothers, and Kate Heartfield.
Anatoly Belilovsky tweets occasionally at @loldoc.
Marie Brennan can be found online at swantower.com, on Mastodon @[e-mail], or on Patreon as swan_tower
Stories discussed:
Marie Brennan:
"999 Swords" – Pending publication at Interzone
"This Living Hand" (published in Sunday Morning Transport)
Anatoly Belilovsky:
“The Perils of Bonaparte,” https://copperfieldreview.com/?p=4446
“KulturKampf” https://www.castofwonders.org/2012/02/episode-24-kulturkampf-by-anatoly-belilovsky/
"The Sound of Music," https://stupefyingstories.blogspot.com/2023/07/the-sound-of-music-by-anatoly-belilovsky.html?m=1
Laurence Brothers:
"Midnight at the Abbey of Shadows," https://eternalhauntedsummer.com/issues/winter-solstice-2021/midnight-at-the-abbey-of-shadows/
"With Respect to the Cat ," https://kaleidotrope.net/archives/spring-2023/with-respect-to-the-cat-by-laurence-raphael-brothers/
Kate Heartsfield :
“A Cut-Purse Rethinks His Ways,” Timeworn, Issue 1, October 2019.
"A Thousand Tongues of Silver," Lackington’s, October 2018, https://lackingtons.com/2018/10/31/a-thousand-tongues-of-silver-by-kate-heartfield/
Carrie Vaughn:
"The Burning Girl," https://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/stories/the-burning-girl/
Kat Howard:
"The Calendar of Saints," https://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/stories/the-calendar-of-saints-by-kat-howard/
Mentioned in this episode:

Wildly Romantic: The English Romantic Poets: The Mad, the Bad, and the Dangerous by Catherine M. Andronik

Next week on Shining Moon: A discussion with Lesley Conner of Apex on editors, editing, and the challenges faced by magazines in the current era!

"Don't tell me that the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass." -- Anton Chekov

Piano music for closure

Thank you for listening to Shining Moon! You can reach the host, Deborah L. Davitt, at the following social media platforms:
www.facebook.com/deborah.davitt.3

Bluesky: @deborahldavitt.bsky.social
www.edda-earth.com