Silk-spinning mothgirl slaves look to change their situation.

(from Vampires in the Lemon Grove)

The Agent boasts that he has made us the most productive machines in the empire.

Obviously this is a work of delicate and remarkable literary fiction — with some savvy things to say about exploited mill workers in developing economies — but it’s also a fun and freaky piece of sci-fi. In fact, I’ve just started this collection, but so far Karen Russell’s two-for-two when it comes to stories with supernatural/hypernatural characters. So cool. Along those lines, I decided to crop the book jacket so you could get a good look at that freaky looking bat. It’s weird, right?

I couldn’t find this story online; buy the book and read this interview.