Today is the launch day for Martha A. Hood’s Faustian novella “Pond Man Opens A Door,” a chilling take on the Garden of Eden. Where Martha’s “The Miasma Is Not For Us To Say” and “The Valley and the Hill” were witty, incisive takes on small-town bureaucracies and intrigues complicated by ghostly emanations or misdirected sensory perceptions, “Pond Man” is a compelling look at temptation and desire—and the frailty of love.

When landscape designer Thalia enters the Domain of Gardens, the enigmatic Pond Man grants her limitless space to design any kind of garden she likes—perhaps something that would impress her wife, Hazel. Or perhaps that grove of trees that Thalia longs for.

But the Domain’s bounty comes at a cost. Once Thalia is dug into the Domain, she finds it difficult to leave. And the Domain and Pond Man have no intention of letting her go.

Martha lives in Southern California with a husband and two elderly cockatiels. She spends her time writing, zooming, reading, streaming, gardening, hanging out with friends, and occasionally traveling. Her short fiction has appeared in The Sockdolager, Interzone, and other publications. Candlemark & Gleam was delighted to publish her two previous novellas, “The Miasma Is Not For Us To Say” and “The Valley and the Hill.”

“Pond Man Opens A Door” is available in ebook form on Amazon, B&N, Kobo, and of course on our website.

Come and walk in Pond Man’s impossible garden—maybe you’ll be able to find your way out again.