Faded Fur and Stripped Skin, by Melissa Martini

Prose, chapbook, 48 pages, from Bottlecap Features.

Lycanthropy is genetic, some stray cats have ulterior motives, and not all deer are up for grabs during hunting season.

From body horror to sexuality and relationships, Melissa Martini’s debut chapbook of short stories, Faded Fur and Stripped Skin, tackles all of the perks and pain that come with animal transformation. The moments when the fur sprouting from your skin leaves you itchy, booze sounds like a better option than blood, and seals wash up on the Jersey Shore.

Each piece in the collection glimpses into the lives of characters grappling with transformative powers, whether they have taken on an animal form themselves or have encountered an animal-human hybrid. All of the squirrels may be wearing party hats, but adopting cats is more complicated than it seems and feeding the birds doesn’t always end well.

Melissa Martini (she/her) is a short fiction writer and Capricorn from New Jersey. She studied Creative Writing in both undergrad and graduate school at Seton Hall University. Currently, she serves as Founder & EIC of Moss Puppy Magazine and is staff at the winnow mag. She can be found @melissquirtle and her publications can be viewed at melibeans.wixsite.com/home. She has three dogs, all of which are fluffballs.