BANNISTER PRESS

“When We Had Wings and Smooth Skin” by Michelle Koubek tells the story of a woman who spends a decade trying to find the cure for a magical disease, only to learn the Crease is far worse than she thought. 

Michelle Koubek is an autistic writer with other recent work of hers either published or forthcoming in Strange Horizons, Star*Line, and Factor Four Magazine.

We asked Michelle a few questions about her story and writing.

How did you come up with the idea for your story?  

I’ve always found people’s fascination with fantasy and magic interesting. It’s such a universal trait that it was easy to speculate about magic once being a part of our culture. And when I was sitting at home one day wishing that I had wings like so many others do, I thought what if I could turn this into a story? After that, the story wrote itself. Sort of like magic.  

What was your first introduction to magic? Was there a particular story or event that made you believe?

When I was in elementary school, we took a field trip to a museum in the city that had a planetarium. I remember looking up at the billions of stars and galaxies above me and thinking that this was one of the closest experiences with magic I’d ever had. After that, everyday events felt different, like my perspective had changed them. If such an amazing and mysterious universe can exist, then why can’t magic live in smaller, more day-to-day ways, too? 

How does your story relate to the anthology’s theme of “feeling other”?  

The otherness of “When We Had Wings and Smooth Skin” is multilayered. For one, it’s about the otherness of a community that has lost itself. I imagine it as a society that has forgotten its values gradually over time, so one day, they don’t even remember who they were in the beginning. In this sense, who they are now can’t even comprehend who they used to be.  

But on a smaller scale, this story relates to the otherness one feels when they grow up. The main character grapples with the fact that no matter what she does, she is going to lose a crucial part of herself, the part that knows magic. It’s like when a child stops believing in things like Santa Claus. Once they lose that part of themselves, it’s impossible to get it back as if that child was someone else. It’s the tragedy of all of us: eventually, every person feels like someone else.  

How do you keep your creative spark alive? 

I really try to write in different genres and not limit myself to one type of writing. This helps with keeping things interesting as I know if I’m bored, readers will be, too.  

I also read a lot for inspiration. So many times, I’ve felt like I’ve pushed a piece to be the best it can be only to have a complete change of heart after reading what someone else is working on. I think it’s important to always be open to the possibility that more can be done. Keeping that openness keeps me excited everyday about what new thing I’ll realize, and in turn, keeps that creative spark alive.  

What’s a story you found especially inspiring?

One story that always stayed with me is Gail Carson Levine’s “The Two Princesses of Bamarre.” I read it as a child and can still vividly picture scenes from it. The combination of magical characters and scenarios alongside the tale of a young girl overcoming her fears really resonated with me. My favorite project in school, in fact, was baking a cake recreating a pivotal scene from the book which my partner and I doused in candy and sugary treats. You could say that this book taught me that fantasy can be both exciting and emotional. I never forgot that.  

What’s next for you? Do you have any stories coming out in 2025? 

I’m continuing to write short stories and poetry with several being released with various venues in 2025. I’m also finishing final tweaks on an adult fantasy novel that I have been working on for several months. I will be looking for a home for this one soon, so hopefully you will see it on shelves in the near future.  

I don’t plan on quitting writing anytime soon. Unless something happens and I forget myself. I’m still not convinced that I didn’t forget long ago that I used to be a dragon.  

Thank you, Michelle!

Michelle Koubek can be found at www.michellekoubek.com. 
OTHER: the 2024 speculative fiction anthology can be found at Amazon.