Brandann is a writer of speculative fiction. Her short stories have appeared in publications including Anathema: Spec from the Margins and Page and Spine Literary Magazine. Her novel, The Hole in the World, debuted in October of 2019. She also writes an ongoing original space opera serial, Novi: Event Horizon, at her personal website (brhillmann.com), and has written a one-act (No Takebacks) and a two-act play (Beyond Possible Harm). She is currently working on her second novel, a sequel to The Hole in the World.
The Hole in the World
Author
Magic is, and always has been, all around us. At least, Innes has always believed so. Kahrin? She’s more skeptical. After all, she’s never seen proof. That doesn’t stop her from supporting her best friend in his belief, as in all things in their lives.
One accident and a near-miss later, the pair are forced to grapple with the realities of the world of magic, whether they believe in it or not. Innes is sure that the mysterious Yelena is more than just a beautiful girl with amnesia and a prickly brother. Kahrin is sure she’s going to regret going along with it. Still, she does, because she trusts him, and that has always been the foundation upon which their love and friendship is built.
The Hole in the World is a story of love, friendship, and knowing that sometimes that is all you need to have trust.
Available at brhillmann.com, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Atmosphere Press, and locally at BookEnds in Kailua, Hawai’i.
Only a couple of years after rescuing the unicorn Yelena and defeating the Adept Evan, Kahrin and Innes navigate their lives as new adults.
That’s no feat under the best of circumstances. Balancing college and blossoming social lives in separate towns, their friendship remains strong as ever even as it deepens in new and confusing ways.
Innes tries not to judge Kahrin’s myriad questionable dating choices, including her budding taboo tryst with André. Kahrin doesn’t hold back her opinions about Innes’ beautiful but intense neighbor, Evangeline. Are Kahrin’s suspicions and prickly interactions with Evangeline simply conflicting personalities? Is Innes just too judgmental? Or is there some other, supernatural force at play?
Dating and self-discovery is tricky enough without the world of magic creeping in. Either way, romance sure feels like a matter of life and death.
Available wherever you buy books.
Everyone has secrets.
Innes has one he can’t wait to share with his best friend.
Kahrin has one she can’t wait to lay bare to her best friend.
Other secrets aren’t theirs to keep, but they refuse to stay buried all the same, and the magical fallout has dire consequences.
A grisly message sends the pair on a road trip to Kahrin’s parents’ past. A past they worked hard to hide and hide from. Innes and Kahrin go expecting a fight. What they find are friendly people, a deeper world of magic, and family they never asked for.
If the last five years taught them anything, it’s that magic isn’t always righteous, coincidences are often anything but, and sometimes heroes don’t live forever.
Available wherever you buy books.
“Soul Sisters”
Author
Described as “quietly devastating” by Andrew Wilmot, “Soul Sisters” is the story of Tab, a woman caught in a desperate situation and who faces a horrifying bargain for the power to free herself.
You can read it for free online at Anathema: Spec From the Margins.
Novi: Event Horizon
Author
The Natives of Xandarian Moon No. VI have been occupied and their home used as a military outpost by the Central Imperium Fleet for so long they cannot remember much before it. Even the eldest of their people struggles to remember life in the before. A catastrophic event brings a key to that history back in the most violent way imaginable.
You can read it online for free at brhillmann.com.
No Takebacks
Playwright
Small town Jewish teenagers and best friends Danika Fang and Gavriel Harel grapple with feelings about the future after an impulsive decision stands poised to change their lives irrevocably. This one-act play follows Dany and Gabe as they navigate the precarious cusp of adulthood.
Beyond Possible Harm
Playwright
In this two-act sci-fi play, Gloriana-Sofia has built her short but high-trajectory military career by always doing what was right according to the rules and laws. The delivery of new android assistant–a seemingly common SILAS S-B5, like so many others in the galaxy–which does not behave as expected challenges this. SILAS SB-5’s precociousness means it should be deactivated and destroyed. The android muddies what always seemed so clear to her.
Brandann R. Hill-Mann 