Love is arguably the most central and powerful force in stories across the world. From the very first myths ever told to the stories we’re still writing today, love has always been right at the heart of it all. If an alien landed on Earth tomorrow, I think one of the first things they’d figure out is this: humans love love, even when it hurts.
Featuring
‘A Mortal Breaks Aphrodite’s Heart’ by Ev Datsyk (03.48), read by Sabrina Robinson. We imagine Aphrodite as untouchable, but what happens when her heart gets broken? This reimagined, modern re-telling of Greek myth can be found in our Aphrodite collection.
‘The Brave Tin Soldier’ by Hans Christian Andersen (22.55), read by Bea. A familiar fairy tale for many of us, this one tells the tale of a little toy soldier who falls hopelessly in love with a paper ballerina. Discover more stories like this one in Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales.
Biographies
Ev Datsyk is a queer, second-generation settler living on the land known today as Canada. She primarily writes short stories and is passionate about the Oxford comma and questionable puns. Her work can be found in Haunted Words Press and Divinations Magazine, with a full publishing history accessible on her social media. You can find her at @evdatsyk on most platforms.
Hans Christian Andersen is regarded as a national treasure by his homeland Denmark, but his popularity extends far beyond his native shores. As one of the most translated authors in the world, there are hundreds of editions of his books in many languages.
Sabrina Robinson is an award-winning American actress and lover of whimsical stories. She most recently performed as The Bride in Blood Wedding at Tower Theatre and in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time at Putney Arts Theatre. For her role in Breakfast of Champions (streaming on Amazon Prime), Sabrina received the Best Actress award at the ÉCU European Independent Film Festival in Paris.
‘A Mortal Breaks Aphrodite’s Heart’ is ©2025 Ev Datsyk and appeared in Aphrodite (Flame Tree Publishing, 2025).
‘The Brave Tin Soldier’ by Hans Christian Andersen was first published in 1838, but more recently appeared in Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales (Flame Tree Publishing, 2020).
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Music is an extract of Sunbeams by Allen Stroud, from his Fractal Series album, licensed courtesy of fpl-digital 2025.
This podcast is hosted and sometimes narrated by Beatrix Ambery (also audio editor), Olivia Jackson (alsopodcast coordinator), Shilpa Varma and Nick Wells (also producer).
Chosen from hundreds of wonderful tales, short stories such as these are selected by our short window open submission process, giving opportunities to writers of all levels of experience, culture and location. Look out for our submission announcements, and see the full list here: flametreepublishing.com/gothic-fantasy-book-series-list.html
Our full range of thematic short stories, epic tales, mythology and folklore titles are available at all good bookstores, online and in retail, and at flametreepublishing.com
Flame Tree Publishing, Independent Publisher of the Year 2024, British Fantasy Society. Beautiful Books, Timeless Storytelling, Fresh Perspectives.
The Flame Tree Myth and Fiction podcast is created and © copyright 2025 Flame Tree Publishing Ltd.
