Spring Springing, Books Sprouting

Welcome La Graine

Writing fantasy stories like La Graine is my creative reaction to this giant planet-devouring sick and sickening disenchanted reality, and also our planet’s reaction through me, I sense, feel and imagine.

It has been two big weeks here in Turkey, yet another stormy nation state chaos and political unrest hit the place and whirlpool us, all. The event horizon of a collapsing human-centric story governed by patriarchy and fed by millions (and billions) of humans is one giant trip and rip. And my storytelling mind has been spinning.

In the midst of this, in the eye of the storm, my eco-fantasy story La Graine, The Seed is out in the (francophone) world. Fortunately and on purpose, the story is out of reach of my local patriarchy’s hands and minds. Since Türkiye is fantastic enough, it may not need more fantasy. The Seed of the story is in France and it is tended well and with respect there by people I love and trust. I have always believed in creating unexpected peculiar relationships with all kinds of beings and both La Graine’s written and unwritten story is quite the testimony and realisation of that belief which is a relief.

The other day, I learned that Japan has seventy two micro seasons and between March 26th to 30th is the eleventh micro season, the time when the buds of cherry blossoms are forming. La Graine arrived on 27th of March, while the first cherry blossoms are sprouting in Japan. I find this utterly enchanting.

Welcome to our world, dear La Graine.

My publishing house, La Fourmi received the books¹ last Thursday, on Jupiter’s day, the day after Laylat al-Qadr², two days before the solar eclipse. They worked like ants for three days and sent all the pre-ordered books to their humans and the bookstores. Merci beaucoup La Fourmi. I cannot thank you enough. Who knows, maybe some of you have already received it… Perhaps you’ll let me know in the comments, if you have.

Starting from April 7th, La Graine will be in independent bookstores all around France, and a few in Switzerland and Belgium. I am in Istanbul at the moment and I am out of Schengen visa so I cannot go to the French bookstores and wander around, yet, the books shall on my behalf, thanks to you.

While my publishers have been working hard for the story to spread, I have started a giant spring cleaning. I am cleaning my little corner in the world. I am cleaning for the spring and the book’s arrival. The one who dirties must clean so they can learn the consequences of their living. Hence I am lowering my head toward some tight corners of the house and seeing things I have not seen before.

I am cleaning all the dust, all the crumbles, all the layers that had become a second or third skin, and I am leaving some undisturbed because I like a few dirty wild messy corners. Don’t worry, I’ve already informed and warned the spider folk and I wait for them to relocate while I clean the corners one by one. They are my dear housemates and fellow weavers. We wrote this story altogether.

I fill the buckets with clean water, I empty the buckets with dirty water.

I brush and wash carpets, clean windows and curtains, then hang them back, wet and fresh. I mop the floors, scrub the sinks and tubs, vacuum and clean under my bed.³ The amount of dust the bed collects always fascinate me. Almost enough to create a little local galaxy under there. I tidy up bookshelves and kitchen shelves+drawers, pack away winter clothes, organise the closet. I shower the bathroom tiles and wash them with soap. I am all kinds of cleaning and it helps me to get into my body as much as possible these days.

It is still quite surreal that the first story is out, the invitation of this story-verse is sent, considering how many years it has been that I have been courting stories alone, trying to write and turn them into books. Learning to write, apprenticing to planet, stories and storytelling, making a mess, being devoured by obstacles, uncovering new creative ways, failing and miscarrying books, getting sick, losing hope, finding courage and trying again and again. Almost seventeen years. This is how long it took… to turn a human, who did not want to write, into a writer, to unleash her creativity, to convince her field and get their support and to teach her a new language aka English to write fantasy novels. It takes the time and the place it takes. It is all about the process and I deeply hope that it too will be felt, and help the story and its ecosystem to deepen.

Life surely is mysterious. All life is, if we allow it to be… and let it have its own kind of relationship with mystery.

Thank you for reading.

Gizem Gizegen, 2025 Istanbul, ☉ Aries ☽ Gemini

Pictures are from La Fourmi team in Lille, France. I am beyond grateful to Nathalie Sejean, Marie Pereira and Chien Fou for their hard work, for making all this happen.

1. La Graine and Juste Une Dent En Or by Lea Anais Machado

2. In Islamic belief, Kadir Gecesi, Laylat al-Qadr, Night of Power is a sacred night when the first scriptures began to be sent down to the prophet in a cave throughout the night.

3. I received a new set of ecological cleaning products I am in love with from a local female-led business that too adds to my spring cleaning magic.