Published in 2025
202 pages
Annabel Youens originally studied creative writing at the University of Victoria in her 20s, when she fell into her own alternate dimension, the world of tech. After being hired as employee number 11 at Abebooks.com, an online marketplace for rare, used and out-of-print books, Annabel witnessed how the internet could connect people and help independent, used bookstores thrive. Annabel followed her desire to build community and collaboration with her husband. They founded two global technology startups and after living in New Zealand and L.A. they settled back on Vancouver Island to be close to their families. In early 2022, at age 46, Annabel realised the speculative fiction novel she kept putting off needed a chance to grow. She resigned her Chief Marketing Officer position and began her journey as an authorpreneur, bringing her tech, marketing and community skills to forming Salt Line Press – a new independent publishing house focused on stories of transformation, particularly for women in midlife. Annabel’s debut novel was inspired by the idea that perimenopause should be seen as a positive powerful stage, even reality busting. Annabel lives in Victoria, B.C. with her husband, daughter and cat, Hubble. When she’s not typing, she’s sewing her own garments and swimming every chance she can in the Pacific Ocean.
What is this book about?
In her dazzling debut, Annabel Youens delivers a speculative novel in the vein of Margaret Atwood and Ursula K. Le Guin — where fungi, family, and fierce women collide.
At 47, tech entrepreneur August’s life is unraveling. On a desperate family holiday in England, a sip of ancient beer transports her to an alternate reality where mushrooms pulse with power and women commune with the fungal network beneath their feet.
Taken in by Margaret, a midwife with dangerous secrets, August discovers a world where brewing beer might be her way home—or her reason to stay. When Margaret’s community faces persecution, August must choose between two families, two worlds, two versions of herself.
A speculative fiction debut about midlife transformation and the courage to put yourself first.
