The Girl Who Became a Goddess

“…rich with fantastic creatures and events that delight and stimulate deeper thought. “

• Libby Gleeson, winner of the Nan Chauncy Award, Prime Minister’s Literary Award for Children’s Fiction, Dromkeen Medal, NSW Premier’s Literary Awards – Special Award, Member of the Order of Australia 

“from tears to laughter, from heartache to exhilaration, each fable is layered with hidden meanings and lessons that bridge all cultures and ages.“

• JG Faherty, author of The Cure, Hellrider, and Winterwood.

Theresa Fuller grew up with ghosts outside her front door. They haunted dark trees and cemeteries and were the spirits of young girls betrayed by lovers. These stories were made real by her cousins who were always recounting how just last year a child around her age had been snatched by one of these ghosts - Pontianaks. And never seen again...

Born in Singapore to Peranakan parents, Theresa was often brought to Haw Par Villa, originally a venue for teaching traditional Chinese values, as a treat. Here children are shown the ten views of Hell. She had nightmares for a week after each visit. Even today, she can visualize the demons as they tortured liars by pulling their tongues, elongating them grotesquely.

This is probably why she never wanted to be a writer. Initially.
Writers bend the truth. A little.

Theresa came to Australia for her education, met her husband, married and stayed. She worked as an analyst/programmer and later as a high school teacher. When her first son was born, she read him stories. And somehow something stirred. She remembered her grandfather and how he would tell fairy tale after fairy tale, at least ten per night until in frustration he would record them to be spared reading the same stories repeatedly.
Thus, in a strange land far away from her own family and what was familiar, she began to write. And in her stories, she could come home. To a land where boys turn into crickets and mousedeer dance laughing upon the backs of crocodiles.
Her first short story THE CRICKET SON was published in VOICES OF THE PAST, An Anthology of Stories Passed Down In Australian Families.

Her breakthrough novel is the Steampunk YA THE GHOST ENGINE, published in March 2018. It won a mentorship at the Australasian Horror Writers' Association. THE GHOST ENGINE combines her love of technology with her enthusiasm for Victorian England.

Her second novel, The Girl who became a Goddess, is a collection of folktales from Singapore. Malaysia and China published in May 2019. For this collection, Theresa drew heavily on her parents' arranged marriage.

Theresa currently resides with her family in Sydney, Australia. Amanda J Spedding is an editor and award-winning author and comic writer whose stories have been published in local and international markets earning honourable mentions and recommended reads. She is a finalist for the 2018 Aurealis Award for fantasy short fiction, won the 2015 Australian Shadows Award for written work in a graphic novel, and the 2011 Australian Shadows Award for short fiction.
Between bouts of client editing, she is writing (and rewriting) her first novel for the eleventy-fifth time.

And short stories, oh how she loves her short stories.

Amanda lives in Sydney with her sarcastically-gifted husband and two very cool kids. And cats. She has cats. And a rabbit. We don't talk about the rabbit.

Where's her coffee?

foreword

preface

introduction

the mousedeer who danced on the backs of crocodiles

the story of sang kancil as i would have heard it as a child

the ghost i grew up with

the legend of redhill

stone soup

the princess of gunung ledang

the cricket son

the girl who became a goddess