
Teika Marija Smits is a UK-based writer, illustrator and freelance editor.
Her debut poetry pamphlet, Russian Doll, was published by Indigo Dreams Publishing in March 2021.
A fan of all things fae, she is delighted by the fact that Teika means fairy tale in Latvian.
Interview with the Author
Uncharted Constellations Contribution
Considering the Stars follows a young lady inspired by female astronomers and radicals of the Wollstonecraft era. Here’s a snippet:

The formal garden, with its looming topiary, was disconcerting, but when she was in the meadow and striding towards the lake, she felt … wonderful. It was good to be outdoors and alone. Free of the confines of propriety and decorum. Free of Mama’s concerns over her attire and behaviour, free of her endless sniping about Cassandra’s reading habit. A habit which was, in her mother’s opinion, inappropriate for young ladies.
Listen to Teika Marija Smits read Considering the Stars here:
Severed Souls Contribution
How to Honour a Beginning tells the story of an alien being who is entrusted with the stewardship of Earth by three powerful women who bestow upon him the title of The Green Man.
Here’s a snippet:

As he wove through the trees he placed a hand on each one and connected with it. Go well, was his message. And as he walked he sang an ancient song that stirred and invigorated each leaf, branch, stem, and root.
Guest Blogs
On Magnificence, Memories and Miracles (Guest Blog: Teika Marija Smits)
Mountains are magnificent, of course, but to my mind forests are equally awe-inspiring. It’s just that their beauty is of a quiet, more mysterious kind. Unlike mountains, which are all Oi! Look at me! they keep their magnificence to themselves.
Keep readingAbout ‘Considering the Stars’ (Guest blog: Teika Marija Smits)
As L.P. Hartley wrote in The Go-Between: “The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.” It can be hard for us in the present, with our modern sensibilities, to resist the urge to judge those who lived in the past. Certainly, when I’ve been carrying out research for any of my pieces…
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