Read my new short story "Another Tide"

Forgive me a little self-promotion; I'm really excited about this story and I think you will be too. "Another Tide" is the longest piece of fiction I've published so far--a 10,000-word fantasy novelette about bourgeois radicalism and anti-colonial resistance. It's now free to read in Beneath Ceaseless Skies, one of the last great fantasy short fiction magazines.

The story follows Lethe, a young gentlewoman-scholar, who sets out for the edge of empire in search of an elusive indigenous resistance leader. Her journey takes her deep into the Arid Pelagia, a landscape of endless water, rockpools and sea anemones. She hopes that finding and writing about the mysterious Goruna will offer a way out of her stifling middle-class existence. But when the two finally meet, each will change the other in ways they could not have imagined.

Classic fantasy authors have had a big influence on this story. I like to think I've captured a little of Gene Wolfe's rich scholarly prose, plus a bit of Jack Vance's weird alien ecosystems, plus Ursula LeGuin's exploration of gender embedded in culture. If any of that sounds interesting, give it a read.

I'll have more regular Paperback Picnic content soon. My post about the third Hugh Cook novel is basically finished but needs revising; the book deals very directly with misogyny and patriarchal violence, so I want to make sure my review is as sensitive and serious as the topic demands.