Short Stories 366:148 — “Oliver Gutierrez and the Walking Stick of Destiny,” by Elliott Dunstan

There's this thing that happens way, way too often in fiction where marginalized characters get to have one crack at the list. There can be the white lesbian, and the black woman, and the Deaf kid, and so on, but a Deaf black lesbian? Suddenly reviews fill up with mentions of "too much" or "unbelievable" …

Short Stories 366:100 — “The Hirsute Pursuit,” by A.J. Fitzwater

When I first bumped into the character of Cinrak, the capybara pirate in Scourge of the Seas of Time (and Space), I was totally delighted. It gave me a sense of "when we last met our heroes" that I love in short fictions, where you feel like there's a whole world already underway all around …

Short Stories 366:93 — “The Wild Ride of the Untamed Stars,” by A.J. Fitzwater

When I first bumped into the character of Cinrak, the capybara pirate in Scourge of the Seas of Time (and Space), she was on a voyage to replace a gem she'd kinda/sorta broken that belonged to her lover, the rat queen (and was a part of her crown). That story delighted me, and gave me …

Short Stories 366:79 — “Young Cinrak,” by A.J. Fitzwater

I have a treat today, in that not only am I cracking a new collection I adore, but the author, A.J. Fitzwater, agreed to send me little snippits about each tale and where they came from. So! Without further ado... The Voyages of Cinrak the Dapper! Okay. I need a moment here before I begin …

Short Stories 366:30 — “Search for the Heart of Ocean” by A.J. Fitzwater

I was not expecting cute, and I certainly wasn't expecting adorbs-aww-squee! levels of cute, but here we are, at the last story from Scourge of the Seas of Time (and Space) and I am overwhelmed with squees and adorbs and cutes and awws. Frankly, it's a great choice to end the collection with, and as …

Short Stories 366:23 — “Tenari,” by Michael Merrian

We're back in space today with Scourge of the Seas of Time (and Space), specifically with Michael Merrian's "Tenari," and oh, I enjoyed this so very much. One of things I was worried about heading in to this anthology was the idea of pirates as protagonists, and how often I'd likely be pretty much rooting …