Release date: April 6, 2020
Subgenre: LGBTQ Fantasy, Pirates
About The Voyages of Cinrak the Dapper:
Dapper.
Lesbian. Capybara. Pirate.
Cinrak
the Dapper is a keeper of secrets, a righter of wrongs, the saltiest capybara
on the sea and a rider of both falling stars and a great glass whale. Join her,
her beloveds, the rat Queen Orvilia and the marmot diva Loquolchi, lead soprano of the Theatre
Rat-oyal, her loyal cabin kit, Benj the chinchilla, and Agnes, last of the
great krakens, as they hunt for treasures of all kinds and find adventures
beyond their wildest dreams. Let Sir Julius Vogel Award-winning storyteller
A.J. Fitzwater take you on a glorious journey about finding yourself, discovering
true love and found family, and exploring the greatest secrets of the deep.
Also, dapperness.
Reviewer
Paul Weimer says: “Raise the mainsail and join Captain Cinrak’s crew as she
wins hearts, finds precious treasures both tangible and ephemeral, and grows
from new to the sea into a seasoned salt.”
Author
Robyn Bennis says: “The most original fantasy fiction I've read in a long time.
Don't miss these delightful, progressive sea tales.”
Editor
Sigrid Ellis says: “Cinrak the Dapper is completely charming from the start.”
Publishers Weekly says:
“Cinrak’s wisdom, kindness, and loyalty
are on display throughout, making her an easy heroine to root for.”
Excerpt:
from
“The Wild Ride of the Untamed Stars”
Silence hovered in anticipation over the racers. The Moth Moon caressed the fairy-light-spangled podium with her gentle smile. The Paper Moon peered over the lavender horizon, knowing better than to risk rising on the night of sharp-edged falling stars. And the Silver Moon cut carefully undulating hills with slivers of brightness.
A barrel-chested capybara stepped forward
from the petitioner’s line. “Cinrak the Dapper, Captain o’ the most excellent
IRATE ship the Impolite Fortune, an’ I ride in the Grand Chase of the
Falling Stars fer the Queen’s Paw.”
A most satisfying gasp from the crowd of
petitioners, court adjuncts, fairies waltzing the breeze, and rodent rabble.
“A capybara as the rat queen’s consort?”
“There’s a reason they say the sea-farer’s
union puts the ‘IRATE’ into pirate!”
“Not since the First Ride...”
Cinrak adjusted her purple bow tie,
swinging her broad snout from side to side, trying to hold her grin in check.
The court was all a-bluster? Good.
The Rat Queen Orvillia pressed her with her
coal-dark eyes. The jewel at the centre of the Queen’s crown throbbed, an ache
against the festive mood.
This was the bargain they’d discussed, of a
sort. Cinrak had promised to petition for the jewellery of Orvillia’s
well-adorned right forepaw, putting the orphanage of Cinrak’s upbringing in the
black and IRATE ships bound to pleasure cruises rather than duty for some
star-turns to come. But promises were flexible, even to the head of the
Independent Rodent’s Aquatic Trade Entente.
“Petition—” Orvillia’s whiskers twitched. “—accepted.”
A crackle-hiss, like lightning along a sword
drawn from its scabbard. Cinrak turned her snout up. The stars were close; she
could smell their light, fresh as a storm before it hit the sea.
With their attention caught by the busy
sky, no one noticed a new petitioner step up until her sweet, high voice
pierced the night.
“Loquolchi, Lead Soprano of the Theatre
Rat-oyal, and I ride for the Queen’s Paw.”
Another gasp. A few onlookers took knees.
“You blewdy diva,” Cinrak grumbled. “Trust
you to upstage everythin’.”
Taking her place in line, the marmot graced
her pirate lover with a toothy smile. “Can’t let you have all the fun, Cinny.”
“Petition accepted.” Orvillia’s smooth
politician voice shimmered with amusement and fondess.
“We had a deal,” Cinrak hissed to Loquolchi as Orvillia swept forward and
began reciting the rules of the Ride. “I’m doin’ this for both o’ us, Loqui.”
Loquolchi looked off into the darkness like
she was steadying herself to deliver a beloved aria. “I love Orvillia, too.
Besides, a little competition is fun.”
There was no stopping the hard-headed diva
once she set her course. Cinrak straightened the hem of her tailored suit
jacket and eyed Loquolchi’s riding garb: a batwing dress straight out of the
Rat-oyal costume department, all white froof and flop. Surely a tripping
hazard.
Another crack-hiss. Cinrak, accustomed to
listening for tiny changes of wind in the rigging, swung her blunt nose up.
There. Way high, a tiny pinprick of a star against the bruised velvet sky
Ah! thought Cinrak. To be only the second rodent in history to capture and ride a falling
star! Fame, riches, and the rat court would be there for Cinrak the Dapper’s
asking.
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About A.J. Fitzwater:
A.J. Fitzwater can be found living between the cracks of Christchurch,
New Zealand. They survived the Clarion workshop in 2014, added two Sir Julius
Vogel Awards to their shelf, and have gone on to have work published in Clarkesworld, Shimmer Magazine, Giganotosaurus,
Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Glittership, Capricious Magazine, and other venues and anthologies of repute.
Their WW2 NZ Land Girls shape-shifter novella “No Man's Land” will be published
by Paper Road Press in early 2020.
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