Shimmer’s gorgeous Issue 13 is now available in print and e-versions and it includes ‘Gutted’, my creepy selkie tale:
Erl doesn’t believe in selkies.
The only skins women in his village discard are covered in scales, separated from juicy white flesh at the points of their gutting knives. Twice a day, fisherwives make short work of the fleet’s catch. Dawn and dusk see them straddling mermaids’ torsos, cleaning plump tails with efficient, intuitive slices. Thigh-length fillets slap into piles on the jetty while bloodless heads, grey shoulders and breasts splash back into the ocean. Waters churn as surviving merfolk wrestle to feed on the scraps.
Around here, seals are a rare sight.
Head on over to www.shimmerzine.com to grab yourselves a copy of Lucky Issue 13 to read the rest of this story…
Also, I answered a bunch of interview questions for Elise (editor extraordinaire!) which have also been posted on Shimmer’s website and there’s also a link on the same page to me reading from this story (this time without a Southern accent) — all of which is very exciting!
Lisa L. Hannett 