Look Out For … Merciless Waters by Rae Knowles

“With this debut novella, Knowles presents a seafaring tale of desire and revenge, steeped in folklore and relentless rage.”

On the Scylla, there’s no future or past. For Jaq, her lover Lily, and their all-female crew, there is only an endless present. Things are better that way. And it keeps Lily right beside Jaq, where she belongs. The meddling gods don’t care about Jaq’s desires, and their punishment comes all the same regardless of the protective rituals in place.

A man, adrift on the open ocean. Delivered to snatch Lily from Jaq’s arms forever.

Jaq’s lost Lily before, she knows what she needs to do. Lily will come back to her when this distraction is gone. But Jaq’s schemes might not be enough to bring Lily back. This man, this interloper, infects the crew with a terrible plague, one her spells will not cure: memory. As the women remember how they came aboard the Scylla, their minds turn to bloody revenge.

Why we’re excited about this book:

Within the last few years, Rae Knowles has become a name you need to keep your eyes on in horror fiction. The author of The Stradivarius, Knowles’ fiction has appeared in such anthologies and publications as Monstrous Futures, Well, This is Tense, Annus Horribilis, Medusa Tales Magazine, and Step into the Light: An anthology of Daylight Horror, among others. Knowles is also the editor-in-chief of Lady Mantis Books, an imprint of Brigids Gate Press. With this debut novella, Knowles presents a seafaring tale of desire and revenge, steeped in folklore and relentless rage. Christi Nogle (Beulah) says: “A worthy follow-up to The Stradivarius, Rae Knowles’ Merciless Waters is a visceral, sexy, and sweetly romantic tale of jealousy and revenge. I especially loved its distinctive prose, which is ornate and stripped-down by turns.”, and Rachel Harrison (Cackle, Such Sharp Teeth) says: “Lush and imaginative, tense and atmospheric, Merciless Waters is a vengeful fever dream drowned in saltwater.”