Following the mysterious disappearance of her husband during the Great War, Ruth Black, the daughter of a wealthy British aristocrat, turns her hand to writing novels in the mode of what will soon be known as science fiction.Seeking a fresh start away from her demanding father and the unanswered questions over her husband, Ruth moves across the world to Australia. In the sleepy fishing town of Pelican River, she finds peace in her writing, a pleasant friendship with Gordon, an inventor, and formidable support from her butler Rutherford.Then Ruth runs foul of a sinister local priest and receives word of the imminent arrival of her estranged Aunt Julia, who has had terrifying prophetic dreams of Ruth's brutal murder.Suddenly truth is much more alarming than fiction, and it comes with a vengeful, supernatural twist that will test to the utmost this rational writer, her inventor friend and the resourceful butler.
K.A. Bedford is the author of Orbital Burn, Eclipse, Hydrogen Steel, Time Machines Repaired While-U-Wait and Paradox Resolution. He has twice won the Aurealis Award for Best Australian Science Fiction Novel, been shortlisted for the Philip K. Dick Award, and in 2013 his novel Paradox Resolution was joint winner of the Tin Duck Award for Best Western Australian Professional Long Written Work. K.A. Bedford has been writing since he was a little kid, but started writing seriously when he was 14. His first novel, which was his first professional sale, was published in 2003, when he was 40. The lesson here, he says, is stick with it. K.A. Bedford attended Curtin and Murdoch universities, where he studied writing, theatre and philosophy.
"
there are plenty of twists and turns to keep you turning pages." -- Adelaide Advertiser
"
a cleverly plotted period piece with sharply realistic characters and some very funny dialogue." -- Burnie Advocate
"
the humanity and sincerity that Bedford has imbued in his characters are the true strength of this novel." -- West Australian
Western Australian Science Fiction Association Tin Duck Award (Shortlisted 2016)
