The complete February issue is available in the shop—all four episodes of the short story, After the Rendezvous, by Victoria Bley, plus every feature piece, laid out in a magazine format designed to actually look good on your screen.

This month's issue, Second Chances & Society's Castoff, is packaged in a PDF you keep. Read it on your tablet, your phone, or your laptop.

What's inside:

  1. Original short story by Victoria Bley, After the Rendezvous
  2. Feature: The Pariah Author: Who Gets Forgiven?
  3. Commentary: The Double Exile: The Punishment of Role-Playing Games
  4. Essay: The Myth of Rock Bottom
  5. Commentary: Likeable Characters are Killing Fiction
Get the issue now

If you enjoy After the Rendezvous, this month's original short story, you can find author Victoria Bley on X at @MrsNovelista and on Substack at victoriabley.com

She is soon to release a novel based on the rise of Genghis Khan and his principal wife, Borte – a marriage that spanned forty years. 

If you'd rather get every issue automatically (plus archive access and community discussion), the Contact tier is $5.99/month.

Thanks for reading! New articles and a new short story for March's issue, Rogue Operators, start next week.

—Kristin

Black Market Fiction, EIC