Captain's Log: April 2025
The story so far, and what's next on the voyage.
I’m changing my name! And other news about what’s been going on at Coracle Voyager recently and what’s happening next.
Welcome to this (Northern Hemisphere) Spring edition of the Captain’s Log!
There have been quite a number of new subscribers since the start of the year, so let me extend a very warm welcome to you! Most of the emails or posts you get from me will be sci-fi, fantasy or speculative fiction more broadly, but every so often there’ll be an update post like this one, to highlight what’s been happening and look ahead to what’s coming up in the next few months.
First off, some news about names!
A change of name
When I started Coracle Voyager, for various reasons I didn’t want to use my real name in my online writing. I settled on “SDG Lemaître” as my pen name, in honour of the Belgian cosmologist and priest Georges Lemaître, “Father of the Big Bang.” It’s also (intentionally) completely unrelated to my real name.
A couple of years down the road, back in the island of my birth and thinking about how I hope my writing life will become a more integral part of my muddy-boots small-town life here, I feel it’s time to drop the pen name and use a version of my real name, honouring my own heritage. (Also, I’m worried that a francophile pen name would make everyone who knows me in real life think I’m a total poseur!)
That’s why, over the next few weeks, you’ll start to see my author name changing, on the app and in emails. The address you get emails from is likely to stay the same, but my profile name and such will switch over.
So, without further ado…
Hello everyone, I’m Caitriana NicNeacail and I’m delighted to make your acquaintance!
If you’re wondering about pronunciation, it’s a Scottish Gaelic name so English spelling and pronunciation rules do not apply. Caitriana is pronounced something like Cuh-tree-nuh (if you know IPA it would be /kə'triənə/) and NicNeacail is like Nic-neck-ul but the n sound is a bit different from English so the IPA looks crazy (/rʲiçgʲˈrʲɛxgal/). Don’t worry, I’m not offended if people mispronounce it! And if you’re still worried, you can call me Sedge (ask
about that! 👀)Short stories
Short stories — either one-offs or limited series — are the mainstay of my publication this year, while I work on some longer-form stories behind the scenes. Some of my earliest and strongest sci-fi influences were short stories from “Golden Age” writers like Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke, and one of my favourite contemporary sci-fi authors, Ted Chiang, is a master of the form. I’m nowhere near that level, but I love getting the seed of an idea that germinates and grows fast, blossoming in two or three thousand words and hopefully leaving a lingering scent on the air.
Since February, I’ve posted two sci-fi shorts, Mr Lim and His Majesty’s Advocate v. Grant Stewart Hitchcock. I also wrote Knockansheen, a three-part modern fantasy based on Scottish folklore (so not really a short story, but not long enough to be anything else either). As it happens, although it wasn’t intentional, all my stories this quarter have been Scotland-based!
I’ve been really pleased with the reception all three stories have got. In case you missed them, they’re linked here:
I also dabbled a little in flash fiction, writing fast and with very little editing, in response to a prompt. These are fun exercises, but because they’re less polished I haven’t sent them to your inbox. They are available from my homepage though. Campfire is my favourite of these — another Scottish sci-fi tale, set in the Campsie Hills near Glasgow.
Oops!
I was recently trying out the live video function on the Substack app, and accidentally sent out the result to all my subscribers when the ten-minute stream ended. It may have been a bit disconcerting to get a pixellated windblown sea and sky without any context — sorry about that! But if you watched it, I hope you enjoyed the view from one of my favourite places to sit and think!
Looking ahead
Coming up next is a speculative fiction story that I’m hesitating to call either sci-fi or fantasy. You can make your own mind up when it drops in a week or so! I expect that to be followed by another near-future sci-fi short, then something a bit more far-future. I’m also mulling over a non-fiction post reflecting on Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach series.
Meanwhile, editing work on Destination Europa is continuing slowly. I have some new ideas for the book form and just need more hours in the day to wrangle the manuscript! The serial will remain available to read for free until the book is released, so if you haven’t had a chance to read it yet, here it is!
Wow!
There’s a strange sense of wonder and gratitude that comes from knowing that enough people are reading my writing that if you were all together, you would fill a medium-sized lecture theatre! And a huge, delighted thank you to my paid subscribers — it blows me away to have your support!
Thank you so much for joining me, and thank you for reading! Onward and upward!
I like you now use a firm of your real name. It makes you more personable. Someone whobyiu can invite over for tea! 🤗🥰
Just so you know, Caitriana (what a cool name?), I don't usually get emails when you post something new, it might be something to look into. I usually find out news from you by looking at the notes.