<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Sea Lion Press]]></title><description><![CDATA[The home of alternate history publishing. Sea Lion Press sells paperbacks, ebooks, and merchandise celebrating counterfactual fiction.]]></description><link>https://www.sealionpress.co.uk/blog</link><generator>RSS for Node</generator><lastBuildDate>Tue, 11 Aug 2026 07:23:58 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.sealionpress.co.uk/blog-feed.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title><![CDATA[The Zimba and the Abrahamic faiths]]></title><description><![CDATA[By Gary Oswald. Mombaza (Mombasa) in the 1593 edition of Civitates Orbis Terrarum, not long before the Zimba assault. Art in public domain, courtesy Wikimedia Commons. Portugal arrived in East Africa (modern day Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya and Somalia) in 1496 as part of their larger plan to take control of the Indian Ocean and so the spice trade. They quickly conquered the existing states of the Swahili coast, installed puppet rulers and built bases. From there they attacked India, Malaysia...]]></description><link>https://www.sealionpress.co.uk/post/the-zimba-and-the-abrahamic-faiths</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a36bf52bfacb36e35425cae</guid><category><![CDATA[Gary Oswald]]></category><category><![CDATA[Africa]]></category><pubDate>Tue, 11 Aug 2026 06:00:10 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/aecf75_893930415b1948529ac63a91a334cf1c~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_402,h_352,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>cepmurphywrites</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Serial Sunday: The Renaissance Man and the Strange New World, Part VIII]]></title><description><![CDATA[By Ryan Fleming. Harry Bell had not slept in days. He was the sole survivor of the Brunswick, whose discovery of an unidentified continent in the South Pacific had meant quick (Harry hoped) death for all his shipmates, whether they had remained aboard or been in the first party ashore. Harry had survived, and he intended to keep it that way. It was that intent that kept him from sleeping. He had seen enough from what lurked on the island to never let his guard down. One member of the landing...]]></description><link>https://www.sealionpress.co.uk/post/serial-sunday-the-renaissance-man-and-the-strange-new-world-part-viii</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a59195a01e576df51c7bd60</guid><category><![CDATA[Serial]]></category><category><![CDATA[Ryan Fleming]]></category><pubDate>Sun, 09 Aug 2026 06:00:09 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/aecf75_2d1c92a832404e55b765f2c1b73da9f5~mv2.webp/v1/fit/w_377,h_391,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>cepmurphywrites</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Tales From Development Hell: George Romero's Resident Evil]]></title><description><![CDATA[By Ryan Fleming. Romero directs Resident Evil.... 2's Japanese trailer. Screenshot from the 1997 Making Of video, uploaded to Youtube by the Residence of Evil channel. The zombie as it is understood in modern popular culture exists because of George A. Romero. Its ubiquity across popular culture owes a lot to video games of the 1990s, especially Resident Evil. The very first Resident Evil game was released in 1996 and quickly its potential for a film adaptation was recognised, with German...]]></description><link>https://www.sealionpress.co.uk/post/tales-from-development-hell-george-romero-s-resident-evil</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a440073de1908b1cec7b3d7</guid><category><![CDATA[Ryan Fleming]]></category><category><![CDATA[Tales From Development Hell]]></category><pubDate>Fri, 07 Aug 2026 06:00:12 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/aecf75_3c67b994fae74e6888a5b6f1c9988fac~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_469,h_307,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>cepmurphywrites</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Why I Wrote... The Surly Bonds Series]]></title><description><![CDATA[By Tom Anderson. Thus far the Surly Bonds series consists of two books, The Surly Bonds of Earth and Well Met By Starlight. The third book in the series, a direct sequel to Well Met will shortly debut and is entitled On the Wings of the Morn. To explain what this series is about is – well, a long story in itself. In the world of science fiction, since the 1960s Star Trek has become so influential and inspirational that many science fiction writers have essentially started out writing their...]]></description><link>https://www.sealionpress.co.uk/post/why-i-wrote-the-surly-bonds-series</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a456f595af2dd52aa96fcf4</guid><category><![CDATA[Thomas Anderson]]></category><category><![CDATA[Why I Wrote]]></category><pubDate>Tue, 04 Aug 2026 06:00:12 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/442a9d_786394299dfb4707b0bcb7c2d2a5055c~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_501,h_800,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>cepmurphywrites</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Serial Sunday: The Renaissance Man and the Strange New World, Part VII]]></title><description><![CDATA[By Ryan Fleming. A gaggle of newly joined candy stripers, the more mobile patients, and even a few resident doctors all tried to sneak a look at the Renaissance Man when they heard he would be calling at their Bellevue Hospital that night. Charles Chance, the Renaissance Man himself, was all smiles and handshakes punctuated by the odd pithy one-liner or wink when he and his entourage arrived. A moving scrum developed around the Renaissance Man as he made his way from the entrance to the room...]]></description><link>https://www.sealionpress.co.uk/post/serial-sunday-the-renaissance-man-and-the-strange-new-world-part-vii</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a4acc7e66d1ba6042d3fdc7</guid><category><![CDATA[Serial]]></category><category><![CDATA[Ryan Fleming]]></category><pubDate>Sun, 02 Aug 2026 06:00:08 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/aecf75_2d1c92a832404e55b765f2c1b73da9f5~mv2.webp/v1/fit/w_377,h_391,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>cepmurphywrites</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Vignette: Shadow over the City]]></title><description><![CDATA[By WM. Garrett Cothran On the Sea Lion Press Forums, we run a monthly Vignette Challenge. Contributors are invited to write short stories on a specific theme (changed monthly). The theme for the 97th contest was Megaprojects.   The alarm rang with a bright, metallic insistence. It was a faint bluish color, its bell still stamped in looping Imperial script beneath a strip of government-issued German labeling. Charles Ludwig Martínez swatted it once, then again, until it surrendered into...]]></description><link>https://www.sealionpress.co.uk/post/vignette-shadow-over-the-city</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a3fc484ad71d3b6876ab69c</guid><category><![CDATA[Vignettes]]></category><category><![CDATA[Wm. Garrett Cothran]]></category><pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2026 06:00:12 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/aecf75_2d1c92a832404e55b765f2c1b73da9f5~mv2.webp/v1/fit/w_377,h_391,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>cepmurphywrites</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Review: Harrier Squadron: Ghost Flight]]></title><description><![CDATA[By Charles E.P. Murphy Art by Keith Burns Thanks to the efforts of the multinational Harrier Squadron, the mid-90s Third World War between the Asian Bloc and Western Federation has ended. Europe is attempting to rebuild. However, there’s another multinational team of air aces out there: Ghost Flight, a gang of pirates in mismatched aircraft who are preying on cargo ships bringing in much-needed aid for both sides! With ASBLOC accusing WESTFED of using the Ghosts as a proxy, Harrier Squadron...]]></description><link>https://www.sealionpress.co.uk/post/review-harrier-squadron-ghost-flight</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a665b0d1f684d97f845caf4</guid><category><![CDATA[Reviews]]></category><category><![CDATA[Charles EP Murphy]]></category><pubDate>Tue, 28 Jul 2026 06:00:13 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/aecf75_7964b56becb74529baefd66fbae17f89~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_611,h_768,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>cepmurphywrites</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Serial Sunday: The Renaissance Man and the Strange New World, Part VI]]></title><description><![CDATA[By Ryan Fleming. On the steps outside the Main Branch of the New York Public Library, a quiet man with his right arm in a sling drew with his left hand a revolver from the pocket of his raincoat. His unfamiliar aim drew at a pair walking down those steps having recently exited the library. The pair were Reginald Cullen and Annie Thomas, two members of the Renaissance. Seeing the drawn weapon, Cullen raised his arm in front of Annie and reached for his own concealed weapon. It was already too...]]></description><link>https://www.sealionpress.co.uk/post/serial-sunday-the-renaissance-man-and-the-strange-new-world-part-vi</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a49548afa58f0a255d2555a</guid><category><![CDATA[Serial]]></category><category><![CDATA[Ryan Fleming]]></category><pubDate>Sun, 26 Jul 2026 06:00:10 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/aecf75_2d1c92a832404e55b765f2c1b73da9f5~mv2.webp/v1/fit/w_377,h_391,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>cepmurphywrites</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Review: Doctor Who: The Lost Stories - The Fourth Doctor Box-Set]]></title><description><![CDATA[By Matthew Kresal. Image courtesy Big Finish website. Ask fans of Classic Doctor Who whom their favorite incarnation of the Time Lord is and there’s a very good chance that you’re going to get one name more often than not: Tom Baker. With seven seasons and 41 serials, his remains the longest continuous tenure, taking in three producers with very different ideas about the series and Baker’s role within it. It’s no surprise that it also left behind a number of unproduced storylines and scripts...]]></description><link>https://www.sealionpress.co.uk/post/review-doctor-who-the-lost-stories-the-fourth-doctor-box-set</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a1c85afd87dcf57d544f22a</guid><category><![CDATA[Reviews]]></category><category><![CDATA[Matthew Kresal]]></category><pubDate>Fri, 24 Jul 2026 06:00:14 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/aecf75_5c5c70bc331849d0b16ce6498cbcd777~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_599,h_599,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>cepmurphywrites</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Alternate Irelands: A Land Full of Snakes]]></title><description><![CDATA[By Gary Oswald. Saint Patrick preaches to the kings, depicted in the stained glass window of Carlow Cathedral of the Assumption of Blessed Virgin Mary. Photo by Andreas F. Borchert, who has allowed use under Creative Commons. Ireland was never part of the Roman Empire but nor it was ever entirely cut off from interaction with that Empire. After all, from 43 AD to 410 AD, Rome ruled England, Wales and parts of Scotland, which puts them very close to Ireland. Trade between Ireland and Roman...]]></description><link>https://www.sealionpress.co.uk/post/alternate-irelands-a-land-full-of-snakes</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a384818bfacb36e3545dadc</guid><category><![CDATA[Gary Oswald]]></category><pubDate>Tue, 21 Jul 2026 06:00:15 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/aecf75_739114fa365f4fcd8f8bdbbbca5a7300~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_768,h_418,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>cepmurphywrites</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Serial Sunday: The Renaissance Man and the Strange New World, Part V]]></title><description><![CDATA[By Ryan Fleming. In the docklands of New York City, a gang of armed ruffians approached Eileen Wong and Benjamin Williams with felonious intent. An eight-foot chain fence topped with barbed wire blocked their escape to the busy streets of the metropolis. Each of the five ruffians carried a weapon, but whether brass knuckles, a chain, axe handle, or a longshoreman’s hook, the implement would mean bad news for the two members of the Renaissance. Their options limited, Williams stepped forward...]]></description><link>https://www.sealionpress.co.uk/post/serial-sunday-the-renaissance-man-and-the-strange-new-world-part-v</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a4423aaf5f40624272aca9c</guid><category><![CDATA[Serial]]></category><category><![CDATA[Ryan Fleming]]></category><pubDate>Sun, 19 Jul 2026 06:00:10 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/aecf75_2d1c92a832404e55b765f2c1b73da9f5~mv2.webp/v1/fit/w_377,h_391,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>cepmurphywrites</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Review: Unholy Land]]></title><description><![CDATA[By Charles E.P. Murphy Second print &#38; kindle In the early 1900s, a Zionist expedition came back from a fact-finding mission to British East Africa – and recommended taking up London on its offer to settle a Jewish homeland there instead of the Middle East. Generations later, there's a vast modern Jewish-majority nation between Lake Victoria and Mount Elgon, and there's also an unending conflict with the displaced Nandi people. Minor writer Lior Tirosh left for Berlin years ago but now he's...]]></description><link>https://www.sealionpress.co.uk/post/review-unholy-land</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a023b20618ba45174fa904e</guid><category><![CDATA[Reviews]]></category><category><![CDATA[Charles EP Murphy]]></category><pubDate>Fri, 17 Jul 2026 06:00:14 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/aecf75_df343dc52fef439a80edbfd5b12fa0a9~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_969,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>cepmurphywrites</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Dream From The Dark Years: Mers-el-Kébir]]></title><description><![CDATA[By Paul Hynes. The battleship Bretagne, burning but still under bombardment. Hundreds would be killed. Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons, from the personal collection of Jacques Mulard. The 3rd of July 1940 had been intended to be a pleasant day for the sailors of Force de Raid (Raiding Force). Based at Mers-el-Kébir harbour beside Oran on the coast of Algeria, the squadron faced an uncertain fate. Following the armistices signed with the Axis powers their fellow sailors who lived in Algeria...]]></description><link>https://www.sealionpress.co.uk/post/dream-from-the-dark-years-mers-el-k%C3%A9bir</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a44086851416e35e786b263</guid><category><![CDATA[Paul Hynes]]></category><pubDate>Tue, 14 Jul 2026 06:00:17 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/aecf75_b9e1c8d7f1044786bc92ebeeee45cdfb~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_669,h_547,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>cepmurphywrites</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Serial Sunday: The Renaissance Man and the Strange New World, Part IV]]></title><description><![CDATA[By Ryan Fleming. In the Pacific Ocean, hundreds of miles from where there should be any land, Harry Bell and his shipmates stepped tenderly from their launch onto the shore of the mysterious land Harry had spotted the night before. The ground was soft underfoot, in some spots the landing party’s boots sank into the mud all the way to the top and the men had to be pulled out their shipmates. They soon began moving in a file by pairs, led by Chief Officer Chapman. There had been a lively debate...]]></description><link>https://www.sealionpress.co.uk/post/serial-sunday-the-renaissance-man-and-the-strange-new-world-part-iv</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a2daefe35f3351865c93ef3</guid><category><![CDATA[Serial]]></category><category><![CDATA[Ryan Fleming]]></category><pubDate>Sun, 12 Jul 2026 06:00:09 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/aecf75_2d1c92a832404e55b765f2c1b73da9f5~mv2.webp/v1/fit/w_377,h_391,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>cepmurphywrites</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Review: Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths]]></title><description><![CDATA[By Matthew Kresal. Region 2 Special Edition DVD, image courtesy Amazon. Parallel worlds. What ifs? Elseworlds. Whatever you (or insert comic book company name here) might like to call them, there’s no doubt that the idea of seeing alternative versions of our favorite superheroes has a place among fans. Something that the long-running DC Universe Animated Original Movies series took advantage of with a number of their adaptations and productions. Among them was Justice League: Crisis on Two...]]></description><link>https://www.sealionpress.co.uk/post/review-justice-league-crisis-on-two-earths</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69e3d22c66edabdde7117d73</guid><category><![CDATA[Reviews]]></category><category><![CDATA[Matthew Kresal]]></category><pubDate>Fri, 10 Jul 2026 06:00:11 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/aecf75_c7eaef1c45ec43f6b1e6efba2972868c~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>cepmurphywrites</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[“They get paid how much to kick a ball around?”]]></title><description><![CDATA[By Gary Oswald. Leicester City celebrate winning the 2016 Premier League - a tournament that, handily for an article covering the money side of things, was sponsored by a bank! Photo by Peter Woodentop, made available as creative commons via Wikimedia Commons. In March 2026 Nigel Farage, leader of the right-wing political party Reform UK, held a series of rallies in Eastern England, visiting Ipswich and Sunderland to lend support to his party’s effort in the upcoming local elections. In both...]]></description><link>https://www.sealionpress.co.uk/post/they-get-paid-how-much-to-kick-a-ball-around</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a495e71f7b480551f103d85</guid><category><![CDATA[Gary Oswald]]></category><category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2026 06:39:42 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/aecf75_f47d1ade65aa4a9180a166a9f246c91e~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_758,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>cepmurphywrites</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Serial Sunday: The Renaissance Man and the Strange New World, Part III]]></title><description><![CDATA[By Ryan Fleming. Outside a familiar brownstone in Manhattan, a quiet man stood on its stoop. He held a package in his hands, and a pistol in his pocket. Inside that same familiar brownstone, Charles Chance was brought up to speed by his partners on the appearance of a strange new world in the Pacific Ocean. “Speculation of dragons and gold and all sorts,” Annie Thomas was concluding, “but despite such embellishments, it does appear that the actual reports of a vast new continent are at least...]]></description><link>https://www.sealionpress.co.uk/post/serial-sunday-the-renaissance-man-and-the-strange-new-world-part-iii</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a1c804f425ce40641a86c36</guid><category><![CDATA[Serial]]></category><category><![CDATA[Ryan Fleming]]></category><pubDate>Sun, 05 Jul 2026 06:00:16 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/aecf75_2d1c92a832404e55b765f2c1b73da9f5~mv2.webp/v1/fit/w_377,h_391,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>cepmurphywrites</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Why I Wrote… Byzantium Express]]></title><description><![CDATA[By Alexander Rooksmoor. I was eager to write an alternate history spy novel and naturally Constantinople has always been a good place for such stories. As Istanbul, it features as a locale in From Russia with Love; The Murder on the Orient Express starts there, while Graham Greene’s Stamboul Train goes the other way; Sweet Waters’ by Harold Nicolson is set nearby in 1913. The most recent prompt for me was Time and Time Again in which a portal allows travel back to a 1914 Constantinople and a...]]></description><link>https://www.sealionpress.co.uk/post/why-i-wrote-byzantium-express</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69e29a0243fd38a1bb702026</guid><category><![CDATA[Alexander Rooksmoor]]></category><category><![CDATA[Why I Wrote]]></category><pubDate>Fri, 03 Jul 2026 06:00:19 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/442a9d_41e092c711ad4f5ca8c6b8f40526a6b8~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>cepmurphywrites</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Somehow, the Summer Sale returned...]]></title><description><![CDATA[The Smashwords summer sale has come round again, and throughout the whole of July, dozens of Sea Lion Press books are 50% off! We've got thematic anthologies and we've got big chunky series, we've got war stories and slices of life, we've got British politics and we've got hippos in America -- all of it waiting for you! Discuss this Article]]></description><link>https://www.sealionpress.co.uk/post/somehow-the-summer-sale-returned</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a415a3197220de384b18741</guid><category><![CDATA[Announcements]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 01 Jul 2026 06:00:14 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/aecf75_be438254539a4b6688861c1e47fbd412~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>cepmurphywrites</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Vignette: It Did Happen Here]]></title><description><![CDATA[By Roshita Narasimhan. On the Sea Lion Press Forums, we run a monthly Vignette Challenge. Contributors are invited to write short stories on a specific theme (changed monthly). The theme for the 90th contest was The Nineties . Washington DC, the American Republic, 1994 The statue stood proudly as rope enveloped it. Tall, bronze, dignified. The figure still raised his hand much as a preacher would, making an imaginary speech to an imaginary crowd. His face frozen in a smile. The image of the...]]></description><link>https://www.sealionpress.co.uk/post/vignette-it-did-happen-here</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69bec8a59b4f1678f0849bff</guid><category><![CDATA[Vignettes]]></category><category><![CDATA[Roshita Narasimhan]]></category><pubDate>Tue, 30 Jun 2026 06:00:08 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/aecf75_2d1c92a832404e55b765f2c1b73da9f5~mv2.webp/v1/fit/w_377,h_391,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>cepmurphywrites</dc:creator></item></channel></rss>