Alice Payne novellas

Art by Cliff Nielsen; design by Christine Foltzer.

Alice Payne Arrives was published in 2018 and Alice Payne Rides in 2019. Both were published by Tordotcom, and are about 175 pages each.

Both were edited by Lee Harris.

Alice Payne Arrives:

A disillusioned major, a highwaywoman, and a war raging across time.

Available in audiobook, paperback and ebook from your local bookseller (mine is Perfect Books) or from Indigo, Amazon Canada, Amazon UK, Amazon US, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop, or wherever you buy books.

Listen to a sample of the audiobook, read by Jennywren Walker.
Read the first two chapters.
Buy links and more at the publisher’s page.
Goodreads page here.
Author notes and highlights on Goodreads.

Praise for Alice Payne Arrves:

“Twisty time wars, highway robbery, 18th century lady scientists, queer joy. How could I not love this? Alice Payne Arrives at a gallop, breathlessly blending historical fiction and SF tropes, then turning them on their heads.” ―Sarah Pinsker

“Whip smart, and packed with irresistible characters and fast-paced adventure. A playful, pointed, and brilliantly inventive remix of history that unfolds like the most fascinating puzzle box―each new twist and reveal a delight. Counting the days to the sequel.” ―S.L. Huang

REVIEWS

Anyone who loves Doctor Who, especially the new female Doctor, is going to absolutely adore this…. There’s tonnes of ideas and it’s consistent. It’s exciting, it’s interesting, the characters are fun, it’s a good ensemble piece, and Kate’s really spent the time to make it believable, fun and interesting.

Sean Wilson, book panelist, All in a Day on CBC Radio

Alice Payne Arrives is an elegantly-written novella, precise and deft in its effects. Heartfield writes a fast and gripping story, mounting to a tense cliffhanger. But Heartfield also writes a story that’s tremendously fun, filled with humane, believable characters.

Liz Bourke, Tor.com

Though Heartfield’s scenes brim with excitement, the protagonists ground the story… Heartfield’s worldbuilding, particularly the complex rules for time travel, will satisfy detail-oriented readers. The strongest aspect of Heartfield’s tale, however, is how it asks the hard questions about how progress in the past would affect the present.

— Booklist

Heartfield takes readers on a short jaunt between the 18th and 22nd centuries—with a few stops in between—for a tale of time travel, love, war, and courage.

Kirkus Reviews

Light-handed social commentary with subtler depths makes for a thoughtful and thought-provoking but entertaining adventure. … There’s enough science fictional meat for people to argue over, while the backdrop sizzles with interesting, intelligent social ideas.

Arley Sorg, Lightspeed Magazine

Alice Payne Arrives is a pure delight from start to finish…between Prudence and Alice we have two formidable and delightful characters to follow. Kate Heartfield’s novella is breezily serious and I immediately wanted more.

Joe Sherry, Nerds of a Feather

As even casual time-travellers know, once you start messing around with the past you turn the timelines of human history into a plate of spaghetti, leading to all sorts of dangerous paradoxes and unintended consequences.

– Alex Good, The Toronto Star

This novella is a quick read with fantastic characters that is sure to leave you wanting more.

Mad Scientist Journal

Alice Payne Rides:

Alice Payne returns in the thrilling sequel to Kate Heartfield's Alice Payne Arrives. Can the team prevent an international pandemic across time, and put history back on its tracks? At least until the next battle in the time war…

Recommended by Locus.

Finalist for the Aurora Award.

Pre-order links available on the publisher’s page.
My author annotations on Goodreads.
Listen to this excerpt from the audiobook, read by Jennywren Walker.

Praise for Alice Payne Arrives:

Reviews of Alice Payne Rides:

Heartfield has a gifted touch for showing us compelling, believable individuals, all of whom feel real and vivid. It’s a story about family, for better or worse: the family you find, the family you build, and the family you choose.

Liz Bourke, Tor.com

Alice Payne Rides was everything I could have hoped for out of a sequel, and then some. It was just as intense as the first novella, if not more so…. This series has become everything I never knew I wanted out of a time travel story.

Quirky Cat’s Fat Stacks

I read both novellas very quickly, engaged to turn pages not only on the concept and the characters, but Heartfield’s prose as well.

Paul Weimer, Skiffy and Fanty

These two novellas are fast-paced adventurous romps featuring tons of queer women and women of colour in what I would call “shut up and take my money” subgenre of time travelling goodness. SO MUCH FUN.

Ana Grilo at Kirkus