New gender switch short story: “Amazon Arena of Mars” by Tara Loughead

Jekkara Press, the home of The Adventures of Bulays & Ghaavn and The Gender Switch Adventures, has an interesting, free short story titled “Amazon Arena of Mars” (2010). Written by Tara Loughead and dedicated to Leigh Brackett, the Queen of Space Opera and Martian Science Fiction, the story stars Erica Joan Stark, a character based on Brackett’s legendary male character, Eric John Stark. Here are the opening lines:

“PINT OF BITTER and your comm number.”

The big-breasted bartender regarded Bulays with amusement, because she’d certainly heard that one before.

“Bit desperate, aren’t you?” Called a deep female voice from a seat in the shadowy far corner of the bar.

The woman that stood as she spoke was tall and built and muscled like a lioness. She walked with a flat-hipped arrogance, more than a match for the swagger of Bulays. Her hair was like coiled midnight. She wore a kilt and sandals, her magnificent body bare above the waist. She carried a longsword sheathed across her back...

It’s worth noting that Jekkara Press takes its name from an ancient city located on the Mars of Leigh Brackett.

(Artwork by Vickie Shan)