Second paragraph of third story (“Lonely”):

Marian stood in the dusty gravel road and listened to the advantages of renting one of his cottages with a slightly growing trace of boredom. What had she expected? When she’d felt that faint probe at her mind last night, she’d instantly thought of another esper, one unknown to her. But after a morning of searching in the direction from which the probe had stemmed and finding nothing but mind-blind people, she was ready to give up.

I know Kathryn well from Gallifrey One (though we first met on a Worldcon Doctor Who panel in 2005). She kindly gave me this collection of her stories a few years back. There are 22 of them in 240 pages; they are mostly very short, mostly previously published in fanzines between 1981 and 2014 (with two new for this 2017 volume), mostly fantasy, and mostly with female protagonists. Many of them are linked in particular sequences; some of them are standalone. I have a feeling that some of them have emerged from role-playing games (I have not checked with the author). They’re all good yarns – even the very shortest are more than just a vignette. Worth a look.

You can get Agents, Adepts and Apprentices here.

Shamefully, this was the SF book that had lingered longest unread on my shelves. Next is British Summertime, by Paul Cornell (also acquired at Gallifrey One in 2023.)