“I swear to love you from this day and for all my days, and I swear, too, to trust that you know your own mind. I will not try to choose your path for you, and I will walk that path with you for as long as you want me by your side. In this way, and in all ways, I am yours.”
“I vow to love you, come winter or spring, beneath these trees or beneath this earth, until our souls meet again in the next world. I will keep our home—even if it is a cave—filled with light and happiness. I will care for you and comfort you in times of pain and trouble. I will love you as no one on this earth has loved you, and I will do so with a glad heart, for I shall know myself strong within your love.”
“Their roles were stripped genderless through a wildfire of loss, standing stark where lush growth might have hidden predators, there was only charred and shivering sufferer and co-sufferer, lover and beloved.”
All That’s Left in the World by Erik J. Brown Wranglestone by Darren Charlton Love in the Time of Global Warming by Francesca Lia Block Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White Bleeding Earth by Kaitlin Ward
At the End of Everything by Marieke Nijkamp All That’s Left in the World by Erik J. Brown Spellhacker by M.K. England Sweet & Bitter Magic by Adrienne Tooley The Names We Take by Trace Kerr
Bonus: Coming up in November, The Ones We Burn by Rebecca Mix
Devil’s Chew Toy by Rob Osler Dead in the Garden by Dahlia Donovan Death Before Dessert by A.E. Radley Magic, Lies, and Deadly Pies by Misha Popp Renovated to Death by Frank Anthony Polito
Bonus: Coming August 9th, A Killing in Costumes by Zac Bissonette Double Bonus: These are all standalones or short series, but for a much more extensive collection, check out Ellen Hart’s Jane Lawless…
It’s a myth that all lesbian pulp novels ended tragically, with one of the women dying or going mad and the other marrying a man. Happy endings (where two women end up together) were uncommon, but appeared in books throughout the pulp era.
Here are seven from the last decade of pulp. Free links to the texts have been provided where available.
1.These Curious Pleasures by Sloane Britain, 1961.
“Sloane works as a secretary to a New York television producer. She lives in the Village and enjoys cruising the bars at night for one-night stands with women she doesn’t know. She has a few part-time lovers, but hasn’t found the woman who would steal her heart … until she meets Allison, a young actress.” [link]
2.The Jealous and the Free by March Hastings, 1961.
This novel follows Michele, an inexperienced lesbian, and her budding relationship with her roommate Leda, and her difficulties in finding her way as a butch lesbian. [link]
3.The Sex Between by Randy Salem, 1962.
“Lee is a butch woman with many conquests under her belt. She pursues other women with abandon and has lesbian lovers all over town. Her only problem? No matter who she is with, she can’t stop thinking of Maggie. Maggie is sweet on Lee, too, but the matriarch of her family, Kate, has decided Maggie must marry in order to produce an heir to the family fortune. Lee knows she has fallen in love with Maggie, but the thought of giving up her freewheeling ways frightens her. Will Lee admit her feelings for Maggie in time to stop the wedding? Will Maggie defy her grandmother and give up a fortune for a chance at love and happiness with Lee?” [link]
4.Forbidden Sex by Joan Ellis, 1963.
Jean is a secretary in the film industry who supports her lying and philandering husband full time. She’s tired of her unhappy marriage. When she meets an actress called Lee sparks fly, but Lee’s feelings are more than friendly. How will Jean react when Lee reveals her true feelings, and can Lee put love ahead of her career? [link]
5.Return to Lesbos by Valerie Taylor, 1963.
This steamy sequel to Stranger on Lesbos finds Frances, the heroine, stuck in an abusive marriage. She has given up on love when she meets Erika in a bookstore. Both have been damaged by life - can they find the strength to love again? [link]
6.Unlike Others by Valerie Taylor, 1963.
Jo has just ended a relationship with another woman, and decided she is going to focus on her career and stay away from women. Then she meets Betsy at work and all her resolutions go out the window. But Betsy is dating their boss, Stan … [link]
7.Journey to Fulfillmentby Valerie Taylor, 1963.
Erika, a Jewish survivor of a Nazi concentration camp, is adopted into a U.S. family. In the United States she is free to meet women and to explore her butch identity. A prequel to the Erika Frohmann series (Stranger on Lesbos,Return to LesbosandA World Without Men). [link]
(Please note: These books were written at a time when lesbian relationships were taboo in the United States and may reflect prejudices of the era. They may also contain confronting themes like violence against women).
Pulp novels were a lifeline for many gay and bisexual women in the 50s and 60s, a place to see themselves reflected and know they weren’t alone. Although tragic endings were a genre staple, it’s a myth that all lesbian pulp novels ended unhappily. Happy endings were rare, but even at the beginning of the pulp era, books were published where two women were together and happy at the end.
Here are eight from the first two decades of the pulp period. Free links to the texts provided where available.
1.The Strange Path (Torchlight to Valhalla) by Gale Wilhelm, 1938.
“Morgen Teutenberg is an introverted 21-year-old woman nursing her dying father Fritz. She meets a handsome young man who is smitten with her despite her lack of enthusiasm. Then a childhood friend moves back into the street and new feelings are awakened.” [link]
2.Diana, The Story of a Strange Love(Diana, a Strange Autobiography)by Diana Fredericks, 1939.
A thinly veiled autobiography, Diana is the story of a woman coming to terms with her lesbianism through a series of failed and eventually successful relationships. Julie Abraham, in an introduction to a 1995 reprinting says, “It offers a defense of lesbian relationships that was unprecedented in 1939 and radical for decades afterwards.”
3.The Price of Saltby Patricia Highsmith writing as Claire Morgan, 1952.
“A chance encounter between two lonely women leads to a passionate romance in this lesbian cult classic.” [link]
4.Odd Girl [Originally titled Anne Loves Beth] by Artemis Smith, 1959.
A love triangle and a mistaken marriage leads a woman to discover her true desires. [link]
5.Another Kind of Love by Paula Christian, 1959.
Laura Garraway, after being spurned by her Hollywood lover, flees to New York City where she finally finds a place where she belongs. [link]
6.The Girls in 3-Bby Valerie Taylor, 1959.
“Three young women move to Chicago and room together; each wants to emancipate herself from smalltown mores. Valerie Taylor skillfully paints a sociological portrait of the emotional and economic pitfalls of heterosexuality in 1950s America—and then offers a defiantly subversive alternative.” [link]
7.Edge of Twilightby Paula Christian, 1959.
Stewardess Val Macgregor lives a wild life, until she meets Toni, the new stewardess, and must come to terms with new feelings.
8.The Dark Side of Venus by Shirley Verel, 1960.
“A story of two women who defied the conventions of society for the only kind of love that could fulfill them.”
(Please note: These books were written at a time when lesbian relationships were taboo in the United States and may reflect prejudices of the era. They may also contain confronting themes like violence against women).
Nikolai knew that saving the stupid, over-cheerful human’s life would mean betraying his pack. He knew it would probably get him killed. But damn it, Nikolai couldn’t just let the guy die, could he? Banished from the pack without a home, or even clothes, the last thing Nikolai needs is to take responsibility for a newly bitten werewolf…
Oliver thought a trip to Norway to practice his photography was a great idea. He thought that the warning to stay out of the forest was a bit over-cautious. He thought he was straight, too. Turns out, Oliver was wrong about a lot of things. Instead of wandering the wintery landscapes of Norway on his own, Oliver finds himself the victim of a freak wolf attack, and shortly after ends up in the company of Nikolai, the gruff (naked!) hitchhiker with a shadowed past who claims that not only are werewolves real, but Oliver is about to become one…
Together, they embark on a road trip that will lead to self-discovery, a growing attraction, unexpected feelings, and very serious danger.
New York City Detective Lily Sparr is stunned when she is inexplicably moved to the very same precinct that once upon a time handled her own father’s murder. There, she is assigned to the case of a women’s motorcycle club which has been committing acts of violence all over the city. Despite missing her former partner, Miri, and fighting the ghosts of her past, Lily dedicates herself to the case, unaware that her own sister is mixed up in the swirl of violence and chaos.
After secretly reopening the file on her father’s death, Lily slowly unravels threads of history, discovering that both cases lead to corruption and betrayal at the highest levels.
Featuring an ensemble of characters as diverse as its New York City setting, Loud Pipes Save Lives is a thriller-mystery with a twist of queer representation.
This is author Jennifer Giacalone’s (@jen_giacalone on twitter) debut novel. Jennifer recently took 3rd Place in the Bucks County Short Fiction Contest with her short story, “Les Masques.”
I thought I’d post this here as well just for those following me on this platform!
I have recently been given the opportunity to create a graphic novel series, with the first book set to be published in 2023 by IDW, for an original story that I’ve been developing for a while now with my collaborative partner AJ O. Mason.
KLOUD 9 is a queer space opera focusing on two Asian leads, and surrounded by a BIPOC cast of characters. This story is so special to me, and fills me with so much joy to be working on it. I’m so thankful for the comics medium, because through them, I think many creators have been able to carve space for characters and stories of all types, especially within the sci-fi genre that I feel is lacking in television and film.
If anyone’s interested, I’ll continue to keep updating on this project here (and progress on KLOUD 9 can also be tracked on my other social media platforms!)
(a response to the ‘three minutes until…’ flash fic challenge over on Absolute Write. I do these weekly, I just don’t always post the results! honestly this one feels kinda flat and contrived I just really like the relationship building at the end.)
“It’s out of my hands,” said Reannon, folding their hands on the desk. “Nothing I can do will stop that monster, now.”
“There’s still three minutes to the announcement. If we could get out there, stop him, say something-!”
“No, Stacy. It’s done. We’ve lost!” One of Reannon’s hands gripped the other, tightly. They watched as Stacy paced the room, flicking the blade of her pocket knife in and out. “Just accept it.”
“I won’t,” Stacy said. “If Crawford manages to get on air, he’s going to pull the trigger on thousands of people. You know what he can do with a microphone, Reann! The country’s on a knife’s edge!”
“All of my official channels have failed. Do you propose to go and physically assault him? His guards will stop you before you get close.” Reannon’s tone dropped into something icy cold. “How will you stop him when you’re rotting in prison, Stacy?”
“I’m not giving up,” Stacy snapped, diverting her course to grab the door and fling it open. “You do what you want!” Once she was through, she flung the door closed. A picture, hung nearby, wobbled and fell to the floor. Reannon stared at the shards of glass, their lips pressed in a thin line.
-
It was devastatingly easy to approach the filming site. Stacy grabbed a toolkit, acted natural, and everyone thought she was just one of the technicians. No one had been warned to look out for a plucky little girl. And she had a nice smile. Crawford himself had told her that.
She didn’t go for him. He would be under guard; it would be difficult to get to him. She went for the equipment instead. A man in a hawaiian shirt turned in his chair to greet her, an easy grin on his face.
“Oh, hey. You here to help fix things up here? We’ve been having so many problems with playback.”
“Yeah, absolutely,” Stacy lied through her smile. “Let me just get in there.” She crouched, crawled in underneath the table with all the equipment. She could try and disable it safely, but there just wasn’t enough time - he’d be on in a minute. Taking out her pocket knife, she got to cutting lines. They sparked, and when the metal blade made contact with the wrong live wire, there was a distant crack and Stacy found herself impacting something.
“Oh my god,” she heard someone say, though the words were tinny and faint. “Oh shit, jesus christ, hold on, I can-”
“Holy shit, Ben, what happened in here?!”
“I don’t know, this girl came in and I thought she was here to help, like, you said they’d be here in five minutes -”
“You’re fucking lucky the repair crew’s on its way already! Shit, someone get a medic in here for the dead sparky!”
I’m not dead, Stacy wanted to say, I’m just really stupid. But the words wouldn’t come out. The mystery man said more things, and she thought she felt someone touching her, but…
-
And then she opened her eyes again, and she saw white ceilings and white walls. She turned her head, and saw Reannon, reading a book, seated in one of those comfortable chairs they have in the hospital for people who are waiting a long time for people to wake up -
Oh.
The hospital.
“Hey,” she said, and her voice sounded creaky and small to her.
“You’re awake,” said Reannon, and their voice sounded small too, so Stacy decided it must be her ears, because Reann never sounded small or uncertain.
“How’d it..?”
“A brief delay due to technical difficulties. He still got on screen. He made the call. They’re being chased down in the streets, now, and of course the police aren’t helping. He’ll probably press charges against you, too. You’re an idiot.” They said those last words as if it were a personal affront. To them, it probably was.
“Don’t care,” Stacy said, taking a slow and deliberate breath so she wouldn’t hurt her chest so badly. “Did something.”
“Action is not strictly preferable to inaction. There are times when it pays not to play, Stacy. You could have died. Were you not thinking at all?”
“Eh…”
“Of course you weren’t.” Reannon snapped their book shut, and laid it down on their lap. “You weren’t thinking of the people you would leave behind. Of the fight made so much more difficult without you. Of the projects left undone.”
“Not,” Stacy breathed, “that important.”
“You are oblivious.” Stacy knew it was her ears ringing, but she thought their voice almost sounded strained. “As usual, you leave my feelings unconsidered. I have stood with you on this from the beginning! We have… I have…”
Stacy squinted, tried to bring Reannon in focus, because she could swear by the sounds they were making that they were crying, and that was frankly impossible. Reannon didn’t cry.
“… Reann, you okay?”
“Of course not.” Reannon took a sharp breath inwards, rubbed at their eyes behind their glasses. “Forget it all. Just forget I said a word.”
Stacy tried to reach out, only to find that there were all manner of medical clips on her fingers. She huffed, dropping her hand back on the bed, and said nothing for a long moment.
In the end, she just said: “Sorry.”
“You don’t even know what you’re apologising for.” Reannon’s tone was formal again, with an edge of sharpness. “The apology owed is mine. You are injured. I should not force you to consider these things while you recover. As I said, please just forget it. There will be time enough to berate you.”
They stood, and Stacy looked over to them, alarm written on her face and in her words. “Don’t go.”
“All right,” they said, immediately, and sat again. “But I shan’t be much conversation. You should rest.”
And even though she had so much to think about - Crawford’s speech, Reannon’s revelation, her own precarious legal future - Stacy found it was easy to close her eyes and sleep again.
LGBTQIA+ Historical Romance Novels with Ghosts, Sorcerers, and Gothic themes 2021
A Haunting at Hartwell Hall by Rachel Bowdler (sapphic)
-It’s 1924 in Cheshire, England, and the grand estate of Hartwell Hall has had some strange complaints from its guests. With suspicions of ghosts and hauntings arising, Hartwell’s owner, Vincent, does the only thing he can think of to salvage his family-inherited business before the guests are scared away for good: enlist the help of a paranormal investigator.
However, his daughter, Felicity, has no reason to believe in the supernatural and can’t stand the thought of throwing well-earned money away on an obvious con-woman like Blair Nelson, who claims to have been able to feel the presence of the dearly departed all her life. A stubborn, money-minded sceptic and barmy ghost-hunter in the same room is hardly a good idea, then, and the only thing worse is them being forced to work together to explain Hartwell’s peculiar occurrences. But when Felicity faces something she can’t explain or dismiss in the middle of a storm-induced blackout, only Blair can help her uncover the truth about the mysteries of her centuries-old home and the shadow lurking around it. Can Felicity trust Blair enough to unravel her family’s secrets and open her heart to a new and unexpected love, or will Hartwell Hall always remain haunted and destined to run itself into the ground, Felicity along with it?
Strong Wine (Sword Dance #3) by AJ Demas (Ancient-Greek-Flavoured)
- Retired soldier Damiskos and his lover Varazda have been living together in Boukos for a month, and their future is beginning to look bright. Then Damiskos receives a letter summoning him home to Pheme—where his parents are deeply in debt, his brother is being hunted by loan sharks, and an unwanted arranged marriage looms.
And that’s beforeDamiskos is charged with murder.
Fortunately, he’s not alone. Old friends are back in Pheme. And Varazda—eunuch, sword-dancer, and spy—has solved mysteries before. But saving his lover from execution andfrom marriage will take time, and with only days until Dami’s trial, time is running out.
Strong Wine is the third book in the Sword Dance trilogy, the conclusion of Dami and Varazda’s story from Sword Dance andSaffron Alley. This time with fake fortunetellers, real courtroom drama, and … fertilizer?
Foxen Bloom by Parker Foye (alt world)
- Season after season, hunters have attempted to capture the white-tailed stag. Local legend holds that its capture promises prosperity, and in a land that is dying—to hunger, to war; to a magical curse, some say—even a whisper of hope is a powerful lure. Yet every hunter who tries fails, never to leave the forest. Fenton, god of the forest, yet imprisoned within its borders, watches from his place in the trees as the hunters first despoil and then fall to his land, dispassionate as his deadwood heart.
Prior doesn’t hope to capture the stag or secure prosperity. He has a far bolder hunt in mind: to entreat the god of the forest to save his sister from the sickness sweeping the land. It’s a desperate attempt without much hope of success. He doesn’t imagine he’ll meet the god in person, much less that he’ll find himself agreeing to a favour in turn: his sister’s life will be spared, and in exchange, Prior will kill the god’s sibling. And he certainly hadn’t imagined that a god would be so… human.
When Fenton leaves the forest, he has little but revenge on his mind. As he spends more time with Prior, though, he discovers that the world isn’t as simple as the hunt, and he’s not the only hunter with teeth—but sometimes the chase is worth the risk of being caught.
Pyotra and the Wolf by Elna Holst (f/f - Siberia)
-For the space of a breath or two, that wolf had entranced her, mesmerised her, made her believe—the impossible. And that was all it took.
Nothing about this wolf was as it should be.
Pyotra Nikolayevna Kulakova lives in a small Russian settlement in the northern Siberian taiga, where the polar night lasts for a good month out of the year and the temperature rarely reaches above freezing point. Pyotra’s days, too, seem congealed and unchanging, laden with grief, until her baby brother’s close encounter with a tundra wolf upends the lives of the three members of the Kulakov family in one fell swoop.
Pyotra and the Wolf is a queer retelling of Sergei Prokofiev’s symphonic fairy tale, structurally influenced by matryoshka dolls and memory castles. This is a story of darkness and light, love and loss, beast and human. Whichever way the spinning kopek falls.
Manchester Lake by Joshua Ian (Darkly Enchanted Romance #3)
- England, 1910 Monty, along with his best friend Bishop, investigates an odd seal-like creature swimming in Manchester Lake. The pair soon realize they’ve found a selkie when the magnificent animal transforms into the most gorgeous man either of them has ever seen. Determined to discover the origins of the mystical man, they bundle him into Bishop’s brand-new electric automobile and whisk him off to London. There they find a host of distractions: a tastefully debauched house party hosted by silver-tongued aristocrats, and a queerly European-inspired novelty called the night club. Both are filled with a cast of characters sometimes amusing and sometimes frightening. And as the night unfolds, Monty comes face-to-face with ghoulish agents of the occult as well as revelations from the past. Most surprisingly of all, Monty finds himself falling for the beautiful creature from the lake, who seems equally interested in him. Can he really find himself in love with a man he has only just met? Or do they have a deeper connection which goes much further back? And what does it all have to do with the memories of his trip to Paris three years prior? The mystery of the selkie from Manchester Lake is only the beginning, and before their adventure is finished Monty will see the culmination of long suppressed secrets explode in a firestorm of magic and passion!
A Bargain of Blood and Gold (Midnight Guardians Book 1) by Kristin Jacques
-A novice hunter with a mission. A five-hundred-year-old vampire with a strong sense of irony. A town plagued by creatures in need of saving.
When Johnathan Newman arrives in Cress Haven, the last thing he expects is for his life to be irrevocably changed. Sent by a clandestine league of vampire hunters to investigate a string of murders, signs point to a vampire lurking amid the townsfolk. Johnathan’s attempt to enlist the locals leads him to an unlikely partnership with Vic, the town’s most eligible, enigmatic bachelor.
As the pair work to solve the mystery, Vic’s secrets come back to bite him. Revealed, the vampire fights his attraction to a man trained to destroy him, while Johnathan’s emotions land him in the middle of forbidden desires. Even if Vic isn’t the murderer, how can Johnathan yearn for his natural enemy?
As Vic leads Johnathan into encounters with terrifying beings straight from children’s nightmares, Johnathan learns that not only is the world stranger than he knew, but that those he once trusted have far darker intentions that will place hunter and vampire at the center of a conflict between realms.
Cress Haven holds more sinister secrets than its resident vampire, a secret so great, it could unleash Hell itself.
The Fog of War by AL Lester (sapphic 1920’s)
- The quiet village of Bradfield should offer Dr Sylvia Marks the refuge she seeks when she returns home from her time in a field hospital in France in 1918. However, she is still haunted by the disappearance of her lover, ambulance driver Anna Masters, two years previously. Settling back in as the village doctor alone in her large family house is more difficult than she realised it would be after the excitement of front-line medicine. Then curious events at a local farm, mysterious lights, and a hallucinating patient’s strange illness make her revisit her assessment of Anna’s death on the battlefield.
Lucille Hall-Bridges is at a loose end now her nursing work is finished. Her Mama and Papa are perfectly happy for her to pursue any or no career or social round; but she felt useful as a nurse and now she really doesn’t know what to do with her life. She hopes going to stay with her friend Sylvia for a while will help her find a way forward. And if that involves staying at Bradfield with Sylvia … then that’s fine with her.
But Sylvia is still focused on finding out what happened to her very good friend Anna three years ago; and the unbelievable events at a local farm over the course of the last year don’t seem to have helped her let that go.
Will the arrival of Lucy in Bradfield be the catalyst that allows both women to put their wartime stresses to rest? Can Sylvia move on from her love affair with Anna and find happiness again with Lucy, or is she still too entwined in the unresolved endings of the past?
Inheritance of Shadows: A Paranormal Historical Gay Romance (Border Magic) by AL Lester
-It’s 1919. Rob and Matty both return to Webber’s Farm from the trenches only to find Matty’s brother dying of an unknown illness. And Matty’s looking sicker and sicker. The answer seems to be in the esoteric books Arthur left strewn around the house.
It’s taken a decade and a war to admit they have feelings for each other. They are determined that nothing will part them. What is Rob prepared to sacrifice to save Matty’s life?
A stand-alone 35k word novella set in the Border Magic Universe (previously the Lost in Time universe). Gay, paranormal, historical, romantic suspense. Set in rural England in 1919.
Blood Pact (Youkai Bloodlines #2) by Courtney Maguire
- In Hiro’s world, youkai are a supernatural story used to scare children into obedience, and to keep men out of back alleys and brothels. Until Sakurai Hideyoshi walks through his door with a fantastical tale of a samurai who had killed a thousand men and drank the blood of his enemies, a man that lived in darkness but sought beauty to keep it at bay.
A story both terrifying and romantic…and completely ridiculous.
Unless it is true.
Convinced something softer lurks behind Hideyoshi’s hard mask, Hiro follows him home. And discovers the story is real.
Only instead of the blood of his enemies, it is innocent blood taken.
Hideyoshi tells him never to return. Yet after Hiro’s mother is mortally wounded, Hiro runs back to the one being he knows with the power to save her. When Hideyoshi can’t, Hiro begs him for the next best thing: the power to avenge her.
As Hiro becomes youkai, he faces a new threat, something darker, older, and far more dangerous. With Hideyoshi at his side, Hiro must decide what he’s willing to sacrifice–and what he’s willing to do–to protect this new life before he loses everything for a second time.
Mirror Monster On My Wall: A Steamy Reverse Harem Regency Monster Romance (Shadows & Glass #1) by Tam Nicnevin (f/m/m - Biracial and Autistic MC - Regency England)
-In a battle of wills against her wicked stepmother and a cruel earl intent on her dowry, Alice Blanchard is positive she has no one to turn to…
Regency England is a hostile place for twenty-five-year-old Alice Blanchard: half-Black, autistic, and wholly uninterested in the romantic company of men, her current plan in life is to endure the tyrannical abuse of her stepmother until the racist old woman dies of an apoplexy. That plan goes out the window when the cruel Madame Blanchard informs Alice that she’s been betrothed to the equally cruel Lord Matthew Hillborough, Earl of Pennwood.
Until four old friends show her what she’s truly capable of…
Ever since she was a little girl, the only people who’ve ever shown Alice real love were Magpie, Silver, Kapri, and Glashtyn: four strange, clawed, fanged, many-limbed creatures carved of black glass that appeared to her in her dreams. Now these beings are all grown up, and so is Alice. They love her, they’re willing to do anything for her, and she’s willing to do anything for them. She just has to find the desperation she needs to let her monsters step out of the dream world and into reality. All it takes is a full moon…and human blood like a scarlet tide…
Mirror Monster on My Wall is a 22k-word erotic monster mash-up novelette of “Snow White” and “Alice in Wonderland” set against the backdrop of Regency England and featuring a new kind of monstrous lover.
Warning: This novelette is the story of an abused young woman taking back her power and autonomy and escaping her monstrous abusers with the help of the real monsters who love her. It features explicit scenes between a human woman, a monster woman, and three non-binary monsters. Reader discretion is advised.
The Bachelor’s Valet (Flos Magicae Book #2) by Arden Powell
- Alphonse Hollyhock is blessed with wealth, class, and more beauty than brains. Though he hasn’t got a lick of wit or magic to his name, he’s perfectly content living life as an airheaded bachelor with his valet—the clever, unflappable Jacobi—by his side to ensure everything runs smoothly. All he lacks, according to his mother, is a wife.
Despite Alphonse’s protests, he’s to marry Aaliyah Kaddour: a bright, headstrong young woman who would probably be charming company if she didn’t threaten everything about Alphonse’s way of life. Marrying means giving up his fashionable flat, his fast car, and, worst of all, it means losing Jacobi.
Perhaps most distressingly, this talk of marriage is bringing all sorts of confusing feelings to the forefront. Because rather than falling for the beautiful girl being pushed into his arms, Alphonse seems to be falling for his valet. Except a man can’t fall in love with another man. Can he?
Meanwhile, Aaliyah has plans of her own. She’s as devious as she is pretty, but if Alphonse wants to get through this marriage business in one piece, he’ll have to trust her. Her and Jacobi, and, most dangerously, his own feelings.
The Bachelor’s Valet is a novel in the Flos Magicae series, a collection of queer romances set in an alternate 1920s universe with magic. All the stories are standalones and can be read in any order.
The Dandy Medium by Dez Schwartz
- Alfred “Alfie” Hughes is a spiritual medium who has more than enough people in his social circle. Unfortunately, they’re all dead. That is until Detective Sebastian Davies arrives in Nótt Haven, a tourist town known for its active nightlife, and deems Alfie’s abilities—perhaps, even his company—worthy of closer inspection.
A circus performer, known as The World Bender, mysteriously disappears and a slew of peculiar murders accumulate. Suspecting foul play as unusual as the crimes themselves, Sebastian enlists Alfie to guide him through the town’s supernatural underbelly to find answers; and, in the process, Alfie might solve the biggest enigma of all: human connection.
Camilla and Laura by SD Simper (f/f - reissued and audio 2021)
- In the late 19th century, Laura lives a lonely life in a schloss by the forest, Styria, with only her doting father and two governesses for company. A chance accident brings a new companion, however - the eccentric and beautiful Carmilla.
With charm unparalleled and habits as mysterious as her history, Carmilla’s allure is undeniable, drawing Laura closer with every affectionate touch and word. Attraction blossoms into a temptation Laura fears to name, a tantalizing passion burning brighter than the fires of hell. But when a mysterious plague begins stealing the lives of young women in her home and the village beyond, Laura wrestles to reconcile the truth - that the gentle, fragile woman she loves may be a monster cast out of heaven.
Carmilla, the classic vampire novella written by J Sheridan LeFanu, receives new life in this gorgeous retelling, centered on the provocative, controversial leads of the original, Carmilla and Laura.
Cairo Malachi and the Adventure of the Silver Whistle Kindle Edition by Samantha SoRelle
- The first time I met the love of my life, he died in my arms.”
Cairo Malachi, Conduit to the Spirits, is a liar, a thief, and a fraud. He may be building a reputation as one of the most fashionable mediums in London, but he doesn’t even believe in ghosts and has certainly never conjured one. Which is why, after he witnesses the brutal slaying of a handsome young constable, he’s shocked when the man’s spirit appears in his home, begging for his help.
Constable Noah Bell is everything Mal can never be—honest, funny, and kind. But it’s ridiculous to be attracted to a man he can’t even touch, especially when every step they take towards solving Noah’s murder is one step closer to bringing him the justice he needs to move on—and out of Mal’s life forever.
As their investigation brings unexpected enemies to light, the secrets they’re keeping from each other may prove even more dangerous. Mal and Noah will have to work together… or risk a fate worse than death.
Wonderstruck: A Paranormal Historical Romance (Magic in Manhattan Book #3) by Allie Therin
-New York, 1925
Arthur Kenzie is on a mission: to destroy the powerful supernatural relic that threatens Manhattan—and all the nonmagical minds in the world. So far his search has been fruitless. All it has done is keep him from the man he loves. But he’ll do anything to keep Rory safe and free, even if that means leaving him behind.
Psychometric Rory Brodigan knows his uncontrolled magic is a liability, but he’s determined to gain power over it. He can take care of himself—and maybe even Arthur, too, if Arthur will let him. An auction at the Paris world’s fair offers the perfect opportunity to destroy the relic, if a group of power-hungry supernaturals don’t destroy Rory and Arthur first.
As the magical world converges on Paris, Arthur and Rory have to decide who they can trust. Guessing wrong could spell destruction for their bond—and for the world as they know it.
A Tricky Situation by Ellie Thomas
- At night in the seamy port of 18th century Bristol, close to Halloween, wealthy merchant’s son Christopher Holloway finds himself under attack from a gang of robbers.
His rescue by Edmund Hall, a working man of colour, seems almost miraculous. But their mutual attraction turns Kit’s world upside down. Will his feelings for Edmund cause a crisis of the soul?
Of the Wild by E. Wambhein
- Aeris, a shapeshifter of the Wild, steals children from unloving homes and raises them as his own in an enchanted grove deep in the Woods. Under the protective eye of their new guardian, the children absorb the forest’s magic and grow more fey-like than human: some of them sprout mushrooms or flowers while others develop scales or wings. But the reserve of magic that keeps Aeris and his forest home alive is inexplicably running dry. With his life waning and the dangers of the Wild creeping closer and closer, Aeris will do anything to protect his family, even set his hopes on an unlikely new arrival in the Woods: a human stranger.
Seducing the Sorcerer by Lee Welch
- Homeless and jobless, Fenn Todd has nearly run out of hope. All he has left is his longing for horses and the strength of his own two hands. But when he’s cheated into accepting a very ugly sackcloth horse, he’s catapulted into a world of magic, politics and desire.
Fenn’s invited to stay at the black tower, home of the most terrifying man in the realm: Morgrim, the court sorcerer. Morgrim has a reputation as a scheming villain, but he seems surprisingly charming—and sexy—and Fenn falls hard for him.
However, nothing is as it seems and everyone at the tower is lying about something. Beset by evil hexes, violent political intrigue and a horse that eats eiderdowns, Fenn must make the hardest choices of his life.
Can a plain man like Fenn ever find true love with a scheming sorcerer?
Carillon’s Curse by Sionnach Wintergreen (Texas, 1888 - trans author) - Coming 12/10/21 so add it to your Winter holiday list!
Adyskia is a world in which magick, known as Raiken, is a rare skill. Rarer still is Cosma Raiken, a more wide ranging magick in which the user can control all energy.
Aeli may not be the best student, but she does have Cosma Raiken. And she’s discovered this gives her a unique ability: the ability to open portals to other worlds. This is a secret she shares only with her closest friends as they explore other exciting, and potentially dangerous, worlds.
Books I’ve Read In 2022 - The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun
Dev Deshpande has always believed in fairy tales. So it’s no wonder then that he’s spent his career crafting them on the long-running reality dating show Ever After. As the most successful producer in the franchise’s history, Dev always scripts the perfect love story for his contestants, even as his own love life crashes and burns. But then the show casts disgraced tech wunderkind Charlie Winshaw as its star.
Charlie is far from the romantic Prince Charming Ever After expects. He doesn’t believe in true love, and only agreed to the show as a last-ditch effort to rehabilitate his image. In front of the cameras, he’s a stiff, anxious mess with no idea how to date twenty women on national television. Behind the scenes, he’s cold, awkward, and emotionally closed-off.
As Dev fights to get Charlie to connect with the contestants on a whirlwind, worldwide tour, they begin to open up to each other, and Charlie realizes he has better chemistry with Dev than with any of his female co-stars. But even reality TV has a script, and in order to find to happily ever after, they’ll have to reconsider whose love story gets told.
So, this past month I wrote 8 reviews. 8/31 is not great, but I also read more last month than I probably did in six months in 2017. I’m going to call that a win, even though I was far from my goal of one review a day.
During the holidays, anything is possible—a second chance, a promised future, an unexpected romance, a rekindled love, or a healed heart. Treat yourself to a little holiday season romance for only $2.99 with If the Fates Allow, a short story winter anthology from five bestselling and critically-acclaimed Interlude Press authors.
“The five authors in this sweet anthology offer tender, gentle contemporary stories of hope and romance with a Christmas backdrop.” —Publishers Weekly
Gracious Living Magazine Says It Has to Be a Live Tree—Killian B. Brewer
Determined to make his first Christmas with his new boyfriend magazine-perfect, Marcus seeks the advice of lovable busy bodies, the Do-Nothings Club. When he learns that his boyfriend, Hank, may have ordered a ring, Marcus’ attempts to transform his home into a winter wonderland get out of hand.
Shay Allen returns to her hometown in Montana for the holidays with her best friend Devon with the intent to return home to L.A. by New Year’s Eve. Instead, the weather traps them in the small town, but the there’s a bright spot: her old crush Milla is still in town.
Last Call at the Casa Blanca Bar & Grille—Erin Finnegan
As the one-year anniversary of his lover’s death rolls around on Christmas, Jack Volarde finds himself at their old haunt—a bar called the Casa Blanca, where a new bartender helps him open up about loss, and see brightness in a future that had grown dim.
Avery Puckett has begun to wonder if her life has become joyless. One night, fate intervenes in the form of a scraggly dog shivering and alone in a parking lot. Avery takes him to a nearby shelter called Halfway Home where she meets bright and beautiful Grace, who is determined to save the world one stray at a time.
Shelved—Lynn Charles
When library clerk Karina Ness meets a new patron, lonely business owner, Wesley Lloyd, she puts her own love life on hold and begins a holiday matchmaking mission to connect Wes with her uncle Tony.
Pre-order Claire Rudy Foster’s self-narrated SHINE OF THE EVER from your favorite audiobook retailer for your chance to win a print copy signed by the author and an Amazon Echo Dot smart speaker! Submit proof of purchase to [email protected] by Nov. 16th for your chance to win! Links at https://linktr.ee/interludepress.
