Release Blitz: Life is Good and Other Lies by Magdalena Di Sotru and Sophia Soames

RELEASE BLITZ

Book Title: Life is Good and Other Lies

Authors and Publishers: Magdalena Di Sotru and Sophia Soames

Cover Artist: Sophia Soames

Release Date: October 15, 2022

Genre: Contemporary M/M Romance with one MC being an FTM Transman

Tropes: Slice of Life, what happens after the HEA?

Themes: Finding your way back to each other when life gets tough. A holiday on a remote farm. Kids, family and Friendship. HEA.

Length: 120 000 words

Heat Rating: 4 flames

It is a standalone story.

This is book one in the series.

Book two will release on December 1, 2022

Goodreads

Buy Links - Available in Kindle Unlimited

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Blurb

This is not a romance. This is what happens when life goes on, when people grow and fall out of sync. Not out of love; some people are just meant to be.

Thomas at least hopes that is the case, even though he sometimes feels like he’s clinging to his marriage by a brittle thread.

Frank clutches to the scraps that are left, knowing he’s the root cause of Thomas’ grey hairs, their kids being hormonal monsters and his own sanity being questionable at the best of times.

Gabriel needs to stop worrying and take control of his life, but with young kids and a body that refuses to do what it’s supposed to do—to sustain and nourish and build muscle to keep bones in place—his feels like a traitor, laughing in his face when he struggles to keep it together. He knows he is loved. His kids are everything. But his marriage feels like a distant memory, and he’s tumbling from one disaster into another. It’s just…life.

Bruno thought this holiday would bring them closer together as a family. Isn’t that what a trip abroad is supposed to do? Four weeks in the Swedish mosquito-infested countryside, sharing a farm with strangers. He should have known better.

Life is good. But the rest? Lies. All lies.

This is the first of two books following a lifelong friendship between two families. A slice of life from two established M/M couples, children galore, stray sheep, heat, sizzle and laughter, this is what happens after the HEA.

The second book, Life is Right Here, will be published in December 2022.

Excerpt

“You know, Thomas, there’s no need to feel jealous,” Bruno said softly.

“I’m not.” Thomas laughed again, but it sounded fake. Hollow.

“Well, I am.” Bruno admitted with a touch of cockiness. “I’m fucking raging that he can talk to Frank, this dude he’s just met, about things he struggles to talk to me about. He should be talking to me. Shouldn’t he?”

“You just said I shouldn’t feel jealous!” Thomas almost shrieked, gripping the worktop until the wood creaked under his knuckles.

Bruno grinned. Classic psychology. Worked every time.

“You are jealous, and that’s the way it should be. You have a very, very handsome husband who loves you to the point that he can barely see through the love haze the two of you have going on. Frank adores you. You just don’t always see it, but that doesn’t mean he can’t talk to other people, have close friends, talk about things that he might not be able to talk to you about. It’s healthy and normal.”

“Bloody doctors, you’re all the same, talking a load of crap.” Thomas was smiling underneath the stiff pose he was still holding. Thank God.

“Yup, it’s all textbook doctor bullshit, mate.” Bruno laughed. “And I wasn’t lying about being jealous. But why would Gabriel even look twice at some random Norwegian dude when he has all this prime Italian quality stud at home?” He slapped his chest like some ridiculous alpha male, and Thomas chuckled and shook his head.

“You’re such an idiot.”

“I know.” Bruno smiled, taking a step forward so he could pat Thomas’s shoulder. “I wouldn’t make it a week without Gabriel. He keeps me going, sorts me out. Puts me to bed at night and gets me up in the morning. Without him, I would probably be dead.”

“Did you ever suffer from…you know. Stuff? Do you get it all? Like, do you understand Gabriel?”

“Let me tell you something.” He took a deep breath because this wasn’t something he’d ever talked about, and he didn’t know why he suddenly felt like sharing. “I don’t understand much, and let me tell you, I’ve spent years specialising in the human body and mind. Personally, I’ve made some horrible mistakes, huge mistakes, and there are things I’ve done that I will always, always regret. I still struggle to grasp how the human brain works. I learn new stuff every day. But I understand depression. I understand losing control of your mind, and you do too. I bet you’ve stood at the edge of a cliff in your head and wondered what it would be like to jump. I know I have. I’ve wobbled and struggled and bloody lost my mind more than once, but the difference between you and me and Frank and Gabriel…”

“Yeah?”

“There is no difference. We’re all human. It’s just our brains are wired differently. We still live, eat, sleep, fall in love, have families and die when our time is complete. Some of us have to try a little harder. Some of us struggle a little more. Fall a little harder and cry a little longer. Struggle to swim against the undercurrent, while the rest of the world seems to go with the flow. It doesn’t make us less human or worth less than anyone else.”

It was nice to see Thomas smile, despite his shoulders sagging and the way he shook his head like Bruno was talking nonsense.

“Seriously, dude. Don’t be jealous. Don’t create drama where there is none. Let Frank and Gabriel have this. They need it. Well, I hardly know Frank, but Gabriel does. We’re just a bunch of messed-up gay men on holiday. Take it for what it is. Nothing more.”

About the Authors

Sophia Soames should be old enough to know better but has barely grown up. She has been known to fangirl over TV shows, has fallen in and out of love with more popstars than she dares to remember, and has a ridiculously high-flying (un-)glamourous real-life job. Her long-suffering husband just laughs at her antics. Their children are feral. The dogs are too. She lives in a creaky old house in rural London, although her heart is still in her native Scandinavia. Discovering that the stories in her head make sense when written down has been part of the most hilarious midlife crisis ever, and she hopes it may long continue.

Social Media Links

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Magdalena Di Sotru is an information security and data protection enthusiast from Norway. She is a mother of two and wife of one as well as a long-established fanfic writer. Her favourite food is (actually) salads (without mayo), her favourite guilty pleasure is fresh bakery goods (and that explains why everyone would think the salad was a lie). She knows her way around knitting, lock picking and skydiving (all at about equal skill levels – go figure). Life is Good and Other Lies is her first novel.

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BOOK 2 COMING SOON

BLOG TOUR

Book Title: The Bond (Elemental Book 1)

Author: Xavier Axelson

Publisher: JMS Books

Release Date: October 1, 2022

Genres: Contemporary M/M Horror/Dark Fantasy/Bisexual/Paranormal

Tropes: Vampire/stranger comes to town/strange things start to happen/good versus evil/transformations/magic/suspense/creepy beings/witches/goblins

Themes: Loyalty, forgiveness, obligation, acceptance commitment

Heat Rating: 3 flames

Length: 155 459 words/392 pages

It is Book 1 in the series and ends with a HFN. There are unresolved plot points but it's not necessarily a cliffhanger.

Goodreads

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In a small New England town, three men, each facing unthinkable horrors, must rely on their friendship to destroy an evil beyond imagination.

Blurb

Four men are about to discover things are definitely not what they seem…including themselves. Declan Makavoy, small town farmer and single father, finds out it’s not just his thumb that’s green. Ivan Soresceau, a local reporter, who always plays with fire in life and love, is about to discover what it means to be burned. Chester Silberglocke, the ailing but sage chiropractor, finds his death only the beginning of an atmospheric afterlife. Vinny Pirelli, the local swimming champ may make waves inside and outside the pool but has no idea he is the last piece in a dangerous and life-changing puzzle. Seduction and unearthly occurrences are only the beginning in what proves to be a race against time as Declan, Ivan, Chester, and Vinny are pitted against a dark force beyond imagination, in the ultimate battle of good versus evil.

Excerpt

The wind carried the unpleasant smell of decay. In the heat of summer, the odor is nectar sweet, but in autumn, decay is unexpected. In the summer, it could be tomatoes left too long on the vine, fresh roadkill or sewage wafting up from the dank sidewalk grates. Autumn chilled the stench, offered it bite and acid. The hair on my neck stood on end. I dug my hands deeper into my pockets.

Coming out of the tree-lined path leading to the fields reminded me of emerging from a dream. Overwrought and graphic, like an illustration in a bad comic, the scene unfolded block-by-block, piece-by-piece. The fields were barren, except where remains of gourds and pumpkins jutted from the earth like fevered skulls, things emerging to the cold dreary light. The distant pine trees lined the border of my property like sentries sent from a general to contain the scene. Beyond the trees, the forest appeared a black mass; empty and full at the same time. Perhaps Adam’s body—or Adam himself—waited, hidden in the woods.

They hadn’t found a body.

Hadn’t found…

A new but not unfamiliar wave of pain welled within my chest so I thought I’d burst. Adam was dead. Dead…How could he be…?

Chester turned toward me, his eyes wide. He pointed.

Antonia sat, facing him. She’d been playing house or school with her gourd-squash students. Her singsong contrasted with the fouled air, unnerving me.

Behind her, centered in the field, something either unaware or unconcerned with our presence was consuming the remaining pumpkins.

Some thing.

“Declan,” Chester breathed, “stay still.”

The stench coming from the field hit like a ton of putrid bricks.

“Get her.” I heaved, trying to breathe through the stink. “I have to get her.”

Chester restrained me with more strength than I thought he possessed. “She must stay still.”

“What is it?” I asked.

“I don’t know.”

Just then a huge crow dove and we watched as the creature reached with a massive clawed paw, grabbed the bird and crushed it. It then stuffed the bird into its mouth and made horrific bone-sucking sounds of pleasure.

Antonia smiled and called, “Daddy, have you seen the goblin?”

About the Author

Xavier Axelson is a writer and columnist living in Los Angeles. Axelson’s work has been featured in various erotic and horror anthologies including Best Gay Erotica 2016 Volume 2, Best Gay Erotica 2015.

Longer written works include “The Incident”, “Dutch’s Boy”, “The Birches”, “Earthly Concerns”, “Velvet,” and “Lily”.

Author Links

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RELEASE BLITZ

Book Title: Playing by the Rules (Miami Piranhas Book 3)

Author and Publisher: Beth Bolden

Cover Artist: Cate Ashwood Designs

Release Date: October 7, 2022

Genres: Gay contemporary sports romance

Tropes: Forbidden romance, friends to lovers

Heat Rating: 4 flames

Length: 103 000 words

It is #3 in the series.

Goodreads

Buy Links - Available in Kindle Unlimited

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Blurb

Ex-quarterback Davis Abernathy knows he’s on his last chance.

If he strikes out as Paxton Kelly’s coach, nobody else is going to call him. Not to get back on the field, and not to stand on the sidelines.

He’s got a lot to teach Pax, and as a second-year quarterback, Pax has a lot to learn. But Davis doesn’t anticipate the irresistible way they’ll be drawn together from their first meeting. He never could have predicted such a fierce and uncontrollable yearning—or that Pax would feel the same.

It should be easy to remember rules aren’t meant to be broken, and certain lines aren’t meant to be crossed, but the only thing that’s easy is falling totally, completely in love with Pax.

As Davis falls harder, Pax succeeding becomes just as important—and maybe more so—than resurrecting his own career. If he messes this up, his last chance isn’t all he’ll be sacrificing.

What he should be is focused on being the perfect mentor. But what he wants is Pax in his bed, Pax in his life, and more impossibly, to win Pax’s heart forever.

Excerpt

Davis gave Pax credit, watching him after the game, because he put on a good face. The kind of face that a leader would wear when one of his players had an extraordinary game, and Dylan undeniably had. He’d tied the record for the most field goals made in a single game.

Davis thought he might be the only one who saw the frustration lingering in Pax’s face. The only one who looked close enough to see it.

After he finished with the press conference, Davis went to find him.

And found him, just as he’d expected, back to the wall in a tiny empty hallway a few doors down from the media room.

This was always where he went to decompress after a game, and after the media had finished tearing him apart.

Davis knew it wasn’t goddamn easy, and he didn’t begrudge Pax the quiet time he needed. Whatever was required to rebuild the confidence, to shore up the walls that everyone constantly kept trying to tear down.

When he appeared in the mouth of the hallway, Pax glanced up. “I just need another minute,” he said.

“It’s cool,” Davis said. He took the spot right next to Pax, leaning against the wall, too. Didn’t say anything else. Just watched.

It wasn’t really allowed to watch him this way.

But he did it anyway.

Pax’s head was tipped back, eyes closed, as the stress of the day slowly slipped off his face. He had a good week’s worth of scruff, golden brown and glinting even in the darkened light of the hallway. He’d unbuttoned his suit jacket, and Davis could see the shadow of his torso under the white shirt he wore underneath it.

Davis’ fingers flexed. He wanted so bad to reach out and touch, even though he knew he couldn’t.

But for one minute, for sixty seconds, he let himself really want it; for once, didn’t try to bury the desire, just felt it. It didn’t make this any easier, but there was something freeing about letting himself have this. Even if it was only for a brief moment.

He was on second sixty-seven when finally, Pax spoke.

“My hips weren’t loose,” he said ruefully.

“What? I’m shocked,” Davis teased.

“No, you’re not.” Pax sighed. “What are we gonna do about it?”

“How do you know there’s something we’re going to do about it?”

Pax shot him a look. Hot, singeing him around the edges. The desire flared, but this time, Davis stuffed it right back down, right back into its box, straining at the corners and joints. But it held. Barely.

They’d won the game today. They were four and two, and they’d won their last four games. Pax had come so far. The last thing Davis needed to do was lose himself.

“Okay, fine, yeah, I’m gonna do something about it. But you’re not going to like it.”

“Oh, I didn’t think I was going to like it.” Pax’s voice was very dry. He still hadn’t opened his eyes, but Davis knew that if he did, he’d see amusement in them.

And trust. So much trust.

Was it any wonder he couldn’t betray that?

“If it’s any consolation, I’m not sure I’ll like it either.” He already knew he wouldn’t. But it would make Paxton a better football player, and that was the only thing that mattered. Not all of his sleepless nights, not all of his pointless yearning, not any of the feelings that he kept trying to push away.

About the Author

A lifelong Pacific Northwester, Beth Bolden has just recently moved to North Carolina with her supportive husband. Beth still believes in Keeping Portland Weird, and intends to be just as weird in Raleigh.

Beth has been writing practically since she learned the alphabet. Unfortunately, her first foray into novel writing, titled Big Bear with Sparkly Earrings, wasn’t a bestseller, but hope springs eternal. She’s published twenty-three novels and seven novellas.

Author Links

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Release Blitz + Giveaway: Magic & Home (Magic Apocalypse #2) by Alexa Piper

Title: Magic & Home

Series: Monster Apocalypse 2

Author: Alexa Piper

Publisher: Changeling Press, LLC

Release Date: 10/7/2022

Heat Level: 4 - Lots of Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 156

Genre: Romance, Erotica

Add to Goodreads

Synopsis

Over the past two years, Rory has learned that other people aren’t the best of company, that the guilt of causing the Apocalypse is a heavy burden, and that monsters only see him as a meal. Until Rory met Inkiri, who sees Rory as his mate.

Now, Rory has to navigate what it means to be with someone who not only isn’t human but who also is from another world altogether… and since Rory finds himself in that otherworld all of a sudden, he has to adapt fast. Inkiri definitely has no intention of slowing down in his quest to make his human mate happy.

While Rory is beginning to wrap his head around liking the new place and the new customs, he can’t relax into a peaceful happily ever after because whatever connection Rory has to the magic that unleashed the Apocalypse, people want that, meaning they want him. Where Rory and his newfound family ran to may not have been far enough to escape their pursuers’ clutches.

Excerpt

Magic & Home (Monster Apocalypse 2)
Alexa Piper
All rights reserved.
Copyright ©2022 Alexa Piper

The sun had risen, and the room in the hotel was no longer shadows of charcoal and ash but honeyed wood and fabrics of red and blue in the bedding and pillows. I was wrapped in big blue monster. Literally. Inkiri, the big blue monster in question, was all over me. Also still in me, but really, a barbed cock in my ass no longer felt as weird as maybe it should have.

“How do you even sleep with those horns?” I asked. Inkiri had been devotedly licking my neck, and with him being so much bigger than me, that meant his ibex horns had gotten pretty close to my face. They were a little bit intimidating.

Inkiri looked up, and it was now bright enough in the room that I could see him properly -- the light blue skin, the ink-dark hair and indigo eyes. His hair was still unbraided. I knew we’d only gotten here, to Aër, yesterday after the shootout and the violence that had happened at the Stone of Destiny back in Ireland, and he’d mostly taken care of me. Doing his braids had been pretty low on his list of important things. What I did remember from that strange state of being unable to interact but knowing was that I had been Inkiri’s top priority, that he’d cared for me, worried for me. He’d barely even left my side.

“Pillows,” he said and fluffed one above my head. Among all the fluffy ones on the bed I’d noticed, the one he was showing me was harder than any pillow I would find comfortable, but that made sense. More support so he wouldn’t lie on those horns. “How are you feeling, sweet thing?” he asked in his sexy, British accent.

He looked down on me with those cat eyes. Those very loving cat eyes. A warm shiver chased over my skin, and it was a bit much, to be honest. Or almost a bit much. Well, with being on Earth no longer, it was a bit much.

“Fine,” I said and looked around the room.

It was now really bright out, a sunny day, but milky screens on the inside of the windows hid the glass and dimmed the light.

I could tell the room was not quite what you’d find on Earth. Most of it was hardwood flooring except for where we were, the bed, or bedding. Thickly woven carpets were piled beneath the bedding, which was pretty soft, actually. Surprisingly soft for pretty much sleeping on the floor, futon-style.

Inkiri’s swords were on the floor next to the bedding, which was not where I would have put them, but okay. Maybe sleeping next to your swords was a thing here.

The only other thing I could see in the room was a low table with several seating cushions around it and a stoneware pot of tea or water next to some cups.

My stomach immediately reacted to the visual cue of food-related items and growled noisily.

Inkiri chuckled. “Fine but hungry?” He kissed the side of my mouth human-style. “Come, let’s clean you up and feed you, sweet thing.”

“I guess I could eat,” I said, and I definitely could. A whole… whatever they served here. I wasn’t sure when my last meal had been, but probably before I had puked all over the corpse of the big orange spider back at the monster place.

The memory of the memorable arachnid also brought back the memory of how the cola ash -- the Koa Esher -- had waylaid us and how Inkiri had said good-bye to me when Vergis had dragged me away. Remember it always, sadir, he’d said. That I loved you. From the moment I saw you. I buried my head in his chest at the memory, relieved to the bottom of my soul that I didn’t have to remember but that he was still here to remind me.

“I love you,” I told him. What can I say? Dwelling on the past always made me very emotional.

“And I you, sadir,” Inkiri said. He clicked at me and ran his warm palms down my back. “But as much as I would like to keep you in bed, I’ll not let you go hungry.”

Inkiri clicked as he pulled out of me slowly. His barb had gone down, thankfully, and also thankfully, he was still slick with his own lubricant. I looked down between us at his massive, self-lubricating and darker blue dick. The top part with its more bulbous and pointier tip still amazed me as did that fact that thing had been in me. With barbs that kept it inside. And I’d sort of liked the thing with the barbs. That was the weirdest part.

Inkiri was extremely graceful for his size, and he was on his feet quickly and just as quickly, he gathered me in his arms.

“I think you are a bit too light,” he said as he walked to the wall on the opposite side of the bed area. “I’d like to plump you up.”

Purchase

Changeling Press, LLC | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iTunes

Meet the Author

Alexa (she/her) has a lot of characters living in her head and wanting their stories told. Many of these people get snarky and won’t stop complaining if Alexa is too slow writing them, which means that for this author, sleep is a luxury. Consequently, Alexa is a coffee addict, but she is sure she has it under control (six cups of coffee are normal in a morning, right? Right!?)

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | BookBub

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Queer Sci Fi's newest LGBTQ+ speculative fiction anthology is here: Clarity. And there's a giveaway.

Clarity (noun)

Four definitions to inspire writers around the world and an unlimited number of possible stories to tell:

1) Coherent and intelligible

2) Transparent or pure

3) Attaining certainty about something

4) Easy to see or hear

Clarity features 300-word speculative flash fiction stories from across the rainbow spectrum, from the minds of the writers of Queer Sci Fi.

About the Series:

Every year, Queer Sci Fi runs a one-word theme contest for 300 word flash fiction stories, and then we choose 120 of the best for our annual anthology.

Publisher | Amazon | iBooks | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Smashwords | Universal Buy Link

Giveaway

QSF is giving away a $25 Amazon Gift Card + Innovation / Ink eBooks with this tour:

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Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b60e8d47258/?

Excerpt

It's hard to tell a story in just 300 words, so it’s only fair that I limit this foreword to exactly 300 words, too. This year, 312 writers took the challenge, with stories across the queer spectrum. The contest rules are simple. Submit a complete, well-written Clarity-themed 300 word sci-fi, fantasy, paranormal or horror story with LGBTQ+ characters.

For our ninth year and eighth anthology, we chose the theme “Clarity.” The interpretations run from an “Aha!” moment to the bubbling laughter of water to a private, life-changing realization. There are little jokes, big surprises, and future prognostications that will make your head spin.

I'm proud that this collection includes many colors of the LGBTQ+ (or QUILTBAG, if you prefer) universe—lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer, and asexual characters populate these pages—our most diverse contest yet. There's a bit of romance, too—and a number of stories solidly on the "mainstream" side. Flash fiction is short, fun, and easy to read. You may not fall in love with every story—in fact, you probably won't. But if you don't like one, just move on to the next, and you're sure to find some bite-sized morsels of flash fiction goodness. There are so many good stories in here—choose your own favorites.

We chose three winning stories, fiver judges' choice picks, and one director’s pick, all marked in the text. Thanks to our judges—Angel Martinez, B.A. Brock, Ava Kelly, Lexi Ander, and J.M. Dabney—for selflessly giving their time, love, and energy to this project. And to Ryane Chatman too, for editing.

At Queer Sci Fi, we're building a community of writers and readers who want a little rainbow in their speculative fiction. Join us and submit a story of your own next time!

The Authors

A Acosta - Stuck in the Space Elevator

A. B. Encarnacion - Arene, 27F Invisible

A.H. Lykke - Fresh

A.J. Clarke - Shinigami

Abbie Bernstein - Kids Know

Alden Loveshade - Clouds

Alex Blanc - Death by Siren

Alex Liddell - Telegram From the Netherland

Alex Silver - Smile

Alison J. McKenzie - Happy to Help

Allan Dyen-Shapiro - Oysters and Other Slimy Creatures

Alma Nilsson - Meet Me at the South Gate

Amanda Meuwissen - Willows

Andrea Stanet - Bathtub Gin

Anne Smith - A Glimpse

Anton Kukal - Detonation

Antonia Aquilante - Through the Glass

Avery Vanderlyle - Taking the Plunge

Barbara Krasnoff - Age Cannot Wither Her

Beáta Fülöp - The Unicorn Handler

Belinda McBride - The Choice

Blaine D. Arden - No Crime Unseen

C.T. Phipps - The Chase Was Enough

Camryn Burke - Burden of the Blurred

Caro Soles - The Truth Sayer

Catherine Yeates - Outpouring

Chloe Schaefer - Matthias

Crysta Coburn - The Ghost Maid

D.M. Rasch - Crystal Clear

Daria Richter - Make Me Real

Darrell Z. Grizzle - The Vampire and the Werewolf Priest

David Viner - The Best Solution

Derwin Mak - Software Update

Devon Widmer - Post-Apocalyptic Goo

Drew Baker - The Only Question I Could Ask

E. W. Murks - Earth Day

Elizabeth Hawxhurst - Inflection Point

Emmy Eui - Sunset

Gina Storm Grant - Clearing the Heir

Ginger Streusel - Lovers' Letters

Gordon Bonnet - Refraction

Isa Reneman - The Furthest Horizon

Isabel McKeough - The Art of Not Blowing Up

Isobel Granby - Sea-Glass

Izzy Tyack - Magically Induced Clarity

J Sigel - Hindsight

J.S. Gariety - Bloom

Jaime Munn - Impulse

James Dunham - Brain of Theseus

Jamie Lackey - The Cursed Princess

Jamie Sands - Remote Working Gothic

Jana Denardo - Unexpected

Jane Suen - Bowls of Steaming Noodles

Jason Sárközi-Forfinski - ACAB

Jaymie Wagner - Harmony

Jendayi Brooks-Flemister - Heartsbeats

Jennifer Haskin - Cold Conviction

Jess Nevins - Stagecoach Mary Versus the Ghost of Cascade

Joe DeRouen - The World Around Her

Jordan Ulibarri - Franklin

Josie Kirkwood - The Blue Capsule Experience

Julie Bozza - Verity

K.L. Noone - The Unicorn's Knight

K.S. Murphy - Looped

Kaje Harper - Beneath the Surface

Kayleigh Skye - Blue

Kim Fielding - Shared Language

Kiya Nicoll - The Satyr and the Wishing Pond

Kora Knight - Sunrise

Kris Jacen - Visus

Krystle Matar - My Poppy Fields Are Burning

Lloyd A. Meeker - Ruti's Prayer

Lori Alden Holuta - Magic Mirror

M. X. Kelly - Muddy the Waters

Marie Victoria Robertson - As Foretold

Mary Kuna - Late Bloomer

Megan Baffoe - Ribbon Thread

Megan Diedericks - The Closet is Made of Mahogany

Megan Hippler - The Gift

Mere Rain - With Clear Eyes

Minerva Cerridwen - Secundum Artem

Monique Cuillerier - Through This Window

Nathan Alling Long - The Shadow of Doubt

Nathaniel Taff - The Gauntlet

Nicole Dennis - Orange Dust

Oskar Leonard - Murcorpio

Patricia Loofbourrow - There's Something Weird About Joe

Phoebe Ching - The Killer Cupid

R.L. Merrill - The Sitter

Rainie Zenith - Crystal Clear

Raven Oak - Wrinkled

Rdp - Alice!

RE Andeen - Male Female Nonbinary Other

RE Carr - A Woman's Reward

Rie Sheridan Rose - The Night Witch

Rin Sparrow - Never Alone

RL Mosswood - A Trick of the Nerves

RoAnna Sylver - The Face in the Mirror

Rob Bliss - PSI Ecstasy

Rory Ni Coileain - One Night in Troy

Sacchi Green - The Star Beast

Sage HN - Impact

Scott Jenson - Cycles

Sheryl Hayes - A Smoking Hot Proposal

Shirley Meier - Upon Reflection

SI CLARKE - If the Shoe Fits

Siri Paulson - Blood and Water

Stacy Noe - Demons Need Love Too

Stephen B. Pearl - Sad Reality

Stephen Dedman - Through a Glass Clearly

Steve Fuson - Translucent

Steve Rasnic Tem - The Man in the Mirror

T.J. Reed - New Memories

Terry Poole - A Grey Man

Tori Thompson - A Visage of Home

V. Astor Solomon - Blood Will Show Us Who We Are

W. Dale Jordan - Ascension

Warren Rochelle - Ghosts

William R. Eakin - Overcoming Entropy

Yoyoli - If Deliberate Avoidance Fulfills No Dream

About QSF:

Queer Sci Fi is the brainchild of J. Scott Coatsworth, a blog and website that’s all about LGBT characters in science fiction, fantasy, paranormal and horror fiction. We’re dedicated to promoting the inclusion of LGBT characters in these genres.

We started the site in January of 2014, with the intent to create a community for writers and readers of LGBT-themed speculative fiction. We post regular discussion topics, news, book announcements and reviews. We have an AWESOME Facebook discussion group, and a great admin team - Angel Martinez, Ben Brock, Ryane Chatman, and J. Scott Coatsworth.

Once a year, we put out a call for flash fiction submissions based on a single word theme, and get anywhere between two hundred and four hundred entries. Clarity is our eight annual anthology.

QSF Website: https://www.queerscifi.com

QSF Facebook (Personal): https://www.facebook.com/groups/210192115794407

QSF Facebook (Author Page): https://www.facebook.com/queerscifi/

QSF Twitter: https://twitter.com/queerscifi/

Author Lucy Moon and Indigo Marketing promote LGBTQIA+ romance, Ace of Hearts from NineStar Press! Find out more about the new adult contemporary and enter in the NSP credit giveaway today!

Title: Ace of Hearts

Author: Lucy Mason

Publisher: NineStar Press

Release Date: 10/04/2022

Heat Level: 1 - No Sex

Pairing: Male/Female

Length: 60200

Genre: Contemporary, LGBTQIA+, Romance, contemporary, new adult, family-drama, asexual, college students, sports injury, fake marriage, slow burn, friends to lovers, abusive father, depression

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Description

Hesper Stalides and Felix Morlan have been best friends for as long as they can remember, bonding over their troubled home lives. When a horrible sports injury derails Felix’s promising career and results in the loss of his scholarship, Hesper offers a proposition: a year-long marriage of convenience so he can get free tuition at the college where she works.

It isn’t supposed to be complicated…until they fall in love for real. When Hesper reveals that she’s asexual, Felix must reassess everything he thinks about love and ask himself what he’s willing to sacrifice for a future with Hesper—before the past she’s spent her life running from can take her away from him forever.

Excerpt

Hesper

It was not my Felix Morlan lying in the hospital bed, tangled in the sterile white sheets. He was the bravest, funniest, most cheerful man I knew, strong enough to make up for it when his friends were weak, and this wasn’t him. I brushed his dark hair away from his forehead, which was glistening with sweat, pain hazing over his eyes.

“Sorry I scared you, Hes.” His voice cracked, and I handed him a Styrofoam cup filled with cold water and ice chips.

“I’m just glad you’re…”

Okay? Of course he wasn’t okay. One of his teammates had shown me a replay of the hit that had hyperextended his knee and destroyed his ACL. It had been on mute, and Felix was wearing a helmet that obscured part of his face, but the contorted expression of agony was seared into my memory. He may or may not have blacked out from the pain; I wasn’t sure because I quit watching, unable to stomach it.

“Want me to call the nurse?” I asked tentatively.

He turned his head away, but not before I caught the shine of tears gathering in his eyes. His leg was wrapped heavily in dressings, but I’d seen it when he came out of surgery, exhausted but too frightened to sleep while I waited. The skin around his knee was swollen, an angry red color where staples held the surgical wounds closed. I’d sat by his bed, sketching on the small pad I kept in Calamity, my old Jeep, while he slept off the anesthesia. But he was awake now, and he twisted his calloused hands in the sheets.

“They’ll be keeping me for observation for a few days. Go home and get some rest.”

“Nope.”

“Some of the guys from the team will stop by and—”

“Nope,” I reiterated firmly, crossing my arms.

It was a policy we’d had with each other our whole lives, and it didn’t change even when we’d moved halfway across the country together for college: we had nobody else here, but we had each other. He’d watched my back, and I would watch his. Felix and I had been best friends since we were old enough to walk and talk. Now, his mom was in jail while his dad was busy raising his six younger siblings, and I had run away from Missouri to avoid getting an order of protection against my own father. We’d basically raised each other. I wasn’t running away at the first sign of trouble.

“Show me.” He held out one hand for my sketch pad and I clutched it to my chest. “Come on.”

Normally this was fine. I’d draw tables covered in leaves, teacups and books and pocket watches and chunks of amethyst and rusty old keys, the kind of things I found aesthetically soothing. But I’d been doing something different while he slept, trying to erase the memory of his pain in the video replay of his injury. I’d drawn the slightly blocky angle of his jaw, his mouth turned up in half a smile, a five-o’clock shadow dusting the sides of his face. I’d drawn him happy, my best copy of the way he looked in my favorite memory of him.

I contemplated crumpling the page before he could see it.

Instead, I flipped back to an earlier page where I’d been doing a study of the trees outside his hospital window, light filtering through them in an orange haze as the sun rose. I hadn’t been able to quite capture it with the small bag of pencils I had on hand, but it was enough that he got the idea.

“Remind me again why you aren’t going into this?” He sounded clearer than he had in several hours, his eyes focused on my sketch pad. It was an uncomfortable feeling, to see someone marvel at my work. Like being under a microscope.

“No steady paycheck,” I reminded him, counting the reasons I’d rehearsed to people a hundred thousand times off on my fingers. “Deadlines would push me to create when I didn’t feel like it. I would grow to hate it if I had to do it for a living. The pressure would be too intense.”

I didn’t list the other reason. Sometimes it took every ounce of energy I possessed just to get up in the morning. Sometimes I simply didn’t have enough inside me to both function and create. Art was my escape. If I turned it into another source of stress, where would I hide when the rest of the world got to be too much? What would I do to restore the balance?

“Those are all good reasons,” he agreed begrudgingly, and he reached back over to hand the pad back to me, twisting slightly to do so.

He didn’t say a word but the set of his mouth and eyebrows told me he’d moved wrong, in a way that would have left him screaming if he hadn’t been so heavily medicated. My chest hurt, my lungs burning because I just couldn’t get enough oxygen in, because I couldn’t breathe looking at the way my best friend suffered. This was the sort of thing you read about in the paper or heard about on the news. It happened to other people, sure. But it wasn’t supposed to happen to Felix.

Purchase

NineStar Press | Books2Read

Meet the Author

Lucy lives in rural southern Illinois with a frankly ridiculous amount of yarn and books. During the day she works in adult education and by night she’s a writer and dabbler in yarncrafts. She knits, loves video games and podcasts, and cries over fictional characters regularly.

Website | Twitter

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Release Blitz + Giveaway: Bone to be Wilde (Holiday in Sunset Surf #2) by Dani Lakely

RELEASE BLITZ

Book Title: Bone to be Wilde (Holiday in Sunset Surf Book 2)

Author and Publisher: Dani Lakely

Cover Artist: J Witter

Release Date: September 27, 2022

Genre: M/M Halloween Rom-Com

Tropes: Opposites attract, amnesia spell, small town romance

Themes: Forgiveness

Heat Rating: 3 flames

It is the second book in the series, but may be read as a standalone. It does not end on a cliffhanger.

Goodreads

Buy Links - Available in Kindle Unlimited

Amazon US | Amazon UK

Drop in for a spell…

Blurb

It’s trick or treat for two smitten lovers in this seasonal holiday romance as Halloween approaches and a little unleashed magic lets the ghoul times roll.
Forrest’s to-do list:
1. Convince Jonathan to move in with him.
2. No, seriously. That’s it.

It’s been nine months of playful bickering and bliss for Forrest Wilde and his boyfriend, Jonathan. But in order to move their relationship forward, Jonathan needs Forrest to find closure from his past.

Alexander Adler is back in town and dragging all of Forrest’s ghosts screaming into the light. Is there still a spark waiting to ignite between Forrest and his ex, or are they nothing more than toasted history? Forrest isn’t exactly eager to find out, given that sometimes the monsters under the bed are people who haunt us from days gone by.

Every autumn, the town of Sunset Surf comes alive in celebration of the season. But this year, when Forrest falls under a mysterious spell that forces him to forget the person he loves most, there will be plenty of spooks in store for the fun-loving and eccentric residents of this seaside village. Torn between flight and fright, Forrest must face his fears in order to make his way back to true love—or risk losing it forever.

Bone to be Wilde is a contemporary gay rom-com set in a small beach town on the Southern California coast. The story features an amnesia plot, hijinks and banter, corn maze capers, ghost stories, and a little black cat. Stop in for a spell if you’d like a Halloween treat!
* This story follows the events of the first book in the series, Merry & Sprite, but may be read as a standalone.

Excerpt

The ghost story is read word for word until the bewitched dildo appears.

“That’s not ... you’re messing up the entire book, Forrest!”

Jonathan is sending him a withering glare from the worn and well-loved armchair he’s occupying. Forrest blinks lazily back at him, letting his mouth curve into a slow smile until Jonathan can’t resist and his frown breaks, the corners of his mouth lifting up too.

“That’s not how we learned it in school,” Jonathan says primly, but he’s biting at his cheek, trying not to laugh. That right there is one of Forrest's favorite things about his boyfriend. Ruffling his feathers and then watching him completely eat it up.

Which is preciously the reason he’s turning The Legend of Sleepy Hollow into gothic erotica as he reads aloud to Jonathan, tucked away in the reading nook at the local book shop. The try-before-you-buy section of the store is brimming with used paperbacks, each one more dog-eared and dusty than the last, scattered in senseless piles on shelves and spilling onto the floor.

It’s one of their usual haunts for a late afternoon date, and on this particular Saturday in mid-October, Forrest is trying to draw out their time together as much as he can.

“And then,” he continues in a sinister tone, “the women of Sleepy Hollow tied Ichabod up in the horse stables and gave the naughty schoolmaster his own education ... on strap-ons.”

“You’re insufferable.”

“Ichabod-od-od,” Forrest calls out, in a tone meant to annoy. “A curious and kinky spell had been cast upon him to bend over for anyone, at any time. Ichabod became the town—”

“Hush! Don’t talk about spells in front of...” Jonathan’s eyes go wide as he nods towards a little black cat, curled up soundly in a reading chair nearby. Lilith, he mouths silently.

There’s this kooky idea Jonathan’s latched onto about Lilith possessing magical powers. This came after he was struck on the head by a Christmas ornament and the fairy godfather capers that followed brought the two of them together. Forrest doesn’t like to think he got a boyfriend due to a braining, but here he is.

He’s not going to deny the possibility that Jonathan may have been under somebody’s spell when he mysteriously started getting psychic visions that led him into granting the wishes of local townsfolk. But Forrest is resistant to boarding the Lilith train without any proof other than Jonathan thinking she winked at him. And sparkled, like some sort of glitter fairy of cats, which definitely isn’t a thing that exists.

But the matter of wish-granting was not the first peculiar situation to occur around here, and many of these unexplained events happened long before Lilith trotted into town and charmed the entire village into taking her in. Though lately, she’s chosen Forrest’s bed to call her own. To be fair, he can’t blame her. His eight-hundred-count sheet set is amazing.

The truth is, there’s always been something in the water at Sunset Surf, and he’s not just talking about the radical waves.

About the Author

DANI LAKELY is a recovering people-pleaser who loves a proper cup of tea, days spent at the ocean, and helicopter parenting the birds who frequent her yard in a small seaside town on the West Coast of the United States. Pretty much, if your granny's into it, so is Dani!

Often to be found with a book in hand, she reads across many genres, but her favorite is queer romance. Dani's fondness for love stories carried over from reading to writing, and she is genuinely happy to share her kissing books with you.

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Giveaway

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one of 3 ebook copies of Bone to Be Wilde

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Release Blitz + Giveaway: Hidden Blade: The Road to Rocktoberfest 2022 by Kaje Harper

RELEASE BLITZ

Book Title: Hidden Blade: The Road to Rocktoberfest 2022

Author and Publisher: Kaje Harper

Cover Artist: Natasha Snow

Release Date: October 4, 2022

Genre: Contemporary M/M Romance

Tropes: First-time, clinical anxiety

Themes: Coming out, hurt-comfort

Heat Rating: 3 flames

Length: 86 000 words

It is a standalone story and does not end on a cliffhanger.

It is part of a shared-world series. This is the first release from this year's set.

Goodreads

Buy Links - Available in Kindle Unlimited

Amazon US | Amazon UK

Blurb

Cam

Social anxiety's been my constant companion for twenty-three years, sometimes in the background, sometimes silencing me and yanking my guts out in the nearest trash can. No matter how much I love playing music, I'm never going to get up on a stage and perform in front of a crowd. But since I met Erik, and was asked to join his band Hellsbane, that knowledge hurts worse.

No heart (even Erik's) or dick (even Erik's) is big enough to carry me past my limits, but God, I wish there was a way.

Erik

Life's damned unfair when a guy with the voice of a hard-rock angel and a songwriting talent like Cam's can only post anonymous videos online. But you can't cure anxiety with wanting, or willpower. My drummer needs to quit trying to push Cam onstage with us before he breaks.

Rocktoberfest's still our goal, and touring with Hellsbane was my only ambition, until I met Cam. Now I can't have everything I love in one place, but dammit, I wish there was a way.

A first-times, life challenges, coming out, rockstar romance.

Hidden Blade is part of the multi-author The Road to Rocktoberfest 2022 series. Each book can be read as a standalone, but why not read them all and see who hits the stage next? Hot rockstars and the men who love them, what more could you ask for? Kick back, load up your kindle and enjoy the men of Rocktoberfest!

Excerpt

Cameron

“You suck.” I glared at Andre as I clutched the puke bucket between my knees.

“Hey, you did it, dude.” He took his eyes off the road for a second to grin at me. “You got through a whole set and walked off that stage with your head held high.”

“And my intestines climbing out my mouth.”

“Ew, gross image.”

“You’re a nurse. You eat gross images for breakfast.”

Andre threw his head back and laughed. “Okay, you got me. But seriously, wasn’t that even a little bit cool?”

“The bit where I puked in the john before I went onstage, or the part where I got as far as the dumpster down the block afterward?”

“Oh, the dumpster. For sure.” He patted my knee. “I won’t push you anymore. But you were a hit. If you wanted a job or a good fuck, they were lining up to offer it to you. Maybe both at the same time.”

“Hah. Bullshit.” I’m skinny and beanpole-tall and I haven’t cut my hair in years because reasons, and I have this nose that I only don’t hate because it’s just like my dad’s was.

“I mean it.” At the stoplight he fished in his pocket and pulled out a card. “Lead singer of this group was drooling all over your set and he came looking for you like a moose hunting its mate when you were done.”

“You make him sound so appealing.” I took the card from his fingers. “Apparently I could’ve fucked a moose. Wow.”

“Or been fucked by.” The light turned and Andre hit the gas. “He wasn’t that bad, for an older dude. I know you like them with some years on ’em.”

“Shut up, Bones.”

“Only the truth, Spock.”

I chuckled, despite the acid still churning around in my stomach. No one on the planet knew me as well as Andre, and in one regrettably truthful moment years back I’d spilled my attraction to silver foxes and solid older men. He liked to tease me, but never in a mean way, and he kept bigger secrets of mine than that one. “I’m not trying to get laid.”

“You should be. Seriously, Cam, you’ve been with what, two guys in your whole life? A man has needs, or so I tell Lyssa every day.”

“That girl is way too good for you.”

“Woman, Cameron. Don’t let the g-word cross your lips. And you’re damn right she’s too good for me. The key is never letting her figure that out, am I right?”

“Sure. Whatever you say.” Andre was the best. His clowning was intended to distract me, keeping my anxious brain from fixating on what-the-shit-did-I-just-do??? Which I shouldn’t have let myself think about, dammit, and I flipped the card over in my fingers to focus on something else. Hellsbane. A familiar band logo and on the next line, Erik Svenson - lead guitar and vocals. With a phone number, an email, Instagram, Bandcamp, and Twitter.

Hellsbane’s business card! I’d known they’d be there, of course, even if we deliberately arrived only just in time for my set, so I hadn’t heard them play. And if they’d been in the audience, I hadn’t recognized a single face in the one panicked look I’d allowed myself. Although… There’d been a big blond, bearded guy up front who might’ve been their lead singer… Our eyes had met, and he hadn’t laughed at the fear in mine.

Was that Erik? Watching me? Fuck, maybe I should’ve played my new song, even if the chorus wasn’t polished yet. Or not skipped that instrumental bridge, except if I’d stopped singing, I might not’ve started again. How bad did I screw up in front of Erik Svenson?…

About the Author

I get asked about my name a lot. It's not something exotic, though. “Kaje” is pronounced just like “cage” – it’s an old nickname, and my pronouns are she/her/hers. I’ve been writing far longer than I care to admit (*whispers – forty-five years*), although mostly for my own entertainment. I write M/M romance, often with added mystery, fantasy, historical, SciFi, paranormal… I also have Young Adult short stories (some released under the pen name Kira Harp.)

After decades of writing just for fun, my husband convinced me I really should submit something, somewhere. My first professionally published book, Life Lessons, came out in May 2011. I now have a good-sized backlist in ebooks and print, both free and professionally published, including Amazon bestseller The Rebuilding Year and Rainbow Award Best Mystery-Thriller Tracefinder: Contact. A complete list with links can be found on my website "Books" page at https://kajeharper.com/books/.