Showing posts with label Flash Fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Flash Fiction. Show all posts


 

Clarity Anthology

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:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

Excerpt

Clarity meme

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/

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Blog Tour + Giveaway: Ink: Queer Sci Fi 8th Annual Flash Fiction Anthology by Various Authors


Queer Sci Fi hosts today's blog tour stop for their 8th annual flash fiction anthology, Ink! Check out the excerpt from one the various stories of the collection and enter in the Amazon gift card giveaway!
 

ANNOUNCEMENT/GIVEAWAY: Ink - Queer Sci Fi's 7th Flash Fiction Anthology

Queer Sci Fi's annual flash fiction anthology is finally here - and this year the theme is Ink. There's a giveaway too!

INK (NOUN)

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

1) A colored fluid used for writing

2) The action of signing a deal

3) A black liquid ejected by squid

4) Publicity in the written media

5) A slang word for tattoos

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

Publisher | Amazon Kindle | Amazon Paperback | Amazon Hardcover | iBooks | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Scribd | Thalia | Vivlio | Goodreads

Giveaway

QSF is giving away an Amazon gift card with this tour:

Direct Link: https://kingsumo.com/g/gp47qq/win-a-25-amazon-gift-card

Excerpts

Ink meme

“Vervain had watched, one by one, as her childhood friends blossomed with red, the words of their soulmates inked into their skins. The stories of their lives together, from the day they met to the day they would die, unfolding each day. Her sister Iris, an aspiring bard, had woken one morning after meeting a girl in the village, the words poet meets potion-makershining bright and scarlet. Vervain’s friend Raven had dashed across the marketplace the day two separate lines had sprung forth on their skin—two loves, three souls entwined in the ink of their hearts.” —Lauren Triola, The Unmarked

“I love our sentient AI high school, EduTron 6000 (kids call her “Edie”). She plays soothing classical music in study hall and always listens when you have a bad day. But she’s a stickler for rules, and hates graffiti, which put a major damper on my epic prom-posal plan.” —Brenna Harvey, EduTron 6000 + Principal Vertner 4Ever

“I get out of the shower and it's there. Dripping down the mirror—splip—and forming a rivulet of color across the tile floor. Thinner than paint, more vibrant than water. Sometimes it's iridescent, but today it's just...bright. A stream of colorful consciousness leading me across the bathroom, down the hall, out of...wait. I go to my bedroom and hastily put on whatever I can reach. Yesterday's bra, the jeans from the floor, finger comb my short hair, a random t-shirt—purple. The same color the ink is today. Does that mean something?” —Geneva Vand, The Colors of Fate

“Marianne paced the length of the small hall that connected the living room, and the door to the outside, to the bedroom, and the door to the inside. Temporary steps, tracing a path towards a temporary solution to a permanent problem. Beyond the crack of the door, she saw her wife sleeping soundly in the cool of the late night. Temporary wife, temporary bedroom.” —Brooke K. Bell, Temporary/Permanent

“The round stone room that they lock the poet in contains nothing but a writing desk. The desk, of course, is fully stocked. Piles of creamy paper, elegantly carved sable-fur brushes, a pyramid of neatly-stacked inksticks, and an inkstone, its well full of perfectly still water. Sunlight streams down from a single window, high overhead and barred. Too high to reach even when she stands on the desk, its thin legs wobbling beneath her.” —Jamie Lackey, Inksticks and Paper Swans

“Rna’la arrived at Intergalactic Date-A-Thon and signed in using zir own gelatinous fluid (no scratchy ballpoint for zem, thanks!) The human woman collecting signatures blushed pinkly. Rna’la’s hearts throbbed in zir throat. Probably not attending. Ze passed several individuals in the hallway. Some bowed, some ignored zem. Not everyone recognized the current ruler of Th’ul.” —M.X Kelly, To Have and to Hold and to Hold and to Hold

Authors

  • Amarilys Acosta – Heart Ink

  • Emilia Agrafojo – Mixology

  • Addison Albright – Cave Drawing

  • Tam Ames – The Autograph

  • RE Andeen – The Skinchanger’s Art

  • Laura Antoniou – A Most Rewarding Quest

  • Blaine D. Arden – Mending

  • H. Argent – Impending Affair

  • Aten – Power

  • Ryley Banks – Right Place, Right Time

  • Jorane G. Barton – Alternate Endings

  • Joe Baumann – Babbler

  • Brooke K. Bell – Temporary/Permanent

  • David Berger – Indelible

  • Eytan Bernstein – I Never Knew

  • Gordon Bonnet – Nexus

  • Die Booth – Faith and the Thorncutters

  • Charlie Boynton – He Bleeds Ink

  • Ryan Breadinc – The Ink Reader

  • M. Burns – The Final Line

  • Meghan Byers – Unmoored

  • Aron Caer – Writer’s Blood

  • Elsa M. Carruthers – I Am Happy to Be Here Today

  • Foster Bridget Cassidy – Unfamiliar Waters

  • Minerva Cerridwen – Not Alone

  • Amanda Cherry – Signed

  • Gwen Coholan – Ballpoint

  • Rory Ni Coileain – All Myths Are True (but some are truer than others)

  • Comer – Her Very Comfy Couch

  • Georgia Cook – Butterfly

  • Elliot Cooper – The Collection

  • Bryan Crystal-Thursdton – Fluid

  • Monique Cuillerier – The Present

  • Claire Davon – Squid on the Beach

  • Nicole Dennis – Hidden Spell

  • Toshi Drake – Indelible Ink

  • James Dunham – Lydia’s Back

  • Allen Dyen-Shapiro – To Share the Sky

  • Eason – On the Conjoined Practice of Demonology and Scribal Longhand

  • P. Egry – Confessions of an Inkaholic

  • B. Eyre – A Prisoner and a Captain

  • Kim Fielding – Devil and Advocates

  • Sheila Finch – Love is Blind

  • Steve Fuson – Blank as the Page

  • Jasie Gale – Pandora’s Row

  • Magaly Garcia – rough draft #9/grocery list

  • Isobel Granby – The Date Book

  • Jacqui Greaves – A Dish Served Hot

  • Sacchi Green – S/He Who Remembers

  • D. Grimm – Companions

  • Kaje Harper – The Pen is Mightier

  • Brenna Harvey – EduTron 6000 + Principal Vertner 4Ever

  • Kelly Haworth – Off Spectrum

  • Sheryl R. Hayes – Panagram

  • Chisto Healy – The Fine Print

  • A. Hunt – Untitled

  • S R Jones – So Let it Be Written, So Let It Be Done

  • Dale Jordan – The Summoning

  • Kim Katil – Heart Bound in Ink

  • April Kelley – How to Create a Monster

  • Ava Kelly – Soullink

  • Laura J. Kelly – Rougarous Inc.

  • X. Kelly – To Have and to Hold and to Hold and to Hold

  • Adrik Kemp – Meet Cute

  • Jessica M. Kormos – The Tattooist

  • Barbara Krasnoff – The Inker, The Cat and The Parrot

  • Jamie Lackey – Inksticks and Paper Swans

  • Benoit Lafortune – Dragon Blood

  • Tris Lawrence – Soul Afire

  • Anja Hendrikse Liu – Stranger Stories

  • Ainslie Lloyd – Off the Wall

  • Nathan Alling Long – It’s What’s Inside That Counts

  • Lily Luchesi – The Angel With Demon Blood

  • K. Mads – The Dragon’s Price

  • L. McCartney – Risotto Nero

  • Paula McGrath – Free Hugs

  • Helen M. Merrick – The Rose Tattoo

  • Lynn Michaels – Battleground

  • R. Moler – Ink is Memory

  • Fiona Moore – The Muse’s Gift

  • W. Murks – Just a Nudge

  • S. Murphy – Love’s Portrait

  • RJ Mustafa – Shadowbird

  • Mary Newman – Graven Images

  • Thea Nishimori – Glossaderma

  • L. Noone – Openings

  • Raine Norman – The Morning After

  • Orion O’Connell – The Midnight Librarian

  • Bradley Robert Parks – Guilty Pleasure Reading

  • Dale Parnell – Belonging

  • Terry Poole – Sign on the Dotted Line

  • Brooke Prado – Cursebreaker

  • Taylor Ramage – Inkshader

  • Robin Reed – Printed Love

  • S. Reinholt – Colours of Union

  • Jen Rivers – The Aerium

  • Jeff Ronan – Inked

  • Herminia Root – Aedan

  • Taylor Roth – For Death Doesn’t Part

  • Jamie Sands – Toby’s Tattoo

  • Rodello Santos – Told

  • F. Schraeder – Spider Legs

  • Ziggy Schutz – Renaming

  • RJ Scott – Blood

  • Alex Silver – Summoned

  • Alex Sobel – Tense

  • Ada Maria Soto – The Marks of a Knight

  • Anna Stacy – Livename

  • Susan Stradiotto – Moon Child

  • Lou Sylvre – The Flight of the Telorites

  • Nathaniel Taff – For Posterity’s Sake

  • Naomi Tajedler – Oddities

  • Sara Testarossa – Subversion

  • Lauren Triola – The Unmarked

  • Geneva Vand – The Colors of Fate

  • M. Walker – The Hurt Patch

  • Dean Wells – A Flacon of Ink

  • T. Wyant – Future Perfect

  • Rina Youngblood – Proof in the Telling

  • Aubrey Zahn – Jumper

  • Rainie Zenith – Blind Date

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Blog Tour + Giveaway: Innovation Flash Fiction Anthology by Various Authors


Queer Sci Fi Ink returns with the annual flash fiction anthology titled Innovation! Discover more from the seventh annual anthology that features stories from 120 authors and enter in the giveaway:  win your choice of a $20 Amazon gift card OR a print copy of four of the other five flash fiction books in the series – Flight, Renewal, Impact, and Migration (US only unless you are willing to pay the shipping outside the US)! Good luck!


Innovation


Queer Sci Fi's sixth annual flash fiction anthology is here - "Innovation" - and there's a giveaway too!

IN-NO-VA-TION (Noun)
1) A new idea, method, or device.

2) The introduction of something new.

3) The application of better solutions to meet unarticulated needs.

Three definitions to inspire writers around the world and an unlimited number of possible stories to tell. Here are 120 of our favorites.

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


Other Worlds Ink | Amazon Kindle | Amazon Paperback | iBooks | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Goodreads



Giveaway

Queer Sci Fi is giving away your choice of a $20 Amazon gift card OR a print copy of four of the other five flash fiction books in the series – Flight, Renewal, Impact, and Migration (US only unless you are willing to pay the shipping outside the US) with this tour. Enter via Rafflecopter:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b60e8d47138/?



Excerpts


Innovation meme

“The fields are overgrown, have been for years with all the Bios underground. The wind kisses the grass in serpentine patterns long forgotten, patterns the Bios couldn’t imagine anymore. My mechanical hand stores the seed envelope in the mechanical pocket in my androgynous torso. In these suits, there is no gender. Gender is, always has been, in the mind. And I am finally, unequivocally, female.” —Seed, by Val Muller

“No one in the village knew what the Change would bring. They never saw it happen. They only knew what they had been promised: the Change would bestow three gifts.” —A New Way, by Rory Ni Coileain

“The girl kissed her, hard. Then backed away, grinning, teasing, drawing her to the end of the hallway and a flight of stairs leading downward. She took two steps and gazed back up at Lilian, one hand outstretched. Her brilliant red lipstick wasn’t even smudged. Her skin glowed in the harsh white torchlight.” —The Thing With the Bats, by Mary Francis

“Interspecies sex is outlawed on the Freespec Interplanetary Space Station. Politicians call it a safety measure. But I’ve been in the Medical Corps for half my lifecycle, and I call it criminally negligent prudery. Leaders would rather let innocents die needlessly—punctured by sperm darts and dissolved in sacks of voltaic pleasure mucus—than give them the knowledge to express their feelings safely.” — Are My Underwater Sperm Darts Normal?, Brenna Harvey

“The bell’s brassy gong echoes through the flat; the walls blush crimson. See, see! He’s at my door. The live feed shows him sniff his armpit; cup his breath. He wants to impress, but I’m impressed already. His lips softly part; he brushes them with stubby fingers, as he waits. Ugly fingers. Ugly hands. Scrawny neck. Milky eyes. But those lips, see, they’re perfect, just perfect. Plump n’ pale, a slither of my future.” —Just perfect, by Redfern Jon Barrett

“Lekke looked down over the valley, First People’s home for as long as any tales or dreams could tell. Now only Spirit Dreamer Manoot, neither he nor she but both, and Lekke, elder healer, were left. Lifetimes of Long-legs’ raids had driven First People to their deaths—or, some few, to the Way. If there truly was a Way.” —Going Back,” by Sacchi Green

“Savinna limped into her lover's workshop, her hip still sore from tangling with the marabbecca which had knocked her into its well before she managed to kill it. Such was the life of a monster hunter. Not at all surprised to see Larissa hunched over her bench, hard at work tinkering with something, Savinna ghosted her hand over Larissa’s back.” —Those Who Hunt Monsters, by Jana Denardo

“The baby cried as Freya lowered the bartering bucket into the wishing well. Many had come to the tree-shrouded clearing to make exchanges—a bushel of azure apples for a sword, a woven blanket for a day of rain. The well had been the final creation of a thousand-year-old inventor. But dead wizards often don’t anticipate how their gifts birth consequences.” —The Bartering Bucket, by Diane Callahan



Author Bios

120 authors contributed stories for this volume:

  • Adrik Kemp
  • Alex Silver
  • Alex Stargazer
  • Allan Dyen-Shapiro
  • Andi Deacon
  • Andrea Speed
  • Andrew Vaillencourt
  • Ava Kelly
  • Barbara Johnson-Haddad
  • Barbara Krasnoff
  • Beáta Fülöp
  • Benoit Lafortune
  • Blaine D. Arden
  • Bob Milne
  • Brenna Harvey
  • Brooke K. Bell
  • L. McCartney
  • Cassidy Frazee
  • Chet Gottfried
  • Chloe Spencer
  • Chris Bannor
  • Christine Wright
  • Christopher Koehler
  • Clare London
  • J. Clarke
  • M. Rasch
  • David Gerrold
  • Devon Widmer
  • Diane Callahan
  • L. Harrison
  • Romeis
  • D.E. Bell
  • M. Hamill
  • Edie Montreux
  • Elaine Burnes
  • Eloreen Moon
  • Emilia Agrafojo
  • Emma Johnson-Rivard
  • Eric Warren
  • Evelyn Benvie
  • Gareth Worthington
  • Ginger Streusel
  • Howard V. Hendrix
  • Needham
  • Zachary Pike
  • S. Garner
  • Jade Black
  • James Alan Gardner
  • Jamie Lackey
  • Jana Denardo
  • Jasie Gale
  • Jeff Jacobson
  • Jennie L. Morris
  • Jet Lupin
  • Jon Miller
  • Jonathan Fesmire
  • Joshua Ian
  • Julian Maxwell
  • Kitts
  • L. Townsend
  • S. Marsden
  • KA Masters
  • Katelyn Cameron
  • Kellie Doherty
  • Kevin Andrew Murphy
  • Kevin Klehr
  • Kim Fielding
  • Kitt Harris
  • Koji A. Dae
  • S. Reinholt
  • V. Lloyd
  • LC Treeheart
  • Lee Jordan
  • Lee Soeburn
  • Lou Sylvre
  • X. Kelly
  • Maria Zoccola
  • Mary E. Lowd
  • Mary Francis
  • Mary Kuna
  • Matt Doyle
  • Mere Rain
  • Milo Owen
  • Minerva Cerridwen
  • Naomi Tajedler
  • Nathan Alling Long
  • Nathaniel Taff
  • Nicole Dennis
  • Nina Kiriki Hoffman
  • Noah K. Sturdevant
  • Patricia Scott
  • Paul Uebler
  • E. Carr
  • L. Merrill
  • Raine Norman
  • Ray Lidstone
  • RE Andeen
  • Redfern Jon Barrett
  • Rory Eggleston
  • Rory Ni Coileain
  • Rosalie Wessel
  • S S Long
  • Sara Testarossa
  • Sean Ian O'Meidhir
  • Shannon Brady
  • Shannon Yseult
  • Skip J. Hanford
  • Stephen B. Pearl
  • Stephen J. Wolf
  • Steve Carr
  • Stone Franks
  • Stuart Conover
  • Susan James
  • Sydney Blackburn
  • T. Thomas
  • W. Cox
  • Tom Jolly
  • Val Muller
  • Warren Rochelle
  • William Tate

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Blog Tour + Giveaway: Migration: QSF Flash Fiction Anthology by Various Authors


Welcome the Migration (Queer Sci Fi Flash Fiction Anthology) and Other Worlds Ink to our blog as they celebrate the release of the 120 authored collection! Learn more today and enter in the $20 Amazon gift card giveaway!

Migration


Queer Sci Fi has just released the annual QSF Flash Fiction anthology. This year, the theme is "Migration."

MI-GRA-TION (noun)

1) Seasonal movement of animals from one region to another.

2) Movement of people to a new area or country in order to find work or better living conditions.

3) Movement from one part of something to another.

Three definitions to inspire writers around the world and an unlimited number of possible stories to tell. Here are 120 of our favorites.

Migration feaures 300 word speculative flash fiction stories from across the rainbow spectrum, from the minds of the writers of Queer Sci Fi.


Other Worlds Ink | Amazon | iBooks | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | QueeRomance Ink | Goodreads



Giveaway

Queer Sci Fi is giving away a $20 gift Amazon certificate with this tour – enter via Rafflecopter for a chance to win:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b60e8d4774/?



Excerpt


Migration meme

Each year, hundreds of writers send in stories for the Queer Sci Fi flash fiction anthology. Here are the opening lines from some of the stories chosen for the 2019 edition – Migration:

“Darkness has substance. It is tangible; different shades within the black, sounds, a taste. It is accompanied by self-awareness of time and thoughts, even when other senses fail.” —Hope for Charity, by Robyn Walker

“The sky has been screaming for five straight days when the shrimps come to take us away. They’ve been boxing up the others and hauling them off. Now they’re here for us, soaking wet, dragging cords and crates behind them.” —Shrimpanzee, Sionnain Bailey

“Allister always had faultless hair. He’d comb and gel it to perfection while gazing in the mirror. One day a pair of eyes stared back.” —Zulu Finds a Home, by Kevin Klehr

“On her sister’s wedding day Ari noticed that one of her ears had migrated to her hand. It was right after her high school crush, Emily, arrived with Cousin Matt.” —Playing It By Ear, Aidee Ladnier

“The wound was fatal. Their vessel wouldn't live much longer. This is what came from leaving loose ends. Frantically they sought out a new vessel to migrate to. “ —The Essence, by L.M. Brown

“That night, we were sitting in the bed of her daddy’s old pickup truck and the radio was playing the best song. We had a pack of cigarettes between us and her hand was almost touching mine. The wheat field was silver in the moonlight. When they came, we weren’t surprised, just disappointed that our time was up already.” —Our Song, by Lauren Ring

“Willow said she was my wife, but I knew it wasn’t her, not the right her, anyway. Sure she looked like her with olive skin and bright pink hair. She even smelled of mango flowers, just like I remembered, but there was something about her smile that was slightly off, something about when she said she loved me that didn’t sit well in my old heart.” — They Said It Would Be Her, by Elizabeth Andre

“Agnes is eight when she first sees the river. Cutting its way through town, the only thing she knows not coated in coal dust. She sticks her toes in, comes home with wet socks and a secret. See, the river hadn’t been there yesterday.” —Stream of Consciousness, by Ziggy Schutz

“Terry twirled in her green synthsilk dress, looked at her reflection, liked what she saw. She felt good in her own skin, for maybe the first time.” —Altball, by RE Andeen

“The thing was in the corner. It had come through the window and had slid down the wall. Scratch went the sound. The noise of a hundred nails clawing at the wood. Nails of white bone. Alex pulled the sheets up quickly, covering every inch of skin and hair in a warm darkness.” —Whose Nightmare, by Jamie Bonomi



Author Bio

AUTHORBIO

A hundred and twenty authors are included in Migration:

  • Butterflies, by A O'Donovan
  • The Return, by A.M. Leibowitz
  • A New Spring, by Aaron Silver
  • Universal Quota, by Abby Bartle
  • The Call of Home, by Adrienne Wilder
  • Starfall, by Adrik Kemp
  • Playing it By Ear, by Aidee Ladnier
  • Rabbit, by Amanda Thomas
  • That Does Not Love…, by Andi Deacon
  • Inborn, by Andrea Speed
  • Saving Ostakis, by Angelica Primm
  • A Dawn Wish, by Antonia Aquilante
  • Diaspora, by Ariel E. James
  • Transmigration, by Ashby Danvers
  • Across the Mirror, by Ava Kelly
  • Between, by BE Allatt
  • The Speck, by Bey Deckard
  • The King of the Mountain Cometh, by Bob Goddard
  • Before and After, by C. A. Chesse
  • Home, by C.A. McDonald
  • Too Much Tech, by C.L. Mannarino
  • Ze Who Walks Into the Future, by Carey Ford Compton
  • The Gate, by Carol Holland March
  • Our Last Light Skip, by Chloe Spencer
  • Passage, by Christine Taylor-Butler
  • The Perils of Pick-Up Lines, by Colton Aalto
  • Parched, by Crysta K. Coburn
  • Changeling Dreams, by Damian Serbu
  • Destinations, by Dave Creek
  • Another Job, Another Planet, by David Viner
  • Thiefmaster Rosalind's Apprentice, by Devon Widmer
  • A Weight Off Their Shoulders, by Diane Morrison
  • Once a Year, by Dianne Hartsock
  • Mettle, by Die BoothForever Bound, by E.W. Murks
  • They Said It Would Be Her, by Elizabeth Andre
  • Til Death Do Us Part, by Elizabeth Anglin
  • Little One, by Eloreen Moon
  • GBFN, by Emilia Agrafojo
  • The Long Distance Thing, by Ether Nepenthes
  • Call My People Home, by Evelyn Benvie
  • Jace vs. the Incubi, by Eytan Bernstein
  • A New Tradition, by Foster Bridget Cassidy
  • The Curious Cabinet, by Ginger Streusel
  • Ready, by Hank Edwards
  • The Albatrosses, by Harry F. Rey
  • A Boy's Shadow, by Helen De Cruz
  • Portrait of a Lady, by Isobel Granby
  • Beam That Is In, by J. Comer
  • The Hunt, by J. R. Frontera
  • Repeating History, by J. Summerset
  • Neil's Journey, by J.P. Bowie
  • Homeward Bound, by J.S. Garner
  • Whose Nightmare?, by Jamie Bonomi
  • A Moment of Bravery, by Jessie Pinkham
  • Laetus, by Jet Lupin
  • Where You Go, I'll Follow, by Joe Baumann
  • Ambrose Out of Ash, by Jonathan Fesmire
  • Shooting Modes, by Joshua Darrow
  • TerrorForm, by Juam Jocom
  • The Curse, by Jude Reid
  • Throwing Eggs, by K E Olukoya
  • Fly, by Kayleigh Sky
  • The Keep, by KC Burn
  • Zulu Finds a Home, by Kevin Klehr
  • The Risks and Advantages of Data Migration, by Kim Fielding
  • Irreversible, by kim gryphon
  • Looner, by Krishan Coupland
  • The Essence, by L.M. Brown
  • Our Song, by Lauren Ring
  • O Human Child, by Lisa Hamill
  • Goodbye Marghretta, by Lou Sylvre
  • Choices, by LV Lloyd
  • Endangered Species, by M Joseph Murphy
  • Planet Retro, Unplugged, by M. X. Kelly
  • Elemental, by M.D. Grimm
  • To Wish on a Love Knot, by Margaret McGaffey Fisk
  • Firebirds, by Marita M. Connor
  • Breeding Season, by Mary Newman
  • Kooks at Home, by Matt McHugh
  • Spring, by Mere Rain
  • Into the South, by Mindy Leana Shuman
  • Not How We Planned It, by Minerva Cerridwen
  • What Is Left Behind, by Monique Cuillerier
  • How Far Would You Go for the One You Love?, by Nathan Alling Long
  • Innocence, by Nathaniel Taff
  • Heart and Soul, by Nils Odlund
  • Tides, by Patricia Scott
  • Killer Queen, by Paula McGrath
  • Genesis, by Pelaam
  • If Pigs Could Fly, by Penelope Friday
  • Click, by R R Angell
  • Be Kind to Strangers, by Raina Lorring
  • Altball, by RE Andeen
  • Far From Home, by Riley S. Keene
  • Hope for Charity, by Robyn Walker
  • Night Comes to the Bea Arthur, by Rory Ni Coileáin
  • MIG Ration, by S R Jones
  • Going Back, by Sacchi Green
  • World Behind and Home Ahead, by Sara Testarossa
  • The Call of the Suet, by Sarah Hadley Brook
  • Research & Development, by Shaina Phillips
  • Into the Void, by Shannon Brady
  • The Silkie's Dance, by Shannon West
  • Seal Hunt, by Shirley Meier
  • Shrimpanzee FIRST IN BOOK, by Sionnain Bailey
  • The Woman With No Name, by Siri Paulson
  • Memories of Clay, by Spencer Mann
  • Simulacrum, by Steve Carr
  • The Experience, by Steve Fuson
  • Flight, by Steven Harper
  • Birds of New Atlantis, by Stewart C Baker
  • Lurching Forward, by Sydney Blackburn
  • Spores of Retribution, by Tray Ellis
  • Skin Hunger, by Treasure Nguyen
  • Elvira, by Trevor Barton
  • Ever After, by Warren Rochelle
  • Into the Light, by Wart Hill
  • Dryads, by X Marduk
  • Stream of Consciousness, by Ziggy Schutz

LOGO - Other Worlds Ink
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Anniversary Shenanigans: Author Visit + Giveaway - Kim Fielding


She opened the shenanigans and she's closing the 2018 shenanigans. Brace yourselves for this one. Kim Fielding just plowed over the stops for this finale.



Battle

By Kim Fielding


Bakar sat motionless in the corner of his dark hut, trying to quiet his breathing. Close by—frighteningly close—men shouted and screamed; metal crashed against metal. Even within the confines of his hut, he imagined he smelled blood and dust despite the sour odor of his own sweat.

The war had been coming nearer for weeks, although nobody in the village knew what the fighting was about. One lord angry with another, Bakar supposed, or perhaps a lord eager to seize land. Whatever the cause, the battles washed over the local settlements like toxic waves, killing everyone in their path. Bakar’s neighbors had fled days ago, but he wouldn’t have gotten far with his withered left leg, so he’d remained. Alone.

He wrapped his arms around himself, a poor echo of the embraces his husband used to share with him. Oroitz had been a loving man, kind and strong. But not strong enough to conquer the fever that had overtaken him three years earlier. In the heavy blackness of the hut, Bakar wondered what Oroitz would be doing now, were he still alive. Would he have listened to Bakar’s pleas to flee with the rest of the village? Would he have devised some way to take Bakar with him? Or would he have remained here, grasping the axe he used for cutting firewood, as if he could somehow hold off an army by himself?

Bakar must have dozed off, despite his fear. When he became aware again, the sounds of the battle had ceased, although their absence seemed as loud as the battle itself. Bakar waited a long time but heard nothing. Finally, using the walls for support, he laboriously made his way upright. Clutching his cane, he limped to the door and inched it open.

Moonlight, but no movement except for tree leaves dancing in the breeze. No ferocious shouting or dying screams. And no quiet buzz of his neighbors settling in with their families for the evening. He wondered whether the villagers would return someday.

Bakar shut the door and hobbled across the hut to light his lantern. He would have liked to start a fire, but perhaps the soldiers were still close enough to smell the smoke. So instead he ate stale bread dipped in wine and nibbled on dried sausages.

He’d just stood to douse the lantern—sleep seemed the rational choice, since he could do little else—when someone pounded on the door.

Bakar froze. Even his breathing stopped.

More thuds. He would have ignored them and cowered in his corner… if it weren’t for the voice that called out.

“Help me. Please.”

Most likely a trick of some kind. Yet Bakar thought of the many times Oroitz had aided him when Bakar needed it—a steady hand, a sympathetic ear, a loving kiss. Bakar couldn’t ignore the stranger’s plea.

The small expanse of floorboards took forever to cross. He opened the door.

There stood a man, bearded, bare-chested, tattooed. Blood splattered his face and torso, wounds gaped on his arms and chest and sides, and he carried a heavy sword on his back. He stared at Bakar with strangely pale eyes.

“Please,” rasped the man. He started to crumple but grabbed the doorframe. His breathing sounded ragged, as if every lungful was a great effort, and even with the hut for support, his body swayed. His gaze never left Bakar’s face. “Please.”

Bakar inhaled deeply and gestured the man inside.


And now we all get to hang off the cliff of what happens next together. Forever. Kidding.

This year's shenanigans have been a lot of fun and we unicorns thank all the authors and publishers who contributed to making our fifth anniversary a rousing success. Special thanks go to Kim Fielding who took time out of her jam packed schedule to write not one but two fics for us!

About the Author:

Kim Fielding is the bestselling author of numerous m/m romance novels, novellas, and short stories. Like Kim herself, her work is eclectic, spanning genres such as contemporary, fantasy, paranormal, and historical. Her stories are set in alternate worlds, in 15th century Bosnia, in modern-day Oregon. Her heroes are hipster architect werewolves, housekeepers, maimed giants, and conflicted graduate students. They’re usually flawed, they often encounter terrible obstacles, but they always find love.

After having migrated back and forth across the western two-thirds of the United States, Kim calls the boring part of California home. She lives there with her husband, her two daughters, and her day job as a university professor, but escapes as often as possible via car, train, plane, or boat. This may explain why her characters often seem to be in transit as well. She dreams of traveling and writing full-time.

Follow:

Website
Facebook
Twitter: @KFieldingWrites
Email: Kim@KFieldingWrites.com


Don't miss out on her Christmas story, Summerfield's Angel, which comes out December 2nd!
After the hard winter of 1888 ended Alby Boyle’s work as a Nebraska ranch hand, he returned to New York City in search of his long-lost family. His mother and brothers are nowhere to be found, however, and after Alby’s years of absence, Five Corners no longer feels like home. His prospects seem as dim as the nighttime alleys.

When Alby pauses to admire an angel ornament in a department store window’s Christmas display, he meets Xeno Varnham-Summerfield. Wealthy, handsome, and enthusiastic, Xeno brings Alby some temporary cheer. But for Alby to achieve his dreams of love and a real home, well, that may take a bit of holiday magic.


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Enter to win a backlist DSP ebook. The giveaway is open until 12:00AM (EST) 12/7/18. Shortly thereafter, we will contact a winner!

Please respond to the winning notification within 48 hours or we will choose another winner. Good luck!

Don't miss entering in our month long unicorn giveaway HERE! It ends 12/1/18!
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Anniversary Shenanigans: Author Visit + Giveaway - Kris T. Bethke


Kris T. Bethke is joining in the shenanigans today with fic that packs a punch. To the feels.


The way the early morning light hit Jake was just too perfect. My breath caught just looking at him. With his back fully on display, the sheet pooled artfully at his waist, I knew I had to capture it. I set the bunny on the edge of the mattress and turned to get my camera.
“Avi?” Jake’s early morning voice was hardly more than a rumble. “Is Trix on my back?”
I turned back quickly. Trix had indeed settled himself in the small of Jake’s back, his head resting comfortably. I couldn’t restrain the smile.
“Yes. He is.”
Jake sighed, turned a page in his book, and asked, “And why is the rabbit on the bed?”
“Because I couldn’t hold him and the camera at the same time.”
Jake froze with one hand on his coffee mug. I was so busy finding the perfect shot, it took me a moment to realize. I set the camera down, crossed the room in three strides, and dropped to my knees beside him.
“You’re beautiful,” I said softly but firmly. It was a familiar refrain, but one I was happy to repeat a thousand times. A million. If that’s what it took to get him to believe it.
Jake wouldn’t meet my gaze. He kept his fixed firmly on the book in front of him. Slowly, I reached out and touched his cheek. He flinched, but I wasn’t offended, and after a long moment, he sighed and leaned into my hand. I still waited, quiet, until he finally looked at me. His eyes were filled with pain. And a bit of shame I knew had no business being there.
“You’re beautiful,” I repeated. Then I gave him a soft smile. “I know the scars on your skin. I know what those tattoos cover. I saw you take your pain and cover it and make yourself whole. I watched you reclaim yourself. You are amazing and beautiful. Never doubt it.”
Jake sucked in a breath and I held his deep brown gaze until he let it out slowly. He gave me a tremulous smile.
“The tattoos helped but I’m only whole because you love me.”
I kissed him, slow and sweet. I thought he gave me far too much credit. But he had my heart, and I had his. He could think anything he wanted. As long as he kept loving me back.

Anyone else having FEELINGS right now? Be sure to let Kris know what you thought of her fic in the comments below.

Hi everyone! I’m Kris T. Bethke, and I’m so thrilled to be here to help the crew at Boy Meets Boys Reviews celebrate their anniversary!
I think it goes without saying that I’m a creative person. But I do more than just craft stories on the page. I’m also an avid knitter and yarn dyer. And truthfully, the yarn arts help me when it comes to my writing as well.
It’s kind of a two-fold process, really. I get to zone out while I knit, letting my mind wander as I create stitch after stitch. And as my mind mind wanders, I think about my boys, and what the details need to be to write a complete story readers will love as much as I do. Same goes for when the yarn is in the pot, soaking up color. I’m at the table, waiting for it to do it’s thing, and making notes and drafting story ideas. It’s as if one creative outlet fuels the other.
And then of course, there’s the times when I’m stuck. Every writer bumps into that immovable wall, the one that keeps the characters and story from going forward. I’m fortunate that I have another way to get my brain moving again. Walking away from the computer and picking up my knitting let’s me focus on something else. And that, invariably, leads to my brain working again.
And yes, you’ll see knitting pop up in my stories occasionally. I’ve yet to have a main character who knits—though I’m sure that will happen eventually—but secondary characters have definitely had the gift. And that allows me to showcase one of my passions within the other.
I’m lucky to have all this in my life to keep me from going stark raving mad. And because of it, I get to bring great stories to the world for readers to enjoy.
As part of the celebration, I’m giving you a chance to win your choice of books from my backlist!

Kris also has a holiday story coming out December 15th, 'Twas the Play Before Christmas! Look for it from JMS books!

Blurb:

After the death of his wife, Nick Valenti is raising his twins on his own. It’s no surprise when his son, Quinn, gets a part in the holiday show, but Nick is amazed when he shows up at the parent meeting and finds his old high school friend is now his son’s music teacher.

Emmett James is full of passion and energy, and Nick is captivated by him. Volunteering to help with sets gives Nick the opportunity to get to know the man Emmett has become. Sparks fly, flirting ensues, and Nick wants nothing more than to see where the attraction between them goes.

With Christmas in the air, and holiday music helping them along, will Nick and Emmett find a romance that can last?

Author Bio:

Kris T. Bethke has been a voracious reader for pretty much her entire life and has been writing stories for nearly as long. An avid and prolific daydreamer, she always has a story in her head. She spends most of her free time reading, writing, or knitting/crocheting her latest project. Her biggest desire is to find a way to accomplish all three tasks at one time. A classic muscle car will always turn her head, and naps on the weekend are one of her greatest guilty pleasures. She lives in a converted attic with a way too fluffy cat and the voices in her head. She’ll tell you she thinks that’s a pretty good deal. Kris believes that love is love, no matter the gender of people involved, and that all love deserves to be celebrated.

Find her on her site
Facebook
Twitter


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Don't miss entering in our month long unicorn giveaway HERE! It ends 12/1/18!

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Anniversary Shenanigans: Author Visit + Giveaway - Sidney Bell


Sidney Bell took time out from promoting Rough Trade to write a fic that's sure to tickle your banter bone! Also be sure to enter in the giveaway for a paperback copy of Hard Line. 3 winners will be selected and the giveaway is open internationally!



And It Comes With a Pool by Sidney Bell

Ben parked several houses down from the address Matty had texted him, squinting through the cool, blue nighttime to make sure he was in the right place. They weren’t that far from his own house, and the familiar expansive yards and mature oaks hinted that this street probably had the same stringent neighborhood watch too. The thought made him wince.

Eventually, they’d get busted. It might be old hat for Matty, but Ben would be facing serious career consequences in addition to the legal ramifications. He imagined Dr. Yates’s crusty voice asking, “Why would you break into someone’s back yard to have illicit sex with a man you barely know in a pool?”

His heart thundered in his chest, driven forward by two competing thoughts: I can’t stay, we’ll get caught. And: I can’t leave, not before I’ve had him again.

If only there were a third option. One that meant getting to fuck Matty and not going to jail.

He got out of the car, shut the door as quietly as possible, and tried to amble down the sidewalk like he had no criminal impulses whatsoever. Matty was waiting for him in the shadows between two houses, and he broke into a grin at the sight of Ben. That grin did terrible things to Ben’s body, made him stupid, made him hard.

“You came.” Matty stole a quick kiss, his stubble scratchy. He smelled like he usually did, like whiskey and sweat, like he’d been out clubbing for hours, dancing with strangers in the dark amid pounding music, maybe even asking them the same question he’d asked Ben once: wanna take a risk with me?

Ben had said yes, of course. He’d been burning off a hellish week of meeting new patients while putting the final touches on a response to his first peer review request for the fucking New England Journal of Medicine and still trying to find his footing in the prestigious—if extremely uptight—cardiology practice he’d recently joined. Hearing wanna take a risk with me from that sweet mouth had been terrifying and attractive in equal measure.

If you asked Ben’s body, the answer was still yes, might always be yes. Just having Matty here in his arms, that body so limber, arching shamelessly so their hips made contact, his smile sly and teasing, was all it ever seemed to take.

“I love this,” Matty was saying in that rough, low voice. He nipped at Ben’s jaw, sending heat down his spine. “You’re always so fucking ready. Let’s go.”

By the time Ben could put thoughts together again, Matty had vaulted himself up and over the privacy fence into the back yard with surprising grace for someone who was no doubt half-lit. A moment later a scratching sound came and the gate opened up.

“Ta da,” Matty whispered, then led the way toward the pool, which was dark.

Dark and—empty?

“There’s no water,” Ben whispered back.

Matty seemed momentarily confounded. “Huh.” Then he shrugged and dropped neatly into the pool anyway. “Marco,” he called, far too loudly considering what they were doing.

Ben couldn’t remember if his malpractice insurance had a professional conduct clause. It didn’t stop him from following.

He landed with a crunch of dead leaves beneath his feet, and the concrete all around them radiated cold and the reek of mold, but they were completely out of sight, at least.

“It smells,” Ben pointed out.

“Yeah, it’s pretty gross down here.” Matty reached out, sliding his fingers under Ben’s henley to trace lightly along his belly. “Mmm. Come here.”

“Wait. You think this is gross too?”

“Yeah.” Matty licked his way up Ben’s throat, his fingers dropping to tug on the button of his jeans. “Come on.”

Ben tried to keep his blood in his head instead of his dick. “Then what the hell are we doing down here?”

“Because it’s fun.” Matty blinked at him. “Isn’t it?”

“I mean, if you think the idea of cops and guard dogs is fun, sure.”

“Oh.” Matty seemed momentarily nonplussed. “You really don’t like this?”

“We’re in a stranger’s grody empty pool,” Ben said gently. “It’s not exactly my dream spot, no.”

“But it’s a pool. Pools are cool.”

“I know that. I have a pool. Mine even has water in it. I’m not here for the pool.”

“Then why—”

“I like you, asshole.”

“Oh.”

“You can’t be that surprised that someone you’re sleeping with likes you.” Ben considered nearly a dozen quick, fumbling trysts in semi-public places and revised that assumption. If this was how Matty always had sex, no wonder he didn’t anticipate actual feelings forming.

“I’m sorry,” Matty murmured, his mouth soft and unhappy. “I thought we were having fun.”

“We were. Sort of. It’s just…” Ben took a deep breath and braced himself. “Is that all I am? Fun? Because I’d like to be more than that.”

Matty spun away with a groan, interlacing his fingers and resting them on top of his head. The move outlined the strength of his shoulders in his T-shirt, the fine muscles along his arms and back, and Ben swallowed hard. Part of him wished he’d never mentioned it. He’d be inside Matty by now, maybe, if he’d just kept his stupid mouth shut. Or he’d have Matty on his knees. Or he’d have Matty’s dick in his hand, hot and hard. He’d be listening to Matty’s sex noises, which were objectively a little stupid and whiny sounding, but they got Ben hot anyway. He liked the way Matty’s voice got high and thin when he was close, the way all of Matty’s scattered thoughts and energies cohered into a raw, rare focus.

“I need a beer,” Matty muttered, and lowered his arms. “Here’s the thing. The stuff I know about you, I like. But that doesn’t matter much, because I’m not the one who’s gonna have issues with us.”

“How do you figure?”

“You’re a doctor who does, like, Bowflex at six in the morning before you go save lives and shit. I’m a bartender who likes fucking in parks and partying and sleeping until two. I’m not cut out to be a doctor’s wife. I’m cool with that. I like being me, but I’m not sure you’re gonna agree in the long run. And it’s one thing to fuck a guy who thinks he’s slumming and another thing to try for something more with him.”

“I’m not slumming,” Ben said, stung.

“Sure you are,” Matty said easily. “I’m wearing a fucking slap bracelet with skulls on it.”

Ben made a face. “They’re not coming back, man.”

“You’ll see.” Matty’s smile was brief. “The point is I don’t know how to go to fundraisers.”

“You’re lucky you’re so damn pretty.” Ben touched Matty’s lower lip, and Matty kissed his thumb, soft and sweet. “Because you’re a pain in the ass. I just want to have sex with you in a bed sometimes and watch Game of Thrones together.”

“Really?” Matty’s brow furrowed.

“Exclusively,” Ben added, dropping his hand. “Exclusive is part of it.”

Matty didn’t say anything for a long moment. “Sex in a bed and Game of Thrones. That’s what you want?”

“Yeah. That’s what a relationship is, Matty. Frequent sex plus doing fun stuff together.”

“A relationship,” Matty said, the words careful, as if the shape of them was new in his mouth. “I could be in a relationship. I like Game of Thrones. I could be a relationship guy.”

“Jesus,” Ben muttered, even as his heart flopped over in his chest.

“No, I could,” Matty insisted. “I can watch television with you. I can pick you up when your car breaks down, and, and, and...like, pay…bills? Is that…do we get a joint checking thing now?”

Ben shook his head, unable to stop a sappy smile from forming. “That stuff comes later, man.”

“Cool. You might have to give me, like, tips and shit. I’m kind of a relationship virgin.”

“Who’s Rocco then?” Ben’s hand landed on the spot where a tattoo of that name graced Matty’s shoulder. He’d always assumed Rocco was an ex, but if Matty had never done anything like this before, that couldn’t be right.

Matty’s face lit up. “Rocco’s my cat. He’s fucking awesome, Ben. He caught a woodpecker once, but he didn’t kill it because he has a heart made of butter. Best fucking cat that ever lived.”

Ben pressed his forehead against Matty’s collarbone and tried not to laugh too loudly. It would suck to get busted at this point.

“A relationship,” Matty repeated, sort of wonderingly. He leaned up and kissed Ben, the kind of chaste kiss that the idiot probably thought was relationship-appropriate. But somehow Matty’s tongue ended up in Ben’s mouth, the kiss going hot and biting and dirty enough that Ben was thinking maybe they should fuck right now after all since they were already here. He put his hands on Matty’s hips and tugged, bringing their bodies together, only to protest when Matty wiggled away.


“Nope, not here.” Matty laced their fingers together and squeezed. “I have it on good authority that there’s a pool with actual water in it somewhere in this neighborhood.”


How cute was that? Be sure to let Sidney know what you thought in the comments below!

Rough Trade is due out December 3rd! ICYMI here's a link to our 4.5 ❤️ review of it.
Quick-witted hustler Ghost is no stranger to living dangerously; survival has always been the name of the game.

He’s just always gone it alone.

Now he’s got the wrong people breathing down his neck, and the only way out demands placing his trust in the unlikeliest of heroes: Duncan Rook, a gruff cop whose ethics are as solid as his body.

Cozying up to a criminal is hardly what Duncan’s reputation on the force needs—especially when that criminal is temptation personified. Ghost is Duncan’s polar opposite, and the last person he expected to fall for.

So then why does every imaginable scenario for taking down their common enemy end with Ghost in his arms?
About the Author

Sidney Bell lives in the drizzly Pacific Northwest with her amazingly supportive husband. She received her MFA degree in Creative Writing in 2010, considered aiming for the Great American Novel, and then promptly started writing fanfiction instead. Eventually more realistic grown-ups convinced her to try writing something more fiscally responsible, which is how we ended up here. 

When she’s not writing, she’s playing violent video games, yelling at the television during hockey games, or supporting her local library by turning books in late.

Website
Twitter

We unicorns thank Sidney for helping us celebrate our fifth anniversary!



a Rafflecopter giveaway


Enter to win a paperback copy of Hard Line! 3 winners will be chosen. Open internationally. The giveaway is open until 12:00AM (EST) 12/5/18. Shortly thereafter, we will contact a winner!

Please respond to the winning notification within 48 hours or we will choose another winner. Good luck!


Don't miss entering in our month long unicorn giveaway HERE! It ends 12/1/18!
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