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A new year is supposed to be a chance to wipe away all of the old year’s ills. It’s a moment to start fresh – to make ambitious goals and resolutions, and to try some new things. Except when it isn’t. We had no grand ambitions for New Year’s Eve. It’s been years since we actually stayed up until midnight – most years we make it to the New York City ball drop (9 PM here on the West Coast), sip a flute of sparkling cider, and then head for bed. This year, the weather gods came for us instead. … Read more

Vincent Traughber Meis has a new LGBTQ+ contemporary literary book out (gay, trans FTM, bi, gender fluid): First Born Sons. A group of coastal California residents battle wildfires, racism, and their own demons in five distinct narratives set in late 2019 and 2020. The book is populated by a cast of diverse LGBTQ+ individuals who struggle to find love, comfort, and fulfillment. As the novel progresses, characters interact across the separate narratives and are brought together for a birthday and a disastrous Black Lives Matter demonstration. A man returning to the horrors that made him leave Mississippi, a blind gay … Read more

S.R. Cronin has a new fantasy book out, The War Stories of the Seven Troublesome Sisters book 6: She’s the One Who Won’t Behave. And there’s a giveaway! Gypsum, the sixth of seven sisters, has always been a rebel. Yet no one thought she would go so far as to join the reczavy, a group living in tents on the edge of the desert and known for their sexual promiscuity and playful ways. But as the date of the Mongols’ return draws near, Ilarians of all types must work together if they are to have any hope of surviving. And the … Read more

Welcome to my weekly Author Spotlight. I’ve asked a bunch of my author friends to answer a set of interview questions, and to share their latest work. Giveaway: The first six commentors will get a free e-book copy of Futures in Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear. Today: Ira Nayman is a humor writer who stumbled into speculative fiction over a decade ago and decided to hang about to see what would happen. His eighth novel, The Ugly Truth, will be published by Elsewhen Press in the summer of 2022. His 21st published short story, “Girls Rule the Steampunk World!” will … Read more

This is not a political post, but it does deal with things that are inherently political in nature, as issues in my life often do. If you are offended by this, my email list is probably not a good fit for you. But I wish you well even if you decide to unsubscribe from my list. It was the summer of 1984. I was sixteen years old, and I was fleeing the scene of a crime, moving from Arizona to live in California with my father for a year. The crime was being gay. I had discovered my criminal tendencies … Read more

Courtney Maguire has a new MM paranormal historical romance out, Youkai Bloodlines book 3: Blood Bound. And there’s a giveaway! Two hundred years can strain even the seemingly eternal love of the youkai. When Hideyoshi’s coldness drives them apart, Hiro finds comfort in his friendship with Takanori, a vociferous human man he met at a ramen shop and can’t seem to keep away from.. Everything Hiro had to fight for from Hideyoshi, Takanori gives freely, making it all too easy to turn away from his responsibilities–and Hideyoshi–in favor of something sweeter. But while Hiro is off playing human, danger is brewing among … Read more

M.D. Grimm has a new MM paranormal book out, Shifter Chronicles book 14: Red Sun. And there’s a giveaway! Raphael is no ordinary wolf shifter. Raphael knows he must be possessed by a demon. What else could explain the aggression, the physical, beastly transformations? To protect himself and others, his father locks him away. But when Raphael is nineteen, the demon gains full control and breaks free. Now Raphael is scared and desperate on the streets of El Paso, Texas, convinced he’s cursed. Then a stray cat enters his life and everything changes. Ahmes is a cat shifter and knows there’s … Read more