In honor of Pride Month and the delightful person who sent me a middle finger when I put my books on sale in June last year, I’ve put my books featuring LGBTQ+ characters on sale once again for the entire month! Click any of the links below to check them out. Make sure the sale price is there since I don’t count on a bug free experience…
I am also proud to announce that my new project “Dewey” will have a non-binary lead and I will be releasing chapters on my Patreon when I’m far enough ahead in writing.
Sorry, Middle Finger Person. We’re not going anywhere.
*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.
This is a horror anthology but is not like what I would typically gravitate to as a work featuring Junji Ito. It’s not a full on graphic novel. It’s a short story collection with illustrations from Ito in the same vein as Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark with a complete comic at the end as a bonus. The stories aren’t bad but the illustrations do NOT take advantage of how horrifying Ito’s art can be, which is shocking. How do you have Ito collaborate on a project and have him draw more than a puppet on the ground or a pretty girl dancing? The stories are decent, they give the sense of unease and do their job but holy crap was attaching Ito’s name to this a let down… 2 out of 5.
On the heels of Amazon playing games with me, I have a new release! The next part of the Dahlia trilogy is currently in pre-order and will be released on October 26th! You can support any of your preferred retailers by clicking here, and all my books will be available via my blog as I am in the process of building a store here. I’ll probably end up selling more than just my ebooks but we’ll see how much I can get done.
The first part of “Dahlia” is all done and ready for purchase! Click here or the picture above. Here’s the quick blurb:
Dahlia has a peaceful life working for a recycling company and coming home to her loving wife. But when that peace is shattered, a new terrible world is opened up, a dark past is revealed, and a dangerous quest begins.
I’m super excited to put this one out there. I hope you enjoy it!
*This is a collection of stories based on the work of Lafcadio Hearn who moved to Japan in 1890 and married a Japanese woman, Setsu. He not only collected stories from her, but many folktales from villagers he met.
The art is really simple but gets the point across. It also reads really fast since some of the stories are so short; like a book of fairy tales you’d get for your kid. They don’t stick in your mind for very long but I can see this being very re-readable. 3.8 out of 5.
*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review and suggested for mature readers.
In another great collection, we get a nice selection of more of Ito’s signature nightmare-inducing tales; including one about how his interest in horror grew as a child. What sets this collection apart is some color pages! They look beautiful, even if Ito’s art is fantastically effective in black and white. If you are a fan of horror, this will fit the bill with ghoulish perfection. 4.9 out of 5.
*This book was sent to me in exchange for an honest review and is rated 18+
This book is a collection of short stories set in the same universe as the other Beings in Love books.
The first one is “The Firebird” set in France in 1934, where a firebird, Kazimir, becomes enamored with a writer named Jacob. Kazimir is used to being the center of attention and having admirers begging to be inspired by him. But Jacob sees Kazimir as more than just an object. It’s a sweet story about finding someone who really values you.
Next is “The Warrior’s Sacrifice” set in Mexico in 1947. Mateo is a “muxe” a person assigned one gender at birth but behaves associated with the opposite gender and he gets beat up for this and left as an offering to the jaguar who protects the town; named Carmelo. Carmelo is home from WWII and keeps Mateo safe, revealing he has been watching Mateo for some time. This is a really touching story with low angst.
Next is “Hyacinth on the Air” featuring a fairy named Hyacinth, who loves to push the boundaries of what he’s allowed to say on air. Seeing as this is set in 1961, there are some pretty strict standards so he causes no end of trouble for Walter, a human who’s in charge of cleaning up after the messes Hyacinth makes. Being a fairy, Hyacinth doesn’t understand why humans are so uptight and why Walter would resist their obvious attraction. This one’s cute but out of all of them this one I found the least impactful.
The next story is “A Giant Among Men.” Set in 1982, Vietnam veteran, former police officer, and troll, Tank, is determined to make sure his friend Simon, an elf, gets home safe after the bar where Simon works is vandalized by people who hate Beings. Simon resists the help because he doesn’t want to be seen as weak but comes to realize Tank sees him as much more than a pretty elf bartender. Pretty enjoyable for what it is.
Next up is “The Imp for Mr. Sunshine.” Set in 2005, Rennet – an imp – has a crush on John, the deputy mayor. Since things tend to go wrong when an imp is present, Rennet believes this bad reputation will keep him from this crush developing into anything more. Little does he know that John has been protecting him for more than just friendly reasons. The parts where Rennet is dealing with his nature and what that means to the people around him are the best in this story.
Next, we have “A Wolf in the Garden.” Miki is a human who loves to work with exotic pants so his job in a greenhouse that’s also in a magic shop is where he’s most comfortable. One day a werewolf named Diego comes into the shop and Miki is smitten, but he knows Diego had a mate, and she tragically died of cancer. Miki does see Diego wants him but believes a wolf only gets one mate in their lives and that a man like him who’s been abandoned by his family and has strange hobbies. These two make an adorable couple and I really enjoyed this story and it was cool to see previous characters like Kazimir reappear. It makes the world feel so much bigger.
Lastly, “The Dragon’s Egg” featuring Arthur and Bertie from “A Boy and his Dragon”. Here Bertie discovers an egg that is their child and Arthur goes into full nesting mode.
This is a pretty decent collection but I have to say “A Wolf in the Garden” and “The Warriors Sacrifice” are my favorite. The others just didn’t grab me as much and made the book feel SO much longer. To get the full experience, you really have to make sure you read the previous four books so don’t just hop into this one. 3 out of 5.
*This book was sent to me in exchange for an honest review and is rated 18+
Featuring three short stories, Quinn & Perin offer a selection of hot, but ultimately not long lasting gay erotica stories. While not leaving much of an impact once they were over, while reading them you are dropped into the scene all of which are steamy as all get out. This is absolute smut with no pretense and in that, it succeeds. 3 out of 5.
*This book was sent to me in exchange for an honest review and is rated 18+
Life hasn’t exactly gone as planned for Sarah Brannigan. Divorce, loss of home, loss of her good job… Now in a cramped apartment with roommates working two crappy jobs to barely make her bills, Sarah has only one respite; her dreams. At night she escapes to Coney Island in its heyday with her dream man. But too much time in her dreams has them leaking out into the real world.
This is an interesting story about living too much in your “what if’s” can take away from your “now.” Sarah is a great character, a smart woman just in a rough patch but not willing to give up. And the ending is not what you would expect.
There are some pretty dark and sexy scenes and the connection to Coney Island is vivid and real, like you could reach out and touch it. Very enjoyable! 3.8 out of 5.
Upon finding out their son is gay, Adam’s parents ship him off to a Christian camp and warn him they won’t tolerate having a gay son. But while there, he falls for Paul and both teens must reconcile their faith with love in order to find happiness.
First off I gotta say, I’m Pagan and even I wish there were nicer Christians in this. From the parents to Randall, they’re almost cartoonishly evil. Boys can’t go shopping together? That means they’re gay? How do you get clothes then?
Anyway, this is a quick story; which makes sense considering it takes place over a short period of time. It has the innocence and charm of a summer camp story without it feeling too much like a typical coming of age plot. I empathize with Paul’s struggle and it’s portrayed in a realistic way that doesn’t overstay it’s welcome. Despite being brief, the story does feel complete instead of rushed like some short stories can be. I can see a teen reading this and liking it and for me, it’s a nice change from the quickie smut. 3 out of 5.
