Leaving, cover reveal, massive queer sale, and more
In this issue:
Looking for a new home—leaving Substack
Cover reveal: THEY CALL HIM LUCIUS
New release: SOMNISCOPE
QUEER YOUR BOOKSHELF: $0.99 eBook sale
Book review: The Day We Ate Grandad by C.M. Rosens
Looking for a new home—leaving Substack
I’ve been busy looking for a new home for my newsletter due to Substack’s Nazi problem (and them apparently not being all too bothered by it—whatever pays the bills, it seems). It’s been hard to find a suitable place that doesn’t limit the number of free subscribers (and then asks for a lot of money each month), isn’t full of weird scammy ads, and also allows my content (apparently a lot of places are extremely anti-sex, even in fiction that isn’t purely erotica 😑)
So please bear with me as I figure out where to go (and upon deciding, gather enough spoons to actually move).
Cover reveal: THEY CALL HIM LUCIUS
For all my dear subscribers, say hello to the glorious cover of my next novel, “They call him Lucius”. Art is by the talented Holly Bunn (who also did “My Lord”)
Full wrap to follow later ♥ Also: similar to My Lord, They call him Lucius will contain internal artwork 😏
Publication date is still TBD, but I’m hoping for a late 2024 release.
<redacted—sorry, this part was for subscribers only 🙈>
A decade of torture at the hands of the cannibal Lucius has left Amy traumatised. Yet, she remains resilient and is determined to find a way out of his grasp. She will reclaim her freedom one way or another—even if that means becoming someone or something else entirely.
New release: SOMNISCOPE
This new Dreampunk Convergence novel released earlier this week and contains stories by a total of 27 authors 🤘
My short story RESET features an elderly, queer MC who needs to save the world as she is the last remaining dreamer 🌌
Fun fact: it’s based on several of my own actual dreams 👀
You can grab a paperback here. Ebook soon to follow.
QUEER YOUR BOOKSHELF: $0.99 eBook sale
Time to stuff your bookshelf with all the queer books! Hundreds of books are in this sale across various platforms. MY LORD is now just $0.99 over on all digital platforms 😱
Browse all the discounted books here and QUEER YOUR BOOKSHELF 😎🏳🌈
Be quick though, as it’s officially only for 1 day!
Free MY LORD bookplates
If you got a physical copy of MY LORD, post a photo of it to social media and tag me. I’ll be sending people free signed bookplates (& goodies) 😄
Don’t have social media and/or not comfortable sharing? Not to worry! Just fill in this form ♥
Book review: The Day We Ate Grandad by C.M. Rosens
Book 3 in the Pagham-on-Sea series, of which the first book, THE CROWS, is one of my all-time fav books 🙌
It recently got a brand new cover! So if you have yet to jump into this universe: go and pick it up 🖤
Book 1 (The Crows) is one of my all-time fav reads, so I've been waiting to get into this one (book 3).
TL;DR review:
Time to stand up to your elder and give him the finger. The road to actually getting to stand there and do that though? 😱 good lord I didn't want to stop reading--I needed answers!
Longer, more in-depth review:
On family/cults:
As if the eldritch family wasn't messed up enough, they started to form cults 💀 and nobody is safe. It's deliciously terrifying.
On LGBTQ+:
Same as with Thirteenth: Multiple queer characters 🏳🌈 Wes really gets to "shine" in this book though, wanting to get down with any gender (saying this for a reason...)
With that said...
On Wes:
Yes, that fckface gets his own subsection. Dear gods, how I love to hate his guts. How Rosens managed to write a character that has me so torn with feeling empathy, then not, then empathy again, to wanting to yeet him into a dark abyss and just be DONE with his ass 😤
...he made me laugh on multiple occasions too, oversexual as he is. I mean... If you know, you know 🕸
But, his sexual appetite aside: his face. One thing I really enjoyed was how this further explored his face and how it all works. As someone who is rather faceblind, it was nice to be reminded how Hugo is too and that's why he isn't as bothered/affected by Wes' power. (Having faceblind characters in books: yes please! 🙌 I felt seen 🥰)
On mental health and such:
This book has characters going through *a lot*. Depression in various shapes and forms, not to mention (not) coping mechanisms. Def wanted to hug multiple characters throughout (and maybe or maybe not shove Wes into a pit).
It was all very well written and just on how all characters are exactly that: their own character. They each deal with things their own (flawed) way and it's just so well written 😩👌
The grief bits though? Better keep hold of your heart!
I for one went straight into denial and refused to stop reading until I got forced into a different stage.
On the eldritch horrors:
This really feels like the climax of the 3 books, with everything coming to a head and all powers reaching their full potential. All I will say here to avoid spoilers: it is just GLORIOUS (iykyk lol)
On style:
The book is written in third person and switches between several POVs. To repeat my previous statement from The Crows: Rosens has a very engaging writing style that feels natural and pulls you into the world of Pagham on Sea and truly brings the characters to life.
And, as is expected, this book has amazing illustrations too! 🤩
Final notes:
If you've been around for books 1 and 2, there is just no way to skip book 3. Look at my face. Look. Get this book, read it, review it, tell your friends. Why yes, I highly recommend this book, why do you ask? Oh, you just had the idea to go and buy it? I fully support that!
~*~
Well, that's it for this issue. If you have any feedback (things I can improve, things you like, anything really) please let me know 💜