Right Here Write Queer – feat. Tess Carletta

RightHereWriteQueer

The first episode of Right Here, Write Queer just dropped! You can listen in your favorite podcast app.

Today’s episode features Tess Carletta. She’s the author of Kit & Basie and its recently-released sequel, Patchwork. We chat about cozy magical realism, how to apply theatre techniques to writing novels, and crafting an aspirational world. You can connect with Tess and her work at her website: tesscarletta.com

Future episodes will introduce you to…

  • Sarah Wallace, author of the Regency fantasy series Meddle & Mend and co-author of Breeze Spells & Bridegrooms.
  • Noah Hawthorne (also writing as Aelina Isaacs), author of the fantasy series Take Me To Iverbourne and Adventures in Levena as well as the standalone novel The Rebel Foxes.
  • Luna Daye, author of the epic high fantasy series The Thoraius Saga and the romantasy series The Fated Fae.
  • Carolina Cruz, author of the horror romance Blood in the Water and the fantasy series The Creed of Gethin.
  • Sarah Whalen, author of the contemporary ace romance novel This Doesn’t Mean Anything.
  • RK Ashwick, fantasy author of the Lutesong series and the Side Quest Row series.
  • S. O. Callahan, author of the historical fantasy series Fella Enchanted and co-author of Breeze Spells & Bridegrooms.
  • and me, Sebastian Nothwell!

Our intro episodes will be rapid-releasing every Monday-Wednesday-Friday for the next two weeks, and our regular topic episodes will come out every week after that.

This project has been many months in the making and I’m so thrilled to finally be able to share it with you – thank you for listening!

Hold Fast 2 – Hold Faster – Now on Patreon!

Hold Fast 2 – Hold Faster is up on Patre♡n! Wherein we glimpse the ongoing romance of Morgan Turner and Sir Evelyn Winthrop.

~

Morgan raised an eyebrow. “Did you enjoy traveling as a merchant seaman?”

“It had its moments,” Evelyn admitted.

“Do tell.” The trace of a smile graced the corners of Morgan’s lips, which was as good as a grin on another man’s face.
“The boiler room, for one.”

This statement did nothing to dispel Morgan’s bemusement. “I never realized you had such a passion for coal.”

“I could take or leave the coal. My fellow stokers, on the other hand…” Evelyn trailed off just long enough for Morgan to catch his drift before he dove ahead. “Six brawny men to each furnace, all stripped to the waist.”

Morgan’s bemusement vanished.

Evelyn continued. “Sweat gleaming in the firelight as we bend and twist to shovel coal. Thrusting our lances into the flames and withdrawing to feed the draught.”

A hard swallow traveled down Morgan’s slender throat.

~

Joining me on Patre♡n will give you access to “drawer fic” – aka the 500k+ words worth of manuscripts that have been shelved until I figure out how to fix or finish them. You’ll also be invited to join an exclusive Discord server just for patrons!

A new story or chaper will go up every week. Missing (unwritten) scenes will be indicated by brackets describing what would probably happen if the scene were written. Example: [in this scene Aubrey and Lindsey ride a carousel]

Currently posting…
♡ Hold Fast 2 – Hold Faster (mm)

Completed works…
♡ the Aubrey & Lindsey solar fantasy project (mm)
♡ A Willing Canvas – John Halloway x Lord Cyril Graves (mm)
♡ The Train Job – Rowena Althorp x Rebekah (ff)

See you on Patre♡n!

Research Reads – The Haunting of Heatherhurst Hall

Happy Lesbian Visibility Week! Please enjoy The Haunting of Heatherhurst Hall, pictured here with the books that helped me write it.

The Haunting of Heatherhurst Hall is a sapphic love letter to the Gothic romance tradition. It was challenging but also a lot of fun to write, and a wonderful opportunity to indulge my love of spooky horror.

Most of the research was similar to what I’d read for my other Victorian romances. However, my Gothic lesbian romance involved a lot more corsets and chatelaines!

Books shown here include…

• Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier – The 1940 film is my mother’s favorite movie, so having seen it more than a dozen times in my life, picking up the novel felt only natural to me. The book is darker and more obscure, with the brooding husband’s motivations more uncertain to the narrator, and the deceased Rebecca herself more wicked, at least by his account. The sapphic undertones of the film become even more overt in the book; to say nothing of the sapphic experiences of the author’s own life.

• Crimson Peak: The Art of Darkness – This artbook of the film is not just a visual feast but also a fascinating peek into the behind-the-scenes of a cinematic masterpiece, filled to the brim with beautiful antiques and brilliant historical touches.

• To Marry an English Lord by Gail MacColl and Carol Wallace – I don’t actually recommend this one. While it gives a good overview of late 19th century American heiresses marrying bankrupt English nobility, it takes a disturbingly frivolous tone when discussing spousal abuse.

• How to be a Victorian by Ruth Goodman

• Food and Cooking in Victorian England by Andrea Broomfield

• Daily Life in Victorian England by Sally Mitchell

• Inside the Victorian Home by Judith Flanders

• The Victorian City by Judith Flanders

• Consuming Passions by Judith Flanders

~

The Haunting of Heatherhurst Hall is a Gothic romance rife with horror and heartache, wherein an American heiress makes an ill-advised marriage to bring herself closer the woman who’s stolen her heart.

Amazon • Apple Books • Barnes & Noble • bookshop.org • Kobo • Scribd • Smashwords • Target • Wob

The Train Job – Rowena Althorp x Rebekah on Patreon!

A new short story is up on Patre♡n! Wherein we glimpse the romantic adventures of Miss Rowena Althorp.

~

Before Rebekah could ask her name, or kiss her again—both impulses nearly overpowering her better sense—the lady stood, smoothed her skirts over the ruin of her pocket, and departed the train car as silent and sedate as a nun strolling the halls of her abbey.

~

Joining me on Patre♡n will give you access to “drawer fic” – aka the 500k+ words worth of manuscripts that have been shelved until I figure out how to fix or finish them. You’ll also be invited to join an exclusive Discord server just for patrons!

A new scene will go up every week. Missing (unwritten) scenes will be indicated by brackets describing what would probably happen if the scene were written. Example: [in this scene Aubrey and Lindsey ride a carousel]

Currently posting…
♡ The Train Job – Rowena Althorp x Rebekah (ff)

Completed works…
♡ the Aubrey & Lindsey solar fantasy project (mm)
♡ A Willing Canvas – John Halloway x Lord Cyril Graves (mm)

See you on Patre♡n!

A Willing Canvas – John Halloway x Lord Cyril Graves on Patreon!

A Willing Canvas is up on Patre♡n! Wherein we glimpse the romance of John Halloway and Lord Cyril Graves beyond society’s prying eyes.

~

“Well?” John demanded.

Cyril licked his lips. “By Jove, that’s impressive.”

John’s irritation transformed into delight at the rare compliment. Whether Graves spoke of the pencil sketch or the flesh-and-blood contusions, both were John’s handiwork, and gave him no small glow of pride.

Though he still very much wanted his sketchbook back.

~

Joining me on Patre♡n will give you access to “drawer fic” – aka the 500k+ words worth of manuscripts that have been shelved until I figure out how to fix or finish them. You’ll also be invited to join an exclusive Discord server just for patrons!

A new story or chaper will go up every week. Missing (unwritten) scenes will be indicated by brackets describing what would probably happen if the scene were written. Example: [in this scene Aubrey and Lindsey ride a carousel]

Currently posting…
♡ A Willing Canvas – John Halloway x Lord Cyril Graves (mm)

Completed works…
♡ the Aubrey & Lindsey solar fantasy project (mm)

See you on Patre♡n!

Solar Fantasy – Aubrey & Lindsey Retold – Ch. 35 up on Patreon!

Scene 35 of Solar Fantasy – Aubrey & Lindsey Retold is up on Patre♡n! Wherein we reach the conclusion of this romantasy.

~

Newspapers lay scattered across the table. Aubrey glimpsed a few headlines—ARTEMIS ARRESTED and A ROYAL SLAYING amongst them, before Lindsey swept them aside into an untidy pile and stacked books atop them to keep them folded.

“Don’t look at those,” Lindsey added, a little unnecessarily, as he returned to Aubrey.

~

Did you want more Aubrey and Lindsey – but in a whole new world?

Joining me on Patre♡n will give you access to “drawer fic” – aka the 500k+ words worth of manuscripts that have been shelved until I figure out how to fix or finish them.

A new scene will go up every week. Missing (unwritten) scenes will be indicated by brackets describing what would probably happen if the scene were written. Example: [in this scene Aubrey and Lindsey ride a carousel]

Currently posting…
♡ the Aubrey & Lindsey solar fantasy project (mm) (90k)

See you on Patre♡n!

Solar Fantasy – Aubrey & Lindsey Retold – Ch. 34 up on Patreon!

Scene 34 of Solar Fantasy – Aubrey & Lindsey Retold is up on Patre♡n! Wherein a duel is fought.

~

Someone screamed.

Lindsey whirled.

Carlisle stood by the open pistol case. His clothes had torn in his escape from the clutches of the guards who even now surged to retake him. He had a dueling pistol in his hand. He raised it.

Chartreuse flashed between them as Emmeline leapt for his arm.

~

Did you want more Aubrey and Lindsey – but in a whole new world?

Joining me on Patre♡n will give you access to “drawer fic” – aka the 500k+ words worth of manuscripts that have been shelved until I figure out how to fix or finish them.

A new scene will go up every week. Missing (unwritten) scenes will be indicated by brackets describing what would probably happen if the scene were written. Example: [in this scene Aubrey and Lindsey ride a carousel]

Currently posting…
♡ the Aubrey & Lindsey solar fantasy project (mm) (90k)

See you on Patre♡n!

Research Reads – Oak King Holly King

For Oak King Holly King, I had to revisit all of my previous Victorian research because I decided to set it fifty years earlier than Mr Warren’s Profession and Hold Fast – which meant all the details I’d taken for granted (trains, telegrams, electricity, etc.) had vanished. However, I also got to dip back into the medieval era, which was a treat. Most of the folklore and magic research I did online, so it’s under-represented in this particular photo.

Books shown here include…
• The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens – a book which inspired not just Oak King Holly King, but also Mr Warren’s Profession and Hold Fast. I don’t think Dickens would approve of what I’ve done, lol.
• The Victorian City by Judith Flanders – being half history of 19th century London and half biography of Dickens made this very useful for Oak King Holly King in particular.
• Consuming Passions by Judith Flanders
• The Time-Traveler’s Guide to Medieval England by Ian Mortimer
• The Medieval Underworld by Andrew McCall
• The London Underworld in the Victorian Period by Henry Mayhew and Others – available for free on Project Gutenberg.
• How to be a Victorian by Ruth Goodman
• Food and Cooking in Victorian England by Andrea Broomfield
• Daily Life in Victorian England by Sally Mitchell
• Inside the Victorian Home by Judith Flanders

Solar Fantasy – Aubrey & Lindsey Retold – Ch. 33 up on Patreon!

Scene 33 of Solar Fantasy – Aubrey & Lindsey Retold is up on Patre♡n! Wherein Aubrey has a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

~

“Is there anything particular you’d like…?”

Aubrey found it very difficult to think of anything particular. Or to work up much of an appetite. Still, when he forced himself to consider what he wanted, he discovered a half-formed answer, which he supposed better than nothing. “Watercress.”

Lindsey blinked. “Watercress?”

Only when he heard it echoed back to him in Lindsey’s crisp aristocratic accent did Aubrey realize his folly. A whole world of culinary riches laid out before him—anything and everything available at a prince’s beck and call—and he’d asked for poor man’s bread. And yet the cold comfort of the familiar was all he wanted.

Aubrey swallowed down his humiliation and nodded.

Against all odds, Lindsey did not laugh at him.

~

Did you want more Aubrey and Lindsey – but in a whole new world?

Joining me on Patre♡n will give you access to “drawer fic” – aka the 500k+ words worth of manuscripts that have been shelved until I figure out how to fix or finish them.

A new scene will go up every week. Missing (unwritten) scenes will be indicated by brackets describing what would probably happen if the scene were written. Example: [in this scene Aubrey and Lindsey ride a carousel]

Currently posting…
♡ the Aubrey & Lindsey solar fantasy project (mm) (90k)

See you on Patre♡n!