I’m so excited to finally share with you just how Gary Furlong has brought our Victorian lads to life.
Kickstarter backers have already received their download links. It will take a while for the audiobook to upload to all the major retailers (Audible, libro.fm, Chirp, etc.) as well as library apps like Libby and Hoopla.
To celebrate this new audiobook release, use the coupon code “Nothwell” at check-out for 20% off your entire purchase. (A wonderful opportunity if you wanted to grab the Oak King Holly King audiobook or any of my ebooks while you’re over there.)
However or wherever you acquire your audiobooks, thank you for listening.
D.C. Emerson (they/them) graciously joined me for a chat about finding yourself and creating community through contemporary storytelling.
D.C. Emerson (they/them) writes queer romance, including the Not So Normative series and the spin-off series Conflict Mediation. You can connect with them on Instagram @authordcemerson
Chapter Twenty-Three of A Mirror for the Prince’s Shadow – a historical m x nb romantasy featuring dark academia, hurt/comfort, and dragon royalty – is now on Patre♡n! Wherein the best of intentions begin to go horribly wrong.
~
Rat forced his voice to remain even. “I’m not going to keep you from—whatever you need.”
Emlyn’s brow did not unfurrow. “What I need is for you to be honest with me.”
Trust Emlyn to ask for the impossible.
~
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 chapter 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 Mirror for the Prince’s Shadow (historical m x nb romantasy)
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) ♡ Hold Fast 2 – Hold Faster (mm) ♡ Vampires Vampires Vampires (mmm) ♡ The Sebastian Nothwell Contemporary Expanded Universe (mmm+) ♡ Theo. (transmasc historical mm romance)
And now, the excerpt – wherein the slow-burn simmer becomes an inferno.
~
The word hung in the silence between them.
Emlyn’s dark eyes had flown wide with shock.
Rat knew what would follow. Disgust. Anger. Betrayal. He braced to see the worst of it in Emlyn’s gaze. If Emlyn would even deign to continue to look upon him.
But instead Emlyn smiled.
Soft and handsome and radiant as ever. Rat’s heart thrilled to see it despite the wretched circumstances.
“Me?” Emlyn said with soft wonder, as though xe couldn’t believe it—ludicrous, for who wouldn’t want a prince, and moreover one so strong and beautiful and kind. “What for?”
Perhaps Emlyn had misunderstood him. Rat supposed he’d better make his meaning plain. “I want to kiss you.”
Unmistakable joy flashed through Emlyn’s dark gaze. Xe quickly tempered it. “You don’t have to—”
“I want to.” Rat felt as startled by his own honesty as Emlyn evidently felt to hear it, judging by xir astonished blink. He pressed on nonetheless. “And more. Worse.”
Emlyn’s brow furrowed. “Worse?”
“I want to do things to you.” Rat swallowed hard and forced out the confession his prince deserved. “Terrible things.”
Rather than horror, a hopeful and unaccountable smile lit up Emlyn’s already-brilliant features. “Such as?”
~
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 chapter 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 Mirror for the Prince’s Shadow (historical m x nb romantasy)
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) ♡ Hold Fast 2 – Hold Faster (mm) ♡ Vampires Vampires Vampires (mmm) ♡ The Sebastian Nothwell Contemporary Expanded Universe (mmm+) ♡ Theo. (transmasc historical mm romance)
Nik Kirimizi (they/them) chats with Sebastian Nothwell (he/him) about fantasy worldbuilding rooted in real-world history, mental illness representation, and how the only way out is through.
Nik Kirimizi (they/them) is the author of the fantasy novels Bounds of the Forest and Of Indomitable Desire as well as their forthcoming book Tales of the Tea Shop. You can find them on instagram @nikthemoonlightwriter
Chapter Twenty-One of A Mirror for the Prince’s Shadow – a historical m x nb romantasy featuring dark academia, hurt/comfort, and dragon royalty – is now on Patre♡n! Wherein a confession is made.
~
Before he could think of anything intelligent, wise, or prudent to say to his long-neglected prince, however, Emlyn spoke.
“Please—may I have a word?”
Rat bit down his instinctive reply; that Emlyn could have anything xe damned well wanted from him, and half of it without ever needing to ask. But he couldn’t shake the disquietude he felt at that one particular word, please. Princes didn’t beg.
Belatedly, he replied, “Of course.”
Brisk. Efficient. Plain-spoken. Toneless.
None of which seemed to ease the unaccountable grief in his prince’s gaze.
~
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 chapter 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 Mirror for the Prince’s Shadow (historical m x nb romantasy)
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) ♡ Hold Fast 2 – Hold Faster (mm) ♡ Vampires Vampires Vampires (mmm) ♡ The Sebastian Nothwell Contemporary Expanded Universe (mmm+) ♡ Theo. (transmasc historical mm romance)
Chapter Twenty of A Mirror for the Prince’s Shadow – a historical m x nb romantasy featuring dark academia, hurt/comfort, and dragon royalty – is now on Patre♡n! Wherein desire is suspected.
~
“D’you think,” Alistair murmured, gentle as ever, “he might be in love with you?”
A thunderbolt couldn’t have more thoroughly shattered Emlyn’s ease.
Alistair hesitated. “Forgive me, I don’t mean to—It’s only, from the glimpse I caught of his face, I thought I saw something like… well, jealousy, I suppose.”
A traitorous fluttering of hope stirred beneath Emlyn’s breast-bone. If xe alone had beheld envy in Rat’s gaze, xe could tell xirself it meant nothing. But if Alistair had seen it, too, then—
“I shouldn’t have said anything,” Alistair hastened to add.
“No, no,” Emlyn told him just as quickly. “You were quite right to. Your honesty is everything to me.”
A bashful smile plucked at Alistair’s lips. His soft palm graced Emlyn’s cheek. “Would you forgive me for offering an opinion alongside it?”
~
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 chapter 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 Mirror for the Prince’s Shadow (historical m x nb romantasy)
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) ♡ Hold Fast 2 – Hold Faster (mm) ♡ Vampires Vampires Vampires (mmm) ♡ The Sebastian Nothwell Contemporary Expanded Universe (mmm+) ♡ Theo. (transmasc historical mm romance)
Chapter Nineteen of A Mirror for the Prince’s Shadow – a historical m x nb romantasy featuring dark academia, hurt/comfort, and dragon royalty – is now on Patre♡n! Wherein feelings are denied.
~
“Have you done that before?”
“Done what?”
“Kissed someone.”
An unaccountable shame bloomed in Emlyn’s chest. Xe’d never felt xe’d done anything wrong in this regard before. Now, however, with Rat asking xir the simplest question… Still, xe could do no less than answer honestly. “Yes.”
Rat deserved that much, at least.
Though he didn’t seem happy to hear it now. Nor did he say anything. No matter how dearly Emlyn wished he would. A horrible silence drew out between them.
Before Emlyn could stop xirself, xe added, “And more.”
This did nothing to improve Rat’s aspect. Nor did it induce him to speak. His eyes darted away from Emlyn’s. Over the room. Clear across it. Fixing on a point in the middle distance and focusing on nothing at all. His jaw clenched and unclenched. Yet he remained silent.
“Does it bother you?” Emlyn asked—though the answer was already evident.
“No,” said Rat.
There was something off in the answer. Too quick. Too sharp. It had a strange undercurrent that sounded utterly unlike the Rat that Emlyn had come to know and love.
All at once, Emlyn realized xe couldn’t recall Rat ever lying to xir before.
~
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 chapter 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 Mirror for the Prince’s Shadow (historical m x nb romantasy)
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) ♡ Hold Fast 2 – Hold Faster (mm) ♡ Vampires Vampires Vampires (mmm) ♡ The Sebastian Nothwell Contemporary Expanded Universe (mmm+) ♡ Theo. (transmasc historical mm romance)
Bookstore Romance Day, a celebration of the romance genre at independent bookshops.
At LaLa we will be having local author readings and book signings, as well as a Romance Trivia game and a raffle for a book tote filled with romance reading.
WHO
Local authors, including Elizabeth Franta, Mary Hart, Molly Kerr, Nik Kiri, Elena Markem, Sara Marks, K. Nies, Becky Lee Whitehouse – and yours truly, Sebastian Nothwell.
From Professor X and Magneto to Our Flag Means Death to, yes, actual romance novels—unlock the potential of a lifetime (literally) with older characters in romance. Readers yearn for old man yaoi. (And, if we dare to dream, old lady yuri…?)
Carolina Cruz (they/them) is the author of the vampire horror romance Blood in the Water and the queer fantasy series The Creed of Gethin (beginning with The Unwanted Prophet). You can connect with them on instagram @ninawolverina
Noah Hawthorne (they/them), also writing as Aelina Isaacs, is the author of the queer cozy fantasy series Adventures in Levena, beginning with Phantom and Rook, and the solarpunk novel The Rebel Foxes, amongst other titles. You can connect with them at their website: neshamapublishing.com
Sebastian Nothwell 