Goldheart – Floral Fantasy with Tess Carletta on Right Here Write Queer

There’s a new episode of Right Here Write Queer waiting for you wherever you listen to your fave podcasts!

Growing flowers out of your skin all by yourself, handsome? Plant magic, putting characters through the wringer, and sunflowers vs. lilies—Tess Carletta talks with RK Ashwick about her new queer romantasy novel Goldheart.

Tess Carletta (she/her) is the author of Kit & Basie, a queer cozy fantasy romance, its sequel collection Patchwork, and the forthcoming fantasy novel Goldheart. You can connect with her at her website: tesscarletta.com

RK Ashwick (she/her) is the author of the Lutesong trilogy beginning with The Stray Spirit, as well as the cozy fantasy series Sidequest Row beginning with A Rival Most Vial. You can connect with her at her website: rkashwick.com

Ch. 12 – A Mirror for the Prince’s Shadow on Patreon!

Chapter Twelve 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 prince’s worth is proved.

“Very well,” said the ambassador after a marked pause. “We thank you for your service to our prince. The clerk will direct you in how to collect your reward.” He nodded at the scrivener.

“Reward?” Rat echoed stupidly.

The ambassador served him a blank look. “The reward for our prince’s safe return.”

Then he named the sum from the pasted bill that’d sent Rat’s head spinning.

“The clerk will assist you in contacting your solicitor.” The ambassador paused. “Or perhaps in finding a solicitor for you. Someone to aid you in managing your fortune,” he continued in response to Rat’s bewildered look.

Rat still didn’t quite believe it. The sum would set him up for life—or anyone else, for that matter. He supposed the embassy might just send him on his way without the reward. Would certainly save ‘em a pretty penny if they did.

But he didn’t want the money. Not if it meant parting with Emlyn.

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)

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Sapphic Shenanigans at the Ren Faire with Jess Galaxie on Right Here Write Queer

There’s a new episode of Right Here Write Queer waiting for you wherever you listen to your fave podcasts!

Jess Galaxie (they/them) chats with me about fantastical inspiration and the joy of collaborating with human artists.

Jess is the author of the cozy fantasy duology The Graveyard Trees (beginning with Feathers of Dawn) and the forthcoming sapphic ren faire romance How to Juggle Ballads and Blades. You can connect with them on instagram @galaxiebot

Ch. 11 – A Mirror for the Prince’s Shadow – m x nb romantasy on Patreon

Chapter Eleven 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 our hero survives a laboratory accident.

“I’m sure he’s just nervous,” Alistair assured Emlyn for the fifth time that afternoon.

For a fifth time, Emlyn found xe couldn’t believe him.

Currently posting…
♡ A Mirror for the Prince’s Shadow (historical m x nb romantasy)

See you on Patre♡n!

Groveling – Trope Talk on Right Here Write Queer

The hour has arrived for a big apology to slake the reader’s thirst for justice. Tess Carletta (she/her) and I discuss the groveling trope in romance and genre fiction, why it’s so difficult to get right, and what can be done to make it truly satisfying.

Ch. 10 – A Mirror for the Prince’s Shadow – m x nb romantasy on Patreon

Chapter Ten 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 wretched dinner is endured.

“Caught you at last,” Emlyn declared with a grin.

Rat froze on the threshold to their dormitory, his fingertips still on the knob. His hand no longer had any putrefying fluids on it, as he’d undergone a hearty scrub up to the elbows before he’d left the dissection laboratory, but he felt as if he tarnished the knob nonetheless. Particularly beneath the gaze of his pristine prince. “What’s amiss?”

Which was really just a less overtly obsequious way of asking what his prince—his captain—required of him.

Emlyn blinked. “Nothing’s amiss. Just wanted to bring you down to dinner.”

Currently posting…
♡ A Mirror for the Prince’s Shadow (historical m x nb romantasy)

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Cozy Capitalism – Trope Talk on Right Here Write Queer

There’s a new episode of Right Here Write Queer waiting for you wherever you listen to your fave podcasts!

Authors RK Ashwick (she/her) and Noah Hawthorne (they/them) discuss why so many cozy fantasy stories feature coffeeshops and bookshops, how to break out of the mold, and where the genre’s economic models may go in the future.

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

Ch. 9 – A Mirror for the Prince’s Shadow – m x nb romantasy on Patreon

Chapter Nine 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 favoritism goes awry.

“You needn’t look so sour,” Alistair told Emlyn in a tone of gentle teasing. “It’s full marks.”

This did nothing to improve Emlyn’s opinion of the essay that the professor had just handed back to xir.

Xe had dashed it off a scant hour before it was due. Its core argument—if it had any, and if xe were questioned now xe knew xe couldn’t give its summary—was borne not of rigorous study and reflection but rather of a flailing hazard towards points xe’d heard fellow students make in the lecture. It was not xir best work, and xe knew it. Therefore the essay could not have received full marks on its own merit.

Which left Emlyn to wonder what other reasons might lead xir professor to grade it so highly.

Currently posting…
♡ A Mirror for the Prince’s Shadow (historical m x nb romantasy)

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Immortality – Trope Talk on Right Here Write Queer

There’s a new episode of Right Here Write Queer waiting for you wherever you listen to your fave podcasts!

Indie authors RK Ashwick, Tess Carletta, and Noah Hawthorne discuss their immortal characters and how they use immortality in their writing—from forest spirits to fae descendants and everything between and beyond. Spoilers ahead!

Ch. 8 – A Mirror for the Prince’s Shadow

Chapter Eight 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 friendships are forged.

The library wasn’t quite so bad as the dining hall, by Rat’s reckoning. For one thing, it proved quieter. For another, his nerves weren’t frayed by old instincts gnawing at the back of his mind, insisting everyone lurking over his hunched shoulders intended to steal his food. After all, the posted rules on the end-caps of shelves reminded students that no food or drink would be permitted on the premises.

Stares and whispers, however, continued.

Currently posting…
♡ A Mirror for the Prince’s Shadow (historical m x nb romantasy)

See you on Patre♡n!