Tag: fantasy romance

Solar Fantasy – Aubrey & Lindsey Retold – Ch. 20 up on Patreon!

Scene 20 of Solar Fantasy – Aubrey & Lindsey Retold is up on Patre♡n! Wherein Lindsey infuriates Rowena.

~

Rowena had released her hold upon Lindsey’s arm by then, and as the crowd around them rose from their seats and began shuffling towards the doors, she entered into conversation with a lady of her acquaintance in the row behind her.

The moment she turned away, Lindsey did the same, stepping over the back of the now-empty row of chairs ahead to get past a slow-moving elderly matron in the seat next to him.

“Lindsey!” came a sharp hiss behind him.

Rowena had noticed his unorthodox departure too late to stop him. He didn’t even turn to look at her, much less explain himself.

~

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!

Blessed Winter Solstice!

Blessed Winter Solstice! On the longest night of the year the Oak King duels the Holly King to turn the seasons. You can read all about it in OAK KING HOLLY KING, a gay Victorian fae romance available now wherever fine books are found. And you can read an excerpt of Shrike and Wren’s first winter solstice together below.

~

As the two kings reached the centre mark, the Holly King turned to cast one final glance back up at the queen’s bower. The glimmer in his eyes froze before it ever reached his cheeks. He raised his two-handed longsword aloft in salute, then resheathed it, as to begin the fight fair.

Shrike did no such thing. Instead he cast his gaze over the crowd in a last desperate quest for Wren. He’d almost consigned himself to defeat when he spied him at last—a pale bespeckled face, chestnut locks tumbling in disarray over his brow, his dark eyes wide and deep with a longing that sang through Shrike’s own heart.

Shrike vowed to return to his arms. Then put him from his mind for the remainder of the duel.

The herald—an apple-cheeked, toad-mouthed courtier in exquisite wasp-lace—called for the combatants to take their places marked on either side of a ring some three ells wide burned into the ground. He held up the queen’s token between them. A scrap of emerald velvet, shimmering with sunbeams, a portent of the spring to come. Then he turned to the queen herself for the signal.

Shrike didn’t bother glancing back at her bower.

She gave her sign regardless, for the herald dropped the token and leapt backwards out of the fray as it fluttered to the ground.

The moment the merest corner touched the dead grass, the peal of metal against metal rang out through the cold air as the Holly King unsheathed his longsword.

Shrike did the same with his arming sword an instant after. He had time to do little else before the first blow fell from the Holly King’s blade and forced him to dive to the side. The blade sang as it cleaved the air by his head.

In its wake there came a sharp sting in the tip of Shrike’s ear. Something cold trickled down its length.

First blood.

The crowd roared in approval.

~

Amazon • Apple Books • Barnes & Noble • Bookshop.org • Kobo • Overdrive • Smashwords

Solar Fantasy – Aubrey & Lindsey Retold – Ch. 19 up on Patreon!

Scene 19 of Solar Fantasy – Aubrey & Lindsey Retold is up on Patre♡n! Wherein Lindsey attends a rare book auction.

~

“Do you truly believe it’s mere chance that Graves so happened to recommend you see the play written by his dear friend Oscar?”

“Oscar is a wonderful playwright,” Lindsey protested. “Lady Windermere’s Fan was quite amusing. And besides, he gave the toast at my birthday.”

Too late, he recalled Carlisle hadn’t received an invitation to that particular soiree.

~

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!

Fiorenzo Bibliography + Paperback

FIORENZO is a queer fantasy-of-manners romance featuring hurt/comfort, swordplay, and a happily-ever-after. And it’s finally out in paperback! Shown here with some of the books that inspired it.

The World of the Castrati by Patrick Barbier
Not just a thorough examination of individual castrati lives but also the operatic world that created them. Highly recommended, even (or especially) if you know nothing of opera.

Nicoletto Giganti’s The School of the Sword
A swordfighting guide by a fencing master of Renaissance Venice. This book, combined with As You Wish (see below) and Vico Ortiz’s Fencing 101 class proved absolutely essential to making the fight scenes in Fiorenzo possible.

M: The Man Who Became Caravaggio by Peter Robb
Come for the art history lesson about a queer Renaissance painter, stay for the tennis court castration duel.

Art and Life in Renaissance Venice and Private Lives in Renaissance Venice by Patricia Fortini Brown
While the general history of Venice was necessary (see below), the more specific focus of Brown’s books provided absolutely invaluable insight into the the day-to-day habits of Venice’s historical citizens.

John Singer Sargent: Venetian Figures and Landscapes, 1898-1913
Sargent’s mind-blowing skill with oil portraits is well known, but his watercolour sketches of cityscapes and Venice architecture are truly astounding in their mastery of light and form. Seeing the city through his eyes over a hundred years ago was wildly inspiring.

Sargent, Whistler & Venetian Glass
This was an incredible traveling exhibit of Venetian glassware, lace, and other amazing examples of skilled craft alongside paintings by American artists who drew inspiration from Venice in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. I had the good fortune to catch it as it came through Mystic Seaport in Connecticut. It also included an actual Venetian gondola (dry-docked, no felze) which gave me an invaluable sense of just how absolutely huge those things are.

As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes and Joe Layden
Invaluable insight into the training, choreography, and filming process for one of the greatest swordfighting scenes in cinematic history.

The Princess Bride by William Goldman
It’s a swordfighting romance. Enough said.

Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner
It’s a queer swordfighting romance. Enough said. (Although I have said far more.)

Ruskin’s Venice: The Stones Revisited by Sarah Quill
Venice through the eyes of a Victorian.

Venice: A New History by Thomas F. Madden
A general history of Venice was essential in creating Halcyon.

~

FIORENZO is a queer fantasy-of-manners romance featuring hurt/comfort, swordplay, and a happily-ever-after. Available now wherever fine books are found!

Amazon • Apple Books • Barnes & Noble • Bookshop.org • Kobo • Smashwords

Solar Fantasy – Aubrey & Lindsey Retold – Ch. 18 up on Patreon!

Scene 18 of Solar Fantasy – Aubrey & Lindsey Retold is up on Patre♡n! Wherein Lindsey and Aubrey attend the theatre.

~

Aubrey relented with a grin. “I hope you’ll forgive me for distracting you from the play.”

In a breathless laugh, Lindsey declared, “What play?”

~

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. 17 up on Patreon!

Scene 17 of Solar Fantasy – Aubrey & Lindsey Retold is up on Patre♡n! Wherein Lindsey attends an opera.

~

“But he’s so much more than an engineer,” Lindsey said, leaning forward in earnest despite the pang in his almost-healed ribs. “When I went to meet him after the accident—”

“Giving yourself pneumonia in the process,” Carlisle cut in.

Lindsey ignored him. “He brought me straight home and put me to bed.”

“As any good citizen should do for their prince,” said Carlisle. “One must take care not to mistake mere patriotic duty for affection.”

Lindsey stopped. Though he was sure Carlisle hadn’t meant any offense, he couldn’t shake the feeling that his dearest friend had just slapped him in the face.

~

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!

Oak King Holly King audiobook update!

Thrilled to announce that Gary Furlong will narrate the Oak King Holly King audiobook!

If you’re a queer romance audiobook enthusiast you may recognize him from…

  • The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal by KJ Charles
  • The Ruin of a Rake by Cat Sebastian
  • The Soldier’s Scoundrel by Cat Sebastian
  • The Lawrence Browne Affair by Cat Sebastian

Keep a weather eye on the horizon for the Kickstarter in January to preorder your copy! Audiobook release anticipated for June 21st 2024.

Solar Fantasy – Aubrey & Lindsey Retold – Ch. 16 up on Patreon!

Scene 16 of Solar Fantasy – Aubrey & Lindsey Retold is up on Patre♡n! Wherein Lindsey receives some long-awaited hurt/comfort.

~

Lindsey lay in his own bed in his own bedroom. But it was not morning and he was not at the hunting lodge. This was his townhouse bedroom. Which meant, somehow, he had fallen asleep in the countryside and woken up in the City.

Also, for some reason, Aubrey was here.

~

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. 15 up on Patreon!

Scene 15 of Solar Fantasy – Aubrey & Lindsey Retold is up on Patre♡n! Wherein Aubrey takes charge of a convalescent Lindsey and accidentally meets a princess.

~

“Rowena!” said Lindsey. “What on earth are you doing here?”

The woman, apparently called Rowena, stared at him. “Looking for you.”

“Oh,” said Lindsey. “Well, you’ve found me, so you can go back to the country house and tell Mother all about it. Go on!” he added, encouragingly.

She did not seem inclined to take such encouragement. Her gaze slid over to Aubrey. “Who is this?”

“This,” Lindsey declared with evident pride before Aubrey could apologize or introduce himself, “is Mr Aubrey Warren!”

Stunned silence greeted this announcement.

Aubrey cleared his throat. “Pleasure to make your acquaintance, my lady.”

“Charmed,” she replied, as automatic as a self-regulating pump.

~

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!