Chapter Two of the YA rough cut for Theo – a transmasc reimagining of Little Women – is up on Patre♡n – a wholesome cozy Alcott pastiche that I absolutely could not keep up for the length of a full novel.
~
In the midst of this apple pie disorder, Leslie at once lost all sense of where he belonged and what he ought to be doing. He stood stock still and rather stupid in the precise spot where Theo had let go of him to go and take her part in the merry tempest. His presence must have disrupted the Wolcott’s routine—yet if it did, he never heard a word of it, for they all kept working ‘round him like clockwork figurines adjusting to a new cog in the chaos.
~
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… ♡ Theo. (transmasc historical mm romance)
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+)
Chapter Five of Theo – a transmasc reimagining of Little Women – is up on Patre♡n! Wherein a hidden truth is revealed.
~
“You’re not a girl,” said Leslie.
Theo stared at him.
Leslie realized his feverish rambling required further explanation. “Not really. I mean, they dress you up like one, and call you one, and expect you to act like one… but you’re not.”
Theo continued staring.
Leslie elaborated on his point. “So I don’t think you’re a girl at all. I think you’re rather a man.”
Theo said nothing.
“Like me,” Leslie said, with a little gesture of his hand towards his chest, as if Theo needed a reminder of what a man was. “Or, not exactly like me, but as much like me or any other man as a man like you can be.”
Theo blinked at him, slowly, like a cat, and it occurred to Leslie for the first time that he might not be making as much sense as he’d hoped.
But just as Leslie opened his cracked lips to try again, Theo spoke.
“Took you long enough to notice,” he said.
~
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… ♡ Theo. (transmasc historical mm romance)
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+)
Chapter Four of Theo – a transmasc reimagining of Little Women – is up on Patre♡n! Wherein our hero enters a formerly-forbidden domain.
~
Determination had seen Theo through the most fearful moments—skating back to the dock to snatch the oar from the rowboat, screaming Leslie’s name, waiting for him to break the surface again, drawing him out and marching him off the lake and keeping him moving, keeping him warm—but now, with Leslie bundled up and whisked off into the unknown depths of the mansion, there remained nothing to distract him.
~
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… ♡ Theo. (transmasc historical mm romance)
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+)
Chapter Three of Theo – a transmasc reimagining of Little Women – is up on Patre♡n! Wherein our hero mounts a daring rescue.
~
Leslie plunged into the depths before he could even cry out. The lake engulfed him in water so cold it burned against his flesh. Shock forced his breath from his lungs in a sharp burst of bubbles. He watched them float towards the little halo of light that marked the hole he’d fallen through. He had to follow it, he knew, if he wanted any chance at saving himself. Yet breaking the convulsive shiver that had consumed his limbs upon entering the water felt like shattering iron chains. He willed his limbs to move despite the cold, despite the shock, despite the burning in his chest and the heavy waves of exhaustion crashing down again and again over his mind. Below him, the darkness loomed, a midnight sky devoid of stars.
~
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… ♡ Theo. (transmasc historical mm romance)
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+)
Chapter Two of Theo – a transmasc reimagining of Little Women – is up on Patre♡n! Wherein our heroes ice-skate into peril.
~
New England autumn swiftly turning to winter proved a far cry indeed from summer in Venice.
Leslie Tilton didn’t know if that made matters better or worse.
~
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… ♡ Theo. (transmasc historical mm romance)
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+)
The campaign ends September 30th. As of this writing we’re already 70% to our goal. Your support – either by backing the campaign directly or by sharing it with friends or through social media – could be the final push we need to make it happen.
Rewards include… • ebook deals – grab the complete Sebastian Nothwell back catalogue for just $10! • signed and annotated paperbacks of Mr Warren’s Profession AND Oak King Holly King– more details on annotated books here! • the Oak King Holly King audiobook at a steal – narrated by the one and only Gary Furlong! • and, of course, the Mr Warren’s Profession audiobook itself – which won’t exist without this Kickstarter!
Mr Warren’s Profession is a gay Victorian cross-class romance featuring hurt/comfort and a happily-ever-after – and the audiobook could be yours if you check out the Kickstarter today!
We’re already over halfway to our goal. Your support – either by backing the campaign directly or by sharing it with friends or through social media – could be the final push we need to make it happen.
Rewards include… • ebook deals – grab the complete Sebastian Nothwell back catalogue for just $10! • signed and annotated paperbacks – more details on annotated books here! • the Oak King Holly King audiobook at a steal – narrated by the one and only Gary Furlong! • and, of course, the Mr Warren’s Profession audiobook itself – which won’t exist without this Kickstarter!
Mr Warren’s Profession is a gay Victorian cross-class romance featuring hurt/comfort and a happily-ever-after – and the audiobook could be yours if you check out the Kickstarter today!
Chapter One of Theo – a transmasc reimagining of Little Women – is up on Patre♡n! Wherein our heroes clash.
~
“And now if you please, Mr. Tilton—”
“Mr. Tilton is my grandfather,” the fellow said with a lackadaisical smile. “My friends call me Leslie.”
“You’ve decided we’re friends, then,” Theo replied far more coolly than he felt. Even in his schoolhouse days no one had befriended him. Too queer by half for the girls and too trussed-up-as-a-girl for the boys. He tempered his flying hopes with the reminder that there was really only one reason a young man would wish a friendship with his feminine neighbors. If he didn’t want Theo himself, then he had designs on Annabelle. Or perhaps, despite his recent return to town, he’d already heard tell of the eldest Wolcott’s beauty, and hoped a friendship with Theo and Annabelle would lead to an introduction to the fabled Myrtle.
“In that case,” Annabelle chimed in, “since our eldest sister is already Miss Wolcott, you may call me Annabelle, and—” she added, thrusting her mittened hand toward Theo, “you may call her Theodora!”
Theo could’ve strangled her.
~
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… ♡ Theo. (transmasc historical mm romance)
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+)
Every Kickstarter has a goal. An amount of funding is achieved, and the project is created. Simple, elegant, beautiful. It worked for the Oak King Holly King audiobook, and I’m very hopeful it will do the same for Mr Warren’s Profession.
A stretch goal is an extra bonus goal that kicks in after the original funding goal is reached. When a stretch goal is reached, it allows us to create even more things than the original Kickstarter!
For the Mr Warren’s Profession audiobook Kickstarter, we have two stretch goals. Both are centered around the sequel novella Throw His Heart Over, an equestrian continuation of Aubrey and Lindsey’s romance.
If the campaign reaches $6k, we’ll have the funds to reformat Throw His Heart over (complete with cover redesign) to print through IngramSpark, which will unlock signed and annotated copies as backer rewards.
If the campaign reaches $7.5k, we’ll have enough to record the Throw His Heart Over audiobook in tandem with the Mr Warren’s Profession audiobook, and unlock the sequel audiobook as a backer reward.
But why?
Throw His Heart Over – redesign
At present, Throw His Heart Over is printed through Amazon with a cover designed by yours truly.
This means it is not available to libraries or brick-and-mortar bookshops. They stock from a different printer, IngramSpark. This is the printer I use for almost all my other books to maximize accessibility and quality.
Amazon creates paperbacks by crunching the ebook into print format, with mixed results. IngramSpark, on the other hand, not only offers wider availability of the resulting book but also requires a file especially formatted for print. This results in a more thoughtfully-presented and more consistently high-quality paperback. Honestly it will be a relief to know that Throw His Heart Over will now match Mr Warren’s Profession inside and out.
In short, reformatting will result in library availability, indie bookshop availability, and an increased print quality.
The cover painting for Throw His Heart Over will remain the same. What will change is the style of the title and other text on the outside of the book.
This may not sound like a very big change. However, please consider the following examples.
Left: The Haunting of Heatherhurst Hall, cover typography by me. Right: The Haunting of Heatherhurst Hall, cover typography by an actual graphic designer.Left: Hold Fast, cover typography by me. Right: Hold Fast, cover typography by an actual graphic designer.
Left: Throw His Heart Over, cover typography by me. Right: Throw His Heart Over, cover typography by an actual graphic designer???
Kelley York of Sleepy Fox Studio is the graphic designer behind all my other book covers. Her skills allow the cover artist’s paintings to shine to full effect—including the wonderful work Jan Falk of Thistlearts Studio did for the Mr Warren’s Profession cover painting.
With the redesign, Throw His Heart Over will look just as gorgeous as all other books, including Mr Warren’s Profession. Plus with the redesign Books one and two of Aubrey & Lindsey will (finally!) match each other and look nice on a shelf side-by-side. All the more important when ensuring that the signed and annotated editions are looking their best, suitable for collectors and pride-of-place in personal libraries.
So there’s our first stretch goal—the Throw His Heart Over paperback redesign, which will unlock signed and annotated paperbacks as additional backer rewards.
Our second stretch goal is…
Throw His Heart Over – audiobook
Simply put, this will allow Gary to record Mr Warren’s Profession and its sequel Throw His Heart Over back-to-back in one fell swoop. Very convenient for him, and very fortunate for us, because it gives us two audiobooks for one Kickstarter.
None of this will be possible without the power of stretch goals.
A transmasc reimagining of Little Women begins on Patre♡n! Wherein we explore the queer themes in the character of Jo March and the biography of Louisa May “Lu” Alcott.
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… ♡ Theo. (transmasc historical mm romance)
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+)
Sebastian Nothwell 