Signed Books Update

In less than three days since announcing the massive $700 book return and resulting signed book sale, as of right now I am over 75% of the way to recouping the loss.

And it is all thanks to you.

I’m absolutely stunned and humbled by your response and so grateful to you for helping me get over this unexpected financial hurdle. Thank you to everyone who has picked up a book (or several!), who has passed the word along to others, and who has read these missives.

There are still some copies remaining of…

• Mr Warren’s Profession, a gay Victorian cross-class romance featuring the wonders and horrors of the industrial revolution.

• Hold Fast, a gay Victorian romance between a whaling harpooner who inherits a baronetcy and the estate agent tasked with turning him from sailor to gentleman.

• Fiorenzo, a fantasy-of-manners mm romance featuring swordplay and hurt/comfort in an alternate version of 18th century Venice.

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

And again, thank you for reading. ♡

Surprise! It’s books!

When life gives you lemons (massive $700 return from Ingram), you make lemonade (put the books up on Etsy to recoup the loss).

Anyway for the first time ever I’m offering signed books shipped straight to you – limited quantity; once they’re gone, they’re gone.

Annotated books are also available and 25% off!

Check ’em out on my etsy shop.

And as always, thank you for reading.

Gay the Pray Away with Natalie Naudus on Right Here Write Queer

Audiobook narrator turned author Natalie Naudus (she/her) joins Carolina Cruz (they/them) and Sebastian Nothwell (he/him) to discuss her debut novel Gay the Pray Away, a young adult tale of escaping the confines of a cult to find a sapphic happily-ever-after that deftly weaves raised stakes with even higher hopes.

Natalie Naudus (she/her) is an Audie and Earphones award-winning audiobook narrator of over 500 titles, as well as the author (and narrator!) of the young adult novel Gay the Pray Away and the co-creator of spicy sapphic short stories on her Patreon. You can connect with her at her website: natalienaudus.com

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

Monsters & Mayhem Author Panel and Book Signing at Tatnuck Bookseller!

Save the date! Join us at Tatnuck Bookseller for the Monsters & Mayhem author panel and book signing.

WHO
• Jared Grace
• Kathryn Marie
• Liz Sauco
• Amanda Sinatra
• Sebastian Nothwell

WHEN
Saturday, October 26th @ 12:30pm

WHERE
Tatnuck Bookseller
Westborough Shopping Center
18 Lyman Street
Westborough, MA

Come say hello – I can’t wait to see you there!

Gothic Lesbian Romance – The Haunting of Heatherhurst Hall on Right Here Write Queer

There’s a new episode of Right Here Write Queer waiting for you in your favorite podcast app!

Carolina Cruz (they/them) interviews Sebastian Nothwell (he/him) about his gothic sapphic romance The Haunting of Heatherhurst Hall, including lesbian flirtation through sapphic literature, drawing inspiration from Carmilla and The Goblin Market, the perils of writing about writers, 19th century spirit photography, and a surprise guest appearance by Man Door Hand Hook Car Door.

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

Cozy Halloween Vibes with A.K. Mulford and K. Elle Morrison on Right Here Write Queer

There’s a new episode of Right Here Write Queer waiting for you in your favorite podcast app!

Noah Hawthorne interviews A.K. Mulford and K. Elle Morrison about cowriting, grief, inspiring representation, small town autumn, and their new cozy paranormal sapphic romance Pumpkin Spice & Poltergeist.

A.K. Mulford (they/she) is the author of the Five Crowns of Okrith novels and the Golden Court series, amongst others. You can connect with them at akmulford.com

K. Elle Morrison (she/her) is the author of the Princes of Sin: The Seven Deadly Sins series, the Black Banners books, and others. You can connect with her at kellemorrison.com

Noah Hawthorne (he/they), also writing as Aelina Isaacs, is the author of queer fantasy such as Phantom and Rook. You can connect with him at neshamapublishing.com

Happy 5th Book Birthday to The Haunting of Heatherhurst Hall!

Happy book birthday to Gothic Lesbians!

Five years ago I hit publish on my gothic lesbian Victorian romance, The Haunting of Heatherhurst Hall.

Perfect for readers who enjoy…

sapphic yearning
mutual pining
hurt/comfort
goth x sunshine pairings
practical approaches to supernatural problems
angst angst angst and then happily-ever-after because i’m not a monster
Victorian ghost photography
Christina Rossetti’s Goblin Market
New England history and folklore such as the New Bedford whaling industry, the Mercy Brown vampire panic, the Lizzie Borden murder trial, and the Newport Mansions.

You can find The Haunting of Heatherhurst Hall wherever fine books are found – but if you get it thru Smashwords it’s 50% off (along with all my other books)!

And thank you for reading!

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!

Sunday Snippet, 10.30.22

In the spirit of spooky season, please enjoy this Sunday Snippet from my sapphic Gothic romance, The Haunting of Heatherhurst Hall!

Trouble was, Kit mused as she wandered the winding corridors of Heatherhurst Hall, the circumstances most conducive to ghosts were least conducive to photography. Ghosts required midnight storms with howling winds and guttering candles. Photographs required brightest daylight, or, lacking cooperation from the weather, ignited magnesium. But even with chemical assistance, unless she had enough luck to time the snap of the shutter precisely with the flash of the lightning, any photograph she attempted to take in a storm would turn out as black as thunderclouds.

Still, perhaps a ghost or two might be brave enough to come out into the sunshine.

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 • Smashwords