Tag: queer romance

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!

A Willing Canvas – John Halloway x Lord Cyril Graves on Patreon!

A Willing Canvas is up on Patre♡n! Wherein we glimpse the romance of John Halloway and Lord Cyril Graves beyond society’s prying eyes.

~

“Well?” John demanded.

Cyril licked his lips. “By Jove, that’s impressive.”

John’s irritation transformed into delight at the rare compliment. Whether Graves spoke of the pencil sketch or the flesh-and-blood contusions, both were John’s handiwork, and gave him no small glow of pride.

Though he still very much wanted his sketchbook back.

~

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 story or chaper 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 Willing Canvas – John Halloway x Lord Cyril Graves (mm)

Completed works…
♡ the Aubrey & Lindsey solar fantasy project (mm)

See you on Patre♡n!

Solar Fantasy – Aubrey & Lindsey Retold – Ch. 35 up on Patreon!

Scene 35 of Solar Fantasy – Aubrey & Lindsey Retold is up on Patre♡n! Wherein we reach the conclusion of this romantasy.

~

Newspapers lay scattered across the table. Aubrey glimpsed a few headlines—ARTEMIS ARRESTED and A ROYAL SLAYING amongst them, before Lindsey swept them aside into an untidy pile and stacked books atop them to keep them folded.

“Don’t look at those,” Lindsey added, a little unnecessarily, as he returned to Aubrey.

~

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. 34 up on Patreon!

Scene 34 of Solar Fantasy – Aubrey & Lindsey Retold is up on Patre♡n! Wherein a duel is fought.

~

Someone screamed.

Lindsey whirled.

Carlisle stood by the open pistol case. His clothes had torn in his escape from the clutches of the guards who even now surged to retake him. He had a dueling pistol in his hand. He raised it.

Chartreuse flashed between them as Emmeline leapt for his arm.

~

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!

Research Reads – Oak King Holly King

For Oak King Holly King, I had to revisit all of my previous Victorian research because I decided to set it fifty years earlier than Mr Warren’s Profession and Hold Fast – which meant all the details I’d taken for granted (trains, telegrams, electricity, etc.) had vanished. However, I also got to dip back into the medieval era, which was a treat. Most of the folklore and magic research I did online, so it’s under-represented in this particular photo.

Books shown here include…
• The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens – a book which inspired not just Oak King Holly King, but also Mr Warren’s Profession and Hold Fast. I don’t think Dickens would approve of what I’ve done, lol.
• The Victorian City by Judith Flanders – being half history of 19th century London and half biography of Dickens made this very useful for Oak King Holly King in particular.
• Consuming Passions by Judith Flanders
• The Time-Traveler’s Guide to Medieval England by Ian Mortimer
• The Medieval Underworld by Andrew McCall
• The London Underworld in the Victorian Period by Henry Mayhew and Others – available for free on Project Gutenberg.
• 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

Solar Fantasy – Aubrey & Lindsey Retold – Ch. 33 up on Patreon!

Scene 33 of Solar Fantasy – Aubrey & Lindsey Retold is up on Patre♡n! Wherein Aubrey has a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

~

“Is there anything particular you’d like…?”

Aubrey found it very difficult to think of anything particular. Or to work up much of an appetite. Still, when he forced himself to consider what he wanted, he discovered a half-formed answer, which he supposed better than nothing. “Watercress.”

Lindsey blinked. “Watercress?”

Only when he heard it echoed back to him in Lindsey’s crisp aristocratic accent did Aubrey realize his folly. A whole world of culinary riches laid out before him—anything and everything available at a prince’s beck and call—and he’d asked for poor man’s bread. And yet the cold comfort of the familiar was all he wanted.

Aubrey swallowed down his humiliation and nodded.

Against all odds, Lindsey did not laugh at him.

~

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. 32 up on Patreon!

Scene 32 of Solar Fantasy – Aubrey & Lindsey Retold is up on Patre♡n! Wherein a mysterious fate befalls Aubrey.

~

Carlisle’s smile faded. “Is something the matter?”

“Yes. Aubrey’s missing.”

“Missing?” The word didn’t galvanize Carlisle quite the way Lindsey had assumed it would. Indeed, he appeared almost indifferent. “How do you know?”

“He never arrived Saturday night.”

“Were you expecting him?”

“I expect him every Saturday night.” The gossip columns knew as much as that; Lindsey marveled at how Carlisle could not.

“Well, then.” Carlisle shrugged. “Doubtless he will explain himself soon enough. It’s only Monday, after all.”

This Monday, of all Mondays, could not be cast aside as “only” Monday. Lindsey endeavoured to maintain his patience. “Halloway has not seen him at his lodging house, either.”

“Halloway?”

“Graves’s friend, you remember. He’s Aubrey’s downstairs neighbour.”

“Is he, now?” This detail, at last, had piqued Carlisle’s interest. “At last we have an explanation for your coincidental meeting at Graves’s party.”

Lindsey ignored that remark in favour of steering the conversation back into relevant territory. “Halloway lives on the ground floor; Aubrey lives in the garrett. Aubrey cannot depart or enter the lodging house without passing by Halloway’s rooms. And Halloway has seen him neither come nor go since Friday.”

“Then he should ask the landlady to knock him up,” said Carlisle. “But really, even if he hasn’t returned home, what of it? He’s a grown man. He may come or go—or not—as he pleases.”

“He may,” Lindsey admitted—Carlisle might absorb his point more easily if he made at least a minor concession to his argument, however irrelevant. “But it is very much unlike him to miss an appointment. He’s…” Reliable. Dependable. Trustworthy. A sculpture carved of granite or cast in bronze, true to his core, his unbreakable soul. “…extremely punctual.”

~

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. 31 up on Patreon!

Scene 31 of Solar Fantasy – Aubrey & Lindsey Retold is up on Patre♡n! Wherein Lindsey confronts his family over his relationship with Aubrey.

~

“Sit down, Lindsey,” his mother said cordially.

Lindsey remained standing. His mother, father, and sister never occupied the same sitting room at the same time. They had too many responsibilities, too many obligations, too many diverse interests to allow for such a thing. They came together for dinner occasionally, for certain entertainments, and for state functions of course, but never within anything so domestic as a withdrawing room, and never without some other occupation. To have his entire immediate family in the parlor with nary an open book nor magazine nor newspaper in sight sent an unaccountable chill down his spine.

~

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!