Happy Friday, everyone! It's that time of year again - time for the annual Queer Sci Fi Flash Fiction anthology!

This year's theme was Ink and there were over 380 submissions this year. *whew* I've picked out four from the 130+ stories that were accepted for the anthology. They're really short - 300 words - so come have a listen!

Warning: there may, possibly, be a teensy bit of geeking out prior to this reading. All the important blurby/ linky/ rafflecopter drawing bits down below!

The Ardulum Series
Author Name: J.S. Fields
Publisher: Ninestar Press
Format: Paperback, eBook, Audio
Average Word Count: 95K
Cover Artist: Natasha Snow
  
Series Blurb:
 
The Ardulum series blends space opera and hard science into a story about two women persistently bound to their past, and a sentient planet determined to shape their future.
 
Ardulum: First Don (book one)
The planet that vanishes. The planet that sleeps.
 
When Ardulum first appeared, the inhabitants brought agriculture, art and interstellar technology to the Neek people before vanishing back into space. Two hundred years later, Neek has joined the Charted Systems, a group of planets bound together through commerce and wormhole routes, where violence is nonexistent and technology has been built around the malleability of cellulose.
 
When the tramp transport Mercy’s Pledge accidentally stumbles into an armed confrontation between the Charted System sheriffs and an unknown species, the crew learns the high cost of peace—the enslavement and genetic manipulation of the Ardulan people. Now a young Neek, outcast from her world for refusal to worship ancient Ardulans as gods, must reconcile her planet’s religion with the slave child whom she has chosen to protect—a child whose ability to manipulate cellulose is reminiscent of the ancient myths of Ardulum. But protecting the child comes at a cost—the cultural destruction of her world and the deaths of billions of Charted System inhabitants.
 
Ardulum: Second Don (book two)

The Charted Systems are in pieces. Mercy’s Pledge is destroyed, and her captain dead. With no homes to return to, the remaining crew set off on a journey to find the mythical planet of Ardulum—a planet where Emn might find her people and Neek the answers she’s long sought. Finding the planet, however, brings a host of uncomfortable truths about Ardulum’s vision for the galaxy, and Neek’s role in a religion that refuses to release her. Neek must balance her planet’s past and the unchecked power of the Ardulans with a budding relationship and a surprising revelation about her own genealogy.
 
Ardulum: Third Don (book three)
 
The planet wakes.
 
Atalant is torn between two worlds. In uncharted space, head of a sentient planet, the new eld of Ardulum now leads the religion she once rejected. Emn is by her side, but the Mmnnuggl war brewing in the Charted Systems, threatening her homeworld of Neek, cannot be ignored. Atalant must return to the planet that exiled her in order to lead the resistance. She must return home a god, a hypocrite, a liar in gold robes, and decide whether to thrust her unwilling people into the truth of Ardulum, or play the role she has been handed and never see her family, or her world, again.

​Book One Buy Links:
Amazon
Nine Star Press
Barnes and Noble
Kobo
Audio buy link coming soon!!
 
Book Two Buy Links:
Amazon
Ninestar Press
Barnes and Noble
Kobo
 
Book Three Buy Links:
https://ninestarpress.com/product/ardulum-third-don/
Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1948608
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Ardulum-Third-Don-J-S-Fields-ebook/dp/B07D7GCD81/

Giveaway:
 
J.S. Fields is giving away an eBook copy of books one and two, AND a special collector's edition First Don enamel pin to one lucky winner, via Rafflecopter:

​Author Bio:
 
J.S. Fields (@Galactoglucoman) is a scientist who has perhaps spent too much time around organic solvents. She enjoys roller derby, woodturning, making chainmail by hand, and cultivating fungi in the backs of minivans. Nonbinary, but prefers female pronouns.
 
Fields has lived in Thailand, Ireland, Canada, USA, and spent extensive time in many more places. Her current research takes her to the Peruvian Amazon rainforest each summer, where she traumatizes students with machetes and tangarana ants while looking for rare pigmenting fungi. She lives with her partner and child, and a very fabulous lionhead rabbit named Merlin.
 
Author Website: http://www.jsfieldsbooks.com
Author Twitter: https://twitter.com/Galactoglucoman
Author Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16484795.J_S_Fields
Author QueeRomance Ink: https://www.queeromanceink.com/mbm-book-author/j-s-fields/

Hi everyone and Happy Holidays from me, the family, MCB and the QSF crew! You'll find a lot of posts and hops and tours this time of year for holiday themed books, but when Scott and I talked about what to do for the season, the answer was pretty obvious.

Where else will you find a list of holiday themed, LGBTQ speculative fiction books? I love this list. Science fiction, fantasy, paranormal for the holidays. I wrote mine last year for the Mischief Corner Books anthology "Chestnuts Roasting." And yes, the Mischief Corner writers did say, "You can't write a science fiction piece for the holidays. Can you?" The running joke, of course, is that I'll write an SF story no matter what the submission call is. So I did.

"A Christmas Cactus for the General" is about a lot of things, about going on when you've lost everything, about isolation and acceptance, about how the holidays aren't such a happy time for everyone and so on. But mostly, it's about an incredibly adaptable alien general named Teer and about how our preconceived notions of each other can blind us.

But enough of my nattering. On with the blog hop!

QueerSciFi is running our first ever holiday blog hop. Our members will be sharing a number of our great holiday-themed titles on their blogs - it's a great way to find speculative-fiction themed LGBT holiday books! We've included buy links for each of the books below - books are listed in alphabetical order by title. Happy Holidays!

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Candle in the Dark Anthology
Author: Various
Price: $5.00 eBook / $10.00 Paperback

Summary: In almost all traditions, winter has been a time to huddle around the fire and be thankful for those the fire is shared with. The holidays grew out of a need to celebrate that time, from Christmas to Chanukah to Solstice. The longest night of the year has always held some special mystery, and we’re proud to present you with several stories of how those mysteries bear fruit. In the first story, Patrick receives a mysterious invitation to dine at the most exclusive restaurant for men. His server, Gio, encourages him to Savor the experience...

Buy Links:

PUBLISHER
AMAZON
ARe

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A Christmas Cactus for the General
Author: Angel Martinez
Price: $3.99 eBook

Summary: Exiled to Earth for perhaps the worst failure in Irasolan history, General Teer must assimilate or die. Earth is too warm, too wet, too foreign, but he does the best he can even though human males are loud, childish louts whom he can't imitate successfully. When a grieving seaplane pilot strikes up a strange and uneasy friendship with him, he finds he may have been too quick to judge human males. They are strange to look at, but perhaps not as unbearable as he thought.

Buy Links:

PUBLISHER
AMAZON
ARe
APPLE
KOBO

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The Darkest Midnight in December
Author: Jana Denardo
Price: $3.99 eBook

Summary: The year is 1930, and something is hunting infants and young couples in Economy Village, PA. When a local priest begins to suspect a demon may be the culprit, the sheriff calls in a team of Soldiers of the Sun. Caleb, Agni, Temple, and Li specialize in demon hunting, but they can’t rule out an old religious sect as the true culprit. Prejudice, distraught parents, and angry townspeople don’t make the team’s job any easier. And if something goes wrong, their own their own, because by the time their backup arrives, it will be too late.

Buy Links:

PUBLISHER
AMAZON
ARe

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Fruitcakes
Author: Renee George
Price: $1.99 eBook

Summary: Losing your boyfriend because you see monsters...not good. Getting locked up in the local mental hospital because you accused your boss of being an actual ogre…also not good. Falling for your crazy roommate, who thinks he’s one of Santa's elves…so not good! Or is it? Come along for a sexy ride as Donner and Bran try to escape the locked ward before Christmas Eve so Bran doesn't lose the only job important to him. USA Today Bestselling author Renee George pens a laugh-out-loud MM Fairytale Christmas…Nuts included!

Buy Links:

AMAZON: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B015YFGZZEAMAZON
BARNES & NOBLE: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/fruitcakes-renee-george/1008359758?ean=9781625179548
APPLE: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/fruitcakes/id1044848021?mt=11
KOBO: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/fruitcakes-1

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Holiday Lights
Author: Jana Denardo
Price: Free

Summary: Aaron asks Rhys for some help with putting up the tree and finalizing their holiday plans, even though he knows Rhys will have something to say about all of Aaron's geeky ornaments. Rhys puts his own special touches on the holiday decorating as only a fae could.

Buy Links:

LIVE JOURNAL: http://jana-denardo.livejournal.com/159469.html

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Ilya and the Wolf
Author: Rory Ni Coileain
Price: $1.99 eBook

Summary: Ilya, the youngest son of a Moscow oligarch, is so deep in the closet he’d find Narnia if that weren’t a decadent Western story. On Christmas Eve, his brothers lure him into the forest, intending to murder him and erase the shame he inflicts on their family by existing. However, the attempt is interrupted by Volyk, a wolf who carries the blood of the ancient oboroten’ —shapeshifters. Ilya never imagined a Christmas gift like the handsome wolf, but accepting what Volyk offers will have consequences that change both of their lives forever.

Buy Links:

PUBLISHER:
AMAZON
BARNES & NOBLE

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Lion's Hero
Author: Alexis Woods
Price: $.99 eBook

Summary: Eight nights to fall in love.

Ari has a mission: meet and fall in love with a man chosen for him by God. The catch: he only has eight nights to complete it—the eight nights of Chanukah

Gabriel has a test of faith. Reaching out to a young man, he finds himself confronted with the unbelievable. Believe, and the Festival of Lights may herald a miracle.

Buy Links:

AMAZON: http://www.amazon.com/Lions-Hero-Alexis-Woods-ebook/dp/B00PSOC91Q/
ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-lion039shero-1689583-149.html
BARNES & NOBLE: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lions-hero-alexis-woods/1120799365?ean=2940046412802

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Loving Blitz
Author: Charlie Cochet
Price: $3.99 eBook

Summary: From North Pole City to Winter Wonderland, preparations are underway after a royal announcement sweeps everyone into a frenzy of festivity. At the heart of the celebration are the city’s most beloved elf pilots, the Rein Dears. Once the Big Flight is behind them, the pilots prepare for the royal event. Assigned a special task of finding an Elska rose, Cupid and Blitzen are unaware of how their friendship is about to change forever.

Yet not all that glitters is gold. The sweet, angelic Cupid hides a dark secret, one that threatens to destroy his Rein Dear status, his friends, and the elf who’s captured his heart. It’s up to Blitzen to help Cupid see the light in the darkness and show him that together they can mend broken hearts.

Buy Links:

PUBLISHER: https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=7095

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The Magic of Christmas
Author: Pelaam
Price: $2.99 eBook

Summary: Jared joins his four best friends on an early Christmas holiday in a beautiful winter wonderland. He's been in love with the talented and extroverted Casey for years, but lacked the courage to say anything. Casey loves Jared, but despite his gregarious exterior, inside lurks someone shy and insecure and so he's never spoken up. Both men are about to experience real Christmas magic.

Buy Links:

PUBLISHER: http://www.mlrbooks.com/ShowBook.php?book=PTHEMAGC
AMAZON: http://www.amazon.com/Magic-Christmas-Pelaam-ebook/dp/B00QPE4T3Y/

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Nicolas
Author: Dianne Hartsock
Price: $6.99 eBook / $14.99 Paperback

Summary: Betrayed by a lover, Jamie rents an isolated cabin on Lake Huron, wanting only to be left alone. Instead, he is pulled from his solitary existence as an artist and tumbles headlong into the legend of Saint Nicolas. As a young man, Nicolas accidentally killed a man intent on murdering three children, only to have the man's malicious spirit rise up against him. Fleeing through the centuries from the Krampus, the evil troll-like creature that dogs his steps, Nico finds refuge with the young artist who takes him into his home and bed. But Jamie has questions. Who is Nicolas, and why does the Krampus want to destroy him?

Buy Links:
PUBLISHER EBOOK: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=7209
PUBLISHER PAPERBACK: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=7210

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No One to Greet the Season
Author: Elizabeth Barrette
Price: Free (poem)

Summary: Victor Frankenstein and Igor have a queerplatonic relationship and a constructed son. Igor's deformed back causes him more trouble in cold weather, which makes Christmas more of a challenge. Victor helps him through it. Gothic fluff, holiday hurt/comfort.

Buy Links:

LIVE JOURNAL: http://ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com/3035795.html

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Scrudge & Barley, Inc
Author: John Inman
Price: $6.99 eBook / $14.99 Paperback

Summary: A classic tale takes off in sexy new directions! Poor Mr. Dickens must be twirling in his grave. When E.B. Scrudge, putz extraordinaire and all-around numbnuts, is visited by his dead ex on Christmas Eve, he can’t imagine how his life could sink any lower. But the three ghostly spirits that come along after are even worse! Good lord, a dyke, a drag queen, and rounding out the trio, a big, hunky bear with nipple rings and a butt plug! What’s next? What’s next is a good deal of soul-searching and some hard lessons learned with a dash of redemption thrown in for good measure.

Buy Links:

PUBLISHER EBOOK: https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=7154
PUBLISHER PAPERBACK: https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=7155
ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-scrudgebarleyinc-1928417-145.html

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Silver/Steel
Author: Belinda McBride
Price: $6.99 eBook

Summary: When dream hunter Dylan Ryve spots a beautiful shapeshifter raising hell in a bar, he knows he wants the wild young man. But Travis Feris is more to Dylan than a few hot minutes outside in the snow; he's the assassin's ticket into the magical town of Arcada. He didn't plan to rescue the kid, but when he found the shifter being attacked, the opportunity to play hero was too good to pass up. Through the solitude of a long winter night, Dylan walks in Travis's fevered dreams, learning about Arcada and the pack, and showing the shifter the man he'd been so very long ago.

Buy Links:

AMAZON: http://www.amazon.com/Silver-Steel-Arcada-Book-2-ebook/dp/B00AI0LWMW/
ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-silversteel-1011205-340.html

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Spindrift Gifts
Author: Aidee Ladnier
Price: $3.99 ebook

Summary: Scars and a tattoo may be the only physical reminders from his years as a slave, but when Jimenez suffers a setback in his medical treatment, the only option is a therapy that will wipe away his all memories of the past including his time with Teo. Teo, torn between supporting his lover's decisions and the good intentions of his family, sets out to teach Jimenez about Spindrift Gifts and how memories are celebrated on Celos even when they are painful. Can Teo and Jimenez weather the storm to find their happily-ever-after on Celos?

Buy Links:

ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-spindriftgifts-1935924-340.html?referrer=55390bcb913c1

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Tempted from the Oak
Author: Rory Ni Coileain
Price: $5.60 eBook

Summary: With his blue eyes and heart-melting smile, Gavin could have been made-to-order to entice Tearlach, a lonely tree spirit. But the human is the one who’s been enticed—stolen from snow-buried Minneapolis to the Scottish Highlands by Tearlach’s darag, the ancient oak tree of which he is the living spirit. Tearlach is trapped within the darag by the terrible memory of his own death—hundreds, maybe thousands of years ago, but as recent to him as his last heartbeat. And if desire for the handsome human fails to tempt him out, spirit and oak are both doomed.

Buy Links:

PUBLISHER: https://www.ellorascave.com/product/tempted-from-the-oak/
AMAZON: http://www.amazon.com/Tempted-Oak-Rory-Ni-Coileain-ebook/dp/B00J8N6SY2/
BARNES & NOBLE: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/tempted-from-the-oak-rory-ni-coileain/1118974688?ean=9781419990861