Book picks similar to
Migration: Queer Sci Fi's Sixth Annual Flash Fiction Contest (QSF Flash Fiction Book 5) by J. Scott Coatsworth
fantasy
science-fiction
anthologies
horror
Glimpses: A Collection of Nightrunner Short Stories
Lynn Flewelling - 2010
Each story offers a new perspective on events readers have speculated about for years. For new readers, it offers an introduction to the characters Romantic Times calls "two of the most memorable heroes in fantasy." Professional and amateur art provided by Flewelling's fans accompany Glimpses' stories, as she honors the dedication and devotion her fans have given her over the years. "Glimpses is full of treasures like Lynn Flewelling's deceptively easy and addictive storytelling, her vivid and engaging characters, and the amazing and heartfelt illustrations. This book is a must have for fans of Lynn's Nightrunner books, and if you haven't started the series yet, then Glimpses will leave you eager to discover more about Seregil and Alec, their adventures and the unique and fantastical world that the pair inhabit." -Suzanne McLeod, Spellcrackers.com series "It's hard to imagine a lovelier gift to fans than this exquisite collection of gorgeously illustrated short stories. Flewelling indulges her loyal readers with these graceful glimpses 'between the lines' of the long-running and immensely popular Nightrunner series." -Josh Lanyon, Adrien English Mysteries and the Holmes & Moriarity Mysteries "An unmissable short story collection from Flewelling. Set in the Nightrunner universe Glimpses captures Flewelling's characters at formative moments in their various timelines. Some of the stories fill in details that I've been waiting on for years..." -T.A. Moore, The Even Series "Glimpses is a terrific collection, lovingly illustrated, a gift to all of us who love the Nightrunners. This rocks." -Patricia Briggs, Mercy Thompson Series
Down
Ally Blue - 2015
Even better than the promise of new knowledge is the unexpected connection he forges with Dr. Armin Savage-Hall, leader of the team brought down to study the thing.For Armin, the object is the find of a lifetime. It could prove his controversial theories and secure his scientific reputation. And Mo is a fascinating bonus.Then crew members start behaving strangely. Worse, they start to change: their eyes glow purple, their teeth sharpen. Then the violence begins, the brutal deaths. As BathyTech descends deeper into chaos, the surviving crew works desperately to find the cause of the horrors around them. What they uncover could annihilate the human race. And they can’t stop it.
Hunting Party (Willful Wolfmate, #1)
Robin Moray - 2022
This alpha shifter soiree is too fancy, too exclusive. He's not going to find a patron, he's not getting his career kickstarted, no one is going to mentor him into a six-figure salary. He's not that kind of person.So when the sexiest bloke he's ever seen makes him an offer he really should refuse, what's he supposed to do? Play the blushing maiden? Hah. Yeah right.No, Ryan's going to do what he always does. One night, one time—no strings, no regrets.But Patrick isn't like any alpha he's ever met, and Ryan's never felt so much like prey.This time, he's not getting away scot-free. He'll be lucky to get away at all.Hunting Party is part one in a steamy miniseries featuring a possessive alpha shifter, a stubborn human, and the kind of love you only get once in a lifetime.
Lord of the Last Heartbeat
May Peterson - 2019
Please.
Three words scrawled in bloodred wine. A note furtively passed into the hand of a handsome stranger. Only death can free Mio from his mother’s political schemes. He’s put his trust in the enigmatic Rhodry—an immortal moon soul with the power of the bear spirit—to put an end to it all.But Rhodry cannot bring himself to kill Mio, whose spellbinding voice has the power to expose secrets from the darkest recesses of the heart and mind. Nor can he deny his attraction to the fair young sorcerer. So he spirits Mio away to his home, the only place he can keep him safe—if the curse that besieges the estate doesn’t destroy them both first.In a world teeming with mages, ghosts and dark secrets, love blooms between the unlikely pair. But if they are to be strong enough to overcome the evil that draws ever nearer, Mio and Rhodry must first accept a happiness neither ever expected to find.One-click with confidence. This title is part of the
Carina Press Romance Promise
: all the romance you’re looking for with an HEA/HFN. It’s a promise!This book is approximately 94,000 words
The Last Yeti
Tully Vincent - 2015
For three long years I have searched the earth and, finally, I have accepted it: I am the last of my kind. I do not belong in the world of people or technology, but the only other choice is dying of loneliness. I have managed to create a life on the edge of society, terrified to come close, terrified of being recognized as the monster only little children believe in. Lately I have realized staying in the wilds may have been a less desolate life.Can you maybe find me someone to be alone with together?Photo Description: A well-built man with dark facial hair stares into the camera, eyes piercing and expression uncompromising. He wears primitively constructed fur clothing that leaves much of his muscular, veiny arms and toned torso bared to the weather. Although his skin is damp from the snow, he seems unaffected by the cold.This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love is an Open Road" event. Group members were asked to write a story prompt inspired by a photo of their choice. Authors of the group selected a photo and prompt that spoke to them and wrote a short story. This story may contain sexually explicit content and is intended for adult readers. It may contain content that is disagreeable or distressing to some readers. The M/M Romance Group strongly recommends that each reader review the General Information section before each story for story tags as well as for content warnings.
Gentleman Wolf
Joanna Chambers - 2019
1788. When Lindsay Somerville, the most elegant werewolf in Paris, learns that the man who held him in abject captivity for decades is on his way to France, intent on recapturing him, he knows he must leave the Continent for his own safety. Lindsay cannot take the risk of being recaptured—he may have been free for a century but he can still feel the ghost of his old chains under his fine clothes. … on a mission... While he’s in Edinburgh, Lindsay has been tasked with acquiring the “Naismith Papers”, the writings of a long-dead witchfinder. It should be a straightforward mission—all Lindsay has to do is charm an elderly book collector, Hector Cruikshank. But Cruikshank may not be all he seems, and there are others who want the papers. … meets his match As if that were not enough, while tracking down the Naismith Papers, Lindsay meets stubborn architect Drew Nicol. Although the attraction between them is intense, Nicol seems frustratingly determined to resist Lindsay’s advances. Somehow though, Lindsay can’t seem to accept Nicol’s rejection. Is he just moonstruck, or is Nicol bonded to him in ways he doesn’t yet understand? Note: This is the first book of a duology – the story continues and will complete in the second book, Master Wolf.
Palimpsest
Catherynne M. Valente - 2009
Valente. Now she weaves a lyrically erotic spell of a place where the grotesque and the beautiful reside and the passport to our most secret fantasies begins with a stranger’s kiss.…
Between life and death, dreaming and waking, at the train stop beyond the end of the world is the city of Palimpsest. To get there is a miracle, a mystery, a gift, and a curse—a voyage permitted only to those who’ve always believed there’s another world than the one that meets the eye. Those fated to make the passage are marked forever by a map of that wondrous city tattooed on their flesh after a single orgasmic night. To this kingdom of ghost trains, lion-priests, living kanji, and cream-filled canals come four travelers: Oleg, a New York locksmith; the beekeeper November; Ludovico, a binder of rare books; and a young Japanese woman named Sei. They’ve each lost something important—a wife, a lover, a sister, a direction in life—and what they will find in Palimpsest is more than they could ever imagine.
Thief of Songs
M.C.A. Hogarth - 2015
But when one of them steals his fiancee, Amet avenges himself on them all by writing music and giving it away in defiance of the lowland laws. It is a very satisfactory vengeance, or so he thinks, until he discovers the kingdom's royal composer is planning to debut Amet's work—as folk music! So he's riding east to set the record straight. But he has no idea how compelling a decadent lowland hermaphrodite can be. And before it's over, this thief of songs may be stealing more than his music.... A lyrical romance, set in a second world fantasy. Leave the world behind today! Heat Level: ** (not-explicit, some sensual thoughts) Relationship: Hermaphrodite/male with poly asexual neuter third Length: Novel
The Poison Eaters and Other Stories
Holly Black - 2010
. . ? Find them all here in Holly Black’s amazing first collection.In her debut collection, New York Times best-selling author Holly Black returns to the world of Tithe in two darkly exquisite new tales. Then Black takes readers on a tour of a faerie market and introduces a girl poisonous to the touch and another who challenges the devil to a competitive eating match. Some of these stories have been published in anthologies such as 21 Proms, The Faery Reel, and The Restless Dead, and many have been reprinted in many “Best of ” anthologies.The Poison Eaters is Holly Black’s much-anticipated first collection, and her ability to stare into the void—and to find humanity and humor there—will speak to young adult and adult readers alike.A Junior Library Guild Pick. Illustrated by Theo Black.Holly Black is the author of Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale (an ALA Best Book for Young Adults) and two related novels, Valiant (Norton Award winner) and New York Times bestseller Ironside. Her latest novel, Black Heart is the third of a new series, The Curseworkers. She and Tony DiTerlizzi created the best-selling Spiderwick Chronicles. Holly lives in Massachusetts with her husband, Theo, in a house with a secret library.
The Tutor
Bonnie Dee - 2015
Elements of The Sound of Music, The Enchanted Garden, Jane Eyre, and “true” ghost hunting shows make this story feel familiar. Gay love makes it unique. Seeing an ad for a position at a Yorkshire estate, typesetter Graham Cowrie decides to make an upward career move by passing himself off as a tutor. How hard can it be to teach a few subjects to a pair of nine-year-old boys? But on his arrival at the ancient house, he finds the staff creepy, the twins odd, and the widowed master temporarily absent. His first meeting with brooding, stern, but oh-so-attractive, Sir Richard doesn’t go well, but with no other prospects vying for the teaching position, Graham manages to keep it. His mission soon becomes clear, break down the walls of reserve both father and sons have erected and attempt to bridge the gap between them. But strange sounds, sights and experiences keep Graham on edge until he finally admits the Hall is haunted by two entities with very different agendas. Graham works to appease one and combat the other while protecting the broken family he’s grown to care for.
Crack the Darkest Sky Wide Open
Eric Arvin - 2013
Stories that take some squinting to see through. Unconventional stories. Tales that threaten to break the heart by cruel twists of fate, the dogs of war, or demons that are all too real; whether they be of unrequited love or a karmic slap in the face. Happy endings take a time in coming, and some never arrive. But through all the darkness there is light, a glimmer of hope and wonder…if one has the will to see it.
Gold Standard
Kyell Gold - 2011
Three of the stories originally appeared as stand-alone stories online and were later incorporated into the award-winning novels "Waterways" and "Out of Position."This collection serves as an excellent introduction to the many worlds he has explored in the last decade, and includes his popular online stories "Aquifers" and "In Between." Also present is Kyell's first published story, "The Prisoner's Release," whose characters subsequently filled three novels and two short story anthologies.Full story list: "Aquifers," "In Between," "Secrets," "Don't Blink," "Jacks to Open," "Race to the Moon," "Drifting," "How to Get Through the Day," and "The Prisoner's Release."
Close Quarter
Anna Zabo - 2012
He spills a tray of drinks on a handsome stranger, then he finds himself up against a wall getting the best hand-job he’s ever had. And for the first time in his life, he feels whole.Rhys enjoys the company of Silas Quint, but for the eerie way no one pays attention to them even while they kiss in a crowded bar. Silas explains he's a forest fae able to glamor the room around them—and more importantly, that he's on the cruise to hunt vampires. Rhys thinks Silas is full of it, until he discovers vampires are real, and he’s part of their main course.Silas Quint can’t be distracted by a human lover, even one as lovely as Rhys. Stuck in the middle of the ocean, he has barely enough of energy to hunt the vampires he’s been sent to destroy. Rhys is full of the one thing Silas needs needs most—the element of living plants. Only sucking energy from Rhys would make Silas as soulless as the creatures he hunts. How can he keep Rhys safe, without becoming like the very monsters he hunts?
The Alpha and His Ace
Ana J. Phoenix - 2015
Until I find him (yes, I am gay, my pack is pretty much open to sexuality), I am allowed to have fun with other guys. I’m known as a player but that’s okay because once I find my mate, my wolf and I will be truly monogamous.Then I find him. My mate (You can decide how we meet— make it meet-cute type). But then my mate says that he is an asexual. What the hell? What does he mean, asexual? Does he mean that I cannot have sex with him ever? That he will never enjoy sex with me? How can I make him fall in love with me then?But my wolf and I are determined to romance my mate; even if I have to join AVEN forum (which I thought at first as forum for AVIAN shifters) and talk around to couples with asexual lovers for tips. Because I will have my HEA with him, right, dear author?Photo Description: A young man and a wolf appear close together. The young man is dark-haired the wolf has pure white fur and amber eyes. The young man is holding the wolf close to himself in an almost possessive manner. They seem like they belong together.This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love is an Open Road" event. Group members were asked to write a story prompt inspired by a photo of their choice. Authors of the group selected a photo and prompt that spoke to them and wrote a short story. This story may contain sexually explicit content and is intended for adult readers. It may contain content that is disagreeable or distressing to some readers. The M/M Romance Group strongly recommends that each reader review the General Information section before each story for story tags as well as for content warnings.
Beyond Binary: Genderqueer and Sexually Fluid Speculative Fiction
Lee MandeloSarah Kanning - 2012
Speculative fiction is the literature of questions, of challenges and imagination, and what better to question than the ways in which gender and sexuality have been rigidly defined, partitioned off, put in little boxes? These seventeen stories explore the ways in which identity can go beyond binary from space colonies to small college towns, from angels to androids, and from a magical past to other worlds entirely, the authors in this collection have brought to life wonderful tales starring people who proudly define (and redefine) their own genders, sexualities, identities, and so much else in between.