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[lilys-books]

Reminder we are:

- 🌈 a small queer indie publisher 📚

- ♾️ autistic owned

- using a socialist business model

We are looking for:

-🏳️‍🌈they gays, 🏳️‍⚧️theys, and 🤝 allies who read queer books

Because we:

- want our queer authors to succeed!

- want to change the way publishing works

- think the world needs more LGBT+ fiction

[lilys-books]

Hey, to everyone out there who’s enjoying Dracula Daily, I would like to heartily recommend The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova, the best vampire novel since the original (possibly better than the original!).

It is a novel of Dracula - a truly menacing, horrifying Dracula. In an echo of the way Dracula is told via documents - letters, diaries, etc - The Historian also relies heavily on them, from letters to journals to family stories to centuries-old historical documents. It’s told in a nested style through three narrators, all of whom are historians - a young woman in the 1970s, her father in the 1950s, and his thesis advisor in the 1930s - with the letters/diaries/stories of the earlier narrators being experienced by the later ones. In this way, it’s told across three different eras of Europe and gets into all the real historical complexities and context of those periods, such as the Cold-War-era difficulties and dangers of carrying out travel and investigations in eastern Europe. It also draws in vampire mythos from a wider range of places than the original, including a truly fascinating stint in Istanbul.

It moves continually back and forth throughout the three narrators and time periods in a really delightful way, and all of the characters are powerfully engaging. On top of this, it can be a genuinely frightening and chilling read at some points - it’s captured the art of eerie, building horror without gore or cheap scares.

If you like history, or Dracula, and especially if you like both, you are going to love this book.

[lilys-books]

Here are some fiction books by Palestinian authors about Palestinian characters that I've read and enjoyed! Whether it's about living under the occupation or teenage diaspora falling in love, it's important to support Palestinian authors and read their stories, especially as attempts at censorship increase Let me know if you have any recs for me to add to my tbr!

[lilys-books]

Rec Me Your books*

I really want to see transmasculine and non binary writers really go the distance and work to support one another in new ways, in light of one person's bad behavior.

We deserve to build a better community- one in which we feel safe and can hold people accountable for thier actions.

I want to start really trying to connect with people here, now that I don't have to worry about my bully as much as I did before. If you are transgender and/or non binary, what are you working on? What books and/or stories have you published? I want to know!

My only big CW's are graphic gore and graphic non-c0nsent. (Graphic gore I can read, I just like to be prepared.)

I want us all to step up and build something better now.

[lilys-books]

Heeeey! As someone who has read and re-read and re-read again everything you've posted on AO3, I'm so, so excited about reading your book! I don't have a writing ask, but I have questions about how to be a good reader. Best place(s) to purchase that would help boost you the most? If purchasing a physical book is not feasible, best place(s) to purchase an ebook? Does buying the physical book *and* the ebook help boost you more? If there's an audiobook, where is the best place to get that? Does renting from the library (either physical or on Libby) also help boost you? What can we do to help make this release a success and ensure you get more and more books picked up?

First of all, this is so incredibly kind of you and I love you now and FOREVER!!!!

Second, here's the general details, but I'll know more when it gets closer so sorry if i'm lying!

In general, the best thing you can do is buy the book in any format. Hell, buy two! Sales are a huge indicator for if I'll be seen as "successful" and get more book deals. So if money isn't happening for you, that's totally cool, but see if you can get a friend or mutual or gay cousin to buy it! Spreading the word is the best possible thing, because marketing is hard as shit!!

In terms of sales: per my contract, I get (a very standard) 7.5% of paperback sales, 10% of audiobook sales, and 25% of ebook sales. But those may all be priced differently, there may be sales, etc., so it's not like ebook is a slam-dunk-more-money-situation. I have no idea what happens with things like Audible where people use credits? I assume I get paid for that? I dunno.

Renting from the library is absolutely great, especially requesting it if your library doesn't have it, or requesting it in audio if they only have paperback, for example. When the library buys it, that counts as buying it for me! And the more demand they have, the more copies they'll get.

My impression is that local bookstores can really help move copies if they like the book and recommend it. So preordering through your local indie could give them a hint they should read it, order a bunch of them, and sell them, hopefully!

Buying online is also lovely. There's bookshop.org which delivers, so I try to do that instead of amazon if I'm buying a physical copy online. I usually get my ebooks from amazon because I dunno where else, and audiobooks from audible if I buy them.

[lilys-books]

Calling all authors

If you've written a book - whether it's fanfic with the serial numbers filed off, a pastiche of some flavor, or totally original ... would you please comment on this post to tell me about it? Include the ISBN! I want to put in requests to my library to carry all of them. And also the neighboring libraries where I have cards. And all the libraries of everywhere.

If you haven't written a book, please reblog so your followers who have can see and respond to this post. Please and thanks :)

[lilys-books]

Right now I am going through all of the articles I have written about queer history to edit and polish them, which has revealed something quite important to me. While it is clear that I have been very lucky, it is also so obvious that the only reason I was able to get to the place I am now is because of early support.

While there is still a long way to go to make this project sustainable financially, the fact that I have gotten so far is incredible to me and makes me think of the nineteen-year-old I was when I started this project. With more audacity than sense, there was an immediate upswell of support when I started, and that is the only way I was able to become the twenty-six-year-old with almost eight years of studying queer history under my belt.

My first articles were far from perfect, but with encouragement and assistance of a large amount of strangers, I have gotten to a place that I think is miles from where I started. If nothing else, this project can show a legacy of generosity from the queer community and an attitude of resilience that is held through interconnected care.

In 2024 I am striving to reach a level of financial success beyond the simple covering of necessities, and to go forward, I really need to express my true gratitude for where I am. So thank you all for the past, present, and future of Making Queer History.

[lilys-books]

Book recs: black science fiction

As february and black history month nears its end, if you're a reader let's not forget to read and appreciate books by black authors the rest of the year as well! If you're a sci-fi fan like me, perhaps this list can help find some good books to sink your teeth into.

Bleak dystopias, high tech space adventures, alien monsters, alternate dimensions, mash-ups of sci-fi and fantasy - this list features a little bit of everything for genre fiction fans!

For more details on the books, continue under the readmore. Titles marked with * are my personal favorites. And as always, feel free to share your own recs in the notes!

If you want more book recs, check out my masterpost of rec lists!

Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor

Something massive and alien crashes into the ocean off the coast of Nigeria. Three people, a marine biologist, a rapper, and a soldier, find themselves at the center of this presence, attempting to shepherd an alien ambassador as chaos spreads in the city. A strange novel that mixes the supernatural with the alien, shifts between many different POVs, and gives a one of a kind look at a possible first contact.

Nubia: The Awakening (Nubia series) by Omar Epps & Clarence A. Hayes

Young adult. Three teens living in the slums of an enviromentally ravaged New York find that something powerful is awakening within them. They’re all children of refugees of Nubia, a utopian African island nation that sank as the climate worsened, and realize now that their parents have been hiding aspects of their heritage from them. But as they come into their own, someone seeks to use their abilities to his own ends, against their own people.

The Scourge Between Stars by Ness Brown

Novella. After having failed at establishing a new colony, starship Calypso fights to make it back to Earth. Acting captain Jacklyn Albright is already struggling against the threats of interstellar space and impending starvation when the ship throws her a new danger: something is hiding on the ship, picking off her crew one by one in bloody, gruesome ways. A quick, excellent read if you want some good Alien vibes.

Dawn (Xenogenesis trilogy) by Octavia E. Butler*

After a devestating war leaves humanity on the brink of extinction, survivor Lilith finds herself waking up naked and alone in a strange room. She’s been rescued by the Oankali, who have arrived just in time to save the human race. But there’s a price to survival, and it might be humanity itself. Absolutely fucked up I love it I once had to drop the book mid read to stare at the ceiling and exclaim in horror at what was going on. Includes darker examinations of agency and consent, so enter with caution.

Midnight Robber by Nalo Hopkinson*

Utterly unique in world-building, story, and prose, Midnight Robber follows young Tan-Tan and her father, inhabitants of the Carribean-colonized planet of Toussaint. When her father commits a terrible crime, he’s exiled to a parallel version of the same planet, home to strange aliens and other human exiles. Tan-Tan, not wanting to lose her father, follows with him. Trapped on this new planet, he becomes her worst nightmare. Enter this book with caution, as it contains graphic child sexual abuse.

Rosewater (The Wormwood trilogy) by Tade Thompson

In Nigeria lies Rosewater, a city bordering on a strange, alien biodome. Its motives are unknown, but it’s having an undeniable effect on the surrounding life. Kaaro, former criminal and current psychic agent for the government, is one of the people changed by it. When other psychics like him begin getting killed, Kaaro must take it upon himself to find out the truth about the biodome and its intentions.

Do You Dream of Terra-Two? by Temi Oh

Young adult. A century ago, an astronomer discovered a possibly Earth-like planet. Now, a team of veteran astronauts and carefully chosen teenagers are preparing to embark on a twenty-three year trip to get there. But space is dangerous, and the team has no one to rely on but each other if - or when - something goes wrong. An introspective slowburn of a story, this focuses more on character work than action.

The Best of All Possible Worlds by Karen Lord

After the planet Sadira is left uninhabitable, its few survivors are forced to move to a new world. On Cygnus Beta, they work to rebuild their society alongside their distant relatives of the planet, while trying to preserve what remains of their culture. Focused less on hard science or action, The Best of All Possible Worlds is more about culture, romance and the ethics and practicalities of telepathy.

Mirage (Mirage duology) by Somaiya Daud

Young adult. Eighteen-year-old Amani lives on an isolated moon under the oppressive occupation of the Valthek empire. When Amani is abducted, she finds herself someplace wholly unexpected: the royal palace. As it turns out, she's nearly identical to the half-Valthek, and widely hated, princess Maram, who is in need of a body double. If Amani ever wants to make it back home or see her people freed from oppression, she will have to play her role as princess perfectly. While sci-fi, this one more has the vibe of a fantasy.

An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon

Life on the lower decks of the generation ship HSS Matilda is hard for Aster, an outcast even among outcasts, trying to survive in a system not dissimilar to the old antebellum South. The ship’s leaders have imposed harsh restrictions on their darker skinned people, using them as an oppressed work force as they travel toward their supposed Promised Land. But as Aster finds a link between the death of the ship’s sovereign and the suicide of her own mother, she realizes there may be a way off the ship.

Where It Rains in Color by Denise Crittendon

The planet Swazembi is a utopia of color and beauty, the most beautiful of all its citizens being the Rare Indigo. Lileala was just named Rare Indigo, but her strict yet pampered life gets upended when her beautiful skin is struck by a mysterious sickness, leaving it covered in scars and scabs. Meanwhile, voices start to whisper in Lileala's mind, bringing to the surface a past long forgotten involving her entire society.

Eacaping Exodus (Escaping Exodus duology) by Nicky Drayden

Seske is the heir to the leader of a clan living inside a gigantic, spacefaring beast, of which they frequently need to catch a new one to reside in as their presence slowly kills the beast from the inside. While I found the ending rushed with regards to plot and character, the worldbuilding is very fresh and the overall plot of survival and class struggle an interesting one. It’s also sapphic!

Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah*

In a near future America, inmates on death row or with life sentences in private prisons can choose to participate in death matches for entertainment. If they survive long enough - a rare case indeed - they regain their freedom. Among these prisoners are Loretta Thurwar and Hamara "Hurricane Staxxx" Stacker, partners behind the scenes and close to the deadline of a possible release - if only they can survive for long enough. As the game continues to be stacked against them and protests mount outside, two women fight for love, freedom, and their own humanity. Chain-Gang All-Stars is bleak and unflinching as well as genuinely hopeful in its portrayal of a dark but all to real possible future.

Parable of the Sower (Earthseed duology) by Octavia E. Butler*

In a bleak future, Lauren Olamina lives with her family in a gated community, one of few still safe places in a time of chaos. When her community falls, Lauren is forced on the run. As she makes her way toward possible safety, she picks up a following of other refugees, and sows the seeds of a new ideology which may one day be the saviour of mankind. Very bleak and scarily realistic, Parable of the Sower will make you both fear for mankind and regain your hope for humanity.

Binti (Binti trilogy) by Nnedi Okorafor

Young adult novella. Binti is the first of the Himba people to be accepted into the prestigious Oomza University, the finest place of higher learning in all the galaxy. But as she embarks on her interstellar journey, the unthinkable happens: her ship is attacked by the terrifying Meduse, an alien race at war with Oomza University.

War Girls (War Girls duology) by Tochi Onyebuchi

In an enviromentally fraught future, the Nigerian civil war has flared back up, utilizing cybernetics and mechs to enhance its soldiers. Two sisters, by bond if not by blood, are separated and end up on differing sides of the struggle. Brutal and dark, with themes of dehumanization of soldiers through cybernetics that turn them into weapons, and the effect and trauma this has on them.

The Space Between Worlds (The Space Between Worlds duology) by Micaiah Johnson

Multiverse travel is finally possible, but there’s a catch: No one can visit a world where their counterpart is still alive. Enter Cara, whose parallel selves happen to be exceptionally good at dying. As such she has a very special job in traveling to these worlds, hoping to keep her position long enough to gain citizenship in the walled-off Wiley City, away from the wastes where she grew up. But her job is dangerous, especially when she gets on the tracks of a secret that threatens the entire multiverse. Really cool worldbuilding and characters, also featuring a sapphic lead!

The Fifth Season (The Broken Eart trilogy) by N.K. Jemisin*

In a world regularly torn apart by natural disasters, a big one finally strikes and society as we know it falls, leaving people floundering to survive in a post apocalyptic world, its secrets and past to be slowly revealed. We get to follow a mother as she races through this world to find and save her missing daughter. While mostly fantasy in genre, this series does have some sci-fi flavor, and is genuinely some of the best books I've ever read, please read them.

The Women Could Fly by Megan Giddings*

In an alternate version of our present, the witch hunt never ended. Women are constantly watched and expected to marry young so their husbands can keep an eye on them. When she was fourteen, Josephine's mother disappeared, leveling suspicions at both mother and daughter of possible witchcraft. Now, nearly a decade and a half later, Jo, in trying to finally accept her missing mother as dead, decides to follow up on a set of seemingly nonsensical instructions left in her will. Features a bisexual lead!

The Prey of Gods by Nicky Drayden

South African-set scifi featuring gods ancient and new, robots finding sentience, dik-diks, and a gay teen with mind control abilities. An ancient goddess seeks to return to her true power no matter how many humans she has to sacrifice to get there. A little bit all over the place but very creative and fresh.

The Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson*

Young adult. Young artist June Costa lives in Palmares Tres, a beautiful, matriarchal city relying heavily on tradition, one of which is the Summer King. The most recent Summer King is Enki, a bold boy and fellow artist. With him at her side, June seeks to finally find fame and recognition through her art, breaking through the generational divide of her home. But growing close to Enki is dangerous, because he, like all Summer Kings, is destined to die.

The Blood Trials (The Blood Gifted duology) by N.E. Davenport

After Ikenna's grandfather is assasinated, she is convinced that only a member of the Praetorian guard, elite soldiers, could’ve killed him. Seeking to uncover his killer, Ikenna enrolls in a dangerous trial to join the Praetorians which only a quarter of applicants survive. For Ikenna, the stakes are even higher, as she's hiding forbidden blood magic which could cost her her life. Mix of fantasy and sci-fi. While I didn’t super vibe with this one, I suspect fans of action packed romantasy will enjoy it.

Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delany

1960s classic. Rydra Wong is a space captain, linguist and poet who is set on learning to understand Babel-17, a language which is humanity's only clue at the enemy in an interstaller war. But Babel-17 is more than just a language, and studying it may change Rydra forever.

Pet (Pet duology) by Akwaeke Emezi

Young adult novella. Jam lives in a utopian future that has been freed of monsters and the systems which created and upheld them. But then she meets Pet, a dangerous creature claiming to be hunting a monster still among them, prepared to stop at nothing to find them. While I personally found the word-building in Pet lacking, it deftly handles dark subjects of what makes a human a monster.

Bonus AKA I haven’t read these yet but they seem really cool

Lion's Blood by Steven Barnes

Alternate history in which Africans colonized South America while vikings colonized the North. The vikings sell abducted Celts and Franks as slaves to the South, one of which is eleven-years-old Irish boy Aidan O'Dere, who was just bought by a Southern plantation owner.

The Sound of Stars by Alechia Dow

Young adult dystopia. Ellie lives in a future where humanity is under the control of the alien Ilori. All art is forbidden, but Ellie keeps a secret library; when one of her books disappears, she fears discovery and execution. M0Rr1S, born in a lab and raised to be emotionless, finds her library, and though he should deliver her for execution, he finds himself obsessed with human music. Together the two embark on a roadtrip which may save humanity.

Womb City by Tlotlo Tsamaase

Lelah lives in future Botswana, but despite money and fame she finds herself in an unhappy marriage, her body controlled via microchip by her husband. After burying the body of an accidental hit and run, Lelah's life gets worse when the ghost of her victim returns to enact bloody vengeance.

Orleans by Sherri L. Smith

Young adult. Fen de la Guerre, living in a quarantined Gulf Coast left devestated by storms and sickness, is forced on the run with a newborn after her tribe is attacked. Hoping to get the child to safety, Fen seeks to get to the other side of the wall, she teams up with a scientist from the outside the quarantine zone.

Everfair by Nisi Shawl

A neo-victorian alternate history, in which a part of Congo was kept safe from colonisation, becoming Everfair, a safe haven for both the people of Congo and former slaves returning from America. Here they must struggle to keep this home safe for them all.

The Splinter in the Sky by Kemi Ashing-Giwa

Space opera. Enitan just wants to live a quiet life in the aftermath of a failed war of conquest, but when her lover is killed and her sister kidnapped, she's forced to leave her plans behind to save her sister.

Honorary mentions AKA these didn't really work for me but maybe you guys will like them: The City We Became (Great Cities duology) by N.K. Jemisin, The Lesson by Cadwell Turnbull, The A.I. Who Loved Me by Alyssa Cole

[lilys-books]

I read the first 3 Young Wizard books dozens of times when I was a kid. It was one of those series where I'd finish (what I thought was) the last book, I'd start over again.

Today I learned that not only are there more books in that series (8 more books, in fact) but she also has a series set in the same world about CAT WIZARDS

And a short story in the same world, about adult wizards.

As well as another fantasy series that, according to Wikipedia, isn't in the same world as Young Wizards. And. So. Many. Other. Things.

Sooooo I need to read all the things. Holy cowm

This author is one of the authors that made me want to write when I was a kid.

I wonder if the audio books are any good. 🤔

[lilys-books]

PLEASE for the love of the universe read anti-colonial science fiction and fantasy written from marginalized perspectives. Y’all (you know who you are) are killing me. To see people praise books about empire written exclusively by white women and then turn around and say you don’t know who Octavia Butler is or that you haven’t read any NK Jemisin or that Babel was too heavy-handed just kills me! I’m not saying you HAVE to enjoy specific books but there is such an obvious pattern here

Some of y’all love marginalized stories but you don’t give a fuck about marginalized creators and characters, and it shows. Like damn

[lilys-books]

What do you do when you hear your best friend's hand in marriage is the grand prize in a tournament? You steal your brother's armour, cut off all your hair, and enter in disguise to rescue her. Obviously.

All The Painted Stars is a sapphic, medieval romance novel with...

⭐ Knight's Tale Vibes ⭐ Women in armour ⭐ Skinny dipping ⭐ Ruining arranged marriages ⭐ The pain of being in love with your best friend

It's OUT NOW wherever books are sold in paperback, ebook and audiobook!

Bookshop.org / Waterstones / Blackwells / Amazon / Kobo

Full blurb & content warnings under the cut.

Oxfordshire 1362

When Lily Barden discovers her best friend Johanna’s hand in marriage is being awarded as the main prize at a tournament, she is determined to stop it. Disguised as a knight, she infiltrates the contest, preparing to fight for Jo’s hand. But her conduct ruffles feathers, and when a dangerous incident escalates out of Lily’s control, Jo must help her escape.

Finding safety with a local brewster, Lily and Jo soon settle into their new freedom, and amongst blackberry bushes and lakeside walks an unexpected relationship blossoms. But when Jo’s past catches up with her and Lily’s reckless behaviour threatens their newfound happiness, both women realise that love must always come at a cost.

Content warnings:

ATPS contains mention of past emotional and physical abuse, and some mild violence.

It also contains explicit on-page sex scenes.

[lilys-books]

the third edition of Julia Serano's foundational and ever-relevant Whipping Girl (the book in which the term 'transmisogyny' was coined!!) just came out, with a new afterword on the current anti-trans backlash and you can order a copy directly from her publisher using the code SERANO20 for 20% off through the end of march

[lilys-books]

My 7th Novel is OUT zomg!

In this sequel to To Hive and To Hold, we check back in with Arthur and Jade, meet some new friends, make some new magic, and watch a new romance catch fire.

Arthur: witch, apothecarist, tea-maker, and teacher. Jade: sorcerer, tattooist, and Arthur’s non-binary lover. Basil Vasan-Everleigh: part fae, part human, and entirely overlooked by his sorcerer family. Rixt: dragon, patron, and a man of exquisite taste.

Dragons have a bone to pick with the sorcerers, and both parties require impartial negotiators. Arthur and Jade agree to speak on the dragons' behalf, and Basil's father volunteers him to speak for the sorcerers.

Arthur gets new clients for tea, new vendors for magical plants and ingredients, and Basil gets a whole new world that appreciates him for who he is. Rixt gets more than he bargained for, Jade gets to see his former enemies get what they deserve, and our heroes get a whole lot of happily ever after.

Tags: low stakes, romance, m/m romance, genderqueer character, medium spicy, solarpunk, hopepunk, cozy magic, will make you hungry and crave tea, HEA and extended denouement, slice of lif

In this sequel to To Hive and To Hold, we check back in with Arthur and Jade, meet some new friends, make some new magic, and watch a new romance catch fire.

Arthur: witch, apothecarist, tea-maker, and teacher. Jade: sorcerer, tattooist, and Arthur’s non-binary lover. Basil Vasan-Everleigh: part fae, part human, and entirely overlooked by his sorcerer family. Rixt: dragon, patron, and a man of exquisite taste.

Dragons have a bone to pick with the sorcerers, and both parties require impartial negotiators. Arthur and Jade agree to speak on the dragons' behalf, and Basil's father volunteers him to speak for the sorcerers.

Arthur gets new clients for tea, new vendors for magical plants and ingredients, and Basil gets a whole new world that appreciates him for who he is. Rixt gets more than he bargained for, Jade gets to see his former enemies get what they deserve, and our heroes get a whole lot of happily ever after.

Tags: low stakes, romance, m/m romance, genderqueer character, medium spicy, solarpunk, hopepunk, cozy magic, will make you hungry and crave tea, HEA and extended denouement, slice of life

I also put the first book on sale for this week, for those of you who need some low-stakes magic and bees.

[lilys-books]

Personally I love it when a damp patch appears on my bedroom ceiling after a rainstorm. I adore it when water leaks through the wall of my house and into my blessed quarters. It just absolutely thrills me, the thought of having to pay through my nose to get it fixed, having some stranger come in to my house and make a nice big hole in my ceiling and attic wall. It's just my absolute favourite thing.