promptsforthesoul

[promptsforthesoul]

Anticipated New Releases Masterpost: 2!!

June and later. Asterisked titles by authors new to me.

The Listeners, Maggie Stiefvater (3 June). Hotel manager June is put to an unexpected test when the hotel’s rich owners make a deal to host captured Nazi officials.

Ten Incarnations of Rebellion, Vaishnavi Patel (3 June). Ten moments from one young woman's life in an India that was never free of British rule.

*Crueler Mercies, Maren Chase (3 June). An exiled princess plots with a lady alchemist to destroy the kingdom.

The Witch Roads, Kate Elliot (10 June). An arrogant prince enters the haunted Spires against the advice of their guide, leaving ex-slave Elen with the unenviable task of guiding a man who isn’t quite the same as the one who entered.

A Rare Find, Joanna Lowell (10 June). Sapphic historical romance between an archeologist and her rival.

The Mercy Makers, Tessa Gratton (17 June). Criminal heiress Iriset uses her ability to create magical disguises to infiltrate the palace and free her father, insinuating herself into the lives of the emperor and his sister in the process.

*This Princess Kills Monsters, Ry Herman (17 June). A sapphic retelling of the Grimm fairy tale The Twelve Huntsmen.

Wearing the Lion, John Wiswell (17 June). Retelling of the Hercules myth centered around Hera but in a good way. I read the ARC and I swear it's good.

A Far Better Thing, HG Parry (17 June). Changeling child Sydney escapes and crosses over to the human world during the French Revolution to get his revenge on the fairie that took his place.

A Legionnaire’s Guide to Love and Peace, Emily Skrutskie (24 June). Two redshirts unexpectedly don’t die in a fantasy apocalypse after a band of plucky heroes intervene, forcing them to contemplate their one last night stand.

Behind Frenemy Lines, Zen Cho (1 July). Romcom about an established lawyer clashing with a new hire in a major corporate law firm

*Soulgazer, Maggie Rapier (8 July). Romantasy between a young woman with uncontrollable magic and a pirate.

The Bewitching, Silvia Moreno-Garcia (15 July). A multigenerational story about three women and the curse that stalks their family.

Pearl City, Julia Vee and Ken Bebelle (15 July). Third in an Asian-inspired urban fantasy trilogy about the magical protector of San Francisco.

The Library at Hellebore, Cassandra Khaw (22 July). Dark academia horrorgore set in a magic school.

*Volatile Memory, Seth Haddon (22 July). Sapphic SF about the romance between a space scavenger and an AI mask.

The Memory Hunters, Mia Tsai (29 July). Secondary world academia about using memory magic powers for archaeology.

*Silvercloak, LK Steven (29 July). A young woman infiltrates an elite detective school in order to bring down the magic gang who destroyed her family.

*House of the Beast, Michelle Wong (5 August). Bastard Alma sacrifices her arm to her ancestral patron in a bid to save her mother.

*Automatic Noodle, Annalee Newitz (5 August). Cozy SF about abandoned food delivery robots.

Hemlock & Silver, T Kingfisher (19 August). A retelling of Snow White from the point of view of a healer trying to cure the poisoned princess.

The Last Soul Among Wolves, Melissa Caruso (19 August). Dimension tavelling investigator must find who has laid a death curse at the reading of a will in a crumbling mansion.

House of Dusk, Deva Fagan (26 August). Dual narrative about a woman who became a nun to the fire god to escape her past as a soldier, and a rebellious young princess and her traitorous bodyguard, as the gods begin to wake.

The Maiden and Her Monster, Maddie Martinez (9 September). Sapphic retelling of the golem story set in a fantastical Eastern Europe.

The Summer War, Naomi Novik (16 September). A young woman accidentally curses her brother and must go on a quest to undo it. Novella.

Audition for the Fox, Martin Cahill (16 September). Having failed the audition forall of the other gods, Nesi takes the trial of the trickster Fox and is flung into the past. Novella.

*Terms of Service, Ciel Pierlot (23 September). Luzia sells herself to the mysterious fae-like Astrosi who live above the metropolis in order to rescue her nephew.

Thief of Night, Holly Black (23 September). Urban fantasy sequel in which Charlie deals with the consequences of having stolen a magic book.

Spread Me, Sarah Gailey (23 September). Queer parasitical space horror novella.

The Second Death of Locke, VL Bovalino (23 September). Soul-bonded knight Locke acts as a power source for her beloved mage in an unending war.

Fate's Bane, CL Clark (30 September). Sapphic romance between a hostage and the daughter of a chief.

What Stalks the Deep, T Kingfisher (30 September). Third in the series of Alex Easton horror novellas, set in rural Appalacchia

Saltcrop, Yume Kitasei (30 September). Two sisters travel across Earth's ruined oceans to save their sister.

Savage Blooms, ST Gibson (7 October). Kinky fantasy romance about a young man and the woman he has a crush on stumbling into a gothic mansion haunted by an aristocrat and her groundskeeper.

Cinder House, Freya Marske (7 October). Retelling of Cinderella where she is a haunted house.

All of Us Murderers, KJ Charles (7 October). Gothic country house murder mystery.

The Graceview Patient, Caitlin Starling (14 October). Gothic hospital horror about a woman undergoing treatment for her autoimmune condition.

The Isle in the Silver Sea, Tasha Suri (21 October). A sapphic romance about a knight and a witch who are trapped in a story where they fall in love and then betray each other over and over.

The Lost Reliquary, Lyndsay Ely (21 October). A rogue devotee secretly plots to kill her goddess.

The Everlasting, Alix Harrow (28 October). Arthurian romance between a lady knight and a historian after they are reunited after a millennium. M/F.

The King Must Die, Kemi Ashing-Giwa (4 November). A daughter of rebels and a technomancer prince team up to assassinate a king.

The Nameless Land, Kate Elliot (4 November). Sequel to The Witch Roads, in which guide Elen and arrogant prince Gevulin must navigate a dangerous diplomatic mission.

The Strength of the Few, James Islington (11 November). Book 2 of a series. In a corrupt empire, Vis struggles with his victory and the ancient secret that has split him into three alternate dimensions.

As Many Souls as Stars, Natasha Siegel (25 November). A witch and a demon make a bargain that locks them in a game extending across reincarnations. f/f.

Audrey Lane Stirs the Pot, Alexis Hall (9 December). Book three in the series of queer romcoms set on a British baking show, featuring a journalist contestant and the show's producer.

2026

*Apparently, Sir Cameron Needs to Die, Greer Stothers (3 February). Queer comedy romance in which a lazy young knight is thrown together with an evil sorcerer.

All Hail Chaos, Sarah Rees Brennan (17 February). Sequel about a young terminal cancer patient who is transported into her favorite series as a minor villain.

Entwined, HM Long (10 March). Three sisters hunt a magical artifact in an alt Gilded Age.

Wolf Worm, T Kingfisher (24 March). Historical horror featuring a scientific illustrator and parasitic worms.

How to Fake It In Society, KJ Charles (28 April). A con man pretending to be a comte attempts to scam a shopkeeper who stands to inheritance a fortune.

[promptsforthesoul]

do you fuck with my unwritten story

[promptsforthesoul]

"You don't know me. I'm not the same person anymore."

"That's okay. I'll get to know you again."

[promptsforthesoul]

I forgot that I wrote this. Credit to my goddamn self I guess.

“Have you ever considered that maybe the world is beautiful? And maybe we are enough just the way we are? Specks of dust, specks of glass, working in tandem to breathe, blink, think, exist. How lovely. How lovely.”

[promptsforthesoul]

you have a disgusting storytelling addiction

[promptsforthesoul]

if you’re stuck, add a meal scene. nothing brings characters together like emotionally fraught soup.

[promptsforthesoul]

Book recs: Queer science fiction, part 1

There is a lot of queer sf out there, and I read a lot of sf. When I started working on this list, I quickly realized it was impossible to include all that I've read and enjoyed in one single rec post. Thus, this is the first of so far three queer sci-fi book rec posts.

A note: queer here does not necessarily mean "guarantee of an f/f or m/m ship with a happy ending", but rather simply a significant presence of queerness. Some of the books feature no romance but has a same gender attracted/trans/a-spectrum lead, or features an m/f relationship with bisexual, trans or aro/ace characters, or simply features a world-building which is heavily queer inclusive in ways that don't always compare to our own ideas of sexuality and gender. I have however disqualified works where the only queer presence is along the lines of "gay best friend" or a blink and you'll miss it confirmation that never comes up again.

Previous book rec posts:

Really cool fantasy worldbuilding, really cool sci-fi worldbuilding, dark sapphic romances, mermaid books, vampire books, many worlds: portal fantasies, many worlds: alternate timelines, robots and artificial intelligences, post- and transhumanism, alien intelligences

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!

The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley*

Dietz is a soldier in the war between Earth and Mars - to travel to the battle front, she and her fellow soldiers are broken down into light to be able to quickly travel across space. But something keeps going wrong with Dietz's travels; her memories don't match up with the mission briefs, as she experiences time itself turning in on itself. Is she going mad? Or are the things she's learning skipping through time the truth - and the war that's stealing her life the lie? A mindfuck of a book that's scathing in its critique of fascism and war. Features a sapphic lead but no romance.

A Psalm for the Wild-Built (Monk and Robot duology) by Becky Chambers

Novella. Long ago, robots, upon gaining sentience, simply laid down their work and walked into the wilderness. Long after, a tea monk looking for purpose follows after them into the wilds, where they come across one of the robots seeking its own sort of answers. While not plotless, this story focuses more on character and vibes over plot. Also has a nonbinary main character and features conversations on gender between human and robot.

Meet Me In Another Life by Catriona Silvey*

Thora and Santi are strangers, brought together by a coincidence and torn apart just as abruptly when tragedy strikes. But this is neither the first nor the last time they meet - again and again they encounter each other, as friends, lovers, enemies, family, every time recognizing in each other a familiarity no one else carries. But with every new life, a mysterious danger grows ever closer, forcing them to find out the truth of their connection. This is a puzzle-box of a story that goes some entirely unexpected places in a very wild ride, featuring a bisexual co-lead.

The Archive Undying (The Downworld Sequence) by Emma Mieko Candon

In a world where AI gods sometimes lose their minds and take entire populations down with them, Sunai was the only survivor when his god went down. In the 17 years since, he has wandered on his own, unable to either die or age, drowning his sorrows in drink and men. But his attempts to flee his past comes to a stop as he is forced back into the struggle between man and machine. Featuring some pretty wild world building and narrative techniques, this book will definitely confuse you, but it is worth the experience.

The Paradox Hotel by Rob Hart

January Cole works security at the Paradox Hotel, last stop for tourists heading for the timeport, which allows them to travel to and witness any moment in time. But years of proximity to the timeport has left its damage on January, making her unstuck in time, letting her relive memories of her dead lover even as her sanity slips away bit by bit. As she starts witnessing proof of a horrible crime in the hotel that no one else can see, January must race against her own mind, a killer, and time itself to solve it before it's too late.

A Fractured Infinity by Nathan Tavares

Hayes Figueiredo is a struggling film-maker who wants to finish his documentary, whose life gets turned upside down when handsome physicist Yusuf Hassan enters his life, claiming an alternate version of him is a great inventor who’s sent a mysterious device to their universe. As Hayes gets drawn deeper into the conspiracy - and his feelings for Yusuf intensify - he has to decide just how far he’s prepared to go to win the life and the love he wants. Featuring a very gay and very morally dubious lead, this is a creative and strange read.

Bridge by Lauren Beukes

When she was little, Bridge and her mother Jo used to play a game - one where they traveled to other worlds, inhabiting the bodies of their other selves. Now Jo is dead, and as Bridge is cleaning out her apartment she finds a strange device: a dreamworm, the very thing that supposedly makes inter-dimensional travel possible. Suddenly faced with the possibility that multiverse travel is real, Bridge is struck by a different question: could her mother still be alive? Scifi spiced with a healthy dose of body horror and some absolutely wild twists, Bridge also features a bisexual lead (however this is a blink and you’ll miss it moment) and a nonbinary co-narrator.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers series) by Becky Chambers

Rosemary Harper just got a job on the motley crew of the Wayfarer, a spaceship that works with tunneling new wormholes through space. With a past she wants to leave behind, Rosemary is happy to travel the far reaches of the universe with the chaotic crew, but when they land the job of a life time, things suddenly get a lot more dangerous. A bit of a tumblr classic in its day, this is a cozy space opera with an episodic feel and vividly realized characters and cultures. While pretty light on romance and focusing found family, there is a main f/f relationship.

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.

Ninefox Gambit (The Machineries of Empire trilogy) by Yoon Ha Lee*

Military space opera where belief and culture shape the laws of reality, causing all kinds of atrocities as empires do everything in their power to force as many people as possible to conform to their way of life to strengthen their technology and weapons. It’s also very queer, with gay, lesbian and trans major characters, albeit little to no romance.

The Left Hand of Darkness (Hainish Cycle) by Ursula K. Le Guin

1969 classic. Genly Ai is an emissary sent to the planet of Winter, meant to help facilitate Winter's inclusion in a growing intergalactic civilization. But he's unprepared for Winter's citizens, who spend much of their time genderless or switching between genders, making for a culture wildly different from that Genly is used to.

Too Like the Lightning (Terra Ignota series) by Ada Palmer*

Centuries in the future, humanity has deliberatly engineered society to be as utopian as possible, politically, socially, sexually, religiously. Written in an enlightenment style and featuring questions of human nature and whether it’s possible to change it, and what price we’re prepared to pay for peace, this book is simultaneously very heavy and very funny, and written in a very unique style. While still human, the society presented often feels starkly alien.

The Stars Are Legion by Kameron Hurley

This book fucked me up when I read it. It’s weird, it’s gross, there’s So Much Viscera, there are literally no men, it has living spaceships and biotech but in the most horrific way imaginable. Had I to categorize it I would call it grimdark military sf. It’s an experience but not necessarily a pleasant one.

The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling*

Possibly one of the most unsettling books I’ve ever read, and definitely the most claustrophobic. Gyre, a caver on an alien planet, ventures into the dark and dangerous underground, guided only by a woman who has no compunctions on using and manipulating Gyre as she sees fit to obtain her secretive goals down in the caves.

Escaping Exodus (Escaping Exodus series) by Nicky Drayden

While my feelings on Escaping Exodus were mixed, it cannot be denied that the dynamic between the two leads and the way they go from childhood best friends to enemies on different sides of a class and power struggle is very delicious. It also features some really cool worldbuilding of living, alien generation spaceships and the human culture that has developed inside them.

The Doors of Eden by Adrian Tchaikovsky*

The Doors of Eden is something of an experiment in speculative biology, featuring versions of Earth in which various different species were the one to rise to sentience, from dinosaurs to neanderthals. Now, something is threatening the existence of all timelines, dragging multiple different people and species into the struggle, among those a pair of cryptid hunting girlfriends and a transgender scientist.

Ascension by Jacqueline Koyanagi

Ascension follows Alana Quick, an expert Sky Surgeon who stows away on a spaceship in hopes of landing herself a job. But the ship and its crew are in deeper waters than she expected, facing threats emerging from a whole other universe, all of them searching for the same person: Alana’s spiritually enlightened sister. Undeniably a bit of an odd read, Ascension is also very creative and features polyamorous lesbian relationship.

Contagion (Contagion duology) by Erin Bowman*

Young adult. After receiving an SOS, a small crew is sent on a standard search-and-rescue mission. But what they find are not survivors awaiting help, but an abandoned site, full of dead bodies and crawling with something... monstrous. No romance, but features one sapphic co-lead and one who can easily be read as demisexual (however this doesn't show up until book two, which has more romance).

A Memory Called Empire (Texicalaan duology) by Arkady Martine

Mahit Dzmare is an ambassador sent to the center of the multi-system Teixcalaanli Empire, where she discovers that her predecessor has died. Trying to protect her home, an independent mining station, from being taken over by the empire, Mahit struggles to find out the truth of her predecessor's death while carrying the voice of his ghost in her head, guiding her as best he can. Light on the romance but does feature a sapphic relationship.

The Outside (The Outside trilogy) by Ada Hoffman*

AKA the book the put me in an existenial crisis. Souls are real, and they are used to feed AI gods in this lovecraftian inspired scifi where reality is warped and artifical gods stand against real, unfathomable ones. Autistic scientist Yasira is accused of heresy and, to save her eternal soul, is recruited by post-human cybernetic ‘angels’ to help hunt down her own former mentor, who is threatening to tear reality itself apart. Sapphic main character.

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. Queer in the sense that the Oankali doesn't follow human ideas of gender and relationships, which is mirrored in their romantic relationships with humans. It is, however, pretty dark, with examinations of agency and consent, so enter with caution.

Remnant by Kate Genet

One day, Cass wakes up and finds everyone else is gone. Not dead, just gone, leaving her in a world which nature starts taking back with a dangerous, unnatural speed. But as she tries to survive this new normal, Cass realizes she may not be alone after all - but who else is out there, and are they a threat?

The Scorpion Rules (Prisoners of Peace duology) by Erin Bow*

Young Adult. Featuring a dystopian future in which an AI forcibly keeps world peace by holding the children of world leaders hostage. If anyone attempts to start a war, their child will be executed. Greta is one of these children, kept in a school with others like her. But things start to change one day when a new, less obedient hostage arrives. A unique, slowburn take on the YA dystopian craze, also featuring a bisexual love triangle.

Iron Widow (Iron Widow series) by Xiran Jay Zhao

Young adult. Zetian is a citizen of Huaxia, where mecha aliens are constantly trying to breach the Great Wall. To keep them at bay, couples of men and women pilot so called Chrysalises, giant transforming robots. But the pilots are not equal - the women almost always die, sucked dry by their co-pilots. When Zetian sets herself up to become a concubine-pilot, she does so with the plan to assassinate the male pilot who caused her sister's death. Features a polyamorous main relationship.

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

Survival Instincts by May Dawney

Lynn Tanner has been surviving the post-apocalypse alone with only her dog for a long time, trusting no one. But when she's forced to travel the dangerous remains of New York City alongside another woman, her priorities are challenged. Is staying alone really the best way to stay alive?

These Burning Stars by Bethany Jacobs

When con-artist Jun Ironway gets her hands on possible proof of the powerful Nightfoot family, controllers of interplanetary travel, committing genocide, she has in her hands a chance of taking them and their monopoly down. But the family and their allies won't go down easily, and sends two brutal clerics to stop her.

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.

[promptsforthesoul]

Writing Prompt

What would a utopia look like , to you? What sort of people/characters would live in it? As a writer, how would you indicate to the reader that this is a utopia without saying so directly?

[promptsforthesoul]

Books that have made me a better person

Here is a list of books that have made me a better person by teaching me about the world we live in, empathy, how to live in community, and how we change it for the better. I highly recommend checking out these books:

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmer

Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green

To Be Taught If Fortunate by Becky Chambers

Palsm for the Wild Built and Prayer for the Crown Shy by Becky Chambers

The Zoologist Guide to the Galaxy by April Kershenbaum

Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang

The Day the World Stops Shopping by J.B. MacKinnon

Instructions for Traveling West (poems) by Joy Sullivan

Afterworld by Debbie Urbanski

The Three Body Problem (trilogy) by Cixin Liu

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Tell Me an Ending by Jo Harkin

Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler

[promptsforthesoul]

Today’s writing tip? Change the scene before you change the story. I was stuck on a conversation until I moved the location. Suddenly it flowed. Writers block? Outsmarted again. (Until next time.)

[promptsforthesoul]

Diversity win! Ancestral curse recognises non-biological parenthood!

[promptsforthesoul]

“Have you ever considered that maybe the world is beautiful? And maybe we are enough just the way we are? Specks of dust, specks of glass, working in tandem to breathe, blink, think, exist. How lovely. How lovely.”

[promptsforthesoul]

"I asked you to not bring him around anymore."

"He said he was sorry. What more do you want?"

"If he was actually sorry, he'd understand why I was uncomfortable and stay away like I asked."

[promptsforthesoul]

narrator who's terrible at social cues & describes every facial expression as "unreadable"

[promptsforthesoul]

This is such good information! I grew up around snow so I forget that some people really don’t know this.

The temperature also impacts how well you can build things out of snow, if at all. For the best packing snow, it needs to be warm enough (still below 32F) for there to be moisture in the air. Wet enough to stick together, but not so wet that it is actively melting. Snow at this temperature also won’t cause your clothing to get wet immediately, and you can wipe it off your clothing pretty easily. So if you want your character to make a snowman, throw snowballs, or build a shelter, that’s the sort of texture you want. You’d be able to tell immediately upon stepping in or picking up snow if it’s sticking together well. It’s going to be pretty dense but not leave moisture on your gloves. It’ll get more dense and slushy the warmer it gets outside. If you fell into this type of snow it could break your fall if there’s enough of it (source: falling off the roof in winter).

If it gets very cold and dry, snow will become powder. You can no longer build anything with it. It falls apart in your hands and won’t even melt immediately on your bare skin. THIS is how the snow will be when those perfect snowflake crystals will form and you can see the shapes when they land on your clothes. You can also kick or jump on this type of snow and it will puff everywhere. It’s not dense, even less so than flour. If you fell into this type of snow, it wouldn’t do a great job of breaking your fall.

As the temperature gets lower, your nose and ears will get painfully cold and start to feel numb if they aren’t covered. Same with fingers and toes, even through shoes and gloves. Once it’s cold enough, your snot will also freeze inside of your nose. It’s delightful.

Overall source: I live in eastern Washington

People writing about snow: I need you to know that it is not instantly wet. Unless it's just barely at the freezing point, snow will need a moment to melt before it becomes wet. An article of clothing dropped in the snow will not become soaking wet in seconds. Or even minutes. It will only become wet if there is still snow on it once it starts warming up from body contact or being brought somewhere warmer. Usually the worst of the snow can be brushed off before it starts to melt.

I realize that a majority of the world's population has probably never interacted with snow so it's more a me problem, but few inaccuracies drive me as crazy as "wet snow".

[promptsforthesoul]

Here’s the article referenced by The Booksmith, including the list of book recommendations:

[promptsforthesoul]

A fantasy story starting with the protagonist minding her own business gathering firewood, when a demon appears out of nowhere announcing that she belongs to him now. The protagonist demands to know on what grounds, she's never signed no damn contract. The demon is kind of baffled by this, and awkwardly explains that just now her father had promised his firstborn for something, and she is his firstborn.

The protagonist digs her heels in and says no, she never knew her biological father and by the way the demon explained the situation, evidently her father also doesn't know that he already has a daughter, so therefore the man who had made no contribution to her life after he bred and fled has no claim to her as something he could barter.

Not giving a shit about the fact she's gambling her life in doing so, the protagonist makes contact with the local woodland fae, asking them to negotiate on her side. The fae think that this is fucking hilarious and go with her. So, having lawyered up and with a reluctant demon in tow, the protagonist heads off on a quest to find her father and do whatever it takes to wrangle everyone involved into unmaking the contract.