#C.M. Spivey

[lgbtqreads]

hi!! i know this has beeb asked before but not for a while and I thought there might be some releases since then, so : any Queer High Fantasy? I've been recommended Priory of the Orange Tree before. Thank you!!

Not sure when the last time was but here’s what’s currently on my radar! (You can also find these here, and an asterisk means it’s not out yet: https://lgbtqreads.com/sff/spec-fic-by-subgenre/) I bolded some of the ones that are newer or coming out in the next few months.

MG

*Splinter & Ash by Marieke Nijkamp – NB

Sir Callie by Esme Symes-Smith – NB

YA

Female Protags

The Winter Duke by Claire Eliza Bartlett

The Never Tilting World by Rin Chupeco – L

Queen of Coin and Whispers by Helen Corcoran

Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst – L,B

Inkmistress by Audrey Coulthurst – B

The Impostor Queen by Sarah Fine – B

Noble Falling and Noble Persuasion by Sara Gaines

Rule by Ellen Goodlett

Havenfall by Sara Holland

*Hearts Forged in Dragon Fire by Erica Hollis

The Afterward by EK Johnston

Empirium by Claire Legrand – B

Belle Révolte by Linsey Miller – BA

These Feathered Flames by Alexandra Overy

The Midnight Lie by Marie Rutkoski

It Ends in Fire by Andrew Shvarts

Beneath the Citadel by Destiny Soria – B, A

The Third Daughter and The Second Son by Adrienne Tooley

Shatter the Sky by Rebecca Kim Wells – B

The Thousand Names by Django Wexler

Male Protags

Cloaked in Shadow by Ben Alderson

The Runebinder Chronicles by Alex R. Kahler

Skybound by Alex London

So This is Ever After by F.T. Lukens

Beneath the Citadel by Destiny Soria

The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas – T

Non-Binary Protags

Spell Bound by FT Lukens

Mask of Shadows by Linsey Miller – GF

*A Hundred Vicious Turns by Lee Paige O’Brien

Adult

Female Protags

A Broken Blade by Melissa Blair

Tales of Inthya by Effie Calvin

The Vanished Queen by Lisbeth Campbell

Rook & Rose by M.A. Carrick

The Night and its Moon by Piper CJ

The Unbroken by C.L. Clark

*Warmongers by C.L. Clark

The Gardener’s Hand by Felicia Davin

*The Water Outlaws by S.L. Huang

Dragonfall by L.R. Lam

The Unspoken Name by A.K. Larkwood

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

From Under the Mountain by C.M. Spivey

The Drowning Empire by Andrea Stewart (Amz)

The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri

Malice by Heather Walter

When Women Were Warriors series by Catherine M. Wilson

Male Protags

Kirith Kirin by Jim Grimsley

The Cadeleonian series by Ginn Hale

Tales From Verania by T.J. Klune

A Chorus of Dragons by Jenn Lyons

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

*Dark Moon, Shallow Sea by David R. Slayton

Stagsblood Trilogy by Gideon E. Wood

Genderqueer Protags

*The Water Outlaws by S.L. Huang

[99percentprocrastination]

It’s Asexuality Awareness Week!

In celebration, here is a list of books featuring asexual/ace-spectrum main characters:

*** = my favorites

*** The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee (sequel to The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue): historical fiction; aro-ace protagonist (never stated in the text bc that label didn’t exist in the time period but heavily implied and confirmed by the author)

Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand: YA horror; one of the three protagonists is asexual

*** Tash Hearts Tolstoy by Kathryn Ormsbee: YA contemporary; asexual protagonist

That’s Not What Happened by Kody Keplinger: YA contemporary; asexual protagonist; tw for school shooting

Vicious & Vengeful by V.E. Schwab: adult sci-fi; one of the two protagonists is asexual (confirmed in second book)

*** Radio Silence by Alice Oseman: YA contemporary; one of the two protagonists is gay demisexual (stated in the text)

Let’s Talk About Love by Claire Kann: YA contemporary; main character is biromantic asexual

Summer Bird Blue by Akemi Dawn Bowman: YA contemporary; main character is most likely aromantic asexual but hasn’t 100% settled on that label by the end of the book

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire: fantasy; protagonist is asexual (I read this years ago and don’t remember the details of the representation)

*** Dread Nation by Justina Ireland: historical fantasy; secondary character is implied to be asexual (supposed to be a main character in the sequel coming out Feb. 2020)

Books I haven’t read but want to:

Hullmetal Girls by Emily Skrutskie

How To Be a Normal Person by T.J. Klune

From Under the Mountain by C.M. Spivey

Beneath the Citadel by Destiny Soria

Tarnished Are the Stars by Rosiee Thor

Beyond the Black Door by A.M. Strickland

Loveless by Alice Oseman (coming out April 2020)

[wuxian-vs-wangji]

Last Year’s TPIJ List::

Here’s the overall list, I’ll still do something for this year with this list but it’s just so people can check before recommending stuff :) 

Also, this year I am really pushing for the fantasy genre and trying to weed out sci-fi and such, so.. yeah :)

Dagger-- Steven dos Santos

Gay

Nimona-- Noelle Stevenson

Gay

Black Blade Blues-- J.A. Pitts

Lesbian

Every Heart a Doorway-- Seanan McGuire

Asexual

Not Your Sidekick-- C.B. Lee

Bisexual

Runebinder-- Alex R. Kahler

Gay

Fire Logic-- Laurie J. Marks

Lesbian

Hullmetal Girls-- Emily Skrutskie

Aro Ace

Borderline-- Mishell Baker

Bisexual

Witch Eyes-- Scott Tracey

Gay

From under the Mountain-- C.M. Spivey

Lesbian, Trans, Asexual

An Accident of Stars-- Foz Meadows

Asexual

Brew-- Dane Figueroa Edidi

Trans

Otherbound-- Corinne Duyvis

Bisexual

The Diviners-- Libba Bray

Gay, Asexual

Of Fire and Stars-- Audrey Coulthurst

Lesbian

City of Strife-- Claudie Arseneault

Full LGBT+ Spectrum

The Black Tides of Heaven-- JY Yang

Nonbinary/Transgender

Six of Crows-- Leigh Bardugo

Bisexual, Gay

Radiant Days-- Elizabeth Hand

Lesbian, Gay

The Twelve Kingdoms-- Fuyumi Ono

Aromantic Asexual

Dreadnought-- April Daniels

Transgender

In Other Lands-- Sarah Rees Brennan

Bisexual

Black Wings Beating-- Alex London

Gay

Girls of Paper and Fire-- Natasha Ngan

Lesbian

Sheepfarmer’s Daughter-- Elizabeth Moon

Asexual

The Fifth Season-- N.K. Jemisin

Trans

The Mirror Empire-- Kameron Hurley

Bisexual

Peter Darling-- Austin Chant

Gay, Asexual

The Gilda Stories-- Jewelle Gomez

Lesbian

Pantomime-- Laura Lam

Intersex

Mask of Shadows-- Lindsey Miller

Gender-fluid

Laybrinth Lost-- ZoraidaCordova

Bisexual

Cloaked in Shadow-- Ben Alderson

Gay

Huntress-- Malinda Lo

Lesbian

[rhysand-vs-fenrys]

TPIJ Book Recommendation: “From Under the Mountain” by C.M. Spivey

Representation: Lesbian, Transgender, Asexual

As the second child of the Aridan imperial family, nineteen-year-old Guerline knows exactly what is expected of her: be unobtrusive, be compliant, and do not fall in love with her low-born companion, Eva. She has succeeded at only two of those. But before her feelings for Eva can become a point of contention for the royal house, Guerline's calm and narrow life is ripped away from her—in the course of a single night—and she is abruptly cast in the role of empress. Faced with a council that aggressively fears the four witch clans charged with protecting Arido and believes they are, in fact, waging war against the humans, Guerline struggles to maintain order. As her control over the land crumbles, she learns that the war is rooted in a conflict much older than she realized—one centuries in the making, which is now crawling from under the mountain and into the light.

 With the fate of Arido hanging in the balance, Guerline must decide who to trust when even her closest councilors seem to have an agenda.

Click here for ‘50 Must-Read LGBT Fantasy Books’ by Casey Stepaniuk

[macrocosmus]

thinking about how i used to be like “dang I want to watch gay shows but like, not about prisoners and cops” and now i dont think that... maybe it’s because of shows like Owl House and reading From Under The Mountain by C.M. Spivey

[holmesoverture]

Sink or Ship? - Canon Holmes

With 120+ years of history and countless interpretations, it becomes nigh impossible to make blanket statements about the world’s most famous detective.  If I say “Holmes and Watson were totally a couple,” well, great, but which Holmes and Watson am I talking about?  Each is so wildly different that it’s entirely possible for a person to interpret one version a certain way and another version another way.  Holmes is no longer one character—he is many characters filtered through the actions and preferences of hundreds of actors and directors, providing us with an infinite variety to choose from.

And so today I’ll be starting a new series, Sink or Ship, to look at different versions of everyone’s favorite detective (sorry, Batman) and his ever-faithful biographer, and explain whether or not I personally ship them and why.

Let’s start at the beginning, shall we?  Gather ‘round now, kids, Auntie Eileen is gonna give you a gay old Victorian history lesson.

(For an earlier version of this history lesson, please see the post I wrote for C.M. Spivey’s blog series, A+ Ships.)

There’s no definitive proof that Holmes and Watson were in a romantic relationship, of course, and many of the signals that would be interpreted as evidence of such could really just be a product of the time period. For example, Holmes and Watson hold hands rather a lot (see: The Speckled Band, Charles Augustus Milverton), but that’s because Victorian men didn’t have the concept of ‘no homo’ hanging over them.  Male friends frequently hugged, held hands, and took what we would consider to be mushy pictures together.

But it’s like I said.  There’s no definitive proof they were a couple… and there’s no definitive proof they weren’t.  In A Study in Scarlet, Watson says he’s staying at “a private hotel in the Strand.”  Hotels in this area were frequently used as hook-up places for homosexuals.  Most famously, Oscar Wilde was fond of the Savoy.  Other popular meet-up spots were West End parks, where soldiers and former soldiers (as Watson was a former soldier), who weren’t paid very well, were known to solicit upper-class gentlemen.  The problem got so bad that, in 1903, a law was passed forbidding soldiers from loitering in parks in uniform after dark, and the image of a soldier—particularly a guardsman—became closely linked with homosexuality.

TL;DR Watson was either a sex worker or he got mistaken for one at least once.

Then there’s Holmes himself, who is described as a clean-shaven ‘bohemian’ (as Watson describes him in, appropriately, A Scandal in Bohemia) bachelor living in the West End, which fits perfectly into another contemporary stereotype (epitomized by the unfortunate Mr. Wilde) about men who had sex with men.  Later in the century, ‘bohemian’ basically became a euphemism for ‘sodomite’ during the Wilde trials.  (FWIW Watson also describes himself as having a ‘Bohemianism of disposition’ in The Musgrave Ritual).  Furthermore, men with no facial hair, like Holmes, were regarded as leaning (if not more) towards effeminacy.

And then of course there is Holmes’ legendary hatred for blackmailers, as shown in the short story Charles Augustus Milverton.  I think most people, Victorian or otherwise, don’t like blackmailers all that much, but they were the particular bane of Victorian homosexuals. Some blackmailers devoted themselves entirely to entrapping gay men (some even based their operations at those West End hotels I mentioned) and then demanding money.  Victorian men who dared act on their attraction to other men were all too aware that the tiniest indiscretion on their part could end in devastating jail sentences and total disgrace.  More than one accused homosexual committed suicide rather than risk a trial.

Lastly, there is Watson’s marriage.  Or marriages.  And therein lies the problem.  Not only does Mary Morstan completely disappear after her part in The Sign of the Four—being occasionally referred to only as ‘my wife’ as Watson runs out the door to hang with Holmes—she is later killed off in an unspecified manner.  Okay, fine, that last part’s understandable.  Maybe Watson just didn’t want to talk about his wife’s death.  But Doyle seems to have screwed up the timeline of Watson’s marriage, describing him as married well after Mary supposedly died. This means that Watson either married more than once, or Watson himself couldn’t keep track of dates what with all the other fact-fudging he admits to doing to protect the innocent.  OR maybe he never married at all and his wedding was just a cover for something else.

But again, this is all circumstantial.  Not everyone who visited a hotel in the West End in Victorian England was gay, not every London bachelor without a beard shared Wilde’s proclivities, and seeing an author who was at best ambivalent about his characters mess up continuity doesn’t mean there’s a big gay conspiracy going on.  And if you don’t feel like shipping them, that is a perfectly legitimate and cool way to read the text.  But if you DO feel like shipping them, there is a surprising amount of historical evidence to back you up.

SINK OR SHIP?:  Man, there’s enough ship here for a dang fleet.

Sources

How to Be a Victorian - Ruth Goodman

London and the Culture of Homosexuality, 1885-1914 - Matt Cook

[daughteroftearsandpages]

Blog Tour: The Longing and The Lack (Excerpt + Giveaway)

The Longing and the Lack C.M. Spivey (The Unliving #1) Publication date: September 19th 2017 Genres: New Adult, Paranormal “Gothic curses, deadly love affairs, and vengeful ghosts combine to make this paranormal mystery a compelling page-turner.” — Tina Connolly, Nebula-nominated author of Ironskin Lucinda Hightower is no stranger to death. Since she was a child, Lucinda has been haunted by rabid…

[fuckyeahasexual]

Today’s the kick off to my mini Hello World book blog tour so to celebrate I made valentines for canon ace or aro book characters as well as three our aro ace king, Jughead!

Chameleon Moon by RoAnna Sylver A Word and a Bullet by Rachel Sharp Hello World by Tiffany Rose & Alexandra Tauber The White Renegade by Claudie Arseneaulrt Deadly Sweet Lies by Erica Cameron Jughead Vol 2 by Ryan North & Derek Charm Jughead Vol 1 by Chip Zdarsky and Erica Henderson From Under The Mountain by C.M. Spivey  We Awaken by Calista Lynne How To Be A Normal Person by TJ Klune Unburied Fables by Creative Aces  The Princess Saves Herself In This One by Amanda Lovelace

[lgbtqreads]

Happy Indie Bookstore Day!

Happy Indie Bookstore Day!

Here at LGBTQReads the sole non-donation income that keeps the site running does come from a certain website’s affiliate links, but don’t let that fool you into thinking we don’t loveindies, especially the ones that carry small-press/self-pub queer books! To celebrate those very stores, here are a bunch of links to celebrate indie bookstore day the best way possible and get some amazing books in…

[posi-pan]

What are the titles of the 19 books with pan characters? I've been dying to find books with pansexuals/panromantics!

2017 books with canon or implied/hintedpansexual and/or panromantic characters:

27 Hours by Tristina Wright

Adrift by Isabelle Adler

The Almosts trilogy by L.C. Mawson

Blood Borne by Archer Kay Leah

Castaway Heart Trilogy by L.C. Mawson

City of Spires series by Claudie Arseneault

The Core by Ada R. Griffiths

Don’t Feed the Trolls by Erica Kudisch

Double Exposure by Chelsea M. Cameron

Good Angel duology by A.M. Blaushild

Hard Wired by Megan Erickson and Santino Hassell

Honestly Ben by Bill Konigsberg

Ilavani by Kaelan Rhywiol

Island of Exiles by Erica Cameron

Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert

Looking For Group by Rory Harrison

Lost and Found by J. Holland

Our Own Private Universe by Robin Talley

Outside The Lines by Caitlin Ricci

The Queen of Dauphine Street by Thea de Salle

Scarred by Mia Kerick

The Spider’s Web by Sophia Beaumont

Sweet Revenge duology by Elliott Junkyard

The Traitor’s Tunnel by C.M. Spivey

An Unsuitable Heir by K.J. Charles

The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli

Who’d Have Thought by G. Benson

I’ve found 8 more 2017 books with pan characters since I made that post, yay pan books!

also, I have a list of books with pan characters that has a whole lot more books than 27.

[ourloveisnell]

3, 11, 20

3. What is your favorite genre?

I'd normally read pretty much anything other than romance please don't make me but it's between realistic fiction and sci-fi/horror. I've read some pretty amazing books on all spectrums but some hold a special place in my heart over others.

namely The Nowhere Girls by Amy Reed and From Under The Mountain by C.M. Spivey

11. What non-fiction books do you like, if any?

I never really read nonfiction, mostly because by the time I get to that section I have 15 books in my arms lmao, but I do enjoy it a lot. A couple books I can spot from my bed on my bookshelves are Queer, There, and Everywhere by Sarah Prager and Zeus Grants Stupid Wishes: A No Bullshit Guide To World Mythology by Connor O'Brien. Informative but still a touch of humour

20. What are things you look for in a book?

That is. A very good question. Normally I just browse until something catches my eye but I tend to be drawn towards realistic fiction with a really nice twist, or fantasy that I KNOW it gonna get a bit gory. I can't really describe what I like I just know what I definitely don't like lol.

Ex., Goodbye Days by Jeff Zenther, about a guy named Carver and how he blames himself for the death of his three best friends, and how other people blame him as well. Made me cry about four times.

And From Under The Mountain by C.M. Spidey which I mentioned earlier, about how a 19 y/o who did not want to be empress suddenly had the role forced upon her after her parents and brother died. It follows her struggling to stay in control as the witches wage war on the humans, and is also very gay. She fell in love with her companion Eva AND Spivey is a panromantic/ace trans guy. I met him at a book fair and he's very sweet, he signed my book.

also if anyone ever wants to recommend me books please don't hesitate thank youu

[sarahwritesetc]

Tweeted

🌈 Shira Glassman 🌈 RoAnna Sylver 🌈 Kaia Sønderby 🌈 Lynn O'Connacht 🌈 B.R. Sanders 🌈 C.M. Spivey 🌈 Lyssa Chiavari 🌈 Polenth Blake 🌈 Michelle Kan 🌈 Cit Callahan 🌈 Kayla Bashe 🌈 E.H. Timms 🌈 Penny Stirling 🌈 Darcie Little Badger 🌈 Lev Mirov (The last 4=mostly shorts) https://t.co/0kNHtW6XSe

— Claudie Arseneault🐙 (@ClH2OArs) June 10, 2018

[aislynndmerricksson]

Blog Tour: The Longing and the Lack by CM Spivey

Blog Tour: The Longing and the Lack by CM Spivey

•    Swag pack specific to the book, with a signed copy, two enamel pins, a leather journal, and a small print of an original painting ENTER HERE! The Longing and the Lack by C.M. Spivey (The Unliving #1) Publication date: September 19th 2017 Genres: New Adult, Paranormal “Gothic curses, deadly love affairs, and vengeful ghosts combine to make this paranormal mystery a compelling page-turner.” —…

[english-major-in-exile-blog]

Diverse Reading Resources: When You Loved a Problematic Book

Sometimes becoming more aware is a rough process. You might find out that there are issues large or small with something. Maybe you were swept up in the story or the worldbuilding. Maybe you were unable to see some of the issues because they didn’t intersect with your lived experience.

How do you handle it?

Thankfully, C.M. Spivey has delivered a blog post about just that. Listening to critiques of things we love, but it’s worth it, and Spivey’s post is a good primer on how and why to do that. You can read it on his blog here.

[lgbtqreads]

Queer SFF Novels for Under $5! All of these books have over 200 pages, but if you're looking for something shorter, check…

[lgbtqreads]

do you know any high fantasy wlw preferably that don’t feel too YA-y?

These are all wlw high fantasy; you can also find them here: https://lgbtqreads.com/sff/spec-fic-by-subgenre/

Tales of Inthya by Effie Calvin

The Vanished Queen by Lisbeth Campbell

The Gardener’s Hand by Felicia Davin

*The Water Outlaws by S.L. Huang

The Unspoken Name by A.K. Larkwood

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

From Under the Mountain by C.M. Spivey

The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri

When Women Were Warriors series by Catherine M. Wilson