#the paperback sale was in store only!!

[bigcats-birds-and-books]

Indie Bookstore Day 2024!

I can hardly be expected to have shelf control if Indie Bookstore Day and my birthday are within, like, a week of each other, right?? ESPECIALLY not if one of them was doing a Buy 3 Get 1 Free on paperbacks (evidenced by the bottom row), and if ARCHANGELS OF FUNK and TRANSLATION STATE were Birthday Gifts To Myself (pre-ordered in December and everything!)??

Anyway! Great week for books! Good thing we gave up on the moderated book buying ban, huh.

[plotsignificanthaircut555]

Long Lonely Layover (Nanami Kento x Reader)

Sitting at a bar in the Paris airport you’re approached by a handsome stranger on a similarly long layover.

warnings: SMUT, MDNI, 18+ Only. kissing, sexy, doggy, oral, getting right nasty up in the bathroom, public sex, standing sex, standing oral, talk of contreception (keep it safe yall), emotions after sex

6.7k words. Ao3 I really hope you enjoy this one, I hope was super happy to write for this big beautiful man once again. Kind of plus size coded reader(all my readers are pretty mid/plus sized coded.)

Your eyes flicked up to the bottom right corner of the news broadcast in front of you. There was a little animation card that showed the weather, the date, and the local time. 

Charles de Gaulle Aéroport, Paris. 12:22 pm

The broadcast changed to a commercial, some beautiful woman biking through a sunlit trail, a glass bottle of wine in a stylish backpack that was apparently the product for sale. How you craved to be that woman, you wanted to feel the sun instead of these harsh, artificial lights above you. You wanted to open a bottle of wine in some gorgeous Parisian park, not pay a massive up charge for each pour, as you were now. Your last flight had brought you here nearly an hour ago, you didn’t board your next flight for another two and a half. A four hour, cumulative, layover. Just enough time to drag, but not enough to fully leave the airport, stretch your legs, and enjoy some local sights. Especially with how long customs could take. You sighed, daring to check the clock display once again. 

12:23pm 

Fuck. 

The airport bartender hovered the bottle of white wine above your glass, you nodded, and he emptied its contents. In your defense, the bottle had already been opened by another patron before you sat down, you just drank the remaining two glasses worth. Taking a small sip, deciding it may be better to start savoring these— you have a long afternoon ahead of you, you scanned the airport terminal for a duty free store that may sell books. You could pick up a saucy paperback or a mystery thriller and breeze through the next few hours. No luck, you would have to close out and wander through the various hallways and levels in search of one. You took a larger sip of your wine, feeling confident in your next plan. Before you could catch the bartender's attention, a voice came from your side. It sounded like French, someone was speaking to you in French— in the Paris airport, a likely place for that to happen. But the tonality held something else, something richer and augmented. You turned toward the voice and found an apologetic looking blonde man. He was tall, even from your place on the barstool you could tell, and he was, broad shoulders, the black and burgundy pinstripe blazer that housed them looking like dark brick you’d find in one of Paris' many gothic style buildings. Catching yourself, you looked up at his eyes and saw him gesture his head toward the stool next to you. 

“Puis-he m’asseoir ici?” He asked, presumably again as you had completely missed what he said earlier. 

“The seat? Oh! No- yes! Wait no, no one is sitting there, yes you can sit here.” You didn’t know a lot of French, but this was a common enough phrase that after some embarrassing mental flip flopping you were able to answer. 

He softens, and pulls the suitcase slung over his shoulder and sets it down next to the stool,

 “Merci.”, he smiles softly, “or—I suppose—Thank You would be better, here.” 

You smiled in awe, “English and French. Very impressive.”

Nanami blushes at your voice, or maybe it was your smile, pretty, perfect teeth shining at him, your cheeks curling upward, he thought he felt his heart leap. He shrugs a bit, an attempt to downplay your compliment. 

“My French isn’t very good. Mostly yes, no, is that seat taken? Can I get that coffee or that pastry? ” He adds, pointing to the imaginary bakery case before him, “The English is okay, I do a lot of business over the phone so I get more practice.” 

“Better than mine! French slipped through my education totally. Spanish a bit, but mostly just English.” You shrug, eyeing him carefully as he slid into the bar stool next to you, making himself comfortable. 

He was brutally handsome, a long, sloped nose stopped just before a pert Cupid’s bow, tan rose colored lips stayed slightly parted as he listened to you. But his eyes, amber and honey, outer irises deepening to an oaken, whiskey brown, they took your breath away. You couldn’t look at them very long, finding yourself unable to form thought, and quickly blinking away. Small scatterings of freckles lined the tops of his hollowed cheeks, and the line of his nose, such a lovely detail on an even lovelier man. His hair was clearly styled at some point, but was quickly losing its hold, sandy blonde strands falling in front of his eyes as he read the menu in front of him. 

Nanami could feel you looking at him, the skin of his neck was heating up, he wanted to take off his jacket, but that would be too obvious. He hadn’t noticed you when he approached the bar, he truly needed a drink after the turbulence on his flight in from Tokyo, 14 hours of travel so far, 8 more to go. But when you turned your face, observing the terminal around you, he stopped in his tracks. You were gorgeous, truly gorgeous, the details of your face reminded him of an oil painting, all soft lines and creamy textures. There was one seat open on the bartop, directly next to you. Maybe he should have been embarrassed how quickly he had rushed over to you, but you didn’t seem to notice him catch his breath, or his hurried approach when you spoke to him. And now he could feel his heart drumming in his chest as he struggled to read the menu in front of him. His French was fine, he had to use it more often than he expected when he joined the French club in university. The bartender approached tentatively, you assumed he was also a bit intimidated by the Adonis that had joined the bartop. Nanami assumed it was because he could see him sweating already, confirmed by being served a glass of water nearly instantly. 

Nanami scans the menu quickly before he darts his eyes over to your half full wine glass,he turns to you. 

“Sorry,” he starts, god this is embarrassing, “which wine is that?” 

“It’s the Amici Olema. Do you want to try it?” You were taking a chance here, sliding your glass towards him.

This could be taken as a moment of generosity from a kind stranger, a massively inappropriate imposition, or as flirtation. You weren’t even totally sure which one you intended it to be, yet.

His blush darkened, and his breath hitched. Nanami tried to control his trembling hand as he graciously accepted your offer. The glass was sweating a bit from the chilled wine condensating. He could see where your fingers had been before, there was the slightest sheen on one lip of the glass, where your lips had been. He restrained himself from putting his mouth in the same spot, opting to taste from the opposite edge instead. The wine was delightful, tart and cool, there was a subtle peach note on the back. Nanami hums happily, his eyes closing blissfully, allowing it to linger in his tongue before returning your glass. He nodded toward the bartender asking for a pour of his own. You looked down at the glass in front of you, one shared between yourself and this handsome stranger. His pretty pink lips against the same glass as yours, a small smudge showing you exactly where he had sipped. The popping of the fresh wine bottle woke you from your lingering fantasy.

“Thank you for the recommendation.” He raised his glass to you.

You tap your glass against his, “I’m glad you like it….” 

You raise your eyebrows indicating you were wanting to add his name. 

“Kento Nanami.” He replied offering you a wide closed lip smile. 

You told him your name in return. Sipping your glasses in sync. There was something exciting about knowing you were tasting the same thing. The same tartness that slid over your tongue, was coating his as well. The thought made you cross one leg over the other. You pray you were being subtle enough. 

A thick silence blanketed the two of you. The noise of the airport hummed and buzzed around you. Boarding calls and codes run out from the loudspeakers in various languages, often repeated one or two times. Your fingers slid over the menu, you were starting to feel the effects of four glasses of wine, you should probably eat something. The bar menu wasn’t expansive, mostly appetizers, a few salads, a few  questionable sounding sandwiches. Nothing was making your mouth water but you could already feel your stomach growling.

“Are you hungry?” You to your left again facing Nanami who had now adorned the cutest pair of reading glasses fuck he was too much , “I’m hungry but I’m not starving and these flatbreads look pretty big. Would you want to split one?” 

“Only if you let me put it on my tab.” 

You started to protest but he raised his hand.

“For the great wine recommendation.” He finished, those honey eyes catching yours and making you swoon. 

You sighed out, barely containing your smile, “well if you insist, how can I say no.” 

He ordered with the bartender, and you dipped your wine positively smitten, his French was clean and lilting. The smallest hint of his home accent lingered, his pronunciation of the swirling language was nearly perfect. Under different circumstances this would be a very good date. You chastise yourself in reminder that this is not a date, this is just benign, unintentioned human kindness that bears no flirtation and you should be sick with yourself for even entertaining the idea. 

That is, until he removed his jacket. He leaned back in his stool, pulling the blazer away from his body. Giant, ropey biceps in a barely fitting black sweater. This guy was trying to kill you. He hung his blazer in the back of his chair, back muscles stretching the fabric even further. Thankfully, his turned body gave you solace to chug your ice water, knowing it wouldn’t satiate the thirst you were feeling. 

Nanami seemed to be unaffected by your gawking, adjusting his glasses and checking his watch, sighing at the slowly ticking time. 

You needed a second to gather your voice back, “long layover?” 

“About two and a half hours.” He removed his glasses and squeezed the bridge of his nose. 

You nodded, “mine too. It’s a beautiful airport to be stuck in, but…it’s still an airport.” 

He let out a laugh, his smile showed two small dimples on either side of his lower lip. 

“Do you travel often?” He asked, taking another sip of his wine. 

“For work, yes. I’d like to do some more traveling on my own. But this works for now.” You shrugged.

He nodded, knowingly, “what do you do?” 

You told him. Your job was a little complex to explain but he listened closely and seemed to relate. You two began talking about your respective careers. You learned he worked for a Japanese finance company that had a few international offices in the United States, Denmark, Argentina, and the UK. This was his first time traveling internationally for this job, being sent out to settle the last few details of a contract. He asked good questions, he listened closely to your answers. Minutes ticked by, the food arrived, more glasses of wine being poured, the stories shared became more intimate and detailed as you two grew closer both emotionally and physically. Soon you two were nearly interlocking your knees, the flatbread completed, a new bottle of wine nearly half drunk, your cheeks flushed, his glasses discarded, folded on the table.  

You slipped your cardigan off your shoulders, leaving your arms and collarbones exposed to him. The wine had heated your skin, Nanami’s eyes flicked over your form quickly before returning to his wine glass. 

“So your wife must hate being apart now that you’re traveling more.” You baited him. It was an obvious ploy on your part, the wine had numbed some of your finesse. 

Nanami smirked, immediately catching you out, “I’m not married but that was very clever. Very subtle move.” 

You laughed with him, his mix of teasing and praise sent your head fluttering. He continued,

“I do prefer my move of not-so-subtly checking if you were wearing a ring, which I did earlier when I asked about the wine.”he sipped the shallow pour still in his own glass, “you don’t wear a ring. But plenty of people don’t, are you with someone?” 

He had begun to lean in conspiratorially, as though your relationship status and your sharing of it were top secret information. But you could see the small flecks of gold in his irises now, the small beginnings of lines around his eyes, the pores along his nose and cheeks. You shook your head, catching his eyes directly. You both lingered in this moment; neither of you were beholden to someone else, the acknowledgement of shared chemistry hung between the two of you, the ticking clock of your coming departures ticked away in the back of both of your minds. Nanami watched you closely, your lips parted slightly, eyes drinking him. He would normally feel anxious being observed so closely, but your gaze was so warm, so inviting, he felt nothing but total elation. 

His gaze was so intense, you felt so seen by him. Maybe it was the wine, more than likely it was the company. The serendipity of this moment. You weren’t one to believe easily in fate, but you were inclined to believe something beyond had brought this man to you. One as beautiful, as charming, as engaging as Kento. You checked the television’s clock briefly. Only one hour left until your flight starts to board. Only one hour left before you never saw him again. Only one hour. 

“Can I ask you something, kind of crazy?”  The words slipped from you before you could think rationally. 

Kento had noticed the time as well, counting down the remaining fifty-nine minutes until your separation. He had donned his wire framed glasses again, wanting to memorize every inch of you in perfect clarity. He raises his eyebrows at your question, heart pounding in private hope. Could you? Would you? 

“Please.” He answered, leaning closer, his knee sliding against yours, “ask me anything.” 

You flicked your eyes down to where his body touched yours, you hadn’t yet felt him touch you, but even the brush of his clothed leg against yours had your throat tightening. 

“I’m not one to…ask this sort of thing, but since I’ll probably never see you again after this, I won’t have to bear the shame.” You swallowed hard, begging your courage to stay with you, “you’re…incredible. I’ve never met anyone like you. You’re smart and funny and so charming and you’re…fucking stunning. I would be so remiss if I didn’t ask…” 

Your words were failing you, your heart racing, you scanned his face for any sign of coming rejection and your throat caught, closing it off from more words. 

Fuck. You were caving in. This was so embarrassing, so presumptuous. You had ruined what could have been a good memory. 

Fuck

Kento gave you another moment to see if you would finish your question. When it was clear you were psyching yourself out, he watched as you sighed frustratedly. How sweet.

Nanami put the toe of his shoe under the foot rest bar of your barstool and pulled your seat closer to him. Your eyes shot open, embarrassment quickly turning to confusion. Nanami put his arm around the backrest, just barely brushing over your back as he did. Bringing you back to look at him, he smiled wider at your sweet, blushing face. He moved a piece of hair out of your face, fingers lingering on your soft skin. His touch was electric, enticing, you wanted those fingers in your mouth, on your body, anywhere, everywhere.

“I would be honored to find somewhere private where we can pass the rest of this layover.” Nanami’s eyes had grown darker, full pupils and focused, “if you’ll indulge me.” 

In a flash the tabs were paid, both by him, drinks were finished, bags were grabbed, and you had quickly located the closest empty room with a locking door to you. Nanami’s hand on your lower back ushered you inside quickly before shutting and locking the door behind him, pulling on it once to guarantee you wouldn’t be interrupted. You set your bag on the ground, next to his own carry on, and stood back up. Facing him directly, now in total privacy, in the motion activated light of this family restroom the ticking clock faded, the crowd of the airport was forgotten, it was only him and you. Nanami looked at you, head to toe, before taking a few careful steps toward you, as one would approach a centerpiece in a well curated museum. Thoughtful and admiring. He stood chest to chest with you, although as a tall man he stood quite a bit above you. He hadn’t yet removed his glasses, they sat perched in his nose, intending the skin on either side. You could smell his cologne, something subtle and herbal. Bergamot and cedar. His large, warm hands came to cup your face, yours covered his.

“I’m usually much more of a romantic. I hope you’ll forgive me.” Kento leaned in, his lips barely brushing yours in apology before kissing you. 

From the moment your lips touched, you were gone. He tasted like the wine you shared, his lips were soft and hungry. It took no time at all for your tongue to find its way past his lips. His hands flew from your face to your waist, up your back, down to squeeze your hips. Yours similarly wandered, across the downed of his back, up his arms, tugging at the cropped hair at the nape of his neck. The bathroom quickly filled with the wet, smacking sounds of your kisses. You removed his jacket, and your own. Soon your shirt was discarded on the floor. You didn’t even have time to lament not being able to wear something nice before he pulled your comfort focused sports bra over your head, your breasts falling freely. He watched them bounce freely before settling, his mouth watered. You covered yourself shyly. 

“Don’t stare…” you weren’t sure where this bashful side of you had come from, surely he was pulling it out of you. 

He moved your arms, baring your chest to him again, before moving onto his knees before you. His hands traveled up your body, pawing at your breasts, cupping and squeezing them. 

“You’re right, we have so little time.” Nanami looked up at you wickedly, something devious and titillating behind his amber eyes, “and I have to get you ready.” 

Before you could inquire further he began to pull your comfy travel pants off of you, untying the drawstring easily, stretching elastic, not your sexiest apparel but here he was down on his knees begging for you. You realized he hadn’t yet removed his sweater so you tugged at the back of the collar. He pulled the black knit over his head, in a second. You took the opportunity to slip off your sneakers and removed your pants fully. His body was just as incredible as it seemed, he truly was something out of myth. Gladiatorial build, masses of muscle cut lean under his fair, even skin. The freckles on his face littered his shoulders and the tops of his pecs, his abdominal muscles were further contoured by a tan colored happy trail leading into his still belted and buckled trousers. You moaned at the sight of him, making him smirk (and blush). He returned to his spot between your legs before looking back up at you. 

“Do you trust me?” He spoke, voice rough with arousal. 

You nodded desperately. You did. Anything he wanted from you, you would have given him at this moment. It wasn’t until he moved one of your thighs over his shoulder and snaked the paired hand up your back to support you, that you figured out why your trust was necessary. Immediately your blood ran cold, anxiety shadowing your arousal. He looked like a strong guy…but you were a fully grown woman: tummy, thighs, breasts, and arms to show as much. Never did you think someone would even attempt to support your full weight like he was implying. 

“Kento…wait..I’m-“, you protested, trying to move to stand on your own legs. 

His grip was iron as he kept your leg on his shoulder, he was at eye level with your pussy, hypnotized by the sight of you wet and waiting for him. He would not be denied. 

“I regularly bench more than 180 kilos, you’re a warm up. Please trust me.” 

His voice was so flippant, as though lifting your entire body over his shoulders was the most obvious feat in the world. Your reservations held strong until his pleading eyes looked up at you again, his mouth watering, hair disheveled, he looked so hungry. You couldn’t bear the thought of depriving him.

“Please.” He asked again, giving your leg on his shoulder a soft squeeze. 

You nodded again, and he slung your other leg over his shoulder in one perfect lift. You now sat on his shoulders with your back against the wall, his hands holding your waist and hips. Finally, after three excruciating hours of build up, Nanami finally tasted you. If he weren’t already on his knees they would have buckled. You tasted better than he had imagined, so wet for him already, your pretty moans still reaching his ears even through your legs against his head. Your hands found his hair, gripping onto him for stability, taking your nail across his scalp as he lapped feverishly at your cunt. He didn’t realize he was making deliciously primal grunting sounds as he gorged himself on you. His moans sent vibrations into your core and up through your body. You rushed to cover your mouth as he shook his head side to side, tongue flicking perfectly at your swollen, throbbing clitoris. 

“Fuck!” You panted, not caring how hard the back of your head hit the bathroom wall, “you’re so good at that, fuck, Kento—ah!”

Nanami smiled, drunk of your taste, your sounds, the feeling of your body on his shoulders. He was losing himself completely, he could have stayed like this for eternity. Pleasuring you could become his life’s purpose, his calling, he could be the devotee at the altar of your sexuality and die a happy man. But he was all too aware of the ticking clock that would rip you away from him. Luckily, he was a man who thrived under a deadline. 

Nanami sucked hard at your clit, alternating between pushing his tongue deep into your hole, and circling it around your clit. You couldn’t believe how good it felt, in just a few minutes he had solidified himself as the best loved you had ever had, and it wasn’t even close. 

But you were, you could feel your impending orgasm rushing toward you like a speed train. You whimpered into your palm, trying to warn him, (or warn yourself?) about what was to come, but he could already feel it. Your hips were shaking against his face, legs clamping down against his ears. Like a true expert, he didn't change a thing, his patterns and devotion bringing your orgasm crashing down around you in seconds. 

You cried out into your palm, the other hand gripping the back of Kento’s neck to hold him in place. He was happy to relish in your climax, sucking in everything you released onto his eager mouth. When you couldn’t take anymore, you pushed at his forehead, whimpering. 

“No more, no more. Please.” 

When his mouth was no longer attached to you he sucked in a breath, coming back to himself. He squeezed the flesh at the top of your thighs, right where they met your hips and tummy, coming down from his own haze he pressed soft, intentioned kisses to the insides of your legs. He turned his eyes back upward, his pleasure drunk eyes and dripping mouth making you swoon. Nanami eased you off his shoulders carefully before lunging to kiss you again, it was so dirty to taste yourself on his tongue. 

“You taste like heaven. I don’t know how I’ll go without now that I’ve had you.” He uttered against your lips, tongue still charging forward against your own. 

You mewled at his praises, “you’re so good. Too good. You do this a lot?” 

Hot kisses fill the gaps between words as you bring your hands to his belt, unbuckling and pulling at the waistband of his pants. Kento shakes his head, pulling off from the kiss to look you in the eye. 

“I’ve never done anything like this before.” He was as shocked as you were.

He wasn’t usually social, let alone pulling people who were essentially strangers into private corners to have sex with. You had brought something out of him he hadn’t even known existed. Something primal and desperate, something passionate and consuming. You were touched at his admission, and awestruck by his natural skill and the situation you were in. You kissed him again, finishing the removal of his belt. His hands trembled with enthusiasm as he helped you remove his pants. You couldn’t help yourself, you reached past the fly and palmed him through his briefs. Fuck. 

He was big, thick and full and so hard it was a miracle he wasn’t in tears. You moaned at the heft of it in your hand, which only caused the caged erection to pulse more. You wanted to taste him,to feel the weight of it in your mouth, to  know every inch of this man before he was gone from you. Kento groans at your hand stroking him through the fabric, indulging briefly before putting his hand over yours, training his eyes back to you. He looked disheveled and desperate, hot mouth hanging open to catch his breath, eyes hazy and drooping. 

“We don’t have enough time….” He mumbled, his forehead pressing against yours, eyes screwed shut he huffs out as you squeeze him, “I don’t have a condom…I’m sorry.”

“IUD.” You assure him, desperate to feel him raw inside of you, to feel him pulse and grow and cum.

He grips you harder, eyes opening wide, “Are you sure?”

You nod, practically lapping into his mouth for another sloppy kiss. He removed his cock from his briefs, not pulling his pants down or away and stroked himself a few times, each one eliciting another moan into your open mouth. Holding you close against him, Nanami allowed himself to luxuriate in the feeling of your body pressed against him. Trying to remember the heat, the weight of you in his arms, the smell of your perfume, the way your hair felt in between his fingers. He ignored the ache in his heart as he struggled to imagine how he would be able to let you go now that he held you. He couldn’t bear to think about that yet. Not while he could have you now. 

“Brace your hands against the door, please.” He ordered against your lips. 

You nodded before turning and placing your hands in the form of a standing push up against the locked, all too thin door of the restroom. You shivered as you felt Kento’s hands outline the form of your body, nearly crumbling entirely when you felt the tip of his cock brush against your ass. He leaned in close to your ear, moving your hair to one side, one of his hands interlocking with yours against the door. His chest pressed against your back, radiating heat. His breath tickled the tiny hairs on the shell of your ear.

“I’m sorry this isn’t more romantic. You deserve to be worshiped and spoiled properly, I’m sorry I can’t give that to you now.” Kento’s tongue trailed up the side of your neck as his unentangled hand aligned himself with your sex. 

When Kento Nanami finally entered you, it was inhuman the speed at which he rushed to cover your mouth, stifling the cry that came from you. 

He shushed you hurriedly, “You sound so beautiful but I can’t have us interrupted. Bite my hand if you need to.”

He filled you so completely, thick and deep. He was so big, you felt your velvet walls throbbing around him already, beating in time with your frantic heart. His hand kept yours locked against the door, fingers interlocked sweetly, despite the firm grip. His other hand held your hip in place, he pulled out nearly to the tip before filling you completely again, somehow deeper than the previous. His cock head pushed right up against your cervix making your eyes roll back and you whimper pathetically against his palm. After another thrust your arms started to shake, barely able to hold yourself up against the door. Nanami, of course, noticed.  

“Here, hold your arms like this.” Still sheathed inside of you he moved your arms in front of you, folded together as though you were sleeping, and pressed you further against the door, body now flush against the cool metal and wood. 

You buried your head in your arms, every thrust of his sending you further and further into total euphoria. You tried so hard to be quiet, keeping your mewls muffled against your arm, but it was so difficult when he really started to thrust, setting a delicious rhythm that even your best toy could never achieve. 

Nanami’s teeth were threatening to pierce the skin of his lip, the groans and grunts he held back threatening to erupt. You were so tight around him, if he had had any thoughts left he would have worried his cock would snap off. He palmed the flesh of your ass, spreading you out to watch your walls stretch and cling to him as he thrust in and out. He nearly came right there, eyes rolling back, a throaty huff leaving him, he couldn’t watch anymore or he would lose himself completely. He found solace in pressing his forehead against the connection point of your neck and your shoulder, whispering to you in a long stream of praises and promises. 

“You feel so good. You’re taking me so well. I would have taken you out first, if I could have. The nicest table at the best restaurant I know, you deserve it. Fuck. Fuck, anything you wanted. I should have had you in a beautiful bed, you’d look so gorgeous splayed out for me--agh, fuck you’re getting so tight. You’d like that, huh?” He shuddered as you clenched around him, body shaking, resolve crumbling. 

His words were growing more and more nonsensical, sounds paving through thought to fill the small bathroom. Everything about him felt engineered to make you cum, and you were so fucking close, you could feel his cock twitching between thrusts, he was getting close too. You raised your head from your arms, he seized the chance to press his forehead against your cheek, his lips meeting your skin anywhere he could. Your ear, your cheek, your jaw. You felt spoiled, you felt ravished, you worried you may never be able to fuck another person. No one would have you again, no one could make you feel like this, only him. Only him. There was only him. 

“I-I can’t last…I--” Nanami pleaded in your ear, his whisky voice dowsing you in pleasure, your eyes rolling back, mouth dropping open into a silent scream. 

Your second orgasm was summoned in full force, tipping over the edge and arriving all around as Kento sounded the most delicious, salacious moan directly against the skin of your face. His hips jerking beyond his control, his own orgasm being pulled from him by you and your fluttering cunt. He pushed in as far as he could, tip pressing against your cervix. His hands held your hips so tight you knew he would leave bruises, you silently prayed that they would never leave you, that you had been marked by him forever. Your breath returned to you in choppy, pitched up gasps, he was quick to wrap his arms around your waist, catching you before your legs could fail underneath you. He was still filling you, spurt after spurt of white painting the inside of you as you trembled in his sturdy arms. Panting together, folded together, coming down from a simultaneous climax you and Nanami shared a moment of singularity, joined together completely, with no sense of time or place, nothing existed outside of the pair of you. And the pair itself held no boundary, no ego, no sense of self.

The bliss was quickly chased away by the remembrance that after this, you would never see him again. A dual continental moment of chance led you here. However distance, logic, and responsibility would rip you apart. Despite the ache in his heart, Kento was the one to break the embrace, kissing the bare flesh of your shoulder blade as he pulled out and slowly set you back onto your own feet. His hands didn't leave you until your colt legs had grown into a firmer foundation. At which point you felt a chill surrounding you, embarrassment, fear, but above all of that: a profound and perhaps overinflated sense of loss. Nanami shuffled behind you, the sound of a zipper, the retrieval of his discarded sweater. You couldn’t turn to face him yet, you didn't want to see the denouement, for it to truly be over. 

Fabric brushed against your tricep, calling your attention back into the restroom. 

“Your pants.” Nanami’s voice was gentle, so different from the raw honey depth you had just experienced, You turned on an inhale, accepting your clothing back. 

He watched you start to redress, with every inch you pulled up your pants, covering your shapely naked legs, he sank further. He didn’t expect to feel so empty, truthfully he hadn't expected this at all, he meant it when he told you he hadn’t ever done anything like this before, he had the occasional one night stand but always in more formal, organized scenarios. He didn’t think himself capable of such raw passion, such chaotic intimacy. He wasn’t ready to forgo this new streak in himself. 

He was dressed far before you, now focusing the entirety of his energy mourning the loss of the sight of you. You found your bra on the floor, and by donning it, sealed the sight of your round, smooth, perfect breasts away from him forever. Your shirt went over your head and covered the expanse of your bare stomach, the early stages of finger shaped bruises on your waist no longer for him to admire and take pride in. When you were dressed again you turned to face him, scared eyes softening at the sight of him. 

“This was…” You started, unsure of how to finish. 

Unexpected? Sudden? Life changing? Mind blowing? Emotionally irresponsible? 

He nodded, knowing whatever you chose to fill that blank, he was feeling too. He took in a long breath before closing the distance and pulling you into a long, deep kiss. His arms wrapped around your back, one hand tangling in the hair at the back of your head. No clashing tongues, no biting lips, no frantic hands grabbing whatever they could. Just his swollen lips joined with yours. Your eyes were closed but you could feel the sting of tears starting to build. You fought them down and focused instead on memorizing the feeling of his kiss. When he finally pulled away he held your face in his hands, brushing one cheek affectionately with his thumb. Those golden brown eyes beheld you so kindly, so tenderly for a second or so…had it been eternity, it wouldn't have been long enough.

 Nanami’s watch glinted under the overhead lighting, flashing lightly in his eye, alerting him to the time: 3:03pm, his flight had begun boarding. He sighed, looking back to you. 

“Listen…”He started, eyes boring into you, “This was…incredible. You are incredible. I don’t want to go, my flight is boarding. Its the last one out tonight or else I would miss it, I promise.” 

You laughed a bit, your smile returning. He separated from you to dig through his bag before pulling a business card out for you.

“I know this is unlikely but, if you’re ever in Japan, I would love to see you. Please, reach out.” He gazed at you hopefully, however not expecting an answer. 

You nodded, watching as he picked up his bag and peered in the mirror, brushing the front part of his hair back in an attempt to look less like he had just fucked in the family bathroom of an airport terminal, it was not successful. He moved to the door, unlocking it carefully, before stopping himself. Kento turned back to you, chuckling in spite of himself. 

“I don't want to go.” he repeated, just barely audible to you. 

This time you traversed the gap between you, kissing him once again. He struggled to hold you again with one hand holding his bag, but he managed, indulging fully in your lips for the last time. 

“Thank you for this, Kento. You are really something amazing.” You brushed some of his hair back from him after separating your lips, “If I am ever in Japan, you’re my first call.” 

He smiled down at you, unable to resist pecking your lips one final time before opening the bathroom door and peeling away from you. When the door closed you took in a long breath. You were thankful for how it had ended, you were far more thankful that it had happened at all. He was already becoming a fond memory you would treasure forever. One day you would remember him as a testament to your youth, to being exciting and risky. But for now, the smell of his cologne still lingered in the room, the sound of his moans still rang in your ears.

You made your flight just before the gate closed, having taken too much time in the bathroom trying to cool your flushed face, smooth your mussed hair, rid yourself of the smell of sex that seemed to stick to you. You didn't miss how the flight attendant rolled her eyes at your approach, scanning your ticket and allowing you to enter the bridge. Luckily your employer had sprung for a first class seat, so you didn’t have to rush the length of the plane in order to find your row. You were grateful to find an empty spot in the overhead bin only a few rows ahead of where your seat should be, quickly stowing it away before moving between the aisle apologetically. You were thankful you had chosen an aisle seat so you wouldn't have to ask whatever poor sap was sat next to you to get up so you could sit down. Finally you arrived at the row and seat number that matched your ticket. Raising your head from your triple check of your seat number you saw your seatmate. A broad, beautifully built blonde man in a black knit sweater whose cum was still sticking to your legs. He gawked at you, you felt your mouth mirroring his in a surprised O. 

“This is your seat?” Was the only thing you could think to ask. 

Before he could stutter out an answer the flight attendant who you had already wronged interjected, “Ma’am, please find your seat and sit down.” 

You nodded, still in disbelief staring at him as he stared back at you. You took your seat next to him, your shoulders touching. Such a small touch felt electric as though he hadn’t been inside of you just minutes earlier. Neither of you could say anything yet, stunned, elated silence settling in the inches between your seats. Without having to say a thing, Nanami reached across the arm rest and picked up your hand, closing it in his. You turned to meet his eyes, which were somehow more brilliant and inviting than they had been. It would take eight hours and some change before you reached New York City, eight more hours with him. Eight more hours. 

ooooooooh! maybe a cheeky part 2? :P who knows!!! I really hope you guys enjoyed this one! Thank you so much for reading, and for all of your support with my writing, it makes me so happy. Love as always, --Doodle.

[leannareneehieber]

GOTHIC & DARK ACADEMIA ENTHUSIASTS!

DARLINGS! Just noticed the double-volume revised edition of STRANGELY BEAUTIFUL via @torbooks is on super-eBook-sale right now. 684 pages! For only $3.99! Via Kindle, Kobo & Apple Books! Includes THE STRANGELY BEAUTIFUL TALE OF MISS PERCY PARKER and THE DARKLY LUMINOUS FIGHT FOR PERSEPHONE PARKER + extra scenes & content.

This book of my heart is: GOTHIC. It's Jane-Eyre-Meets-Dark-Academia+Hot-For-Teacher+GHOSTS+Greek-Mythology+Jack-the-Ripper+Found-Family

YES, there is a paperback omnibus edition, available via Bookshop.org (my favorite link to send folks to, it supports local bookstores!), B&N and any physical store can order it in. It's on sale too!

Please share? Thank you!

Kindle - Kobo - Apple Books

[duckprintspress]

New Releases from Duck Prints Press!

Duck Prints Press is thrilled to share that we’ve released books and merchandise from our recently completed projects for sale in our webstore! Missed a crowdfunding campaign? Finding out about us for the first? See something you want? Come on over and pick up our anthologies, merch, pride creatures, and more! Here’s the full list of what’s now available!

Add Magic to Taste 2nd Edition:

This second edition of our debut anthology includes 18 stories (instead of the original 20) and also includes all 16 “mini-morsels” originally published as our Kickstarter stretch goal mini-book. The original version is also still available as an e-book.

e-book

trade paperback

Aether Beyond the Binary:

e-book

trade paperback

hard cover

non-binary sky whale enamel pin

front cover art print

holographic plant-watering bot sticker

aether dux die-cut sticker

aether musician bookmark

Mythical Pride Creature Die-Cut Stickers and Enamel Pins:

The creatures who have names were dubbed these titles by Kickstarter backers who purchased our name-a-beast bundle!

Aromantic and Agender Pride Kelpie Die-Cut Sticker

Asexual Pride Cerberus Die-Cut Sticker

Bisexual Pride Chimera Die-Cut Sticker

Finlay Nielson, the MLM Pride Nessie Die-Cut Sticker

Genderqueer Pride Hydra Die-Cut Sticker

Non-Binary Pride Dragon Die-Cut Sticker

Jack Rose, the Transgender Pride Pegasus Die-Cut Sticker

Asha the WLW Pride Phoenix Die-Cut Sticker

Aromantic and Agender Pride Kelpie Enamel Pin

Asexual Pride Cerberus Enamel Pin

Bisexual Pride Chimera Enamel Pin

Finlay Nielson, the MLM Pride Nessie Enamel Pin

Genderqueer Pride Hydra Enamel Pin

Non-Binary Pride Dragon Enamel Pin

Jack Rose, the Transgender Pride Pegasus Enamel Pin

Asha the WLW Pride Phoenix Enamel Pin

…and more!

There’s actually only one new “and more” item, but there’s lots of other awesome books and merchandise in our store!

Rainbow Tentacle Heart Die-Cut Sticker

Add Magic to Taste 2nd Edition and Aether Beyond the Binary are also both now available through e-book distribution channels, including many libraries and major retailers! The print-on-demand editions through retailers and local bookstores are pending, as our print-on-demand vendor STILL hasn’t delivered the print proofs for our approval. They’ll be up shortly.

Visit duckprintspress.com/shop NOW!

[see-arcane]

I figured I should interrupt everyone's dash for some notes on current real life things.

This is a hefty one, so I'm tucking everything below:

A little good news. As of this writing, I’ve sold 74 copies of The Vampyres, in eBook and paperback! That’s 74 more than I thought I would ever sell! Thank you to everyone who picked up a copy or asked your library to grab some. Especially when I know I haven’t been the most stellar self-marketer. I can’t remember the last time I opened the septic tank formerly known as Twitter, so it’s all been down to this little corner here and a skinny appearance in Goodreads. Which means I owe any attention this short and sinister tale has received to you all and plain old word-of-mouth.

That said, thank you x100000 to you and any new readers yet to take a look. (And doubly so for those of you who go out of their way to leave comments and reviews around for me to reread ad infinitum.)

For those not in the know, all the info on The Vampyres can be found here, and all my author odds and ends can be found on my website here.

On a less heartening note…

As I’d already expected, the market for career writers is…rough. Copywriting—and writing in general—is technically a big open field (full of caveat descriptions about having to work with/teach AI programs to eventually swallow your job)! Tons of open positions! Most of which either pay you in pocket change while you’re working full time or expect you to singlehandedly run the entire marketing of a business for slightly more pocket change. Everything else is bloated with contract and/or freelance work*.

*Read: Gig economy schlock trying to pass for an actual job position with payment being a coin toss. I’ve also seen one too many listings on the job boards that are volunteer positions. Plenty of exposure to rake in though, right? Ha. Ha ha.

I’ve still been applying like clockwork, same as the rest of my fellow creators trying to get by in a field that seems to actively punish trying to be a professional in said field, and still no bites further than an interview. I have years of experience and a degree, but everyone’s chasing the same crumbs, so. Yeah. I’ve got to start padding things out.

Reminder that I do have a (barely peddled) Ko-Fi. It’s there for art commissions and chucking a few spare bucks at. Which is an increasingly big ask these days, I know. You can’t scroll two posts down without hitting someone else’s Ko-Fi, Patreon, GoFundMe, Kickstarter, et cetera. We’re drowning in arting starvists here. And although I have been asked before whether I would consider going full Freelance Storywriter on top of selling art, I’m still a little hesitant on it. I do occasionally send out story submissions and have even gotten published a few times, but I get nauseous thinking about:

1) Putting up a paywall on the scribbles that assail me like a baseball bat wielded by an unmerciful Muse. 2) Putting up a ‘Stories for Sale!’ sign only to wind up disappointing prospective buyers because I didn’t do their blorbos justice even after researching X background for the piece. 3) Getting duped into being a nonconsenting ghostwriter and discovering someone else has published my work under their own name.

So, still a bit iffy on that. I’ll chew on it. But what else is left?

Before you click the button!

Stop!

NOT YET!

Before you click, please know that I am being serious about this as something to potentially make 1) something of good quality and 2) earn more money than it loses. Looking around at the merch-making/selling options, there are fees involved with making an account just about anywhere in the online store game, give or take the price tweaking needed for shipping and manufacturing blah blah blah.

With that in mind, please do not automatically hit ‘yes’ because you want to be nice. I appreciate it, but this isn’t the same thing as the Ko-Fi where there’s no real loss in just leaving it up and drawing something once every few months. This will take new designs, another subscription to pay for, more logistics to untangle for quality and pricing and all the rest of the mess. Only hit ‘yes’ if you, personally, genuinely, would like to purchase some nefarious See Arcane wares beyond a book or a digital drawing.

[haveyoureadthistransbook]

TransRightsReadathon Sales & Freebies!

I will be collecting books that are reduced or made available for free by authors for the TransRightsReadathon here. Feel free to share any that you know of that I might have missed:

Queeird: A Collection of Unusual Trans Masculine Erotica edited by Max Turner | ebook 2,80 £, paperback 6,30 £

Androids and aliens, werewolves and vampires, furries and… tentacles? This is a collection of unusual, and at times monstrous, erotica featuring trans masculine characters. From the ridiculous to the romantic, expect kinks, quirks and tropes. All the stories feature trans masculine main characters, with a variety of cis, trans female, trans male and non-binary lovers.

Deck the Holes by WrenVLothaire | ebook 0.50$

It’s Yule, a celebration Aloysius is well versed in but never has the time of year been his favorite. But with Malachai, a partner with whom he’s come to love and cherish, this holiday may not be as somber as it’s always been. This time he has a surprise in store. Let’s just hope the owner of the home approves of the decorations. t4t, trans man MC

Tales of Genesis I-III by H.S. Wolfe | ebook free, (the book one that these short stories are based on costs 1.99$)

Out of the Rain by TinyLesbianRobot | ebook 0.50$

Echo interrupts a lazy morning with a strange request of Ender. The first in a series of shorts set in the Genesis universe and can be read as a stand alone without having read In The Garden Of Echo t4t, trans man MC & trans woman MC

The weather has taken a turn, forcing Flax and Lost to rush for shelter.  But now that they've found a place to dry off, Lost's drenched clothes are clinging to her, and Flax is finding it difficult to keep from staring... This story is a non-canon short set in the world of my novel 'Messenger': just under ten thousand words of warm, fluffy, robot-on-angel-on-human smut, a cozy and affectionate scene between women who love each other a whole lot. transfemme MC

Rien Gray's Trans Rights Readathon Sale | ebooks 60% off, $6.00 for 2 books

Follow a fellowship of sapphic knights as they’re seduced by witches, queens, goddesses—and each other—in a dark, lush fantasy inspired by Arthurian legend. genderfluid butch MC, agender MC

Valerin the Fair by Rien Gray | ebook free (+ other free sapphic books)

genderfluid butch MC

Our Monsters by Jemma Topaz | ebook 69% off, $1,23

Rosemary Dulahan, answering a strange job posting, arrives in Monstertown – a place inhabited by magical beings from another world. Navigating the politics of sphinxes, lamias, and secrets, she must learn how to get along with her non-human coworkers and maybe romance a few monster girls along the way. There's nothing she wants less than getting caught up in a murder mystery troubling all of Monstertown… but the mystery doesn't care what she wants, and she's about to discover the darker side of her new world. trans woman MC

A.A. Fairviews TransRightsReadathon Bundle | ebook free

In celebration of the second TransRightsReathon you can grab A Doctor's Touch and Peaceful in the Dark for free.  Following a trans masc vampire and queer werewolf- these stories are as sweet as they are sensual.  transmasc MC

Bury your Gays & Bound in Flesh | ebook free

Anthology of tragic queer horror & anthology of trans body horror by ghoulish books

The Fealty of Monsters by Ladz | ebook free

Winter 1917. After years on the run from a dangerous cult, twenty-three-year-old Sasza and his father have established themselves among the Odonic Empire’s ruling class. But there’s a problem: Sasza is a vampire, and vampires aren’t supposed to get involved in human governance. What the aristocracy doesn’t know, after all, cannot hurt them. Unfortunately, Sasza is far more involved than a stealth vampire should be. Not only does he work to quell the rumors of the vampires’ responsibility for an unsolved massacre, his lover is also the pro-proletariat Ilya, the Empire’s Finance Minister, who tries to recruit Sasza into the same cult hunting him. Then—the Emperor declares war against the Vampire States. Diplomacy has failed. Sasza quickly learns that he will do anything to preserve peace–including giving in to the monstrosity he spent so many years concealing from even himself. nonbinary MC

Trans Readathon by Wicked Witch Writes | ebook 50% off, $5

Your Body is Not Your Body anthology | ebook $1,99

A centaur seeks illicit surgery in an alien bodily modification club. Two medieval monks react to their transformation and demonic pregnancy in very different ways. A resourceful trans teen destroys sports bigots through the power of pluckiness...and abundant body horror. A stellar cathedral crosses galaxies to dump the corpse of God into a star before the mission devolves into a panoply of psychedelic orgies. A doxxed teen falls victim to violent assault and dishes out some harrowing retribution of their own. Over thirty Trans and Gender Nonconforming creators unite to voice their rage, and the rules of conventional Horror go out the f$%&ing window in this collection featuring murderous pleasure-bots; proselytizing zombies; acid-filled alien cops; science run amok; sorcerers, ghouls, cannibals...and that barely scratches the grave-dirt.

Blood from Stone by Bellamy Scott | ebook PWYW

Hitting a deer while driving a country road is unfortunate, but common enough that no one expects it to re-order the fabric of reality as they know it. For Sam, a rogue stag on a summer night takes his husband, his life, and his name in a single blow. As months of grief pass, he things he's begun to get used to his new reality, until an encounter with a childhood friend changes it all over again. BLOOD FROM STONE is a story of an old lady doing good deeds for bloody boys on the side of the road, of poisoned wine, and of a trans man Becoming Real.

Becoming Light by Riley Nash | ebook free

When people meet me, they see a bright faced, happy-go-lucky kindergarten teacher who will do anything to support his friends. Not everyone knows the struggle I’ve faced to become the man I am today.  Now it’s finally time for the gender-affirming surgery I’ve been dreaming of for years. But when an emergency leaves me without a caretaker, the only person who can take me in is my best friend’s aloof, reclusive, and incredibly sexy dad. The one who has no bedside manner and struggles to communicate. The one I’ve had a crush on for years. The deeper we see into each other’s worlds, the stronger the attraction gets. I’m not sure either of us can make it through the next four days without giving in. Trans man MC

​TransRightsReadathon Sale by Matthew Zakharuk | ebook 50% off, $2.50

a story of trans transhumanism + a dystopian gothic

[post-futurism]

Book update - physical paperback fail and how to get your special munted edition copy

Hi friends! Thank you to everyone who has bought a copy of my book or have expressed interest in purchasing a copy directly from me.

Details about my book can be read here.

If you're new here, the tldr about the sale price of my book is that whatever the online stores price it at is out of my control and regardless of how much they are selling it for, I am remunerated as little as $1-2 per copy sold. The best way to let me see a bit of profit is to purchase directly from me. I have limited copies available, details are below, and an explanation as to why it has taken me so long to advertise this follows.

I haven't had the heart to post about the direct-from-author purchasing option since I received my delivery of author copies in April. What should have been a very exciting moment of opening a big box of the book I spent 6 years writing turned out to be a massive disappointment. It's a small thing, but it's a big thing all the same. It's the cover. It's not quite right and it should be right because I paid someone else to upload my book text and cover and they altered it and now I have about 30 copies of this:

It probably doesn't look bad to anyone else but to me I can tell that the font is wrong and there is a weird graphical glitch around the lettering on my name, most noticeable on letters M, N, Y and W. This glitch is also present on the book spine.

The positive is that it's still legible, it's just not exactly what it was meant to be. It was tampered with. Plus, the box was delivered with a hole in the bottom corner meaning some copies have been damaged by rain and dirt.

I have been told by the company that uploaded the book and organised author copies to be sent to me that I cannot be remunerated for the damaged copies. This company also has not rectified the incorrect cover despite me making a number of requests for them to do so. They have given no explanation and no apology. In fact they haven't contacted me since 14 June 2024.

My yearly subscription with this company is due to expire soon. If I don't make payment, they will remove my book from being available online. At this point, that is no loss to me given that it is being incorrectly listed on Amazon which is currently where the book is listed at its cheapest and most affordable price.

On the plus side, popular online shops like Waterstones, Barnes & Noble and Dymocks have my book listed for sale online with the correct book cover. At this time it is only Amazon and the e-book where the book cover is incorrect.

In any case, I have long lost trust in the company that 'helped' self-publish my book. There were many red flags before we hit go on uploading that I should have listened to. Now I am so fed up with them that I will soon have to relaunch my book.

In any case, I still have 20 Munted Versions of my book which are available to be purchased directly from me for $25 (+$30 for shipping internationally). That's $36 shipping incl. in USD. These copies will come signed by me and include a tailored message to each buyer. If you would like to purchase a copy, DM me. Currently I only have paypal set up but if you're an Australian we can do PayID.

[prokopetz]

You mentioned the RPG Continuum recently, and having read through its wiki page I have to say I’m intrigued. However, I’m having trouble tracking down a “legal” means of procuring it. There is a PDF in the archive of Trove, but on the actual Aetherco site I haven’t been able to track down a store page. I will note that there is a 1999 paperback edition for sale on Amazon for over $200 dollars, just for funsies. Would you happen to know where I could get it legitly (or less legitly if it’s truly un-findable)?

(With reference to this post here.)

The authors of C°ntinuum are infamously hostile to digital distribution of any sort – even the character sheets on the publisher's website are encrypted with a password that appears only in the printed core rulebook. I'm afraid there's no legitimate means of obtaining an ebook version; together with the fact that the physical rulebook has been out of print for over twenty years, anyone who's interested in obtaining the game legally must be prepared to pay collector's prices.

[nkjemisin]

A day in the life

People often ask me what my typical day is like. The truth is that I don’t have a typical day. Occasionally I get to spend the whole day from waking to sleep in glorious creation (writing, editing, researching some historical or cultural tidbit I want to include, sketching out a character arc, maybe just vibing to music that gives me a feel for a character dynamic)! More often the whole day is business (interviews, meetings with editor or agent, going over numbers, fact checking, prepping talks). Most of the time it’s an unholy mishmash of both -- like today:

Woke up. Made breakfast. Let the cats out in the backyard while I enjoyed my coffee. Went for a walk for exercise and to wake up my brain, while chewing on a new idea. Came home eager to write... only to find out there’s an error listing on Amazon selling “the paperback version” of my latest book, which doesn’t have a paperback version yet -- which probably means some stores have been selling the ARCs (which you’re not supposed to sell), or possibly selling brand-new editions published in other countries as used (meaning I’m not getting royalties), or maybe selling some random gibberish-filled made-up book that they’ve labeled mine, ‘cause that happens too. No idea how long this listing has been up, but it’s probably been torpedoing my sales numbers. Tried to look at my sales numbers; portal login isn’t working. Emailed support. Then took unscheduled phone meeting about a payroll portal I use (I have one employee) that has gone sideways and created whole new problems. Solved problems! Employee will get paid on time! But lost an hour. Read contracts. Realized I never received the payment voucher (contract) for a short comic project I’m doing. My God I need more coffee. Found out a short story I sent off more than a week ago did not make it through spam filters. It’s a .docx file. Checked for viruses (none). Decided I needed more coffee even tho I’m not supposed to have more than X amount. Coffeemaker is broken (tears). Ordered new coffeemaker. Phone call with an old colleague from my higher ed days; “Your life must be pretty sweet now!” No, I’m doing the exact same shit every day that I used to do as an admin but now I get to think about using my time on writing, without actually being able to use my time on writing. It’s 1 pm and I’m thinking “What a day.”

(Sidenote: Tumblr’s gif search now brings up some, uh, interesting results. The pornbots have been real busy here too I see! “What a day” brings up so many titties. So many.)

Anyway. I do have a pretty sweet life these days, ngl. But I’m venting here so that people who have any ideas about how glamorous things are for a bestselling author... yeah, no. Work is still work, even in the arts.

[jasmancer]

diving back into reading comics so here are some tips from a former comic store employee:

There is so much more than superhero comics out there. Seriously. The comic book format has been host to groundbreaking autobiographies, subversive fantasy and sci fi, experimental horror, mysteries, romance, barbarian babe booby comics, you name it

If u do really want to get into Marvel or DC superhero comics I'd recommend that you pick a character with a smaller catalogue to get started, and/or find some writers you like and look through their catalogue. A lot of comic writers for the big 2 have great original stuff that gets overlooked. There's also a good chance an author you like has written a comic series!

If you want to read a certain character and don't know where to start just look up (character) reading guide !! a lot of comics Tumblr make them and you'd be surprised just how obscure our blorbos can get.

If you can think of a property, there's a 90% chance a comic of it exists. I have stocked Three Stooges comics before. The industry knows no bounds

If ur USAmerican your library probably has access to the service Hoopla which has tons of comics on it. Seriously you can read them for free in a legitimate way on your phone or computer and all you need is a library card. The app is even set up so you can read panel-by-panel instead of having to zoom way in on text boxes and speech bubbles

KEEP TRACK OF WHAT YOURE READING. I seriously cannot tell you how many times I've started a comic and really enjoyed it only to leave it unfinished because I found another series and got so excited I forgot about the other one. I personally use a spreadsheet I found by looking up a book tracker on Google sheets and modifying it to suit comic books.

If you want to buy comics, I'd recommend you get them in TPB (Trade Paperback) volumes AKA ~Graphic Novels~ instead of individual issues. Typically these will collect a series and each book will be 5-6 issues of a comic apiece, and you can even find some that collect important appearances of certain characters or events that arent necessarily held together by one series. Saves money, time, and space

Good places to get secondhand comics in any format include thriftbooks(dot)com, secondhand book stores with comic bins and graphic novel sections like Half Price Books or Vintage Stock, and mycomicshop(dot)com. Looking through comic bins can be kinda daunting, especially if they're not well organized so I mostly recommend going to the graphic novel shelves instead. If you do want to go digging it's definitely fun though and I'd recommend bringing a buddy so you can show each other weird obscure comics you find and giggle

9/10 times comic books are NOT the investment you think they are. The industry takes advantage of this misconception a lot to try and boost sales that have been falling for decades at this point. I personally wouldn't recommend buying individual issues of series unless they're like a short miniseries or oneshots. I could get into what actually makes a comic book go up in value but this post is already long as hell so I'll just leave it here

Now go forth and read!!!

[colorisbyshe]

Book Depository is shutting down on the 26th of April and in some ways, that's good, because now I can re-direct mostly Americans to book sellers that are NOT owned by Amazon.

But, before I do that, I would like to apologize to a lot of non-Americans who relied on BD to buy harder to find books that are not available in your country. I don't have many alternative resources to offer you because I'm only familiar with what works in America but I welcome any additional comments offering said alternatives.

For everyone, including people who aren't in America, I can offer only this:

Bookfinder: I'm including this first and foremost because you can put in your book title, what country you're in, and it'll do its best to find booksellers and list them by price (WITH shipping already included in that calculation). This DOES include amazon and amazon owned companies. I recommend looking up companies and seeing if they are owned by amazon because a lot are (like BD, like abe books). I won't shame anyone who relies on amazon because sometimes amazon/amazon-owned companies are all that's available. I just want to recognize that Amazon is controlling the flow of available media is a problem.

For Americans (and possibly other countries):

Betterworldbooks

Book Outlet

Bookshop: Supports local book sellers

Discover Books

Thriftbooks

I also recommend shopping locally! Indiebound will help you find local book stores.

But if that also fails you, a good method to finding cheaper books without supporting amazon... is to use amazon. Check amazon listings and under paperback (or hard cover), there will be a link saying "other new, used, and collectible." Click that, look up the names of the sellers listed there, and see if they have their own selling platform off of amazon.

If you are still being failed, check your local library. Use apps like hoopla/overdrive/libby/kanopy (the latter being for film). Go INSIDE your local library and see if they have books for sale--some libraries have year round book sales, some have blow out sales just once or twice a year. With books going for 50 cents, a dollar, three max. Lots of people donate NEW, NEVER READ books to these sales.

If you still can't find the books you are looking for, I do recommend piracy. But PLEASE do not publicly share links to good piracy sources on this post. Spreading them publicly is how resources get fucked over. Please communicate more privately. But my one piece of advice is... "[book name] [ebook file type you want] download" is always a good place to start. Look up what file type is best for the device you wanna use, it's so easy.

[a-kind-of-merry-war]

Hello :)

I have One Night in Hartswood in the hardback sunset cover. And I saw this cover on Instagram for All the Painted Stars, but can't find this version anywhere nor a hardback (I'm french and bought ONIH on Amazon last year)

Does this cover actually exist ? Or is it just promotional material ? I think it would look amazing with my copy of One Night but I can't find it anywhere

Hello!!

So. SO. This is a whole thing lmao. We had intended for the UK cover for Stars to match the one for Hartswood. In fact, the UK proof copies/ARCs are also based around this design!

AND THEN. The US release of Hartswood happened, and the US sales have been such that the publisher has decided to replicate the US style cover over here too to see if that impacts sales. The problem is that Stars was loaded onto stores/Goodreads etc with the old cover (the one you sent me), and then it was updated - so there's two covers floating around out there 😅

THIS ALSO MEANS (and some of you may have noticed this already) that the ebook cover for Hartswood has also been changed from the UK version to the US version, and I think that'll be rolled out to the audiobook too.

Oh and! There isn't going to be a hardback copy of Stars, just paperback (and then the various digital versions)

so in summary lmao:

The UK style blue silhouette cover isn't going to be used at all

Stars is only paperback, not hardback

publishing is confusing

Sorry, that was a lot. But now you know! 🌈⭐

[televinita]

Highlights of my Half Price Books Labor Day sale store tour (sightings & purchases edition):

Things Of Interest I Saw & Didn't Get:

-Both Flawless and Heartless by Elsie Silver. flipped through one out of curiosity, and JESUS CHRIST no I will not be reading those ever, ew.

-Magnolia Parks (incredibly ugly what-in-the-generic-2000s-chick-lit newer/traditionally published edition)

Side note: I really appreciate that at least my local branch has committed to putting the smuttier romance novels, even the popular ones (ex. Anna Huang's Kings Of... series), into their "erotica" section. It doesn't mean the ones in regular Romance are necessarily better, but it does help confirm which ones are guaranteed eyeball poison. I hope it also gives some people enough pause to think about their life and choices, confront what they're actually into instead of tee-heeing about ~spice~.

-The Bright Side by Kim Holden, newer & prettier cover edition, a book on my TBR that I can only get through I.L.L., but alas, the spine was not only wrinkled but fully bent into a backwards C. No, we're not spending more than $2 on that condition. >:( (bonus, now that I've had a chance to flip through it...eh, maybe I'm not that interested after all, the writing style doesn't feel that polished)

-The paperback edition of Fangirl with green sprayed edges and 2 color illustrations...which I should have but didn't realize were new for this edition, along with a new introduction, and damn, now I'm kinda mad at myself.

-If one were so inclined, one could have bought nearly the entirety of Colleen Hoover's backlist, including novellas, at a single location. You could do that at one of two locations, in fact.

-The Once Upon a Book Club special edition of A Diamond in London, in the regular section so I think no more than $10, with all its paper ephemera tucked inside. (tempting, but I already turned down an option to buy the full box on eBay for $30, in part because while beautiful, I'm not that enthused by the story. btw, fascinating that it's not listed on their website -- unless it was bought in the last 6 hours, they only have the trade paperback listed, and then this edition at $40).

-Dorothy Lyons horse book! Midnight Moon, for $35. It IS rare, but that's still more than I paid for my copy, and this one had a bit of the top of the spine bitten or torn off, no dust jacket either.

-Young Warriors: Stories of Strength, ed. Tamora Pierce, even though it was under $4, because I practiced miraculous restraint and reminded myself that I can get this through interlibrary loan and I'm literally only interested in her story and her introduction. How I had the strength to do this and still lost my mind later on is unknown, but at least I showed ONE ounce of restraint today.

-The massive Harry Potter World of Stickers book (truly tempting. but even $11.20 (the price after discount), while a great deal objectively, is a lot for stickers I know i won't use / a thick, heavy hardcover)

THINGS I GOT: (might photograph later but absolutely cannot guarantee it)

-A Mimi Matthews book! (Gentleman Jim, regrettably in its uglier original cover rather than the series-matching Perfectly Proper Press one but I'll still take it for access reasons)

-TWO Betty Cavanna books! (ugly Berkley Highland mass-market photo cover editions, and not ones I know or or am that excited about -- A Time for Tenderness and Stars In Her Eyes -- but I will literally buy anything from her. Also they were $3 each and came in plastic sleeves and, if ugly, are at least in perfect condition).

-Speaking of mass market vintage children's paperbacks in plastic sleeves, The Ghost of Five Owl Farm by Wilson Gage because I read another one of her books earlier this year and liked it. Also it was only $2.

-Did You Hear About the Morgans on DVD (clearance) so now we shall never be parted. 🥰

-I did in fact get the $3 pink edition of Fangirl, even though its spine is sun-faded, because I have spent fully two years now looking at the regular price of $10 and continually saying no to it. I just wanted the interior art!

-The Once Upon a Book Club special edition of The Lost Melody by Joanna Davidson Politano, also with its paper ephemera tucked inside, because that one I was somewhat tempted by when it was new, just not enough to get the full box. And it's even prettier than The Diamond of London, and it was only $6, even before the sale.

-Book 3 in the Alanna quartet by Tamora Pierce, in the pretty Atheneum trade paperback editions I'm collecting, on clearance for $2! Just one more I need now, I think. But should probably double-check.

-The Princesses of Iowa which wasn't even on my want-to-own list, but I happened to randomly spot it while walking past, where it was misshelved in adult fiction, and that felt like...a sign? Tell me why I spent $4.20 + tax on this though, even if it IS a pristine paperback, just because I felt surprisingly fondly toward it when I read it. (and it's pretty i guess)

-Scripted Unscripted, a random young-end-of-YA novel on clearance because damn it the cover is so cute and also I simply could not walk away from a premise of "daughter who normally helps her dog-trainer father on Hollywood movie sets randomly gets pulled to work in front of the camera."

[literaticat]

Is it true that most books these days are not getting many, if any, print ARCs? Does getting print ARCs made for your book vs. only getting digital ARCs say anything about how much of a priority you are for your house (especially big 5)? Would love your insight on this!

Definition for Newbies: ARCs (advance readers copies), also sometimes known as AREs (advance readers editions), or "Galleys", are those things that kinda look like paperback books, though they may have a different /plainer cover and they have stamped on them things like "UNCORRECTED PROOF / NOT FINAL / FOR REVIEW ONLY / NOT FOR SALE / PLEASE CHECK QUOTES AGAINST FINAL COPY".

ARCS are marketing material -- the making of them comes out of the marketing budget. They go to bookstores/buyers so they can see what the book is all about and hopefully bring it into their store or library, they go to publications that do reviews, newspapers and magazines who might want to talk about them, and "Big Mouths" who have influence, etc. This all happens some six months or so before publication.

But, in recent years, the use of digital ARCs (eARCs) has gotten much more widespread and normalized. (10 years ago, though eBooks definitely already existed, there's pretty much NO WAY that buyers or reviewers would have been looking at most ARCs in e-format. Now, lots are, for sure!)

Now for some history. Though e-ARCs already existed years ago, of course, everyone grumbled about them -- but they had their real moment to shine during the Pandemic lockdown times. If you will recall, publishers still had books coming out, but the publisher offices, review outlet offices, etc, were closed, and everyone was working from home.

So there was literally nobody in the office to SEND the ARCs out, and nobody in the places they might be sent to RECEIVE them. So, by necessity, it went to mostly digital ARCs at that time, just like we all started to do Zoom meetings instead of in-person meetings.

When business got back to a kind of normal, some decided to carry on with the digital-only. And others went to a hybrid model where they still print them but also have digital. (I can't tell you off the top of the dome which publishers are which - I just know that some still do physical, and others are very definitely NOT doing physical anymore.)

The thing is, as much as I do like physical ARCs, there are very real drawbacks to them. They are EXTREMELY expensive per-unit to print. They are a pain in the ass to ship. And most of them don't actually get read. So like... what are we doing? In a lot of cases, it's kind of a waste of money and resources, actually; that money could be put to better use.

In terms of reviewers and buyers -- I'm sure there ARE some that only want print ARCs -- but I'll bet most find that actually, it really is easier to just look something up on Edelweiss and read it digitally than to get boxes and boxes of physical ARCs that you then have to find a place for (and which will probably end up in the recycling bin).

In terms of marketing: It is less expensive to send finished copies of the book to influencers and whatnot, and they look better, too, so they actually might want to KEEP them and show them off for the camera, etc.

So, in all, I don't think it is surprising that some publishers have cut down or even stopped printing ARCs altogether -- just like the pandemic taught them that, hey, not everyone has to go into the office everyday or even live in NYC, and we can still get work done!

ANYWAY, to answer your questions:

Is it true that most books these days are not getting many, if any, print ARCs? Kinda, yes. Some publishers aren't doing print ARCs at all -- Some publishers are still doing SOME physical ARCs, but yes, probably fewer than in decades past.

Does getting print ARCs made for your book vs. only getting digital ARCs say anything about how much of a priority you are for your house (especially big 5)? I kinda DON'T think that, actually. I think it just depends who your publisher is. In other words -- if your publisher doesn't print ARCs for any books -- you aren't getting ARCs. If they do print ARCs, you probably will get ARCs (though yes, likely fewer than you might have in years past) -- unless they have reason to believe that the ARC money would be better spent in another way.

For example, they often don't want to print ARCs for later books in a series, because like, buyers at the bookstore already know if they are doing well with that series or not, they can look at the books that are already out if they want to know what the series is like. Some "Big Books" don't get digital OR physical ARCs because they don't want them to get pirated or leaked.

But in my experience (not universal obvs!) -- books at publishers that are still doing ARCs are mostly still getting ARCs unless they have specifically said "we're not doing a paper ARC for this for X reason" (series, etc) -- but in those cases they ARE doing other promotions to draw attention to the book/series, sending out finished copies to places for marketing purposes, etc

[polaroidcats]

I assume that you have emotional attachments to objects (because of the print you love) and so have a favourite book which you know you will never read again but can’t throw out (and what is it if I’m right?) ❤️❤️

Hi Rory!!! 💖

oh wow everyone is nailing it with these, you are so, so correct!!!!

My inability to get rid of things I have emotional attachments to definitely applies to books, here is an incomplete list of books I will likely never even read or reread but also will never be able to give away:

My Gregor the Overlander books!! I knew Suzanne Collins mostly from these books and when Hunger Games came out/became popular I tried to tell all my friends about this series because I loved it so much when I was 10-12 years old!! And my first internet name was "Boots" because of the younger sister in that book, I loved her so much. And I don't see myself rereading them anytime soon but I have so many fond memories of absolutely devouring and rererererereading them as a preteen so they will stay forever!

"Die Geschwister Apraksin" by Karla Schneider, this was also one of my fave books when I was around 12-13, I don't remember much, except that it was about 5 orphaned siblings during or after the Russian revolution, and it absolutely broke my heart and I cried more than I had ever cried before when reading a book. I don't even think it was a particularly sad book, I think it just made me very emotional for some reason, to imagine these kids' lives and their struggles. And I read it as part of my local bookstore's initiative where they let kids borrow and read the advanced reader copies of books, and then we wrote little reviews that would get posted on a pinboard at the store. So when I had to give the book back (in order to borrow a new book, it was like a little library system within the bookstore), I immediately asked the bookseller if they had the book in stock because I wanted to buy it with my pocket money, but they only had the paperback and (again) I had gotten so attached to the hardback one and the bookseller could tell how much the book meant to me so she just gifted me the copy I had just returned, the one I read, and that meant so much to me, to get to keep the physical copy that I actually read and not have to buy a new version.

Herzen, Hände und Stimmen by Ian McDonald - I have never read this book, idek what it's about but from the book cover I assume it's scifi. I did an exchange semester in France as a teenager, and my host family didn't speak any german but somehow they got this random (thrifted) german book and they gave it to me bc I speak german. And I've never been that much into scifi but the gesture was so sweet and I have so many nice memories of my time with them, so even though I will probably never read that book I will also never give it away.

A complete translation from Vergils Aeneid with the latin and german text side by side. I did Latin in school, and for our final exams we all had to pick one specialized subject we would have an oral exam on, and my specialized subject in Latin class was the 6th book of the Aeneid, so even though I barely remember any Latin and will definitely not reread that for fun, I enjoyed it back in the day and will never get rid of that book.

I have a book on erotic dream interpretation, idk if that fully counts into this category, but my friend and I saw it when my uni library (!!) had a thrift sale of their old books, and that book was so hilarious, I had to get it and then for a while whenever I had people come over to my flat to pregame I would ask them about their dreams and would then very professionally interpret them with my book. This one might not fully count bc I'm not ruling out that I will never do that again but I haven't looked at it in a long time but would never get rid of it because it's too iconic haha

Okay this got way too long so I'm stopping now, but yeah hahaha you were so correct with this one 😂

make an assumption about me!

[mellowthorn]

my local grocery store has a big stack of translated Assassin’s Fate mass market paperbacks on sale for five euros for some reason.... i am somehow equal amounts delighted at having encountered rote out in the wild while grocery shopping, sad that i have no excuse to buy a copy for myself, and also extremely confused that they are randomly selling (only) the very last book in the series???? why??