stories in and

A Million Spinning Moons

A Million Spinning Moons by MJ Anthony

Sometimes a family is an onion farmer discovering herself on sabbatical, her alien girlfriend, and their arctic moon. A short, sapphic romance/coming out story starring a trans protagonist.


Tending Clay; Unearthing Stars

Tending Clay; Unearthing Stars by MJ Anthony

Today I am learning to take anxiety by the hand and teach this trembling, fragile beast that we are (and yet will be) okay. In their debut collection, MJ Anthony navigates a complicated web of intersecting topics such as complex trauma, neurodiversity, lasting illness, and practicing self-love in a body long-alienated from you. Alongside the reader, the author combs tangles into threads and weaves them into a gentler future, re unifying selves and stories both old and new. Part hurting, part healing, and wholly original, Tending Clay, Unearthing Stars is a love letter to everyone living with a broken body or a troubled mind.


The Tongue is Sharp

The Tongue is Sharp by Kassandra Morgan

An anthology of feminine rage for women by women. - My excerpt for this anthology is from my upcoming dark historical vampiric fantasy novel entitled Secrets of the Moon. It’s rooted in real world Old Bohemian in the Czech Republic but with re-imagined history, historical figures and places. It follows the story of a young girl named Kamaria as she struggles to find a place in her world, especially since she’s not human. The excerpt you have here is from a late chapter where Kamaria decides she must save herself. Refusing to bend to the will of a man any further, she releases all the rage she’s held within.


Death Rattle

Death Rattle by Carter Pugh

Accused of murder. Hunted by magic. A city of secrets waiting to unravel. In Death Rattle, murder mystery collides with urban fantasy in a twisty coming-of-age tale where nothing is what it seems. Clarke Carpenter, a 30-year-old nanny and student, craves more than her ordinary life—something magical, something meaningful. But when her roommate is found dead and all signs point to Clarke, her plans for a fresh start crumble fast. As she races to clear her name, Clarke stumbles into a hidden world pulsing just beneath the city streets—a world of fae, shadows, and forgotten power. The truth? It might just be darker than the crime she didn’t commit. Start the Death Book Series today and follow Clarke’s journey through murder, magic, and the messiness of becoming who you were meant to be.


From This Day Forward

From This Day Forward by Wendy Haller

Newlyweds Jay and Emmaline Ellis are the picture-perfect couple, excitedly charting the course of their lives together. Their dreams are big, their plans carefully crafted, and their love unwavering—until a devastating accident turns their world upside down. When Jay sustains a traumatic brain injury, the couple is thrust into an emotional and physical battle they never anticipated. As their future takes a drastically different shape, they must confront questions they never thought they’d face: Is love enough when the life you planned doesn’t seem possible? Can hope mend what feels broken? From this day forward, they’ll have to decide whether to hold on to the promises they made or let tragedy break the future they once planned together. A story of heartbreak, resilience, and the transformative power of love, this story asks: From this day forward, for better or worse, can you hold onto love when everything else feels lost?


A Lab Rat's Guide to Fated Love

A Lab Rat's Guide to Fated Love by Aridam S. Dojie

A LAB RAT'S GUIDE TO FATED LOVE is a swoony, slow burn, speculative romance with MCs in STEM, light paranormal elements, and dual POV đŸ«€đŸ Perfect for fans of Ali Hazelwood and low fantasy K-Dramas! — In another life, he promised to love her first, and she promised to keep him safe. Now, she wants nothing to do with love, and he doesn’t want to be saved. Fate, however, has other plans. Vir Varma wants to die in peace. Rot away alone, on a warm, sunny beach. No more medical procedures and no more feeling his family’s anguish play-by-play while they grieve his impending demise—all thanks to his awful heightened sensitivity to others’ emotions. But when his stubborn brother’s meddling lands him into an experimental program, bringing him face-to-face with Dr. Nori Arya, a nano-biotechnology scientist, her uncanny resemblance to the woman haunting his dreams has Vir questioning his sanity. He’s drawn to her with an irrefutable need to be in her periphery, without reason or logic, and despite the obvious repulsion he senses underneath her stoney façade. A façade that also hides a certain darkness, tucked away in a corner Vir can’t reach. But one he must reach. Now that Nori finally has her first human subject, her rivals refuse to sit back and watch. Their attempts at sabotage threaten both Vir’s life and Nori’s career, compelling her to sneak him away to her grandma’s old cottage in the hills. Only, she isn’t prepared for the complication that is Vir’s ability to see right through her. Or her own embarrassing reactions to his proximity, and the way his presence calms her nerves and stirs things in her she never thought she could feel again. Things she must not feel again. Because when love becomes a minefield of consequences and the cost of holding on gets too high, they must choose what they’re willing to give up first—his sanity or her life.


Echo Sight

Echo Sight by Cian Verati

Having lost one leg already to the monstrous, parasitic senka, Enaka knows that they're not taken seriously as an imperfect shapeshifter among their perfect people. They're determined to prove their usefulness by continuing their dangerous job. But when a routine hunt becomes an assignment to track down an artifact smuggler who may have lured senka to Akert City, Enaka is thrown out of their depth into a world of misinformation and systemic oppression. Their only ally is a mage from an opposing government who claims to know more about Enaka than they do about themself. As the two of them race against time to stop the senka plague before the double new moons, they're confronted by forces both mundane and magical, and disturbing truths emerge that change Enaka's life forever. Will their conviction be enough to save the two million souls who call Akert home? Or are the real monsters much closer than they appear?


Go Easy on Me

Go Easy on Me by Bradley James

How do you rebuild a life shaped by loss? Eight years after a devastating accident left his father permanently disabled, Theo Branson is still carrying the weight of a decision no teenager should have been asked to make. Now in graduate school for mental health counseling, he hopes to find a way forward and focus solely on his education and building his career. After years of dedication to his caregiving responsibilities, he’s ready to live a life that’s his own. But when it comes to romance—something Theo has sworn off entirely—he is urged by his best friend to open his heart to the idea of finding love in his new era of independence. With this push, Theo meets Javier, a gentle music tutor with a quiet sadness, and Randall, an enigmatic Army veteran whose sudden arrival stirs something Theo can’t explain. As he navigates the growing pull between the two men, Theo’s home life begins to unravel—fractured by secrets, addiction, and another tragedy that threatens to undo everything. Just when Theo thinks he’s lost his chance at love and healing, a revelation shifts the world beneath his feet—one that defies logic and opens the door to something both heartbreaking and miraculous.


One For the Money

One For the Money by Holly Monroe

Dr. Alex Shields is not a liar. Or at least, not technically. Is a lie by omission really a lie? What about if it was for a good reason? On the day she drags her suitcases through what is usually an abandoned fairground towards the gray and black striped big top of Cirque de Mordu, Alex is only looking for two things: a steady paycheck and a way to disappear. She’s not looking for an Alpha, and certainly not for a pack. But a circus filled with nearly all Alphas that was expecting their doctor to be the same isn’t exactly the easiest place for a female Omega to lay low, and she finds herself thrown onto the metaphorical tightrope as she struggles to stay balanced. Jude, the big, burly showrunner, isn’t happy she concealed the truth. Quinton and Matteo, the sadomasochistic duo known for their sword and knife play in the ring, are fascinated by her. And the Twisted Twins, Dario and Dexter, have reactions to her that are nowhere near as identical as they are. Alex is running, and the circus may not be the safe place she thought it was to land. She’s going to work out her contract and then leave, because it’s just for the money. Right? ---------------------------- One for the Money is the first book in the Trapped On The Tightrope Duet, a part of the Cirque de Mordu Omegaverse. This a why choose MMMMFM Omegaverse is for readers 18+ and the author encourages you to read the considerations at the front of the book.


Dying Wish

Dying Wish by Hope Everly

Four broken souls. One dying wish. A promise that changes everything. When Joshua dies, his last request isn’t for himself. It’s for the friends he loved. Lexi, Lucas, Maddie, and Nelly swore they’d keep meeting, no matter how much life tried to pull them apart. What started as a fragile vow made in grief becomes the thread holding them together long after he’s gone. Each of them carries scars they’d rather hide: regrets that haunt, dreams that feel out of reach, families that broke them, choices that nearly destroyed them. But when silence and distance would be easier, it’s Joshua’s dying wish that forces them to show up for each other, again and again. Raw, emotional, and deeply human, Dying Wish is a story of love, grief, and survival. It’s about broken people finding strength in one another and discovering that sometimes, the promises forged in loss are the ones that teach us how to live.


Little White Flowers

Little White Flowers by Amber Hathaway

When she and her brother venture to Evanston, Maine to clean out an estranged relative’s estate, horror enthusiast Alice Drayon’s life begins paralleling her favorite page-turners. The sojourn in their grandmother’s “wicked” hometown provides the perfect opportunity for Alice to delve into Grammie’s mysterious past. However, she soon discovers that the horrific event that drove Grammie away is but one small piece of the town’s blighted history. Confronted with increasing hostility from Evanston’s insular religious community as she closes in on the truth, Alice must risk everything to save lives. Her soft-spoken new neighbor, Riley Moore, seems to have answers ... and some dark secrets of his own. Can Alice trust him to help her put an end to Evanston’s insidious practices, or will she become yet another casualty?


You’re Ours

You’re Ours by D.C. Emerson

After yet another boring work conference, Tyler isn't expecting anything when he accepts a dinner invitation from his "work husband,” Jackson, and Jackson's actual husband, Sky. Sure, he's noticed how well Jackson's shoulders fill out his dress shirts, and Sky is quite possibly the most gorgeous person he's ever met, but they're married, and Tyler is as single as it gets. He also has a rough track record with relationships, spending most of his life being accused of being a player, even though all he's ever wanted is close friendship and good sex. ​​ When both Sky and Jackson proposition him, he accepts eagerly, and falls into a whirlwind fling that turns into two incredible friendships—and the sex is amazing! ​ Unfortunately, he doesn't know what that means for him and his continued uncertainty about romantic relationships. When everything comes to a head, will Tyler work out what he wants—and needs—in a relationship? You're Ours is a ​ Check out this LGBTQIA+ romance novella with polyamorous, queer, trans, and aromantic rep .


Brad & Finn

Brad & Finn by D.C. Emerson

Finn I wasn’t even supposed to be going to the reunion. Chloe needed help packing up her mom’s house and I offered to go back to Gomillion with her, as any best friend would. That doesn’t mean I want to reunite with people I haven’t seen in over twenty years. I’m even less interested in socializing at the town bar, especially with the former captain of the football team who I shared a kiss with at the end of senior year. There’s no way he’ll recognize me, and even if he does, I don’t know what he’d think of how much I’ve changed. I’m finally the man I’ve always known I was, but that’s not how Brad Willson used to know me. Brad Everything is finally coming together. I got the promotion I’ve been working towards for years, and I’m back in town to celebrate with all my high school buddies
 except it’s been tough to keep up with everyone. My job runs me ragged, from one end of the country to the other, recruiting for college football so I can one day hope to become the a coach. Part of me has started to wonder if all these lonely nights are worth it, and the gorgeous guy I run into at the bar isn’t helping the matter. When it turns out he’s more than just a random guy, what does that mean for my new job and for me?


Second Chance

Second Chance by S.B. Barnes

Almost a year after the murder that shook Lobell College to its core, the start of a new academic year brings familiar faces back to the scene of the crime. Daniel Rosenbaum starts his first year as dean of the English department and takes a hands-on role in advising students. Lily Peterson and Gianna d’Angelo return to continue their undergrad studies after the death of the professor they were both in love with. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Hudson, Tony d’Angelo is working hard. With his sister back in college, it’s all hands on deck to keep his dad’s auto shop running and take care of his infant niece. He still finds time to spend most nights with his boyfriend, Daniel, although he can’t seem to find the words to talk to his family about his relationship. Tony’s life is exactly what he’s always wanted it to be—so why does he feel like he’s struggling to be himself? When a Lobell professor is once again found murdered, the idyll of the last months is turned on its head. Can Tony and Daniel stay out of harm’s way this time? Or will the fragile new peace they’ve found together be shattered?


Heart First

Heart First by S.B. Barnes

Daniel Rosenbaum leads a predictable life. He’s a professor at Lobell, a small liberal arts college in the Hudson Valley, where he spends his days teaching classes and doing research alongside his friends and fellow professors, Colette and Mario. The biggest change Daniel’s routine has seen in years is when car trouble leads him across the Hudson and into an unexpected romantic encounter with local mechanic Tony. When tragedy strikes in the form of Mario’s murder, Daniel’s orderly life is thrown into chaos. Not only is his friend dead, it seems Mario was keeping secrets that could cause rifts in Lobell’s close-knit community. At first, Daniel’s intensifying relationship with Tony is the only way he can find solace from his grief and confusion. But all too soon, the trail of Mario’s secrets leads Daniel to the same place he’s been seeking comfort: Angel Automotive, the auto repair shop run by Tony’s family. Before long, Daniel is forced to question everything: his friends, his job, the way he lives his life, and the relationship he’s not even sure he’s in yet. Only one thing is for sure: Daniel is falling heart-first—in love or into mortal danger.


Two for Holding

Two for Holding by S.B. Barnes

Tom Crowler has been captain of the San Francisco Sea Lions for a decade of failures. With no cups or trophies to show for his time in the NHL, Tom retreated into himself a long time ago, and that’s exactly where he intends to stay until he retires. But when he catches the new team superstar, Jaxon Grant, in a compromising position, Tom finds it impossible to continue hiding his deepest secret behind a bland, pleasant mask. Jax is everything Tom isn’t: loud, flashy, the winner of multiple NHL Awards, and—oh, yeah—gay enough to get traded to San Francisco because of a potential PR scandal with his old team. At first, he thinks Tom catching him means the next trade, the next rejection for being just a little too much for other people to take. When it turns out the two of them have more in common than talent on the ice, though, Jax finds himself drawn in by pulling Tom out. As animosity gives way to a partnership neither of them saw coming, Tom and Jax are left facing new challenges. Will Jax’s impulsive nature put Tom’s deeply valued privacy at risk? Or will Tom’s reticence force Jax into pretending to be someone he isn’t? And if they can’t even figure each other out, how can they save a struggling NHL team from bad coaching and internal division?


The Break of Dawn

The Break of Dawn by Eule Grey

Cora ‘I am all that I need’ Richards has a prison reputation for being an ice queen. She exists via a strict code of survival: people equal pain—the end. Surprises lead to disappointment; therefore, Cora won’t tolerate the unexpected. Friends? No. Lovers? Never. A hollow nighttime ache in her chest is bothersome, true, but the issue certainly isn’t caused by loneliness. Cora knows who she is and what she isn’t. She gladly accepts a placement at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, not to meet the elusive artist, Sky Sunday, but to finish her prison sentence early. It’s work, nothing more. But the breathtaking landscape, woolly lambs, fluffy ducklings, and friendly artists challenge a woman trying not to feel. Life at the Sculpture Park is vibrant, messy, and warm. Still, it would take someone extraordinary to melt an ice queen such as Cora—the end. Sky Sunday wears dungarees and muddy yellow boots, talks in riddles, listens to Cora’s suggestions, and never belittles her. From the first awkward meeting, attraction sizzles between them. But Sky is rubbish at talking. So is Cora. How can two impenetrable women ever get close? From dawn to dusk, the workers toil on a mysterious, humming sculpture, and nobody knows what it’s supposed to be. If they trust their instincts, Sky insists that something unique will happen on Easter Sunday. Cora abandons the last of her ice armour as dawn breaks, but is it too late to be vulnerable and take a second chance? What happens when an ice queen and a fluffy chick kiss? Can Cora and Sky forget their past and begin a new life together? This story is not the end.


Mission Skyscraper

Mission Skyscraper by Eule Grey

So, anyway, the world doesn’t make sense. By day, I’m a student who avoids teachers, parents, and rules because all they do is shout. I wish they’d leave me alone and stop calling me a lad when sometimes I’m a lass. Oh, plus, I can’t remember where I lived last year. By the way, have you noticed the handsome boy who keeps chatting with me after school? There’s more. By night, I’m a spy on a mission, strong and essential, see? Some call it dreaming, but I know better. My assignment is to track two people who are trapped inside a skyscraper. I’m scared, and so are they. What if I’m not brave enough to save them? So, yeah, things are tricky in both worlds. Two realities and a lot of questions are about to collide, and when they do, nothing can prevent the truth from spilling out. What’s inside the heart of a skyscraper? I’m about to find the answer. See you on the other side.


Walking the Knife's Edge

Walking the Knife's Edge by Elise Carlson

It’s hard to focus on your studies when you’re from the wrong side of town, your dad’s an abusive prick and classmates are intimidated by your skills at hand to hand combat. But for Rarkin, getting into Sythe School means monsters, the chance to contain ones that stray into human occupied zones, and the opportunity to do something meaningful with his life. Even better; it includes an Electric Way pass out of town and travel beyond city limits.​ Rarkin seizes his chance at his dream job with everything he’s got, forcing down traumatic memories to focus on work he knows he could love. But it’s a dangerous time to be holding everything in, to have little contact with friends like brothers, or to be keeping new friends at arm’s length. Sythe’s nemesis, Organised Crime is no longer playing by the ‘rules,’ and Rarkin and his classmates are on the front line. Organised Crime’s bold new tactics tear at the bandages of Rarkin’s unhealed wounds and his unresolved CPTSD. To be the person Rarkin doesn’t believe people saying he can be, he must change his toxically masculine approach to emotions, and break the cycle of violence in his family. If he doesn’t make peace with his past and stop fighting EVERYTHING, he’s on the road to self destruction. In working for Sythe; Rarkin is Walking the Knife’s Edge.


The Killing Song

The Killing Song by Felix Graves

Fierce pirate captain Romada is about to retire from her high-stakes life when her siren girlfriend, Neiara, is abducted right in front of her. Together with Injago—her brother and quartermaster—and the rest of her crew, Romada sets out on what should have been a simple rescue mission, but as they begin raiding the siren holding camps and witness horrors there, they have to make a choice: fully commit to a burgeoning resistance against these atrocities, or stop for nothing and no one to find Neiara before she’s lost to them forever.


Darker Than the Starless Night

Darker Than the Starless Night by Rebecca Brodkey

A tale of gods and titans, the humans caught between them, and the chemistry that binds it all together Yom has found a simple solution to avoiding the obsessive thoughts that have haunted her since burying herself beneath powdered drugs, bodies, and coin. But when her gang’s leader demands loyalty at all costs, Yom’s position as the gang’s head chemist comes under threat. Forced to investigate, she crosses paths with a cagey royal archivist named Quia as they unearth a horrifying conspiracy to reopen the ancient war that ripped the world in two. Quia offers a tenuous cross the dangerous network of provinces to reach the queendom’s capitol, and seek the one mythical person capable of halting the forces of war. On the treacherous odyssey, Yom reckons with blood-thirsty crime lords, the queen’s personal guard, bounty hunters, forest spirits, old gods, and the specter of a friend she lost as a child—her first love—who might still be alive out there. The chemist must face her addiction to powder, her growing feelings for Quia, and the obsessive thoughts that threaten to tear her mind in two, lest she lose herself in her quest to save the world.


What Death Forgets

What Death Forgets by Thea Verdone

Never meet your hero, don't tattoo his art all over your body, and definitely don't fall in love with him. When up-and-coming artist, Asher Blakely, is invited to ​compete for a prestigious art mentorship hosted by his hero, ​the reclusive celebrity artist Leviathan Marks, he’ll do ​whatever it takes to win. Because Asher isn’t just any fan. ​He’s spent hours of pain and thousands of dollars turning ​Leviathan’s art into tattoos on his skin. But the more Asher gets to know the mercurial Leviathan, ​the more he starts to fear that maybe he never should have ​met his hero, that maybe Leviathan is no hero at all. Lev Marks collects people like paintings and he’ll stop at ​nothing to add Asher Blakely to his halls. But after luring ​Asher to his ancestral castle perched atop a tidal island, Lev starts to have second ​thoughts. Because Asher’s art is a mirror showing Lev all the worst ​parts of himself, and he can’t risk his secrets getting out. What Death Forgets is an MM modern gothic romance featuring -master painter x art prodigy protĂ©gĂ© -hurt/comfort -anxiety and ADHD rep‹ -touch-starved MC -angst -age gap‹ -forced proximity -creepy castle -limerence to insta-love -mutual obsession -spicy Perfect for fans of Saltburn, Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier, Sierra Simone's Thornchapel series, and A Picture of Dorian Gray.


Meet Me at the Ruins

Meet Me at the Ruins by Luna Westish

It's 2003, and Margo is reeling from a bad breakup. She’s looking forward to a drama-free semester abroad at the University of Edinburgh, in Scotland. When she meets Ren, her beautiful and mysterious downstairs neighbor, her plans to keep things uncomplicated suddenly vanish. Struggling with the pace of her courses, and unsure of how to nurture her new friendships, Margo's brain works overtime to make sense of her environment. She longs for Ren, but she's unwilling to pine away while he figures out his complicated feelings. Constantly trying to rise above her anxious nature, Margo throws herself into the social – and sensual – opportunities that studying abroad offers. She discovers that her happiness is made up of small but significant moments. She revels in cappuccinos with fluffy foam, long runs past ancient stone buildings, museums with friends, and surprising, spicy encounters. Despite the low rumble of an existential crisis nipping at her feet, Margo is determined to find her place in the world.


The Dravenhearst Brides

The Dravenhearst Brides by Lindsay Barrett

An heiress with a haunted past enters a marriage of convenience with a man as tempting as the devil himself
and likely just as ruinous. After a scandalous debut sent her into recluse, heiress Margaret Greenbrier returns to the Louisville social circuit for the 1933 season. Laudanum prescription or no, Margot is not crazy. She’s not. But perception is reality, and all the money in the world can’t buy the illusion of sanity. Nor, apparently, can it convince even the most red-blooded of men to get into bed with her. Meanwhile, in the heartland of Kentucky, the Great Depression is sinking its roots into the Bluegrass. Prohibition has not been kind to the whiskey industry, and bourbon aristocrat Merrick Dravenhearst is feeling the squeeze. After a chance encounter with a beautiful heiress, sworn bachelor Merrick impulsively throws his hat in the ring for Margot’s hand. Just the right hint of lust, money, and quiet desperation
the best society marriages have been staked on far less, after all. Upon arrival at Dravenhearst Distilling as a newlywed, Margot uncovers the legend of the Dravenhearst suicide brides—two generations of wives, both found dead on the grounds of the distillery. Her new manor home is teeming with ghostly glimmers of the women who lived there before her. And her brooding, beguiling new husband is unaware Margot has brought demons of her own to his estate, initiating a cataclysmic chain of events set to bring long-buried blood-tinged family secrets to the surface. The Dravenhearst Brides is a loose retelling of du Maurier’s Rebecca and is set on a haunted bourbon distillery estate. With a marriage of convenience love story, a brooding Byronic hero, and ghost brides afoot, this book is perfect for fans of Isabel Canas and Crimson Peak.


Lionheart

Lionheart by Melissa Fee Adkins

She wasn’t supposed to fall in love on tour—especially not with her best friend. It’s the summer of 2005, and Kate Kingston is running from something—maybe grief, maybe herself—across the Midwest in a rundown van with her band, Lionheart. Every mile takes her deeper into a tangle of late-night gigs, half-healed heartbreak, and unresolved tension with Jake, her drummer and oldest friend. The plan is simple: survive the DIY tour, avoid her feelings, and definitely don’t fall into Jake’s arms, even if they already feel like home. But secrets don’t stay buried on the road. As their tour spirals through dive bars, motels, and the wreckage of everything unsaid, Kate and Jake must navigate what’s breaking them—and what might be worth saving. Lionheart is a slow-burn, friends-to-lovers romance about found family, grief, healing through music, and the terrifying magic of letting someone see you—really see you—and love you anyway.


Some Can Only Imagine

Some Can Only Imagine by Yennie Fer

Self-published author and artist Yennie Fer recounts her tale of pregnancy losses in this eye-opening memoir. Yennie Fer was thirty-one years old when she started her trying to conceive journey. She was always good with children, so she wanted her own. Adoption was always something she had in mind, but she longed for the journey of pregnancy. Her first pregnancy resulted in an unexpected twist. All Yennie wanted was to be like everyone else who had given birth. Surviving an abusive past, she wanted to undo generational trauma. Yennie faced the struggles of PTSD, unhealthy friendships, mental breakdowns, chronic pain, and horrible doctors. At times, she coped with some dark humor. Being an artist and author, Yennie had the personality of someone very silly and kind. (Sometimes too kind.) Multiple miscarriages had changed her to form into someone she didn’t recognize. A crack that led into her villainess era, perhaps? Some Can Only Imagine brings awareness to those who know and don’t know the struggles of pregnancy losses. It can inspire and tear you apart at the same time. Yennie’s battle for recovering mentally and physically wasn’t an easy one. This book forever hit her the hardest, and you might feel that too.


Trans & Disabled

Trans & Disabled by Alex Iantaffi

To be trans and disabled means to have experienced harassment, discrimination, loneliness, often poverty, to have struggled with feeling unworthy of love. To be trans and disabled means experiencing ableism within our trans communities and transphobia within our disabled communities. To be trans and disabled means to love our fellow trans and disabled people harder than we could ever love ourselves. This anthology brings together vulnerable stories, poems, plays, drawings, and personal essays. They explore how we make sense of ourselves, our intersections of identities and experiences, of how we are treated, and how much love we are capable of, sometimes even for ourselves.


Blue Ridge Calling

Blue Ridge Calling by Olivia Neal

The Appalachian mountains are some of the oldest in the world. They say ancient magic runs through these rivers and valleys. Two years ago, a car accident on a perilous mountain road sent a family into freefall, and none of them have been the same since. Sage used to have everything under perfect grades, record times on the swim team, and carefully medicated ADHD. But ever since her mom died, she' s just been going through the motions, and no one in her family seems to notice. Kora has known Sage' s family her whole life, so losing Sage' s mom was like losing her own. At the end of the summer, she' s supposed to abandon her beloved Blue Ridge mountains for a prestigious art school in New York, but leaving now feels wrong. And an unexpected romance with a new girl in town might complicate things. Then there' s Sam, Sage' s older brother. He' s spent the last two years traipsing through the mountains, trying to find evidence of local ghost stories. He said he would be back by now, but no one has heard from him. To find him, Kora and Sage will have to dig deeper into the myths and legends of the mountains they call home — before it' s too late.


The Great Tree of Iris

The Great Tree of Iris by Jess Skultety

7 Unlikely Companions. 5 Libraries. 1 Hidden Prophecy. The Great Tree of Iris: a place of unmatched healing power for humans. Top scholar Lia Tovar protects the Tree in honor of her dead father, but she has visions of its tragic demise. When Rory Elatha, an elf from the hidden city of Kyrali, arrives seeking experts to save the decaying, sacred sunflower fields, Lia suspects their situations are connected. For once, her books cannot help, and she answers the call. To save the Tree, Lia must learn to trust six allies: - A youthful jeweler - A haunted scholar - A vibrant secret-keeper - An inkdelver on a mission - A wizard seeking a friend - A dragon looking for home When they discover one part of a deadly prophecy, Lia, Rory, and their party search desperately for a way to challenge fate. But as more natural disasters arise in their race across the continent, Lia must decide if she can let Rory into her heart, and if that will free or destroy her. The Great Tree of Iris combines a 30-year-old FMC's map-crossing, world-saving quest with fade-to-black sapphic romance in a queer-normative world. Perfect for fans of Samantha Shannon, L.R. Lam, S.A. Chakraborty, Saara El-Arifi, and J.R.R. Tolkien.


Matsdotter and Adrastus: When A Human Falls In Love With An Archdemon

Matsdotter and Adrastus: When A Human Falls In Love With An Archdemon by Aelina Isaacs

Elochian Adrastus is the pinnacle of demon nobility, and he hates it. When he’s not leading an aristocracy, in therapy, or rebelling against his birthright by running the most famous bar in Levena, he’s solving a millennia old mystery with his newfound friends. He’s particularly fond of the man he’s only known as an author, learning that there's much more to the human than meets the eye. For the first time in over a century, Elochian feels tempted by the prospect of finding his own happy ending. He’s also terrified that any future endeavors will end in death, like they did not so long ago. Quentin Matsdotter has one goal in life, and that’s to blend in. Unfortunately for him, that’s impossible when you’re a certifiable genius, an author, and are friends with some of the most unique people in the town. He’s got everything a man could want, except for someone to call his own. Quentin hasn’t been able to trust his heart to anyone again after experiencing an abusive relationship years ago, but there’s no mistaking how he feels for the enigmatic archdemon. As the snow builds, so does their friendship, and it’s only a matter of time before they open their hearts to each other. If only the past didn’t come back to haunt them. Be prepared to stand up for what you believe in, reveal the truth, and protect those you love, no matter the cost.


Strange Liberty

Strange Liberty by Johannes T. Evans

Salvo Caine, a young man cursed with a magically sapping touch, is convicted of manslaughter and dispatched to an island prison. Once there, he’s offered limited freedom — and affection — by the cold and manipulative prison warden, Guillaume Villiers. Rated M, 27.5k, dark fantasy with some M/M dark romance on the side. Good bit of age gap sexiness, and some medical and care-giving kink as well.


Sucker Love

Sucker Love by Risa Cruise

Noel I’m impossible to love. At least, that’s what my ex-boyfriend said after he moved out and left me short on next month’s rent. Luckily, I've found a sexy solution in the form of Luca, a tattoo artist looking for a place to crash. He’s older, hot, a little awkward
and he’s also in the middle of a divorce. Whatever. All I know is, my new roommate leaves me absolutely breathless. Our arrangement benefits us in more ways than one...as long as I can keep it together. He’s sweeter than I deserve, but that’s only because he doesn’t know how broken I really am. Once he figures that out, he'll leave. Everybody does. Luca Meeting someone like Noel is the last thing I expected after separating from my wife. But I can’t help being drawn to him. He’s gorgeous, talented, and unapologetically himself—something I’ve struggled with my entire life. Moving in with him may be impulsive, but it is convenient. And our chemistry is next level. Yeah, he’s bit of a brat, but this complicated man is showing me everything I’ve denied myself for years. Falling for him feels almost inevitable. But when my past threatens everything, it’s easy to fall back into familiar patterns—and playing it safe could cost me the one person who’s ever really seen me. SUCKER LOVE is a soft D/s, roommates-to-lovers MM romance between a bold art student and a closeted tattoo artist. Unraveling against the vibrant backdrop of Boston, Massachusetts, it's a love story brimming with drama and messy desire.


Fey & Wolf: A Lusefell Novella

Fey & Wolf: A Lusefell Novella by Noah Bodie

Osmond Banes is at his wits' end. Plagued by nightmares from 12 years ago, constant worry about his family, and an unsettling fear of immortality. The one thing keeping him afloat is his longtime partner, Christian Baker, who just returned from a trip across the sea. Upon their reunion, they learn of a growing threat from a monstrous force. This duo of monster hunters sets out to investigate the creatures rumored to have murdered Oz’s father figure and to finally exchange the vows they have been postponing for years.


Some Assembly Required: A Heartstrings & Coffee Beans Novel

Some Assembly Required: A Heartstrings & Coffee Beans Novel by Noah Bodie

Liam Parker is a single dad navigating the chaos of life with his twelve-year-old son, Jack, in a world that seems determined to make things harder for them. Between juggling work, parenting, and the lingering scars of his past, Liam has little time for himself—until a chance encounter at Mocha & Magic, a quirky local cafe, introduces him to Quinn Maher, the enigmatic owner with a penchant for kindness and a complicated history of his own.


Bulwark: Book 2 of the Desert Rose Saga

Bulwark: Book 2 of the Desert Rose Saga by Noah Bodie

The next installment of the Desert Rose Saga follows Simon and Andreas as old wounds are reopened, and they’re forced to confront their growing feelings for one another. What awaits them as they leave the city of Sebree eight months after being sent into isolation? Will Simon be able to confront his inner demons? Will Andreas uncover answers to a surprising revelation about his family? What challenges lie ahead as new foes emerge and a hidden piece of the world’s history claws to light?


The Monsters Among Us

The Monsters Among Us by Kent Priore

“Kent Priore writes like a natural about the supernatural, and The Monsters Among Us is a marvelously dark and true novel. American fiction has found a terrific new voice.” —Joseph O’Neill, PEN/Faulkner Award-Winning Author of Netherland Seth’s life until now has been a product of a diabolical, evil Truman Show, his entire upbringing a façade orchestrated for malevolent purposes. After his beloved dies, he undergoes a demonic metamorphosis, which causes the world’s fictitious walls to crumble. As he tries to piece a semblance of his life back together and move on, he meets friends who inspire, but even more harsh truths are revealed, perhaps too difficult to cope with. The very existence of life and reality is exposed as a machination of grotesque gods. And to defeat them, Seth will have to fill his emptiness, for which there’s only two options
 Bring the world to ruin, or learn to transmute his pain into strength. Fans of "Jerusalem" by Alan Moore, “The Bell Jar” by Sylvia Plath, or “The Master and Margarita” by Mikhail Bulgakovor will enjoy “The Monsters Among Us.” “I was intrigued from the first sentence, determined to spend the night speed-reading so I didn't have to remain in suspense any longer.” -Ella Dupuie, author of Fractures of the Fallen “Supernatural storytelling at its best, this vivid cinematic novel takes the reader on an imaginative journey through what could be considered end of days. The Monster’s Among Us is a masterful creation and a must read—even for those who aren’t fans of fantasy/horror.” —Joni Marie Iraci MFA author of Vatican Daughter


Diminished

Diminished by Erica Rose Eberhart

A queen haunted by ghosts. A dragon cursed in human skin. A kingdom on the brink of war. In the aftermath of her father's death, Queen Greer stands at the edge of grief and revelation. Magic—once forbidden—has returned to Wimleigh, but so have enemies. When a prophetic funeral warns of rising death, it sets into motion a chain of events that will test the mettle of queens, heirs, and warriors alike. As Greer grapples with panic attacks and the vengeful ghost of her father, her sister, Caitriona, struggles under the weight of monstrous expectations. Bearing horns, scales, and the voice of a dragon in her mind, Caitriona must lead a secret mission with Ailith MacCree—now a royal guard—north to find a lost prince who could stop a war—if he’s willing to fight. But treachery weaves through the forests, poisons creep in, and fae assassins lurk in the shadows. With kingdoms falling to darkness, an ancient tree bleeding out its final life, and bonds shattered by betrayal, Wimleigh’s hope rests on a dragon no longer afraid to rise. When magic is reborn and monsters wear crowns, who dares to lead the charge?


Tarnished

Tarnished by Erica Rose Eberhart

An outlawed magic, a hidden curse, and a love tested by fire. In the struggling city of Braewick, a determined 20-year-old gate guard named Ailith MacCree longs for a chance at financial stability and adventure. Little does she know, her wish is about to come true. She accepts a mission from Princess Greer that promises both: escort Princess Caitriona to the Endless Mountains to meet the enigmatic hermit for a great financial reward. Ailith jumps at the opportunity and bids goodbye to all she’s ever known. But as they journey together, Ailith discovers that Caitriona holds a dangerous secret—she possesses powerful magic in a kingdom where magic is outlawed. Ailith and Caitriona face mysterious attacks and supernatural challenges. But as they delve deeper into the treacherous landscape, Ailith learns of Caitriona's tragic past and the dark curse that threatens her very existence. With rebellion brewing in Braewick, and the oppressive king hot on their trail, Ailith must not only navigate her growing feelings for Caitriona, but also fight against relentless foes. As they race against time to stop the curse, Ailith and Caitriona uncover shocking truths about their kingdom, their families, and themselves. Will their burgeoning romance survive the trials ahead? Can they break the curse and save their homeland from tyranny? Join Ailith and Caitriona on a thrilling quest filled with magic, danger, and heart-pounding adventure. Fans of high-stakes fantasy will not want to miss this epic tale.


All I Know So Far

All I Know So Far by Nicole Zelniker

Of course Avery Marsh’s parents decide to divorce their senior year of high school, but what’s way worse, they’re shipping her across the country to spend the year with her extremely closeted, absentee half-brother Lucas and his secret boyfriend. And it’s great that Lucas is living his truth or whatever, but he couldn’t have told his bisexual, nonbinary sibling earlier? Told in journal entries, ALL I KNOW SO FAR is a queer coming of age story about love, hope, and resilience.


We Are Made of Scars and Starlight

We Are Made of Scars and Starlight by Nicole Zelniker

When twenty-five-year-old Kai Larssen agrees to pose as his best friend Mariah’s date at a family gathering, he doesn’t expect to fall—hard—for her twin brother, Ray. Anxious, magnetic, and achingly off-limits, Ray is everything Kai has ever wanted. But coming out to Ray means risking Mariah’s privacy—and their friendship. Back in New York, Kai and Ray grow closer, and Kai finds himself trapped in a tangle of half-truths and unspoken feelings. As the lies pile up, Kai must decide: is love worth the cost of betrayal? Told in luminous prose, We Are Made of Scars and Starlight is a tender, heartbreaking novella about mental health, disability, and queer desire in the heart of the modern city. Poignant and full of hope, it’s a story of self-discovery, chosen family, and the courage it takes to be seen.


Usurper (Children of Lorcan Book 1)

Usurper (Children of Lorcan Book 1) by J. M. Rose

DMITRY PETROV WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE NEXT VAMPIRE KING OF RASPIEN. On the night of his eighteenth birthday, Dmitry unwittingly finds himself at the center of a scandal that turns his life upside down. Stripped of his titles, inheritance, and everything he’s ever known, Dmitry has to learn to live like the other side. Forced to question everything he’s been taught to believe, Dmitry is determined to forge ahead and build a new life far from the intricate politics and poison of a family bound to a golden chair and the weight of a crown once promised. But dressing a prince in overalls does not a pauper make, and no matter the distance he travels or how hard he tries to forget, Dmitry has to face a harsh and inescapable truth; that a fate born into is not so easily shaken. When he finds himself at the beck and call of a boy king with too much power and no patience, Dmitry begins to understand that there is more to inheritance than a title and a crown, and blood—indeed—runs much thicker than water.


The Death Made Prince

The Death Made Prince by Lisette Marshall

A runewitch on the run has only one option left: join forces with the sarcastic, unpleasantly gorgeous necromancer she loathes The man Thraga loved is dead, and her future is in shambles. When she's sentenced to the gallows for killing her lover's murderers, it's a relief more than anything
 until, the night before her execution, a necromancer is thrown into her cell. Escaping with him is her only chance to bring Lark back to life - and also the start of all her troubles. Because her new almost-ally is not just any man returned from death. Fire mage, rogue prince, and son of the man who killed her mother, sharp-tongued Durlain Averre is everything Thraga hates. Worse, he won't revive her lover unless she joins him on a mission of his own first, using her forbidden rune magic to free his sister from the dungeons of an enemy king. But their quest turns into a deadly chase when Thraga's violent past catches up with her. And as the net of court intrigue and old fears closes around them, she begins to find out Lark was not at all the man she thought he was
 And neither is Durlain. The Death-Made Prince is the first book of the Runewitch Saga, an epic enemies to lovers fantasy romance featuring two morally grey leads, OCD rep, and a Norse mythology-inspired world. While it is a slow burn romance, the first book does contain spicy content intended for 18+ readers


Burnt

Burnt by Eldora Deasil

Sweet sins, sticky situations and rules bound to be broken... Apparently sinning has consequences - divorce, jealous ex's, a son who it's becoming increasingly difficult to see. Fortunately, sinning also comes with the benefits of a feisty little cake designer. She's sexy, loud mouthed and just happens to be the daughter of the tea shop owners who took me in at my lowest. Sinners may not be supposed to reap rewards, but after three years of friends with benefits, I'm starting to wonder if I might just have to sin a little more. After all, what's a little stalking between friends? Boo "Yes, Chef!" Friends with benefits with my secret sulky bestie seemed a great idea, three years ago. Now heart palpitations are involved? Not so much. Gabriel Cake testing, she said. Cake testing, yeah, right. It used to be about cake testing. Now I'm not even sure I care about the cake and isn't that a kicker for a pĂątissier? Welcome to Tea Nook, the spiritual tea shop, opened by Bean because the leaves told her to. Can Gabe shackle his restraint back in place to keep what he has or has the devil finally come to claim him? His chest certainly burns, when she comes to play... Contemporary romance author Eldora loves her cinnamon rolls with a little bite, all the spice, and frosted with neurodiversity. All Tea Nook books are readable as stand alone or may be read in chronological order. Eldora promises a HEA and no MC cheating. *** Burnt is a MF Friends to Lovers, Found Family, contemporary tea shop romance. It features a surly chef, who learns to like being a 'Good Boy' and a learning support assistant slash cake designer with ADHD, whose passions involve teasing, crocheting tortoise shell covers, and calling Gabe 'pussycat'.


A Forgotten Legend

A Forgotten Legend by T.M. Baylor

If one thing is true, it is that peace is a fragile thing in Eterin. The Lupegi province, Davegu kingdom, and the wilds of Andyse are anything but united, a tense alliance being the only thing stopping the world from plunging into chaos and death. When a Lupegi mission goes missing under mysterious circumstances and the Southern Coalition of Andyse is attacked during a time of peace, people from all across Eterin end up thrown into the fray. Ancient stories and long forgotten legends are their new truths as they must figure out how to navigate the now treacherous lands of Eterin and keep themselves alive against all odds. ​​--- A Forgotten Legend is an epic dark fantasy that follows six POV characters from across the world of Eterin. It centers themes of truth, the nature of resistance, propaganda, and the importance of knowing history to understand the present. Features LGBTQIA+ and women characters. Intended for mature audiences, please check the content warnings. First book of The Secrets of Eterin series.


Nights in New Eden: A Mystery at The Upshur Manor

Nights in New Eden: A Mystery at The Upshur Manor by A.L. Davidson

There's a mystery afoot in New Eden! After an eventful summer full of romance, sweet treats, and not-so-mild panic for café owner Eli Hawkins, the much anticipated Halloween season is a breath of fresh air. With the joys of the 'ber months on the horizon, Eli aims to make the many upcoming holidays as memorable as possible. The most exciting event on the calendar? The annual Murder Mystery Party at the Upshur's beautiful manor, an exclusive event that he's been dying to attend for years. But balancing the cake orders, a new hire, and his boyfriend's failing health has made New Eden's favorite fallen angel a tad frazzled. Meanwhile, Des Upshur is feeling anxious - but the fact that his soul-fire went out and his heart literally stopped over the summer probably has more to do with it than he wants to admit. Des tries to stay strong for Eli as they head into the fallen angel's favorite time of the year, but his sugary sweet boyfriend's obvious worries are starting to bleed into their romance. Hoping the party at his parents' house - and a visit from his favorite cousin, Daedalus - may help lift both of their spirits, the half-demon tries his best to make the days leading up to Halloween magical. Little does he know, the mystery that awaits them at the manor will change their lives forever.


The Night Farm: The Alluring Ache of Autumn

The Night Farm: The Alluring Ache of Autumn by A.L. Davidson

Changes Blow into Wylder Wood with the arrival of Autumn With the revelation of Rhys’ lineage coming to light following the terrifying first meeting with his long-thought-dead father, the residents of Wylder Wood are forced to accept hidden truths about the founding family that have been buried in the graveyard for generations. The new understanding of what it means to be a Wylder extends to every member of the clan, setting off a chain of events that force each of them to question the long standing traditions that became the very foundation of not only their identities, but the town as a whole. Changes are on the way alongside the falling leaves and cooler winds, and Rhys is excited for a calm autumn that will soon arrive in the Wood. With a fresh outlook and hope in his heart for a better tomorrow, the young farmer looks forward to the blessings of harvest season and shifts his focus to better appreciate the important things in his life. Diving headfirst into farmer’s market planning and nurturing his sweet as pumpkin pie romance with Lex, life on the Night Farm is busier than ever. But with deeply buried secrets and ghosts coming to the surface, family drama on the rise, and a mysterious contract on the farmer’s very soul threatening to upend their happiness, Rhys and the gang must learn to endure the aches alongside the joys if they want to make the most out of the final months of the year. Halloween is on the horizon, and life on The Night Farm will never be the same.


The Night Farm: The Wylder Years

The Night Farm: The Wylder Years by A.L. Davidson

Before they were the last reaper in Wylder Wood... Casper Wylder’s focus is on one thing and one thing alone: learning how to be a mortician. After moving to New Orleans to finish their studies at the prestigious Bloodworth Family funeral home, the fledgling reaper finds the courage to embrace the truth and become the person they’d always knew they could be - if only for a moment. Despite their newfound freedom, nothing matters more than their studies, and Cas’ quiet life is uneventful to say the least. Things change when a handsome blue-eyed coffin maker named Canaan Michaels walks into the funeral home and sweeps the shy mortician off of their feet. A whirlwind romance, set against the magic-filled backdrop of New Orleans in the springtime, begins to blossom between them. Each new day is sweet, but Knowing they’ll have to return home to Wylder Wood come autumn - and say goodbye to their southern gentleman forever - makes Cas wonder if falling in love is worth the risk. Desperately in love with the moon-eyed mortician and eager to please, Cane is determined to break down Cas’ walls. but when he discovers the haunting truth behind his partner’s penchant for the paranormal, he realizes that life as he knew it will never be the same. The coffin maker must decide if giving up his first true home after years of hardship is worth it for an eternity with the mysterious grim reaper who stole his heart, and his choice sets off a chain of events that will change the Wylders, and their beloved town, forever...


A Life in Too Many Margins

A Life in Too Many Margins by S. E. Thomson

David is dying, or maybe he isn't. Hard to say, really, because no one ever gives you a timetable when you're disabled, autistic, queer, and stuck improvising your way through existence. What he does know is this: if life is going to keep punching him in the gut, he might as well write it all down first. A Life in Too Many Margins is the story of a man looking backward while time keeps nudging him forward. From childhood misunderstandings to medical disasters, David is collecting the fragments of a life shaped by truths he didn't discover until far too late: that he's neurodivergent, that his body will never play by the rules. That gender was never the box people insisted it had to be. If you've ever felt like the world wasn't built with you in mind, or if you just enjoy a dark laugh in the middle of disaster, David's story will remind you that sometimes real life only happens
 in the margins.


HOLIEST

HOLIEST by Sancta Seraphina

Deep in the heart of Hell, the Fallen Host is living with as much peace as their Father allows them to have, until one day when a treacherous cherub is cast down into their realm like the star Wormwood from Revelation. Yet all of the other portents from Revelation seem to be missing, with the exception of a mysterious manuscript that begins haunting the Devil's dreams and eventually his waking world as well.


Canvas of Scars

Canvas of Scars by Shane Blackheart

Wandering alone late at night in the dark. Searching for meaning as your heart melts in your ribcage. A longing to be alive, but you're dead and staring through a veil to experience a semblance of life. + + + Canvas of Scars is a collection of dark poetry, short prose, and art with themes of PTSD, depression, psychosis, and other dark subjects.


© 2025 Hakea Media | Terms | Privacy