non-binary

Word Count: Click here to reveal50000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealAce, Non Binary (Click here to hide)

Summary: Can a man with secrets learn to accept himself and find love on a StarStation overrun with pirates? Commander Jax Trest is a man with mysteries, even ones he doesn’t realize. Forced to recover after a harrowing event on board his spaceship, Trest meets Asyran commander, Zoagashta, a person who opens his mind to possibilities and acceptance. As Trest discovers that affection and love don’t have requirements, he begins to relax and sink into the emotions Zoagashta evokes. But all is not peaceful when the Siwu arrive and attempt to kidnap Trest for his ability to bond with ship’s hearts. Through harrowing corridor chases and death-defying leaps into the unknown, will Trest learn to accept all that he is so he can reunite with the person who always understood who he was? Sanctity features asexual awakenings, discovery of one’s true self, sweet courtships, and grumpy/sunshine first loves, along with heart-pounding moments of courageous heroes and villainous pirates.

Word Count: Click here to reveal110000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay, Genderfluid, Genderqueer, Non Binary (Click here to hide)

Summary: Love and acceptance in the small-town of Hollyridge, where there's romance around each corner and dog-friendly wine bars in every neighborhood. Love in Hollyridge is five interconnected novellas, all dual POV. Featuring: age-gap, finding home, loving again, match-making dogs, supportive friends, friends to lovers, instalove, fabulousness, gender fluid character, gay awakening, sleigh rides, hot cider, true love. ♥ Love Limited Edition Will a goofy Labrador, bookish magic and a little assistance from friends, help two men realize their chance at happiness? Brett Tanner never thought he’d love again, it was too much to ask, or want. Then Rory stumbles into Brett's bookstore one evening, awakening his heart. Rory is struggling to find his place in the world. He'd thought moving to the big city was what he needed, but maybe home is where his heart belongs? Originally published in the anthology, Between the Covers. Has been lightly re-edited. ♥ Love Vintage Blend One man is rebuilding his life; the other is trying to keep his from falling apart. Zach is struggling to keep his boutique winery afloat and the summer intern is one more body that will help it happen. One look at Jeff, and Zach knew it was going to be a long, hard summer. ♥ Love Finds a Home Wyatt loves Bennett. Bennett believes he is unlovable. One of them is wrong. ♥ Love From a Stone Skylar Jones has arrived in Hollyridge. Wallace has never hidden his sexuality but as an older, gay, man in a small town, he’s well aware of the haters. Sky is who he is, with no shame. If people don’t appreciate that he’s fabulous they can look the other way. Sky does, however, have a weakness for grouchy old bears and ugly dogs. ♥ Love Comes Home: bonus holiday novella. Elvis has left the building. Again. Rockstar Milo Zajac is back in Hollyridge, hoping to figure out what to do next. Impulsively he bought an old house that needs a lot of work, and he's living there with his husky, Elvis, a master escape artist. When a young husky dog shows up on Davey Childs's ranch, he takes it to the vet, only to discover the irresponsible owner is the grown-up version of the boy he had a crush on in high school. It figures that the eighteen year-old who blew him off has grown into a man who lets his dog run wild. But...it's the holiday season, magic happens. Maybe the two lonely men will find their way back to each other. Maybe the right time is now, not ten years ago.

Word Count: Click here to reveal30000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay, Non Binary, Pansexual (Click here to hide)

Summary: Welcome to Bear Essentials, where we strive to make your inner beauty shine bright. Mel Carter is perfectly content with their life. A chance encounter and a size fifteen foot in their mouth later, content is no longer acceptable. Elias Garcia slammed into Mel's life with a carefree giggle. There was only one thing for a Dommy with a penchant for strict rules like Mel to do, assess their life and take the leap, okay two things. Join Bear Essentials' front-end manager as they discover just how special the full-time genius, part-time free spirit, Elias aka Blu, really is. Ruling It All is an M-NB sweet and fluffy romance with BDSM concepts, an age gap, pets who are "silent" characters, and an AI that will cause more than a little mishap.

Word Count: Click here to reveal120000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay, Non Binary (Click here to hide)

Summary: Once upon a time, there was a stunningly gorgeous mage named Nikki. They were trapped by evil, horrible Jaeggi mages for ten long years until they were rescued by the brave dragon named Gunter. The grumpy red knight swept in, carrying them off to a fair castle, where they lived happily ever after. That’s how the story’s supposed to go, anyway. Nikki would really like to have that fairytale ending, please and thank you. It’s too bad Gunter is oblivious and the Jaeggi are interfering. Nikki may just have to cook up some explosions to help both situations along, because they’re determined to get their happily ever after. Is there a magic how-to guide on things that go boom? Tags: non-binary MC, Grumpy and Sunshine, it’s basically the air we breathe, Gunter needs a hug, Nikki likes to give them, crippling crush at first sight, Nikki has trust issues, for good reason, Nikki’s determined, Gunter is oblivious, mis-used poetry, Alric and Gunter are once again banned from drinking together, ever, schmoop, wall sex, the tongue thing is awesome, all hail Gunter’s tongue, violence, because bad guys, Nikki feels that explosions are an appropriate response to everything, Cameron and Nikki are explosion buddies, Nikki has mixed feelings on high heels, fairytales do come true

Word Count: Click here to reveal36000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealAce, Aromantic, Bisexual, Demigender, Demisexual, Gay, Genderfluid, Genderqueer, Intersex, Lesbian, Non Binary, Questioning, Pansexual, Polyamorous, Straight, Transgender (Click here to hide)

Summary: INK (NOUN) Five definitions to inspire writers around the world and an unlimited number of possible stories to tell: 1) A colored fluid used for writing 2) The action of signing a deal 3) A black liquid ejected by squid 4) Publicity in the written media 5) A slang word for tattoos Ink features 300-word speculative flash fiction stories from across the rainbow spectrum, from the minds of the writers of Queer Sci Fi.

Word Count: Click here to reveal51000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealBisexual, Non Binary (Click here to hide)

Summary: The books in the Fatal Fidelity series are best read in order. This summary contains spoilers for Love Kills Twice (Fatal Fidelity #1). With her husband dead, Justine finds herself balancing newfound freedom and a blossoming relationship with Campbell. They steal her away to a slice of paradise in France, but it’s a working holiday, and their new contract is a heavy hitter. A local diplomat wants her ex-boyfriend—also her ex-bodyguard—dead. He’s been stalking her for weeks, and his years of experience as a Special Forces interrogator make him a hard target to catch. He’ll kill anyone who gets too close: Campbell included. Campbell is used to giving up everything for the job, but old memories and old friends leave a weakness to exploit. Justine takes Campbell back from the brink of a violent collapse, but it comes at a dire price. What survives afterwards will change them both forever.

Word Count: Click here to reveal56057 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealBisexual, Gay, Non Binary (Click here to hide)

Summary: Edgar Tobias works as a freelance computer programmer in the city of Anver. Desperate to escape his deceased fathers’ fame as a hit singer-songwriter duo, he left the city of Kasyova and the arts behind. He doesn’t know he’s about to be targeted in a vicious murder game where the prize is a million dollars in cryptocurrency to the first person who can capture his murder on video. Reis Asher lost everything in the Anverite civil war ten years ago, including their mother. Their father created the agreement known as Unification, which joined Anver and Kasyova to create the Twin City-States of Anver-Kasyova, ending the civil war and ushering in a new era of peace and prosperity. When they discover the Killing Game, they know that it represents a threat to everything they hold dear and set out to stop it. But powerful forces are at work that refuse to be undermined by one stubborn soul and their sense of justice. Someone wants Edgar dead, and they’ll stop at nothing to see him six feet under… even if that means Reis and other innocent bystanders get caught in the crossfire.

Word Count: Click here to reveal45000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealBisexual, Gay, Genderqueer, Non Binary (Click here to hide)

Summary: Grey I was just a divorced, small town, hardware store owner, and the man most people considered a gentleman. A slip up in my strict routine would send the town gossips into a frenzy. Yet I'd grown up in that town and everyone knew everyone. No secrets were safe, but I carried one that would send my world into chaos if I let it. I was falling for a town transplant and one of my best friends, Sugar. He was everything I wasn't. Spontaneous, fun, and knew exactly who he was. What would he see in a boring man like me? Sugar (Shug) I was that fat, nonbinary person who hadn't known the inside of a closet in my life. With a mom like mine, she taught me to never live with regrets, but I had a massive one. I fell in love with my straight, gentlemanly best friend. Grey was everything I wasn't. Thankfully, he was clueless, but our shared friend group wasn't. How long could our friends stay silent in a town as small as ours?

Word Count: Click here to reveal300000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealAce, Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, Non Binary, Straight, Transgender (Click here to hide)

Summary: Liminal Sky chronicles humankind's first journey to the stars. The first three books - the Ariadne Cycle - cover the creation and launch of Ariadne (aka Forever) as she was grown from seed on an asteroid and then launched across the interstellar void. The books are told in epic fashion, with each broken into three parts that span generations. THE STARK DIVIDE Some stories are epic. The Earth is in a state of collapse, with wars breaking out over resources and an environment pushed to the edge by human greed. Three living generation ships have been built with a combination of genetic mastery, artificial intelligence, technology, and raw materials harvested from the asteroid belt. This is the story of one of them—43 Ariadne, or Forever, as her inhabitants call her—a living world that carries the remaining hopes of humanity, and the three generations of scientists, engineers, and explorers working to colonize her. From her humble beginnings as a seedling saved from disaster to the start of her journey across the void of space toward a new home for the human race, The Stark Divide tells the tales of the world, the people who made her, and the few who will become something altogether beyond human. Humankind has just taken its first step toward the stars. THE RISING TIDE The Earth is dead. Five years after the Collapse, the remnants of humanity travel through the stars inside Forever: a living, ever-evolving, self-contained generation ship. When Eddy Tremaine and Andrissa “Andy” Hammond find a hidden world-within-a-world under the mountains, the discovery triggers a chain of events that could fundamentally alter or extinguish life as they know it, culminate in the takeover of the world mind, and end free will for humankind. Eddy, Andy, and a handful of other unlikely heroes must find the courage and ingenuity to stand against the rising tide. Otherwise they might be living through the end days of human history. THE SHORELESS SEA Rise of the Inthworld. The fight for the future isn’t over yet. It could lead to a new beginning, or it might spell the end for the last vestiges of humankind. The generation ship Forever has left Earth behind, but a piece of the old civilization lives on in the Inthworld—a virtual realm that retains memories of Earth's technological wonders and vices. Lilith leads the uprising, and if she sets its inhabitants free, they could destroy Forever. But during the ship's long voyage, humanity has evolved. Liminals with the ability to connect with the world mind and the Inthworld provide a glimmer of hope as they face not only Lilith’s minions, but the mistrust of their own kind as homotypicals fear what they can't understand. The invasion must be stopped, the Inthworld healed, sothe people of Forever can let go of their past and embrace their future.

Word Count: Click here to reveal40000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealBisexual, Non Binary (Click here to hide)

Summary: She needs an assassin. They’re the best in the business. Falling in love was never part of the deal. Desperate to escape her abusive husband, Justine hires a contract killer. Campbell’s services come at a high price, and their dark, seductive charisma leads Justine right into their bed. Hiding an affair while Campbell designs the perfect murder has Justine walking a tightrope of stress, but each time the two of them sleep together, it’s harder not to get attached. Campbell struggles with their own traumatic past, convinced that the truth will drive Justine away. There’s a faint hope that things could work, save for one problem: Justine’s husband wants her dead too. Revenge is easy—heartbreak could cost both of them everything.

Word Count: Click here to reveal42700 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealBisexual, Gay, Genderfluid, Non Binary (Click here to hide)

Summary: Three M/M holiday stories in one festive collection! Home is Where the Christmas Trees Are A grieving brother caring for his niece receives holiday hope from the cute band instructor at his niece’s school. After the death of his sister, physical therapist Dex abandons his urban single life to move to a smaller town and raise his 12-year-old niece Rowan. Christmas is approaching, and he doesn’t have a clue how to make the season merry—for Rowan or for himself. Then he meets Rowan’s teacher, Ed, and things start to get brighter. Middle-school band teacher Ed is kind and handsome, totally single, and likes kids, music, and holiday decorations. He also happens to be killer at trimming Christmas trees. Like a twinkly Christmas elf, Ed brings with him the possibility of love, home, and celebration, and Dex is immediately smitten. But how will Rowan feel about her uncle and her band teacher getting involved? A Holiday Crush Opposites attract as a jaded San Francisco trial lawyer and a young Berkeley activist find their way to love. San Francisco lawyer Brad is in a rut. At forty-one, he’s successful but alone, and even his holidays are predictable. Then attractive but oh-so-young filmmaker and activist Michael invites him out. Michael lives in a group house in Berkeley and as Brad joins the group in their holiday celebrations, he learns that life can be joyful. But he hesitates to saddle Michael with a much-older boyfriend. Michael longs for a partner, and he hopes serious but sweet Brad Halberstam is the one. His housemate reminds him that Michael always latches on to someone during the holidays, so he won’t be alone. After a misunderstanding, Michael loses heart, no longer sure if his relationship with Brad is real or just another holiday crush. Pattern for an Angel Can an angel gown for a little boy let a single dad and a drag queen stitch together a new pattern for love? Hospice nurse Gabe Martin is bisexual but doesn’t have time for love—his main priority is raising Ian, his adopted five-year-old son. Ian loves wearing dresses at home and wants an angel gown for his kindergarten holiday pageant. When Gabe visits a sewing store to get help with Ian’s costume, he’s assisted by a bewitching employee named Loren who opens up Gabe’s focused world. Drag queen Loren Schuster likes playing with gender norms and wearing skirts and dresses in everyday life. A bad breakup killed his interest in serious relationships, but he reconsiders that stance when gorgeous single dad Gabe walks into the shop. Loren helps young Ian see it’s okay to be himself, and together, Loren and Gabe create a new pattern for a family full of love.

Word Count: Click here to reveal80000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealBisexual, Demisexual, Gay, Genderfluid, Genderqueer, Intersex, Lesbian, Non Binary, Questioning, Straight (Click here to hide)

Summary: “In The Unicorn, The Mystery, we meet a unicorn who tells us the story of the seven tapestries, called “The Hunt of the Unicorn” from the 1500s on display in “the unicorn room” in The Cloister in Manhattan, now part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The tapestries tell the story of what is still called an “unsolved mystery.” The story is set in an abbey in France not far from the barn in the countryside where the tapestries were discovered. Pursued by a band of hunters, the unicorn is led along by observing birds, smelling and eating the abbey flowers and fruits (including imbibing in fermented pomegranates), pursuing chaste maidens (there is one in the tapestry) and at times speaks to other animals such as the majestic stag. A magical, medieval world through the eyes of a unicorn and the heretical young monk who is enthralled by her is in The Unicorn, The Mystery by Janet Mason. Hunters are out to capture and perhaps kill the unicorn. The monk’s devotion may turn out to be the unicorn’s rescue or downfall. Like a beautiful tapestry, the novel weaves together theological debate and unforgettable characters, including queer nuns and their secret cat companion. Mason blends myth and history to conjure up a spellbinding vision.” - Kittredge Cherry, Publisher, Qspirit.net, Author of “Jesus in Love: A Novel” “In her latest novel, The Unicorn, the Mystery, Janet Mason weaves a fascinating tale told from the alternating perspectives of a unicorn and a monk. With the gorgeous and magical Unicorn Tapestries at the Cloisters in New York as a conduit, Janet Mason unfolds her story with lyricism, poetry, philosophy, and a profound spiritual consciousness.” - Maria Fama, Poet and Educator, author of The Good for the Good, Other Nations: an animal journal, and other books. “The Unicorn, The Mystery has all the big ideas -- passion, redemption, guilt, loneliness, empathy, pride, destiny, humility, lust, and love — told in simple, down-to-earth language. The unicorn's story will resonate with me for a long time.” - Louis Greenstein, author, The Song of Life Janet Mason, an award-winning creative writer, is the author of THEY, a biblical tale of secret genders (Adelaide Books; 2018). Her book Tea Leaves, a memoir of mothers and daughters (Bella Books; 2012) was chosen by the American Library Association for its 2013 Over the Rainbow List. Tea Leaves also received a Goldie Award. Mason is also a teacher, a Unitarian Universalist lay minister, and blogger.

Word Count: Click here to reveal131000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealAce, Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, Non Binary, Straight, Transgender (Click here to hide)

Summary: As the epic trilogy hurtles toward its conclusion, the fight for the future isn’t over yet. It could lead to a new beginning, or it might spell the end for the last vestiges of humankind. The generation ship Forever has left Earth behind, but a piece of the old civilization lives on in the Inthworld—a virtual realm that retains memories of Earth's technological wonders and vices. A being named Lilith leads the uprising, and if she succeeds in setting its inhabitants free, they could destroy Forever. But during the generation ship's decades-long voyage, humanity has evolved. Liminals with the ability to connect with the world mind and the Inthworld provide a glimmer of hope. They'll have to face not only Lilith’s minions, but also the mistrust of their own kind and persecution from a new government as homotypicals continue to fear what they can't understand. The invasion must be stopped, the Inthworld must be healed, and the people of Forever must let go of their past and embrace what they’re meant to become.

Word Count: Click here to reveal80000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay, Non Binary, Transgender (Click here to hide)

Summary: Beware the demon prince who's sick and tired of running. Federico Duomo is dead, to begin with. But this is only the first bit of Shax's problems resolved. Powerful crime lords and an obscenely wealthy oligarch are still determined to destroy him and his crew, and Fluffy's original owner may be coming after the Brimstone now, too. It would be splendid to be able to take on one thing at a time. Adding to the external conflicts, life on board the Brimstone has only grown increasingly stranger. Shax has no idea what to do with the seven partly human children that Heckle rescued from slavers. Heckle himself has grown short-tempered, even with Mac. Someone from Julian's past catches up to them on Barbary. It's enough to put a demon off his cinnamon buns. Shax isn't panicking, though. In fact he's had it up to his handsome royal nose with the people he loves having to live in constant fear. The fox has turned at bay and the Brimstone's enemies are in for a shock. The demon prince of thieves is coming for them.

Word Count: Click here to reveal30000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay, Non Binary, Pansexual (Click here to hide)

Summary: Flee. Scatter. Take your mates and your offspring and run. The escape pods fall to Earth one by one over the course of weeks, a mysterious and diverse alien diaspora, each pod containing a different alien race and leaving the world's governments scrambling to deal with this unexpected immigration. Serge Kosygin, still grieving and isolated after his husband's death, watches events with gray disinterest until one day he witnesses a pod crash for himself while driving home. Two of the alien visitors have died, but one survives, badly injured, and Serge is determined that if this alien is also going to die, it won't be under the harsh lights of a government facility. Devastated by the loss of his life mates in their desperate effort to reach safety, the knowledge that Een is the last Aalana in this sector of the galaxy only compounds his sorrow. He wakes in an alien dwelling under the care of one of the native dominant builder species, a being who appears to share nothing with Een besides a bipedal structure. Slowly, with the help of his patient and kind host, he discovers they are more similar than he imagined as they share harmonies and his host assists him with language acquisition. Their tentative first contact soon evolves into a deepening friendship, a balm for two grief-weary souls. They'll need each other and their growing bond for the troubles lurking just ahead. Publisher's Note Eating Stars was previously published as part of Meteor Strike: Serge & Een as a novelette. It has undergone extensive rewrites and edits with over 10,000 words of new content added.

Word Count: Click here to reveal17000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealBisexual, Gay, Non Binary (Click here to hide)

Summary: On Canada Day, Undead Canadian Kit, his husband, Edward, and their friend Kamaria to go see the fireworks. While there, Kamaria sees words written in the sky—Help Me. Realizing the fireworks must be involved somehow, Kit steals the ones that look out of place. The ghost responsible for the message refuses to appear while Kit is nearby, but Edward and Kamaria learn the fireworks are blended with the ashes of a deceased woman. The woman, Rose, convinces them to return her ashes to her wife, Petra—so Kit, Kamaria, and Edward head off on a road trip.

Word Count: Click here to reveal96000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealBisexual, Gay, Non Binary, Questioning, Straight (Click here to hide)

Summary: "Vardam needs to be found. We have to know what this thing is capable of, but for God’s sake be discreet! The last thing we need is some idiot journalist suggesting Area 51 has moved across the Atlantic to Buckinghamshire.” Scientist Kurt Lomax’s faltering career and personal problems hit another level when an alluring extraterrestrial shows up at his science lab. Non-binary Vardam has seen the future of the human race, and has travelled through time to prevent the destruction of life on Earth. Talking in sign language through Tom, a secretly employed interpreter, Vardam also reveals their affection for the mentally tortured Kurt, who is the ancestor of the close friend they had to leave behind. The fate of the human race is at stake, but so is the life of a man Vardam has loved from another time. Tom brings light and laughter to the somber laboratory. When he sees the feeling growing between Kurt and Vardam, his matchmaking unwittingly instigates an international crisis.

Word Count: Click here to reveal47000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealAce, Bisexual, Genderfluid, Genderqueer, Non Binary (Click here to hide)

Summary: In the middle of a training trip, Keeska's shuttle navigation fails and strands Keeska on Earth—alone, no way to contact home, and with no chance of help from the locals...until one does. When Eric starts leaving food in front of an abandoned storefront in the crappy strip mall by his house, he thought he was helping a dog or a homeless kid. He gets the shock of his life when he discovers an alien instead. Not sure what else to do, especially with the alien bleeding and in shock, Eric realizes he's about to have an unusual houseguest. But as Keeska's health improves, they both forget that Keeska should probably be finding a way home. As they grow increasingly close, they are forced to figure out the answers to questions they never thought would have to be asked...

Word Count: Click here to reveal100500 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealAce, Genderqueer, Non Binary, Pansexual, Transgender (Click here to hide)

Summary: For Ress, survival is a complicated nightmare. Caught between two masters on different sides of the law, his life is falling apart one bad decision at a time. All he wants is to be is a good person, a loyal family man, and a successful metalsmith—a dream he can never obtain while he works for the Shar-denn, the violent gang that plagues the republic of Kattal. To make matters worse, he works as an informant for the High Council. He scrapes through both jobs waiting for his last breath. As the Shar-denn motto says: the only way out is dead. No stranger to living complicated decisions, Adren is caught between worlds of cir own. As the child of a Shar-denn faction boss, cir life is a conflicted tangle of expectation and duty. When cir family is arrested, Adren manages to escape, but nowhere is safe. Desperate and on the run, Adren is determined to punish Ress for turning in cir family. No one who betrays the gang can live. Ress must pay the price, even if Adren has to go against everything ce is.

Word Count: Click here to reveal40000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealBisexual, Demisexual, Genderqueer, Non Binary, Pansexual, Polyamorous, Transgender (Click here to hide)

Summary: After four years in the Alpha Centauri solar system, astrobiologist Dath Bellin is relieved to be back at ECHO-Crosspoint Space Station. His next mission: return to Earth and take a vacation. There's family to see, R&R to catch up on, and Imbolc to celebrate with his Druid grove—everything he could hope for from a Canadian winter. Unfortunately, everything goes wrong before he can even leave the station. There's also the matter of his exes, whom he can't have back no matter how much he wants them, not after his horrible mistake. For the past four years, Mack Ainsley Tsallis and Kytzia Polović have wanted to know why Dath left them the way he did. They're determined to win him back together, especially since Mack is convinced Dath wasn't completely honest with xem and Kytzia before he ran off to Alpha Centauri. Being ignored isn't cutting it anymore: it's time to start fresh and prove the three of them are perfect for each other.