pairing – m-nb

Word Count: Click here to reveal7,000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: What would the Earth look like if the very atoms that compose the planet were suffused with magical aether? How would our lives in the modern world be different if this aether was discovered last year, or last decade, or last century, or last millennia? How might the people who inhabit this oh-so-different but still modern Earth explore their gender identities? These are the questions we posed to the 17 authors chosen to contribute to Duck Prints Press's newest anthology Aether Beyond the Binary. Their diverse answers are bound together in this must-not-miss collection of stories about magical worlds, adventures and mysteries, new chances and well-earned endings, and characters as gender-diverse as the worlds they inhabit.

Word Count: Click here to reveal69,500 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealLesbian, Questioning (Click here to hide)

Summary: A murdered drag queen. Dozens of suspects. One determined detective. Lieutenant Detective Jenna Ferrari excels at catching criminals, and while she’s come a long way toward taming her temper—thanks to her loving partner, Dr. Miranda McLeod—this case may get the better of her. While Jenna and Randi are in the audience of a regional drag competition, the contestant favored to win is being murdered backstage. Deciding she needs a man on the inside to really find out what’s going on, Jenna sends a member of her team undercover as the murdered queen’s replacement. Will he reveal the killer or long-concealed truths about himself? Who killed the queen? Was it a nasty anti-LGBTQ protestor, a homophobic pastor, the victim’s ex-boyfriend, another competitor, or someone nobody suspects? The killer isn’t done. Enter the fabulous world of drag in this established-couple, sapphic, queer-inclusive whodunit mystery novel.

Word Count: Click here to reveal150000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Stronghold Fair Haven by the Sea is a beacon in a sometimes harsh world, open to all and deliberately, stubbornly kind. It also holds the honour and responsibility of hosting an atelier, a workshop for the rare and highly-prized magical engineers known as Mancers. Hazel lives a comfortable, contented life in Stronghold Haven as a member of the team of elite bodyguards protecting the resident Mancer. But when another Mancer comes knocking on Haven's door to plead for refuge from the stronghold zhey've just escaped, zhey bring the looming threat of invasion in zheir wake. Ash is disruptive to Hazel's peaceful routine in more ways than just that: to his own surprise, he's hopelessly attracted to the prickly, secretive Mancer. This might be the start of something precious...or the end of everything he holds dear.

Word Count: Click here to reveal38000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealAce, Aromantic, Bisexual, Demigender, Demisexual (Click here to hide)

Summary: RISE (noun / verb) Eight definitions to inspire writers around the world, and an unlimited number of possible stories to tell: 1) An upward slope or movement 2) A beginning or origin 3) An increase in amount or number 4) An angry reaction 5) To take up arms 6) To return from death 7) To become heartened or elated 8) To exert oneself to meet a challenge Rise 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 reveal75000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: A gender-fluid cutie, a workaholic hottie, and a hookup gone right.   Blake No romantic relationship could ever compete with my dream job. Sure, it gets lonely, but that’s what occasional hookups are for. Work-life balance? Who cares? I certainly don’t. Until chest pains bring me to my knees and land me in the emergency room.   It’s a wake-up call I can’t afford to ignore.   When my well-meaning family encourages me to make some major life changes, like hiring a meditation and physiotherapy coach, whatever that is, I’m worried enough to agree.   Imagine my surprise when my practitioner turns out to be the hookup I haven’t been able to forget.   Stef What’s a fabulously vivacious gender-fluid beauty to do when stress is high and Prince Charmings aren’t lined up at their door? Head to the club to recharge my sparkle on the dance floor. I have no intention of hooking up with anyone. Hookups are not my thing.   Then I see the slightly older hottie in the Tom Ford suit, and all my self-restraint goes up in a blast of glitter. When it turns out he’s my new meditation client and my friend's older brother, I’m sure the universe is messing with me.   Because mixing business with pleasure is a huge no-no. So why does my heart keep shouting yes? Free Me is a low-angst, opposites attract, worlds collide, contemporary LGBTQ romance about a hookup gone right. It contains no cheating, and a guaranteed HEA.

Word Count: Click here to reveal51700 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: It’s been four years since the Killing Game turned Reis and Edgar’s lives upside-down. Believing the past to be behind them, they’ve tried to move on with their lives. Edgar has returned to freelance computer programming, while Reis is training to become a Bureau agent. Emily is about to marry, and Reis’s biggest concern is what to wear to the wedding as they navigate the rocky seas of their gender identity. The peace they won is soon cast into doubt as Tony Anvas is released from prison. Shortly after, Edgar and Reis are thrust into a conspiracy more deadly and dangerous than the Killing Game when Anvas stages a coup d’etat, forcibly severing the Twin City-States in a bloody and brutal attack. It’s once again up to Reis and Edgar to save the day, but Edgar is still suffering the after-effects of trauma and Reis is trying to determine whether to go ahead with medical transition. Can they outwit Anvas’s machinations once again and emerge whole—and if so, what will it cost them?

Word Count: Click here to reveal100000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Nineteen-year-old Bruno has a secret he can never tell. The sort of secret that means he can never have anything more than sort of friends. Never get close to anyone. Never have a random hook-up or even a kiss—apart from that one time in a club when some beautiful guy wearing luminous wings and neon bangles up his arms, kissed him. His secret means getting fired from job after job washing dishes, until delivering mysterious packages around London is his only way of making any money. His secret means his life is, at its heart, a lie. Bruno thinks he can live that lie. Alone in his empty, furniture-less flat, he thinks he has to. Until the lonely boy next door throws up on him and they get stuck in a lift together. But that’s the problem when someone starts to care about you, your secrets get harder to hide. And as he and Alexei gets closer, Bruno realises that his only real choice is between hiding his heart and trusting it. Alexei is confused. About everything. Hiding out in a room in his cousin's flat, he tries to convince himself that’s where he needs to stay. Bad things happen outside. Things that might make his world grow even darker. Things he doesn’t think he can deal with. He doesn’t want to have feelings for Bruno. Feelings terrify him. But when he starts to understand Bruno has his own troubles, helping him becomes the only thing Alexei wants to do.

Word Count: Click here to reveal33000 (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: Clarity (noun) Four definitions to inspire writers around the world and an unlimited number of possible stories to tell: 1) Coherent and intelligible 2) Transparent or pure 3) Attaining certainty about something 4) Easy to see or hear Clarity 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 reveal52108 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Do you crave science fiction, fantasy, and horror stories with a dash of the erotic and romantic, featuring transmasculine leads? Welcome to TRANSLITERATION. The top surgeon whose price is free—with an asterisk. Loving a machine that cannot love you back. A world where suicide has become the accepted norm. Medical science in an age where curatives are only for the rich. The ultimate gift that cannot save a failing marriage. Trying to keep a normal routine during societal collapse. A strange water creature that preys upon pity to transform its victim into its ideal mate. A dystopian state in which sexual reproduction is a crime. An unusual marriage proposal presented to a young lord. A nonbinary Regent who realizes the dragon is the least of their nation's problems. In this collection of fifteen speculative short stories, Reis Asher seeks to explore past, present, future, and alternate worlds through the lens of transmasculinity. Sometimes bright and optimistic, other times rooted in a deep cynicism about society, TRANSLITERATION examines our hopes, our fears, and our flaws.

Word Count: Click here to reveal64548 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: What if cyborgs suffered body dysphoria? In his mid-forties, former cop turned career bureaucrat Nolan Rogers is diagnosed with terminal cancer. His best friend Elly Takahara convinces him to undergo the process of body conversion, where his brain is transplanted into a robotic body. The operation is successful, but Nolan quickly finds himself adrift in a body that doesn't eat or physically react to emotion. For the first time in years, he's suffering from a new kind of body dysphoria, a sensation he hoped to have left behind when he transitioned to male decades ago. During this crisis, he meets Tallis, a proud nonbinary body convert who sued his parents for the right to give up his flesh and blood body. Tallis is fire to Nolan's water, and whereas Nolan just wants to fit in, Tallis is determined to stand out in a world where being a cyborg marks one for discrimination and worse. Despite hitting it off poorly, an undeniable attraction blossoms between the pair, and they become entwined in a complicated relationship. Nolan can't understand Tallis, but he wants to. Trapped in his own narrow confines of what he believes the world to be, Tallis challenges everything he thought he knew. Can Nolan learn to love who he is now, or will he find himself drawn into the ranks of the Regretters, an organization of cyborgs campaigning to outlaw body conversion altogether?

Word Count: Click here to reveal144300 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Book 1-5 in the TALES OF THE FOREST series The Forester Kelnaht, a cloud elf, is a truth seeker caught between love and faith, when a murder reveals an illicit affair between two tree elves he desires more than he can admit. Kelnaht’s former lover Ianys once betrayed him, and the shunned forester Taruif is not allowed to talk to anyone but the guide, their spiritual pathfinder. Lost and Found A stripling goes missing from the tribe, and heavy rainfall hides all traces of his whereabouts. With days creeping by without a lead, it’s hard to keep the tribe’s spirits up, more so when Kelnaht’s own future depends on the elders. Taruif has been shunned for almost twenty turns, but now that a possible forester’s apprentice is coming of age, the elders consider reducing his sentence. Taruif could be set free. Full Circle When several children fall ill with more than a summer bug, truth seeker Kelnaht is assigned to investigate. What he finds is deadly and threatens the life of every underage child in the tribe, including Ianys’ daughter Atèn. Then a wounded traveller is found in the forest, left to die after a vicious attack. Oren's Right Forester Veld loses a piece of himself to mute baker Oren when they first meet, but Oren is vowed to Haram. When Haram is killed, Veld has no intention of dishonouring his memory, but his death may not have been an accident. Only a forester can learn what the trees have seen. However, Oren's independence is threatened, and if Veld does not offer what Oren needs, Oren may never be his to claim. Twenty-Five Turns Fear of moving farther away from his family had cost Eer the love of his life. When Kat returns after twenty-five turns…with a son, any hope Eer has of rekindling their love seems doomed to fail because a murderer’s taste for revenge forces Kat to choose between endangering their family or running… and leaving Eer behind, again. ___________________________ TALES OF THE FOREST is an ongoing series of standalone stories linked by a forest world. Content warnings are available in the books' front matter and on the author's website.

Word Count: Click here to reveal31600 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Can love last when one won’t leave, and the other can’t stay? Fear of moving farther away from his family had cost Eer the love of his life, but now, after twenty-five turns, Kat has returned…with a son, and Eer’s feelings resurface as if it had been only yesterday since they’d first kissed. But any hope Eer has of rekindling their love seems doomed to fail when a murderer’s taste for revenge forces Kat to choose between endangering their family or running… and leaving Eer behind, again. ___________________________ wordcount: 31,600 words TALES OF THE FOREST is an ongoing series of standalone stories linked by a forest world. Content warnings are available in the book's front matter and on the author's website.

Word Count: Click here to reveal89000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay, Intersex (Click here to hide)

Summary: It was always a monstrous lie... Born with a sexual development disorder, Chyna Davidson should have been raised as a male, but due to an epic parenting fail, is being raised as female. Hiding the truth becomes more difficult when Chyna hits puberty, and crushing over Luca Dilorio, her brother's best friend, adds another element to Chyna’s struggle to fit in. Growing up with two dads and two gay uncles has given Luca a unique perspective on gender roles, but not all the answers. He’s had a secret crush on his straight best friend, Chip, for years. Suddenly, Luca finds himself attracted to Chyna, Chip’s twin sister. Now he's wondering if this means he’s bisexual. With Lil and Grier away on vacation, fifteen-year-old Luca is left in the care of Chicago Bear, Clark Stevens, and his partner, Dr. Jody Williams. Is his moral compass strong enough to guide him successfully through this period of discovery without his parents loving presence or will he succumb to peer pressure and shatter Chyna's dreams for happiness?

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 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 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 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.