Bio: Ocean writes about ordinary women in extraordinary situations. She's published in a variety of genres including a children's story, lesfic romance, action adventure, thriller, and a light-hearted urban fantasy novella. Her preference is to write about the strange and unusual and hopes to delight readers by making them both laugh and shiver during the same story.
You can follow Ocean on Twitter @oceanwrites, her website: oceanldy.com, FB @oceanwrites, or email her at oceanwrites@gmail.com |
A love she can’t escape. A creature so powerful it bends the limits of time… Smart, sassy, and sanguine, Des Mildue is a traveling sellsword in Rescalin, a dry and dusty kingdom full of rogues, opportunists, and thieves. She keeps her nose clean, brazens it out with a blade when she can’t, and keeps others at arm’s length where they can’t mess up her plans. That is, until a sword fight gone wrong leaves her tied by blood to the first dragon hatched in centuries. Suddenly, Des has to contend with a new voice in her head: haughty, willful Esquidamelion. Des wants to leave Squid by the roadside, but the blood bond has other ideas. With half the world on their tail - including Liv, her beautiful, faithless ex who Des is definitely over - Des must search for answers for why so many are willing to kill, maim and torture to get their hands on Squid. But she’s beginning to suspect her blood bond has tied her not only to a dragon, but to a fight for Rescalin’s future… …and no one else even knows it’s at risk.
Bio: JC Rycroft is a fantasy author, living, working and writing on the unceded land of the Wadawurrung people.Their work draws on high and epic fantasy tropes, mixed with a dollop of queer romance, humour and wit, flawed but fabulous feminist heroes and diverse-in-all-the-ways characters, liberally sprinkled with philosophical concepts brought to life. She loves bringing together the apparent contradictions: high theory and silly humour, profound political concerns with a rollicking good story, and ordinary people with unexpected demands to heroism.
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Bio: Lark has been writing in one form or another almost her entire life. Next to books, her great loves are diving and coffee...and her wife and son, of course. And cats.
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Historical – Say Their Names by Karen D. Badger
Synopsis: Jo Benson is a political science professor. Tam Allen is a cardiac care nurse. Jo and Tam met several years previously, at a demonstration protesting police brutality against the black community. After several years together, they relocate from South Carolina to upstate New York when Jo is offered a tenured position at the State University of New York. Two years after relocating, Jo and Tam purchase an old mansion in the Adirondack region of New York. History collides when they discover secrets about their new home that will change their lives forever. Join them as they strive to discover who had been living in their attic for sixty years.
Bio: Karen D. Badger was born in Vermont at the end of the hippie era. She is the second of five children and was raised by a divorced mother, who to this day remains one of her best friends. Karen graduated from college in 1978 with B.A.’s in Drama and Elementary Education. Later, she returned to school and in 1994 earned a B.S. in Scientific Mathematics. In addition to writing books, she is currently in her 36th year as an Engineer in the semiconductor computer chip manufacturing field. In 2007, at the Golden Crown Literary Society Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, she met Barb Sawyer, who would later become her wife. Karen and Barb have two grown sons, three grandkids and countless family and friends, all of whom they enjoy immensely. In their spare time they enjoy home improvement projects, karaoke, camping, kayaking and motorcycling.
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Mystery – The Haunting of Oak Springs by Crin Claxton
Synopsis: Ghosts are rising at Oak Springs farm, and supernatural detective Tony Carson is facing her deepest mystery yet. Tony and her Trinidadian best friend, Jade, unravel clues searching for a woman who doesn’t want to be found. Red and Chris are the last lesbians living on the women’s land farm, oblivious to the secrets buried around them. If developers start digging before Tony finds the missing woman, Red and Chris are in trouble. When an old enemy returns to the village, will the rural community of Wooly Mill side with Oak Springs, or will homophobic history repeat itself? And while Tony and Jade are rallying the women’s group, a devious plan is spinning around them. The supernatural detective needs to watch her step. The past has long fingernails, and they’re clawing at the ground beneath Tony’s feet.
Bio: Crin Claxton is the author of the vampire novel Scarlet Thirst. Hir short stories have appeared in numerous anthologies and magazines, including Erotic Interludes 3, 4, and 5 from Bold Strokes Books. S/he has recipes in The Butch Cook Book, and hir poems have been published by Onlywomen Press and La Pluma. Crin is a technician and lighting designer for theatre. S/he was Festival Director for YLAF (York Lesbian Arts Festival) 2007-2009. S/he’s a qualified medical herbalist and lives in London.
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New Author –The Imposed Path ~ The Gem Keepers Saga by Timothy M. David
Synopsis: I’ve been called Hero, Protector, even an Angel. But to act in this manner, there must be an act of brutal savagery. Sorrow, terror, pain is the Hero’s experience. To be a Hero means to live in a nightmare. My name is Emma, and this is my life now. I remember tales about heroes as a kid; full of excitement and fantasy endings. But those are just stories. When I got my powers they seemed exciting and fun; but then reality hit. Cosmic war, invading alien fleets, and the Stone Keepers; these are my reality. Those, and other atrocities caused by our own species, overshadow the hero’s path. Atrocities I’m compelled to act upon, which leave everlasting scars - others can’t see. Myself, my partner, and my new friends, are the latest chosen as Gem Keepers. All of the Gem Keepers before us have fallen to a powerful evil. Now, Earth is thrust into a timeless war, against an unimaginable enemy. We must somehow unite our world, or it will all be lost. The ones I love, those who bring me a sense of happiness, will perish. I refuse to let this happen. So call me a Hero, call me whatever you want. Just understand this was an Imposed Path, and it’s just the beginning. The Imposed Path is the first book in the Gem Keepers Saga. It follows Emma through her eyes, as she and her new friends are forced into a cosmic war. Powerful enemies, invading alien fleets, and the dark side of human nature; is what she must face. Emma's new found love, and friendships; will be her strongest tools in overcoming these challenges. This series will dive into the dark aftermath of Emma’s many experiences - the physical and emotional impact of being a hero. Pain, sorrow, and terror fill this journey; will love and friendship be enough. How much can a hero endure? Will she be able to keep her promise to the one she loves, and Never Let Go.
Bio: Timothy M. David is a recently retired 24 year veteran. He is an avid Sci-Fi and Comic Book fan, but enjoys horror fantasy and crime stories as well. As a hobby he would write short stories, and came up with the idea for the Gem Keepers Saga during his last overseas assignment. He enjoyed the characters and story so much, he started writing his first novel. What was expected to be a single novel, has now become an estimated seven part series. He has many other stories he would like to convert to novels, and make his author dream come true. He hopes people will enjoy his stories, and become fans of his work.
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Paranormal – Consecrated Ground by Virginia Black
Synopsis: Consecrated Ground is a multiracial lesbian paranormal tour de force that will leave you wary of the shadows and absolutely breathless. Like her father before her, Joan Matthews is a witch. For generations, their family of binder witches has protected Calvert, Oregon from vampires by strengthening the land with spellcraft. Pushing back against tradition, Joan defied her father and left town to become a war witch, one who fights the monsters hand-to-hand. But when her father dies, Joan returns to find her hometown assailed by a vampire lord’s endless attacks—and the answers lie with the one woman who chose a rival over Joan. Leigh Phan once believed her heart was safe and her future was set. When Joan left town, Leigh’s choices led to ruin and unintended consequences. Now Leigh harbors a dark secret forcing her to live a moment-to-moment existence. Her only hope of survival lies in trusting the war witch who left her behind. Now it's up to Joan to fight for a town she left behind, while Leigh faces a destiny she never imagined was possible. With Calvert on the brink of total destruction, Joan and Leigh join forces and face inconvenient truths in order to save their town—and each other.
Bio: VIRGINIA BLACK (she/her) likes strong whiskey, loud music, and writing, though not necessarily in that order. When not penning dark speculative fiction, she is almost always reading. Born in California—where even the green is brown—Virginia escaped to the green grass and rain showers of the Pacific Northwest. She lives with her wife of twenty years and their savagely witty teenage daughter. Learn more at virginiablackwrites.com.
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Romance – Baby Bank by Sarah Robinson
Synopsis: Mila Torres is a successful divorce lawyer by day, stand-up comedian by night and by all accounts—except her mother’s—living a bisexual elder millennial’s dream life in Washington, DC. That is, until she realizes she’s only a year away from hitting the ripe old age of thirty-five and her doctor suggests at her annual pap smear that maybe she should consider freezing her eggs if she wants kids in the future. Except, she doesn’t want a child in the far future…she wants a child right now. This poses a bit of a problem since she’s ten swipes past single and living Golden Girls style with two of her best friends who work on Capitol Hill and one ornery old cat. That is, until she hears a story from a friend about a free sperm bank online app called Baby Bank. A few margaritas later and Mila has swiped on over fifty sperm donors until she finds the perfect match—handsome, successful, brilliant, everything you’d want your sperm to be. Now she’s meeting him at a hotel—along with two of her friends for backup—to complete the process. All should have gone smoothly, except when she learns that her sperm donor is the brother of the reporter that Mila has been dodging for months, and that while she originally only wanted this man’s baby, she actually wants his sister, too. In a comedic story of LGBTQIA+ romance and millennial-specific drama, Mila finds that motherhood and dating are not compatible when you keep it all in the family and that the modern millennial woman might not actually be able to have it all.
Bio: Aside from being a Top 10 Barnes & Noble and Amazon Bestseller, Sarah Robinson is a queer woman in Washington, DC area and has two Masters Degrees in criminal and clinical psychology. She works as a mental health therapist by day and novelist by night. In her personal life, she identifies as queer, nonbinary, and is happily married with two gorgeous kiddos in Arlington, Virginia.
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Science Fiction – Unity by Gina A. Pond
Synopsis: Jack Kirby, haunted by the memories of a failed colonization mission and the loss of his lover, seeks solace in a new position as Religious Program Specialist on a remote PreCol station. Surprised to find a new family in his colleagues– his boss, the enigmatic Chaplain Marsha Brooks, cheerful Ensign Jenny, and determined Ensign Mark– he is able to finally start healing. However, after terrorists target a ship from the AI nation of Survey, Jack soon becomes embroiled in an espionage game that has galactic implications. As the stakes rise and dangers loom, can Jack keep his new family safe?
Bio: Gina A. Pond is a science fiction and fantasy writer, who loves imaging a future where humans find their way to not only accepting our differences, but considering those differences assets rather than liabilities. In addition to being a writer, Gina is an ordained Wiccan priest and Christian pastor. She likes to cook, weave and spin yarn, game a bit, has many fountain pens, and is a gadget geek. Gina will soon live in Ireland with her wife.
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Cover - A Perfect Fit by Kellan McKnight
Synopsis: Ella Gardner is a high school English teacher and former volleyball star who lost out on her chance to play in college when she became pregnant with her daughter in her senior year of high school. Fed up with the direction of her life, she acknowledges her sexuality at thirty-five and decides to try online dating. While her first and only foray into that world did not work out the way she had intended, happenstance brought her into the orbit of the woman who would change her life forever.
Parker Chase is everyone's friend and every woman's conquest. She's always looking for her next one-night companion until a statuesque blonde strolls up to her bar one night. She never believed in love at first sight before now, but can she overcome a troublesome past which leaves her feeling unworthy of any lasting affection? The twists and turns on the road to love are never easy to navigate. And with a cast of characters that will make you cry and keep you in stitches from one chapter to the next, this story visits old tropes and looks at them with new eyes. Happily ever after free with purchase.
Bio: Kellan lives in the deep south and shares her life with her beloved wife and an energetic crew of kids and pets. She takes pleasure in life's finer things, indulging in quality dark roast coffees, ice-cold lagers, and advocating for world peace (in that precise order). Her days are often filled with the harmonious mix of audiobooks, heavy metal music on Spotify, and thrilling scary movies (a necessity for her ADHD), or simply seeking a moment of respite through the art of napping, a welcome escape from her bustling yet remarkable life.A lifelong writer, Kellan's journey began when she was a young child, captivated by the beauty of words that sounded alike. By the age of six, her talent had already earned her the title of a published poet, thanks to her mother's support. Her passion for literature and language deepened when she stumbled upon Bram Stoker's "Dracula" in her elementary school library during fourth grade, igniting her love for novels.
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