UPDATE: The winner is…Mary McCoy!
*~*~*

I am an accidental historical romance writer. I didn’t intend to become one of those folks who gleefully researches fashions and famous people and language of the past, but somehow, I keep coming up with ideas where I must. Where I diverge from the usual territory of “historical romance,” though is that I don’t write Regency (yet). I’ve written a lot set in the 1980s—the era of MTV and Ronald Reagan—and now I’m diving into steampunk with an erotic novella entitled The Blossoms of Summer.

When I sat down to write something steampunk, I discovered that it was much more fun to approach it like a Victorian alternate history than to completely invent whole cloth.

I started with my inspiration in the real-life story of adventuring botanist Robert Fortune, who was sent to China as a spy to steal the secret of tea-making and, if possible, to make off with ten thousand seedlings so that England could start tea plantations in India and break the Chinese monopoly. That’s a bit of a downer, of course, if you’re anti-colonialist, but I decided I did really like the idea of the adventuring man of science who is flung into unknown circumstances. What a recipe for an erotic adventure!

Venturing into the unknown, of course, is excellent fodder for erotica. The thrill of the unknown is a classic spice for adding heat. So is the thrill of the forbidden. Thus, I have sent my naturalist, via airship (of course, it is steampunk), into the hidden valleys of Canton, where truly exotic pleasures await him—though, of course, he is unaware of the nature of what lies in store.

And being a proper Victorian gentleman, my Robert is accustomed to repressing his desires. This also added much more heat than I was expecting. I often write heroes who are un-repressed about their sexuality—rock stars who are kinky doms, for example—so delving into the realm of self-restraint was a delicious change of pace.

The third bit of crucial spice I added in The Blossoms of Summer is one of my favorites and one I don’t see very often: the language barrier. Maybe this one is a bit of a personal kink, but I really enjoy reading stories where the characters can’t actually speak to each other, but the smoldering erotic attraction is undeniable, and they come up with ways to understand each other. Maybe call it “the universal language of love/lust” trope? I don’t see it often, so I have to write it myself!

If you’d like a taste of my steamy recipe, the first segment of The Blossoms of Summer is now live on my patreon, and the novella will be released as a book/ebook on August 20.

What about you? What’s your personal kink, what’s your catnip? Comment for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!

About the Author

Cecilia Tan is an award-winning writer of passionate fiction, romance, and erotica. She has written over 30 novels, including the Magic University series, the collection Black Feathers, and many other books. She was inducted into the LGBT Writers and Editors Hall of Fame in 2010. RT Book Reviews awarded her Career Achievement in Erotic Romance in 2015 and her novel Slow Surrender (Hachette/Forever, 2013) won RT Reviewers Choice and the Maggie Award.

Links:

• The Blossoms of Summer on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3Sp2VDt
• The Blossoms of Summer on Cecilia’a patreon: https://www.patreon.com/collection/624166?view=expanded
• “Historical” 1980s fiction: https://daron.ceciliatan.com

UPDATE: The winner is…Pansy Petal!
*~*~*

Hello Delilah!  Thank you for inviting me here to discuss my newest release.  As your readers know, I love writing short stories for anthologies.  Especially charity anthologies.  I’ve seriously lost count of how many I’ve done over the past five years.  My little part to help contribute to worthy causes.  I have to say, though, that my favorite anthologies are the LGBTQ ones.  Might this be because they hit close to home?  Yep, I can say that for certain.  This year, Love is All Volume 7’s proceeds are going to a transgender charity.  I know several trans people in my life as well as having several friends whose children are nonbinary and trans.  That’s a hard road to go down, unfortunately.  The vitriolic rhetoric — and the outright lies told — hurt people I care for.  People I love.

Okay, so 10 authors have come together in this amazing anthology to bring you great stories of love across the LGBTQ spectrum.  This year, my novella is The Boyfriend Arrangement.  I admit, I had fun with this story.  I was given the trope of arranged marriage for another project that fell through.  In the end, I had started this cute little story that I decided to finish, keeping the anthology in mind.  This is the story of two young people, destined for marriage. Josette and Felix were born close together.  Their mothers are best friends.  Naturally, the two will marry.  And everyone’s just sort of gone along with this.  Felix has become an elementary French teacher.  Josette is an interior designer.  When Felix comes into his inheritance and buys a dilapidated old cabin, of course, Josette is going to do all the decorating.

There’s just the little step of renovations.

That’s okay, though, because Josette’s older brother, Jacob, is all about helping his younger sister and the guy she’s going to marry.  Okay, Jacob might’ve noticed Felix.  Their families are friends.  And, okay, Felix might have a crush on Jacob.  That’s… Yeah. A problem.  As he views his cabin with the woman he’s supposed to marry, he comes to the realization he doesn’t love her the way he’s supposed to.

I suspect you can guess the rest of the story — but I love the execution, and I hope readers will as well.  Love is All is a project close to my heart.  I thank you, Delilah, for letting me share it today.  I would love to give away a $5 Amazon Gift Card to one lucky commenter.  Easy one – what’s your favorite trope?  What will you one-click over and over again?  Leave a comment and random might pick you!

Love Is All Volume 7

Get ready to turn the page on love, acceptance, and making a difference with Love Is All: Volume 7!

This limited-edition anthology features swoon-worthy novellas and short stories by ten award-winning and bestselling authors, including A.D. Ellis, Chantal Mer, Gabbi Grey, Lee Blair, Piper Malone, R.L. Merrill, Skylar M. Cates, Sophia Soames, Susan Scott Shelley, and Xio Axelrod. Second-chance sweethearts, steamy encounters, and heartwarming friendships all await you.

All proceeds from the anthology will benefit Advocates for Trans Equality, an organization dedicated to protecting and empowering transgender individuals.

Love Is All: Volume 7 is only available for a limited time.

Links:
Universal Link: https://books2read.com/LIAV7
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Love-All-7-Xio-Axelrod-ebook/dp/B0CTHRJ3GH
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/love-is-all-xio-axelrod/1145597032
KOBO: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/love-is-all-volume-7
Apple:  https://books.apple.com/us/book/love-is-all-volume-7/id6502670886

The Charities

All proceeds from this year’s collection will benefit Advocates for Trans Equality.

Founded in 2024, A4TE brings together the National Center for Transgender Equality (a previous LIA beneficiary), and the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund — two powerhouse champions of trans equality.

About the Authors

Xio Axelrod

Xio Axelrod is a USA Today bestselling author of different flavours of contemporary romance. She also writes what she likes to call strange, twisted tales. Xio grew up in the music industry and began recording at a young age. When she isn’t writing stories, she can be found in the studio, writing songs, or performing on international stages (under a different, no-so-secret name). She lives in Philadelphia with one full-time husband and several part-time cats.

Chantal Mer

Chantal Mer is an author and optimist. Her stories explore relationships and what it means to be family. When she’s not writing about strong women, strong men, and strong love, she can be found walking her adorable dog, volunteering at her kids’ school (in the library, of course), teaching at the local university, and reading.

Chantal lives outside of Philadelphia with her husband, kids, Toffee the Wonder Dog, and vicious cat, Gracie.

Susan Scott Shelley

USA Today bestselling author Susan Scott Shelley writes stories with heat and heart, where love always wins. Her romances give readers lighthearted and emotionally satisfying escapes into happily ever after. In addition to crafting stories, she is also a professional voiceover artist and enjoys lending her voice to a wide range of projects.

She lives in Philadelphia with her husband and is an avid fan of her hometown sports teams. Her favorite things include running (honestly, it’s more like jogging), sports (especially hockey), hard rock (but will listen to anything from heavy metal to show tunes), and writing about people from all walks of life finding their special someone.

Lee Blair

Lee Blair is a queer author from Oregon who writes low angst, funny, M/M contemporary romance. She’s constantly amused by the antics of her two ginger cats, considers daydreaming about future trips to Scotland a part-time job, and is obsessed with Schitt’s Creek to an alarming degree.

Piper Malone

Piper Malone is an award-winning author of sweet and sexy romance.

Dog lover. Reader. Foodie. Coffee, please.

Gabbi Grey

USA Today Bestselling author Gabbi Grey lives in beautiful British Columbia where her fur baby chin-poo keeps her safe from the nasty neighborhood squirrels. Working for the government by day, she spends her early mornings writing contemporary, gay, sweet, and dark erotic BDSM romances. While she firmly believes in happy endings, she also believes in making her characters suffer before finding their true love. She also writes m/f romances as Gabbi Black and Gabbi Powell.

A.D. Ellis

A.D. Ellis is an Indiana girl, born and raised. She spends much of her time in central Indiana as a teacher in the inner city of Indianapolis, being a mom to two amazing teens, and wondering how she and her husband of nearly two decades haven’t driven each other insane yet. A lot of her time is also devoted to phone call avoidance and her hatred of cooking.
She loves chocolate, wine, pizza, and naps along with reading and writing romance. These loves don’t leave much time for housework, much to the chagrin of her husband. Who would pick cleaning the house over a nap or a good book? She uses any extra time to increase her fluency in sarcasm.
A.D. uses she/they pronouns.

R.L. Merrill

Whether she’s writing contemporary romance featuring quirky, queer, and relatable characters or diving deep into the supernatural to give readers a shiver, R.L. Merrill loves creating compelling stories that will stay with readers long after closing the book. Ro writes inclusive romance for the Happily Ever After collective, contributes paranormal hilarity to Robyn Peterman’s Magic and Mayhem Universe, and pens horror-inspired tales and music reviews for HorrorAddicts.net. A mom, wife, daughter, and former educator, you can find her rocking out in her Bronco with Great Dane pup Velma, being terrorized by feline twins Dracula and Frankenstein, or headbanging at a rock show near her home in the San Francisco Bay Area! Stay Tuned for more…

Skylar M. Cates

Skylar M. Cates loves a good romance. She is happy to drink coffee, curl up with a good book, and not move all day. Her novels feature strong and passionate men. Skylar loves to craft stories where realistic characters are challenged with emotional situations. Although lately the laundry room is the farthest place she has visited, Skylar loves to chat with folks from all around the globe.

Sophia Soames

Sophia Soames is a Scandinavian, UK based, Author of contemporary MM romance. She writes stories of everyday people with kids and families living real life fairytales.

The winner is…Diane Sallens!
*~*~*

Hello Delilah!  Thank you for letting me visit today to discuss a fantastic project I’m involved in.

I write all different kinds of queer fiction, and when this contest entered my radar screen a few years ago, it caught my attention.  This is the third year I submitted a 300-word short story, and I was thrilled my story was chosen with 119 others to put together this wonderful collection.  My story is a lesbian shifter romance—not something I’d written before.  I love the speculative nature of Sci-Fi and paranormal. This isn’t our world and yet how does it relate to us? Which elements are the same and which are different?  I invite readers to sink into stories that pack a hell of a punch, even with the short word count.  I know I used every single one to craft a story I hope readers will love.

As a bonus, today, I’d love to give away a $5 Amazon Gift Card.  To enter, just drop a note in the comments.  Let me know—do you read paranormal or Science Fiction?  Is there a particular subgenre you like?  Good luck!

Rise

Every year, Queer Sci Fi runs a one-word theme contest for 300-word flash fiction stories, and then we choose 120 of the best for our annual anthology.

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

Universal Buy Link: https://www.otherworldsink.com/book/rise/
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CJQM596P

Rise features 300-word speculative flash fiction stories from across the rainbow spectrum, from the minds of the writers of Queer Sci Fi.

Pairings (if a romance): MM, FF, MF, NB, etc.
Genres: Fantasy, Horror, Paranormal, Romance, Science Fiction
LGBTQ+ Identities (if applicable): Ace, Bi, Demi, Gay, Intersex, Lesbian, Poly, Trans

Series Title: Queer Sci Fi’s Annual Flash Fiction Contest

Authors: This year, 554 authors entered the Rise contest. 120 of them were chosen, and their stories are included in this anthology.

Queer Sci Fi Website: https://www.queerscifi.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/qsfdiscussions
Mastodon: https://mastodon.otherworldsink.com/@queerscifi