I love books. I love calendars. And I love Lucie’s Place, the only LGBTQ-specific shelter in the state of Arkansas. So when Greg Wagnon of the LGBTQIA+ book club We’re Here! We Read! Get Used To It! approached me to ask about spreading the word of the new bookish calendar they’ve created that features artistic representations of their book club choices, I was dying to know more!
Over seventy-five people, companies, and organizations came together to create this 8.5″ x 11″ calendar, which “features some fierce models, drag queens/kings, and a mermaid” and a dozen original art pieces! I asked Greg to tell us a little more about the books chosen, and you can take a look at the calendar in the link below!
The pre-sale for the calendar lasts until November 29th, and calendars will then be printed and shipped out the first week of December, so check out the books featured and get your orders in now!
Take it away, Greg!
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Looking for a good book suggestion? How about twelve!
We’re Here! We Read! Get Used To It! LGBTQIA+ Book Club has worked with twelve authors to bring you an exciting LGBT book-a-month calendar for 2020.
https://lgbtqiabookclub.com/calendar
Want to know the best part about this calendar? All proceeds from the sale of this calendar will go directly to Lucie’s Place, Arkansas’ only LGBTQ-specific shelter. Lucie’s Place provides LGBTQ young adults experiencing homelessness in Central Arkansas with safe living environments, job training, and counseling services in order to ensure lifelong stability and success. Lucie’s Place strives to promote equality and acceptance for LGBTQ young adults.
January features The Seafarer’s Kiss by Julia Ember. The Seafarer’s Kiss may be based on The Little Mermaid, but it is not the same old story under the sea. Ember crates a whole new tale filled with sorcery, betrayal, and F/F romance. Young mermaid Ersel is forced to choose between the community she has know her whole life and a chance at love with a woman from above. How far will Ersel go for this new romance, and will that path lead her to a happy ending? A quick, exciting read that you will surely enjoy.
February features The Prey of Gods by Nicky Drayden. M/M romance, trans inclusion, and killer robots in a world full of magic? Yes, please! This wildly imaginative debut novel by Nicky Drayden was a book club favorite. Set in future South Africa, an ancient being wants to wake up the magic in all of us. But are we ready? Follow a diverse cast of people as the converge and fight to save humanity in an explosive ending!
March features Santa Olivia by Jacqueline Carey. Santa Olivia is hard to put in a box. It’s part romance, part superhero, part revenge tale set in a post apocalyptic border town. One thing you won’t be is bored. The book features F/F romance and polyamorous relationship.
April features Othered by Randi Romo. Celebrate Poetry Month with the collection of poems by Randi Romo. Romo is a Latinx, queer woman, writer, artist, long-time activist and organizer. She has said that writing saved her life. You will feel that truth with every raw, honest word she shares. You will revel with her. You will grieve with her. You will survive with her.
May features The Last Place You Look by Kristen Lepionka. The first book in Kristen’s award winning Roxane Weary series. Kristen creates a wonderful new heroine, that happens to be a badass bi private investigator. Roxane is a woman who finds things, but can she find a woman missing for fifteen years? Will Roxane’s drive to solve this mystery take her too far? This is a book you will not be able to put down. It has a highly satisfying end, but will leave you wanting more. Luckily, there are sequels!
June features The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth. The Miseducation of Cameron Post is a modern classic in queer literature. Go with Cam on her journey of discovery in a beautiful and heart breaking coming of age story. I think this quote says it all, “Maybe I still haven’t become me. I don’t know how you tell for sure when you finally have.”
July features White Rabbit by Caleb Roehrig. This who-done-it story takes place over one long July Fourth night. Gay teen Rufus Holt and his ex-boyfriend land in the middle of a murder mystery when his sisters wakes up next to a dead body. The pair endeavor to interview all the possible suspects in this thrilling read that will having you guessing until the very end.
August features Out of the Blue by Sophie Cameron. After Jaya’s mother passes away, angels begin to fall from the sky. What does it mean? And what would you do if you found an angel? This beautiful story is part magical realism, part E.T., and 100% amazing. This story has F/F multiracial romance and disability representation! Warning: The ending of this novel is so beautiful, it may make you cry.
September features Love in the Time of Global Warming by Francesca Lia Block. Block brings a classic tale to a modern world in a reimagined Homer’s Odyssey. Block expertly adapts this story into a something fresh and new. This adventure book features a trans love story! The main complaint the book club had about this novel was it’s too short. It’s so good, we wanted more! We were thrilled to find out there is a sequel.
October features Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova. The first book in Zoraida’s Brooklyn Brujas series. She didn’t just write a book about brujas; She created an entirely new world and religion for them to navigate. The scope of this novel is amazing. Go on a quest with Alex to rescue her family from an evil force. Don’t worry, even while trying to save her family and perhaps the world, there’s still time for a bisexual love triangle. I’m 100% team Rishi.
November features Light Before Day by Christopher Rice. Rice summons the best of crime noir in this modern thriller. This book has it all. Largely queer cast? Check. Well developed mystery? Check. Gay assassin? Check. Light Before Day is one wild ride you will be glad you went on.
December features Peter Darling by Austin Chant. Peter Darling is much more than a queer reimagining of Peter Pan. Chant gives new life and motivations to familiar characters to create a wholly new experience. This book will change the way you see Neverland. In a world of make believe, can two people find real love? This story features M/M trans romance.