Tag Archives: Sourcebooks

April 2022 Deal Announcements

Adult Fiction

Author of THE UNBROKEN C.L. Clark’s WARMONGERS, in an epic fantasy set in a kingdom in a cycle of eternal war, two women—once lovers and warriors at arms—are set on a collision course when years after their separation, one is crowned king and the other vows to kill her, to Brit Hvide at Orbit, by Mary C. Moore at Kimberley Cameron & Associates (world).

Author of UNEXPECTED GOALS Kelly Farmer’s IT’S A FABULOUS LIFE, pitched as a sapphic retelling of the classic holiday movie as a second chance romance, in which a realtor puts her plans on hold again to help with her small town’s winter festival and, with the aid of angelic drag queens, reconnects with her high school crush, to Stacey Donovan at Hallmark, in a nice deal, for publication in fall 2023 (world English).

Arden Joy’s KEEP THIS OFF THE RECORD, pitched as a romantic comedy remix of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing that transforms ye olde damsels in distress into queer women, women of color, and women overcoming trauma, to Alexandria Brown at Rising Action, in an exclusive submission, for publication in January 2024 (world English).

Andie Burke’s COME FLY WITH ME, an opposites-attract romantic comedy about a female pilot and a woman who’s afraid of flying, who start fake dating after the woman saves a passenger’s life mid-flight and then goes viral, to Lisa Bonvissuto at St. Martin’s, in a very nice deal, in a two-book deal, for publication in fall 2023, by Mariah Nichols at D4EO Literary Agency (world).

Nicola Dinan‘s BELLIES, a queer coming-of-age story about two students who fall in love during their final year at university, only to find their relationship dramatically upended when one of them decides to transition, spanning London, Malaysia, and New York in the years after they graduate, pitched as Torrey Peters meets NORMAL PEOPLE, to Grace Towery at Hanover Square Press, in a pre-empt, by Monica MacSwan at Aitken Alexander (NA).

Author of A STAR IS BORED Byron Lane‘s BIG GAY WEDDING, a comedy of (mis)manners in which a young man returns home from Los Angeles to to his widowed mother’s farm in Louisiana with news of his upcoming nuptials—to a man—and the bigger surprise that the wedding will take place on the farm, pitched as The Birdcage meets Father of the Bride, to James Melia at Holt, for publication in summer 2023, by Deborah Schneider at Gelfman Schneider/ICM (NA).

Author, folklorist, and photographer Piper CJ’s THE NIGHT AND ITS MOON, originally self-published, about orphans who are sold to the highest bidder—in this case, the madame of a notorious brothel; along with THE SUN AND ITS SHADE, THE GLOOM BETWEEN STARS and THE DAWN AND ITS LIGHT, in a sapphic/bi romantic epic fantasy series, to Christa Desir at Bloom Books, in a very nice deal, in a four-book deal, for publication starting in September 2022 (world English).

Alexandrine Ogundimu’s THE LONGEST SUMMER, in which a half-Nigerian party boy navigates a bisexual love triangle and is the primary suspect of a $10,000 cash theft in a decaying Indiana city, to Christoph Paul at Clash, in a nice deal, for publication in June 2023 (world English).

BURN IT ALL DOWN author Nicolas DiDomizio’s THE GAY BEST FRIEND, a summer comedy set on a beach following a gay millennial as he code-switches between the hyper-masculine and ultra-feminine worlds of his two soon-to-be-wed best friends, to Mary Altman at Sourcebooks, in a two-book deal, for publication in spring 2023 (world).

Audiobook narrator and self-published author Travis Baldree’s LEGENDS & LATTES, in which an orc barbarian decides to hang up her sword and open a fantasy coffee shop, to Georgia Summers at Tor, in a good deal, in a pre-empt, in a two-book deal, by Stevie Finegan at Zeno Agency (world).

Deputy director of the gender equality division of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Iris Mwanza’s THE GOOD BOY, about the disappearance of a queer boy in Lusaka, Zambia, possibly at the hands of the police, and the young, inexperienced lawyer who fights a corrupt system to get justice for him, set against the backdrop of the Zambia’s political upheaval in the 1990s, to Graydon House, at auction.

Isa Arsen‘s SHOOT THE MOON, pitched as THE ATOMIC CITY GIRLS meets THE TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE, about a queer female engineer at NASA working on the 1969 space race and her unusual discovery linked to her childhood in the 1940s, which explores the high human cost of scientific progress and the driving need for both intellectual fullfilment and romantic love, no matter the time and place, to Kate Dresser at Putnam, for publication in fall 2023, by Chris Bucci at Aevitas Creative Management (world).

Children’s Fiction

Author of the Norman the Goldfish series and the upcoming THE HOUSE THAT BABE RUTH BUILT Kelly Bennett’s RAINBOW KITE, stories of love, community, and family, about a nonbinary child following a kite on adventures to find community and acceptance; MONSTROUS MOE, in which a grumpy monster decides if a hug can help him be less grumpy; and MIA TAKES MANHATTAN, in which a cobra escapes the Bronx Zoo and travels the city before realizing she misses home, to Chrissy Willis at Young Dragons Press, in a nice deal, in a three-book deal, by Amy Brewer at Metamorphosis Literary Agency (US).

Michelle Mohrweis‘s YOUNG ENGINEERS, in which an autistic seventh grader, with a love of all things space, finds herself paired on an engineering project with her biggest crush, and both girls confront their messy family dynamics, feelings for one another, and high expectations, to Jonah Heller at Peachtree, in an exclusive submission, for publication in spring 2024, by Emily Forney at BookEnds (world).

Young Adult Fiction

Author of COOL FOR THE SUMMER and the forthcoming HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE Dahlia Adler‘s GOING BICOASTAL, pitched as a bi Sliding Doors, following a Jewish teen through two versions of the summer before senior year, one in NYC (with a cute girl) and one in L.A. (with a cute boy); and MY NAME IS EVERETT, a sunshine-meets-grump boarding school romance pitched as BEACH READ meets FOOLISH HEARTS, to Vicki Lame at Wednesday Books, in a very nice deal, in an exclusive submission, in a two-book deal, for publication in summer 2023 and summer 2024, by Patricia Nelson at Marsal Lyon Literary Agency (NA).

Benjamin Dean’s THE KING IS DEAD, a gay romantic thriller set against the backdrop of a reimagined royal family, about a newly crowned young Black king facing media scrutiny and blackmail, pitched as ACE OF SPADES meets RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE, to Erika Turner at Little, Brown Children’s, in a pre-empt, in a two-book deal, for publication in summer 2023, by Chloe Seager at Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency (NA).

Author of the forthcoming YOU, ME, AND OUR HEARTSTRINGS Melissa See’s LOVE LETTERS TO JOY CORVI, pitched as a contemporary retelling of Cyrano de Bergerac, in which a panromantic asexual girl with cerebral palsy who is determined to be valedictorian seeks love advice from an anonymous student at her academy; but she’s unknowingly writing to—and falling for—the last person she ever expected, to Tiffany Colon at Scholastic, for publication in summer 2023, by Emily Forney at BookEnds (world English).

Keezy Young’s graphic novel HELLO SUNSHINE, in which a boy returns from church camp to discover that his (secret) boyfriend has gone missing and now he must enlist an unlikely team of worried friends and family to find him; a teen drama that uses the atmosphere of a demon haunting to tell a story of mental health, healing, and romance, to Andrea Colvin at Little, Brown Children’s, for publication in 2025, by Kurestin Armada at Root Literary (world).

Rex Ogle writing as Rey Terciero’s DAN OF GREEN GABLES, pitched as a twist on ANNE OF GREEN GABLES, the story of a queer, half-Mexican teenager who is forced to live with his grandparents in rural Tennessee when his mother abandons him; with the help of his mawmaw and his new friends, he makes an unlikely home for himself at 1600 Green Gables, illustrated by Claudia Aguirre, to Elizabeth Lee at Penguin Workshop, for publication in summer 2025, by Brent Taylor at TriadaUS Literary Agency for the author, and by Kate McKean at Howard Morhaim Literary Agency for the illustrator (world).

Eugene Lee Yang‘s THE UNDERS, a queer epic fantasy in which a group of teens band together to stop a war between the human and the magical world, to Emily Settle at Feiwel and Friends, in a major deal, at auction, in a two-book deal, for publication in spring 2024, by Jessica Felleman at Jennifer Lyons Literary Agency (NA).

Author of the forthcoming THE MANY HALF-LIVED LIVES OF SAM SYLVESTER Maya MacGregor’s THE EVOLVING TRUTH OF EVER-STRONGER WILL, about a nonbinary teen who, after watching their abusive mother die in front of them, seeks out a former foster mother who once was ready to adopt them, in a mystery about family, grief, and surviving an abusive parent even as their mother’s ghost seems to dog their every step, to Suzy Krogulski at Astra House, for publication in 2024, by Sara Megibow at kt literary (world English).

Edgar Award winner and Stonewall Honor author James Klise’s I’LL TAKE EVERYTHING YOU HAVE, a noir set in Chicago in the summer of 1934, in which a queer teen’s naive get-rich-quick scheme leads to deadly criminal consequences, to Elise Howard at Algonquin Young Readers, for publication in 2023, by Jennifer Laughran at Andrea Brown Literary Agency (world).

Victoria Wlosok’s debut HOW TO FIND A MISSING GIRL, about a 17-year-old amateur sleuth and her sapphic detective agency that investigates when her ex-girlfriend—notorious for creating a polarizing true-crime podcast about the sleuth’s missing sister—disappears too, to Alexandra Hightower at Little, Brown Children’s, for publication in fall 2023, by Jessica Errera at Jane Rotrosen Agency (world). Film: Becca Rodriguez at Gotham.

Non-Fiction

Inclusion advocate, educator, and the first openly transgender D1 men’s athlete Schuyler Bailar‘s HE/SHE/THEY: HOW WE TALK ABOUT GENDER AND WHY IT MATTERS, an inquiry into today’s gender landscape, laying the groundwork for productive conversations about gender on an individual and national level, pitched as in the vein of SO YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT RACE, to Renee Sedliar at Hachette Go, at auction, by Susan Canavan at Waxman Literary Agency (NA).

Founder of the Ali Forney Center Carl Siciliano’s STRONG AS DEATH, SWEET AS LOVE, about the author’s work with homeless LGBTQ+ youths in New York City and his friendship with Ali Forney, a nonbinary youth whose compassionate life and tragic death on New York City’s streets inspired him to establish the Center and live a life of service and resistance, to Derek Reed at Convergent, at auction, for publication in summer 2023, by Jesseca Salky at Salky Literary Management, in association with Charlotte Sheedy Literary Agency (NA).

Shilletha Curtis’s MOUNTAIN OF THE MOON, pitched as a Black lesbian WILD crossed with GIRL INTERRUPTED, tracing the author’s 2,193-mile thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail and intersectional quest to change the narrative of “hiking while Black” while confronting the roots of her lifelong depression, anxiety, PTSD and ADHD, to Jennifer Levesque at Andscape, in a good deal, in a pre-empt, by Lynn Johnston at Lynn Johnston Literary (world English).

 

Paperback Cover Reveal+Interview: Reverie by Ryan La Sala

Whether you loved this dreamy m/m YA fantasy as much as I did or haven’t gotten to it yet, you’re definitely going to want to snatch up a copy of Reverie by Ryan La Sala  when it comes out in paperback on June 7th from Sourcebooks, because look at that cover! What cover, you ask? Why, the gorgeous one below! But first, the story:

A few weeks ago, Kane Montgomery was in an accident that robbed him of his memory. The only thing he knows for certain is that the police found him half-dead in the river. The world as he knows it feels different―reality seems different. And when strange things start happening around him, Kane isn’t sure where to turn.

And then three of his classmates show up, claiming to be his friends and the only people who can tell him what’s truly going on. Kane doesn’t know what to believe or who he can trust. But as he and the others are dragged into increasingly fantastical dream worlds drawn from imagination, it becomes clear that there is dark magic at work. Nothing in Kane’s life is an accident, and only he can keep the world itself from unraveling.

And here’s the gorgeous cover redesign, illustrated by Jonathan Bartlett and designed by Liz Dresner and Nicole Hower!

Buy it: Amazon | IndieBound | Indigo | Book Depository

But wait, there’s more! Ryan stopped by for a little chat about the book and its stunning new cover, so check it out!

This cover is gorgeous! What did you think when you first saw it?

Well, first I thought:lksjdfslkjsdlfk,” and that’s a quote.

And then I thoughtholy smokes, there he is!

It’s beyond exciting to see Kane, the unlikely hero of Reverie, on the cover in all his reality-unraveling glory. I created Kane when I was a kid myself, and I looked up to him all throughout my teenage years. Finally I started writing down his adventures in High School.
Getting to see him — finally see him — on the cover of his own story feels like such a triumph. A triumph for me as his creator, but also a triumph for little gay boys who want to find a way to feel powerful beyond just your typical man-up-and-get-muscular-and-pick-up-a-sword story.

Kane wields a magic that reacts to his empathy and imagination. The fate of reality hangs upon his ability to balance the world as we know it against the many worlds of those who dream beyond our reality’s limits. He’s difficult and fascinating and so, so important to me. I’m so glad the artist did him justice.

What has the response to Reverie been like since its release in 2019?

In a word: dreamy.

In many more words: the response to Reverie has been a dream come true (pun intended). I use this phrase because I have always, always had huge dreams for this book despite many people telling me to temper my expectations. Reverie is not the kind of thing you’d expect to go mainstream. It’s super queer and very weird. It spins through many genres, things get surreal and even scary. Hell, the hero throws rainbow chaos magic and the villain is a drag queen
sorceress! But you know what? All of these ‘niche’ elements have just brought more readers into the pages of Reverie, and I’m thankful for every one of them. I love you all!

What’s also been interesting is the diversity in reactions. Most authors I know avoid reviews, but I revel in them–good, bad, or otherwise. I wrote Reverie to be reacted to, and to inspire people to write their own stories (out of inspiration, or even out of spite, which is how I got started writing Reverie in the first place). It’s been fun watching that take place in real time!

Unfortunately, as Reverie has risen in popularity, it’s also found the spotlights of people determined to ban queer books from school librarires. Right now, Reverie is on a list to be investigated for it’s ‘inappropriate’ and ‘potentially pornographic’ content. Anyone who has read Reverie knows this is a wild claim, but I actually don’t think the people who make these lists know how to read. Not very well, at least.

I’m not worried. Reverie will always be here for those that need refuge from an unkind reality. Our jobs (mine, as the author, and yours as the reader) is to stand by these books, defend them, and fight for their availability so that readers who need them, have them.

When it comes to characters, who has been the fan favorite in all the Reverie reactions?

Oh, easy. Ursula and Poesy, which is so interesting to me as the author because when I first concocted the idea of dream-unraveling, world-hopping heroes, Ursula and Poesy were the same person. In fact, they were sorta the main character — this hyperfeminine, dress-wearing force of nature that was as likely to wield a broadsword as they were to wear a ballgown. I think readers can tell how much joy I have writing them, which is why they get a lot of love.

What are you excited for as Reverie goes into paperback?

Can I be frank? Hardcover books are annoying. The dust jackets are pretty but my god do they make it hard to handle a book. I’m always worried about ruining them! So I tend to just let them sit on the shelf, which–don’t kill me–is no place for a book to be.

For me, books are companions, and all my favorite books are well-worn paperbacks that have been shoved into backpacks, suitcases, and *gulp* maybe even cargo pants once or twice. Reverie going into paperback means it’ll be even more available to join readers on their own journey, whether they’re reading it on the bus to school or late at night with a flashlight. I love that. I love knowing the book’s life is about to bloom again, and I can’t wait to welcome in all of those who have been searching for a story like this, a character like this, or a world like this. What I think when I imagine all of those future readers is not quite coherent, but it feels like saying “Welcome home.”

Any further dreams for Kane and Reverie?

Oh, tons. There’s no confirmed continuation for Reverie in the works right now, but recently I’ve been feeling an intractable pull back into Kane’s world. There’s a lot more for him, Ursula, and the Others (his team of dream unravelers in the book). And if you’re a fan of Poesy, don’t worry: if I were to pick up this story again, I suspect I would start before the events of Reverie even begin, somewhere in the past as Poesy hatches her dreams for a better world. A world on her terms. *insert witchy cackle here*

Ryan La Sala writes about surreal things happening to queer people. He is the author behind the riotously imaginative Reverie, and the brilliantly constructed Be Dazzled, both of which made the Kids’ Indie Next List. He has been featured in Entertainment Weekly, NPR, Tor.com, and one time Shangela from RuPaul’s Drag Race called him cute! Ryan is the host of the infamous La Sala Writers Salon, the co-host the Bad Author Book Club Podcast, and a frequent speaker at events/conferences. When not writing, Ryan does arts & crafts, and rollerblades around Central Park.

Exclusive Cover Reveal: You’re a Mean One, Matthew Prince by Timothy Janovsky

I know what you’re thinking: didn’t I just see a different Timothy Janovsky rom-com that also looks and sounds amazing on yesterday’s list of the Most Anticipated Adult Fiction of 2022? You did, but Janovsky’s such a boss, he’s giving us twice the joy next year, and the second time around, he’s doing it with a delightful play on the Grinch with You’re a Mean One, Matthew Prince, releasing from Sourcebooks on October 4, 2022! Here’s the story:

Bring a little joy to the world?

Not today, Santa.

Matthew Prince is young, rich, and thoroughly spoiled. So what if his parents barely remember he exists and the press is totally obsessed with him? He’s on top of the world. But one major PR misstep later, and Matthew is cut off and shipped away to spend the holidays in his grandparents’ charming small town hellscape. Population: who cares?

It’s bad enough he’s stuck in some festive winter wonderland—it’s even worse that he has to share space with Hector Martinez, an obnoxiously attractive local who’s unimpressed with anything and everything Matthew does.

Just when it looks like the holiday season is bringing nothing but heated squabbles, the charity gala loses its coordinator and Matthew steps in as a saintly act to get home early on good behavior…with Hector as his maddening plus-one. But even a Grinch can’t resist the unexpected joy of found family, and in the end, the forced proximity and infectious holiday cheer might be enough to make a lonely Prince’s heart grow three sizes this year.

And here’s the absolutely adorable cover by Monique Aimee!

Buy it: Amazon | IndieBound

***

Timothy Janovsky is a queer, multidisciplinary storyteller from New Jersey. He holds a degree in theatre and dance from Muhlenberg College. His work as a humor writer has been featured on Points in Case, The Broadway Beat, and Well Mannered Grump, and his fiction short story debut was published by Voyage YA Journal. When he’s not daydreaming about a young Hugh Grant, he’s writing the queer rom-coms he wished he had as a teenager.

Exclusive Cover Reveal: The Holiday Trap by Roan Parrish

Today on the site we’re happy to welcome back Roan Parrish, to reveal the cover of her upcoming queer holiday romance, The Holiday Trap, which releases from Sourcebooks on September 6, 2022! Here’s the story:

The Holiday but make it gay. Greta Russakoff loves her tight-knit family and tiny Maine hometown, even if they don’t always understand what it’s like to be a lesbian living in such a small world. She desperately needs space to figure out who she is.

Truman Belvedere has just had his heart crushed into a million pieces when he learned that his boyfriend of almost a year has a secret life that includes a husband and a daughter. Reeling from this discovery, all he wants is a place to lick his wounds far, far away from New Orleans.

Enter Greta and Truman’s mutual friend, Ramona, who facilitates a month-long house swap. Over Christmas, each of them will have a chance to try on a new life…and maybe fall in love with the perfect partner of their dreams. But all holidays must come to an end, and eventually Greta and Truman will have to decide whether the love they each found so far from home is worth fighting for.

And here’s the charming and romantic cover by Kristen Solecki!

Buy it: Amazon | B&N | IndieBound

***

Roan Parrish lives in Philadelphia, where she is gradually attempting to write love stories in every genre. When not writing, she can usually be found cutting her friends’ hair, meandering through whatever city she’s in while listening to torch songs and melodic death metal, or cooking overly elaborate meals. She loves bonfires, winter beaches, minor chord harmonies, and self-tattooing. One time she may or may not have baked a six-layer chocolate cake and then thrown it out the window in a fit of pique.

Exclusive Cover + Excerpt Reveal: I Kissed a Girl by Jennet Alexander

I’m so excited to be revealing the cover for contemporary f/f romance I Kissed a Girl by Jennet Alexander on the site today! It releases from Sourcebooks on August 3, 2021, and sounds cute as heck, with a cover to match! Here’s the story:

Is a happy ending finally in sight for Hollywood’s favorite scream queen?

Lilah Silver’s a young actress who dreams of climbing out of B-list stardom. She’s been cast as the “final girl” in what could be her breakout performance…but if she wants to prove herself to everyone who ever doubted her, she’s going to need major help along the way.

Noa Birnbaum may be a brilliant makeup artist and special effects whiz-kid, but cracking into the union is more difficult than she imagined. Keeping everyone happy is a full-time job, and she’s already run ragged. And yet when the beautiful star she’s been secretly crushing on admits to fears of her own, Noa vows to do everything in her power to help Lilah shine like never before.

Long hours? Exhausting work? No problem. Together they can take the world by storm…but can the connection forged over long hours in the makeup chair ever hope to survive the glare of the spotlight?

 And here’s the adorable cover, designed by Dawn Adams and illustrated by Colleen Reinhart!

Preorder it: Bookshop | Amazon | B&N | Books-A-Million

But wait, there’s more! We’ve also got an excerpt so you can meet Noa and Lilah ASAP!

***

Noa leaned in again, filling in one of Lilah’s brows with a pencil. Perched on the edge of the table, Lilah sitting below her in a lower chair, Noa didn’t notice her necklace dislodging itself from between her breasts until she felt the gentle tug on the chain and the brush of fingers against her collarbone.

Stifling a little yelp, Noa sat back, worried that she’d invaded Lilah’s space more than she should have—only it was the little six-pointed star on the delicate silver chain that Lilah balanced on her fingertips.

“Sorry,” Lilah apologized, casting her eyes up to meet Noa’s gaze through her dark-tinted lashes. “You’re Jewish? I guessed, when we were introduced, but so many people around here use stage names that I wasn’t sure if it was okay to ask.”

A faint and familiar chill prickled the back of Noa’s neck and she forced it back. There was no reason at all to be worried about what Lilah might think. There was no danger here. Noa couldn’t possibly be the first Jewish person she knew—not in a city like LA, not in an industry like theirs. Unless that was why Lilah had been cool and standoffish, and it wasn’t about Noa’s stupid runaway mouth at all…

All of those half-formed thoughts ricocheted through her head in the instant between Lilah’s question and when Noa had to answer, and when she nodded, it was a little more guarded than before. “Yeah. ‘Noa’ is a girl’s name in Hebrew.” Okay, that was fine. No recoil, only a growing smile that Noa wasn’t sure how to parse. It did give her the chance to go on the attack before Lilah could do or say anything awful. “So’s yours, for the record. It means—”

Lilah nodded. “Night. I know. I used my Hebrew name for my stage name. It was easier to pick something that was already kind of familiar.”

Which led to Noa’s next major derail of the day. Would she ever find some kind of solid ground to plant herself on around this girl? “You’re Jewish? It doesn’t say that on your IMD—” She snapped her mouth shut before she could finish the sentence.

“If you say ‘funny, you don’t look it,’ I may just kick you in the teeth,” Lilah joked, her body very still and a hint of a familiar sort of wariness threading itself through her voice now that Noa knew enough to listen for it.

“Not a chance,” Noa promised. “For some strange reason no one ever tells me that,” she added with a flash of a grin and a wink. “Polish red?”

Lilah nodded. “And Russian blond.” She was thawing all around the edges now, her wariness gone and replaced with an almost shy smile. Noa’s heart dipped down into her stomach and twirled around her chest, leaving her dizzy.

“Do you keep?”

Lilah’s cheeks flushed and she glanced away. “Sort of? Not Shabbat or anything. There weren’t any synagogues in the town where I grew up. There’s one in Petosky, but that’s like half an hour away and we didn’t really go except for big events. My family does Passover, somewhat,” Lilah offered up with a little laugh. “My dad really likes matzah as a snack, so he buys it year-round. Except for that week.”

“Only a little backwards.” There wouldn’t be any judgment coming from her—there were at least five hundred of the 613 commandments that Noa ignored on a regular basis. (Maybe more, depending on how you interpreted the one about gossip.)

Lilah ducked her head and laughed again. “Only a little! But it works for him.” The little gesture broke through the shell of perfection, but the glow of her aura never dimmed. She was very human, suddenly approachable, and when she met Noa’s eyes again, Noa felt a pull start somewhere in her midsection. Ah, crap.

“Lilah!”

Lilah turned at the sound of her name and the moment—if it had been a moment at all—was gone. “Here!”

“We’re ready for you. Time for last looks, wardrobe, and makeup, and then we’re on to scene fourteen.”

“Back to the salt mines,” Lilah joked, rising to her feet. She made a little pirouette and fluttered her eyelashes at Noa, completely unaware of the effect she was having on Noa’s blood pressure. “Do I have your approval?”

Noa swallowed hard and found her voice. “Yes, yes you do. Your makeup, I mean.” She scrambled to pull up the continuity photo as an excuse to take her eyes off Lilah and regroup. “Looks good,” she said briskly, and gave her a thumbs-up.

Lilah sketched off a salute, paused to let the wardrobe assistant tweak her shirt hem and the hairdresser to replace a bobby pin, then headed for her next mark.

Noa let out a long, slow breath and tried to force her adrenaline to stand down. Her skin still tingled where Lilah’s fingers had brushed against her, and she swore she could smell the sweet remnants of Lilah’s shampoo. Stupid Denise and her stupid reassignments. Noa would have been safe if she’d been able to keep a little bit of distance between them, but now? A few more days like this one and she was going to spontaneously combust. All they’d find of her by the end of week three would be a little pile of ashes in the shape of a girl, topped with a silver star.

***

Jennet Alexander has been a game designer, a teacher, a singer, a Riot Grrrl, a terrible guitar player, and an adequate crew tech and department head for both stage and screen. She grew up queer in the heart of a large Jewish community in Toronto, Canada, and now lives in a much smaller one with her partner, two kids, and two cats. Most of her wardrobe is still black. Noa and Lilah is her first rom-com.

You can follow Jennet on Twitter at @jennetalexander, and find updates at her website, www.jennetalexander.com.

November 2020 Deal Announcements

Adult Fiction

Kobby Ben Ben’s NO ONE DIES YET, set in Accra in 2019, the “Year of Return” that memorialized the many who died during the slave trade in Ghana, following three African American friends as they join in the festivities to explore Ghana’s colonial past as Black diasporas around the world make a pilgrimage to West Africa and its underground queer scene; soon, these friends are thrust into the hands of two guides who they have no choice but to trust and what unfolds is an unsettling tale of murder in a country whose dead slaves are shackled with stories that must be heard, to Christopher Potter at Europa Editions, with Eva Ferri editing, in a nice deal, for publication in spring/summer 2022, by Aida Lilly at kt literary (world English).

2020 Le Guin Feminist Science Fiction Fellow R.B. Lemberg‘s THE UNBALANCING, set in the same Birdverse universe as the author’s FOUR PROFOUND WEAVES, in which a group of queer and nonbinary magic keepers across an archipelago must come together to save their islands from an environmental catastrophe, to Jacob Weisman at Tachyon Publications, with Jaymee Goh editing, for publication in winter 2022, by Mary C. Moore at Kimberley Cameron & Associates (world English).

Author of WHEN HARRY MET HARRY Sydney Smyth‘s BRIDESMATES, an LGBTQ romance about a brokenhearted man who reluctantly agrees to be a male bridesmaid (a “bridesmate”) in his BFF’s wedding and finds romance along the way, to Rose Hilliard at Audible Originals, in an exclusive submission, for publication in spring 2021, by Emily Sylvan Kim at Prospect Agency, on behalf of et al Creative (world).

Syrian Canadian author, public speaker, and LGBTQ refugee activist Danny Ramadan‘s THE FOGHORN ECHOES, an #OwnVoices novel that begins in war-torn Syria, where a forbidden romance between two boys culminates in a traumatic incident, the echoes of which reverberate through their adult lives in Vancouver and Damascus, to David Ross at Penguin Canada, in a pre-empt, in a two-book deal, by Rachel Letofsky at CookeMcDermid.

Autistic debut author Sunyi Dean‘s THE BOOK EATERS, in which a lesbian Book Eater, forced into arranged marriages, gives birth to a Mind Eater and loves her son so fiercely she becomes a monster herself to save him from her family’s violent ways, to Lindsey Hall at Tor, in a significant deal, in a pre-empt, in a three-book deal, for publication in winter 2022, by Naomi Davis at BookEnds (NA).

Author of LAKEWOOD Megan Giddings‘s THE WOMEN COULD FLY, pitched as reminiscent of Kelly Link and Ottessa Moshfegh, about a Black bisexual woman on a journey to come to terms with the loss of her mother, who disappeared mysteriously when she was a teenager; set in a world where witches are real, to Rakesh Satyal at Amistad, in a pre-empt, by Dan Conaway at Writers House (NA).

Children’s Fiction

Author-artist Wallace West‘s debut MIGHTY RED RIDING HOOD: A FAIRLY QUEER TALE, the first in a series of reimagined folktales from a queer perspective, starring a sassy boy in a frilly red riding hood who confronts a bullying wolf espousing gender norms, to Andrea Spooner at Little, Brown Children’s, in a two-book deal, for publication in summer 2022, by Marietta Zacker at Gallt and Zacker Literary Agency (world).

Jyoti Rajan Gopal‘s DESERT QUEEN, a biography-in-verse which follows the life of beloved Rajasthani drag performer Queen Harish, known as the Whirling Desert Queen of Rajasthan, who, lit by an inner fire and propelled by a family tragedy, defied the gender conventions of middle class Indian life, battled discrimination and intimidation, and eventually grew up to dance with Bollywood movie stars and on stages across the world, illustrated by Svabhu Kohli, to Arthur Levine at Levine Querido, in an exclusive submission, for publication in spring 2023, by Wendi Gu at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates (world).

Young Adult Fiction

Amanda Woody‘s debut THEY HATE EACH OTHER, told in dual POVs, a queer enemies-to-lovers romance that follows 17-year-olds who turn to fake dating after a homecoming disaster; their ploy begins to fail spectacularly, though, when unexpected chemistry and past scars interfere, weaving a profound connection between the two, to Dana Leydig at Viking Children’s, in a two-book deal, for publication in 2023, by Suzie Townsend at New Leaf Literary & Media (world English).

Author of HOW WE FALL Kate Brauning‘s THE BALLAD OF DINAH CALDWELL, a futuristic Ozarks thriller pitched as inspired by True Grit, in which a queer teenage girl sees her mother and brother murdered by a local kingpin and vows revenge and revolution no matter the cost, to Ashley Hearn at Page Street, with Tamara Grasty editing, in a nice deal, for publication in October 2021, by Bridget Smith at JABberwocky Literary Agency (world English).

Remi England‘s THE ONE TRUE ME AND YOU, a queer romance in which a beloved fanfic author and beauty pageant contestant find love, and learn what it means to be—and stand up for—yourself, to Alexandra Sehulster at Wednesday Books, for publication in winter 2022, by Eric Smith at P.S. Literary Agency (world English).

NYT-bestselling author of CEMETERY BOYS Aiden Thomas‘s untitled fantasy duology, pitched as Aztec Percy Jackson meets the Hunger Games; and another untitled book, pitched as gay Titanic in space, to Holly West at Feiwel and Friends, in a significant deal, in an exclusive submission, in a three-book deal, for publication in fall 2022, fall 2023, and fall 2024, by Jennifer March Soloway at Andrea Brown Literary Agency (world).

Non-Fiction

Editor-at-large for LinkedIn and former staff writer for Wired and Fortune Jessi Hempel’s THE FAMILY OUTING, pitched as FUN HOME meets Modern Family, about her family’s transformation from the portrait of traditional charm to a new incarnation, with almost all of them embracing their queer identities, an expansion of her viral Time magazine cover story and a new definition of what it means to live in our changing world, to Rakesh Satyal in his first acquisition at Harper One, in a major deal, at auction, by Suzanne Gluck at William Morris Endeavor (NA).

Reality TV star of the Bravo series Shahs of Sunset Reza Farahan’s MEMOIRS OF A GAY SHAH, a humorous and at times heartbreaking story about being gay, Muslim, Jewish, and Persian in America, to Kate Roddy at Sourcebooks, by Steve Troha and Katherine Odom-Tomchin at Folio Literary Management.

Professor of English literature at DePaul University Francesca Royster‘s FIERCE LOVE: A MEMOIR OF BLACK QUEER MOTHERHOOD, examining the conception of what family means, the complexity of queer parenthood, and the influence of race on everyday acts of parenting in a biracial household, to Chelsea Cutchens at Abrams Press, for publication in fall 2022, by Claire Anderson-Wheeler at Regal Hoffmann & Associates (world).

Recipient of an inaugural David Prize philanthropic grant Edafe Okporo‘s ASYLUM, a blend of memoir and manifesto by a young, gay, Nigerian refugee who sought asylum in America after fleeing his home in the wake of violent hate crimes, examining the American asylum process, the modern refugee’s experience—especially the unique challenges facing LBGTQ+ refugees—and his path toward becoming the executive director of the RDJ Refugee Center in Harlem, to Zachary Knoll at Simon & Schuster, by Daniel Lazar at Writers House (NA).

Creator of #TheKentTest and culture critic Clarkisha Kent‘s FAT OFF, FAT ON, a humorous memoir about a fat Black woman, telling the story of how a fat body isn’t a cosmic punishment and is one you can grow into, how sometimes family doesn’t always mean home, and sharing ill-fated love affairs of the bisexual kind, to Lauren Hook at Feminist Press, for publication in fall 2022, by Claire Draper at The Bent Agency (world English).

Exclusive Cover and Excerpt Reveal: A Beautiful Doom by Laura Pohl

Today on the site I am so excited to reveal the cover of The Last 8 author Laura Pohl’s first book in her brand new series, The Grimrose Girls! A Beautiful Doom releases from Sourcebooks on August 3rd and features two f/f couples, a demi-bisexual lead, and an aroace lead, and if dark academia and fairytales are your jam, this is your next can’t-miss read. Check out the blurb:

The Descendants meets Pretty Little Liars in this story of four troubled friends, one murdered girl, and a dark fate that may leave them all doomed. Reimagined fairytale heroines must uncover connections to their ancient curses and forge their own paths… before it’s too late.

After the mysterious death of their best friend, Ella, Yuki, and Rory are the talk of their elite school, Grimrose Académie. The police ruled Ariane’s death as a suicide, but the trio are determined to find out what really happened.

When Nani Eszes arrives as their newest roommate, it sets into motion a series of events that no one could have predicted. As the girls retrace their friend’s final days, they discover a dark secret about Grimrose—Ariane wasn’t the first dead girl.

They soon learn that all the past murders are connected to ancient fairytale curses…and that their own fates are tied to the stories, dooming the girls to brutal and gruesome endings unless they can break the cycle for good.

And here’s the iconic cover, designed by Maggie Edkins and Nicole Hower!

Preorder: Bookshop | Amazon | B&N | IndieBound

But wait, there’s more! We also have the first two chapters:
read on!

Chapter One

ELLA

The first day of school started with a funeral.

This was not, of course, the usual for the Grimrose Académie for Elite Students, whose student body mostly lived to their eighties, and went on to command corporate conglomerates or win Academy Awards, Nobel Prizes and other such trifles. Therefore, everyone was shocked, and whispers were heard in every corner of the castle, from the library tower to the girl’s bathroom on the fifth floor.

The whispers, especially, followed Eleanor Ashworth.

Ella gazed upward self-consciously, tightening her hand on the strap of her bag. “How long do you think this is going to last?”

Eleanor, known to her friends only as Ella, was a small girl of seventeen, with light blond hair cut to her chin and equally light brown eyes, reddened cheeks, freckles all over her face and arms, and clothes that had seen better days. The whispers had followed her before, but never with such commitment.

“A month, if we’re lucky.” Yuki, Ella’s best friend answered, a crease appearing in her ivory forehead.

“We won’t be,” Rory muttered, glaring at a group of younger girls who dared to dart eyes in their direction. “What the hell are you looking at?”

“You do realize that attracts even more attention, right?” Yuki said, raising an eyebrow.

“At least I’ll get a reason to fight,” Rory replied with a satisfied shrug.

The Grimrose Académie was exclusive not only in name, but also in reputation. Its location in Switzerland and the exorbitant prices ensured that only the richest and most powerful were able to attend. It sat on one of Alps’ most beautiful lakes and boasted a giant fairytale-like castle with four towers and white marble, gardens extending beyond the mountains that surrounded them, and a crystalline lake to complete the view.

Studying at Grimrose was a guarantee of your future. When you studied at Grimrose, nothing could ever go wrong.

Except that on the eve of the first day of school, one of the Académie’s most exceptional students had drowned in the lake.

For most students, it meant an uproar. For the Académie, it meant an open line for calling parents reassuring the safety of their children, and keeping the death out of the papers. Drowned in the lake besides the school, alone.

But for Ella, Yuki, and Rory, it wasn’t just another tragedy. Ariane Van Amstel had been their best friend.

Ella avoided the stares and the whispers, knowing all the students wanted to ask her the same questions. Had she been suicidal? Did she know how to swim? Did Ella know she was sad? And why hadn’t Ella helped her?

The last question was the worst, the reminder a sting.. How could she not know if one of her best friends had done the unthinkable? Ariane had been happy, daughter of a rich businessman from Holland and with a bright future ahead of her. Just like everyone in the Académie.

Well, everyone except Eleanor Ashworth.

The worst part about the stares was how they made her feel ashamed, because she ought to have done something. She should have acted. She should have saved her friend, because that’s what friends did.

Ella stepped forward in the cafeteria line, looking at their lonely table in the corner. Everyone else in the cafeteria was lively, friends gathering for the first time in three months, groups coming together with only happiness in their minds. But for them, the table was missing something. Stacie caught her looking wistfully at the popular table, and she gave the smallest nod to her stepsister.

Stacie and Silla, her twin stepsisters, belonged to Grimrose in a way that Ella couldn’t. They paid full tuition. Ella was the scholarship student.

In truth, Stacie and Silla owed their place to Ella. The Académie had personally invited her, but her stepmother ruled that she would go only as long as there had been openings for her two daughters. That had been five years ago. Sharon said if Ella wanted to go to an expensive school, she had to deserve it.

Rory slammed her tray on their table as they settled down. The table felt too big for them now. There was a space where Ariane was supposed to be, at the table she had chosen herself. It felt like a part of her was missing, and Ella could not find anything big enough to hide that absence.

The three girls sat in silence. Ella finished her lunch and opened her bag to pick a pair of knitting needles.

“Knitting already?” Rory asked, chewing with her mouth open.

“This is just…” Ella started. “I promised Ari. Couldn’t finish it because Sharon kept nagging me last week. So now I have to finish it before… before…”

She didn’t finish her sentence, letting out a frustrated breath. Ella knew she was ranting. That she was stuck in a loop. She had to finish her goodbye present. If she didn’t, then…

The good thing was that Ella’s brain could not imagine a consequence worse than the situation they were already in.

“The memorial is this afternoon,” Ella said. “I promised it. I’m doing it. Ella Ashworth doesn’t let her friends down.”

Not even if they were dead, she thought to herself.

Chapter Two

YUKI

Yuki Miyashiro waited for her friends in the garden.

She stood perfectly still as other students passed her, glancing at the tall lonely figure with ivory white skin and dark hair like a raven’s feathers that fell over her shoulders, turning their heads when they met the merciless black eyes.

The memorial was being held in the garden, the only place that could hold all the students, despite being inconveniently close to the lake where Ariane had drowned.

When Rory and Ella showed up, they went in silence together. The gardens were lush and covered in flowers and bright tones of green, the last touches of summer.

“You all right?” Ella asked, and for a moment, Yuki’s stomach twisted in guilt. She should be the one asking the question.

Ella had been her best friend since their first day of school, when Ella had declared Yuki’s shoes were the most beautiful she’d ever seen, and therefore both of them had to be friends. Only later Ella confessed that she didn’t like the shoes that much, but that she found complimenting people was always the best way to make friends.

Yuki wouldn’t know. She didn’t have a lot of friends.

“I’m all right,” Yuki answered, even though it was a lie.

Ella pulled her knitting from her bag. Ella always needed something to do with her hands. She took a deep breath, and Rory glanced at them both.

“You’ve been taking the pills?” Rory asked.

“Yeah,” Ella replied. “Wait, you think I haven’t?”

“That’s not what she said,” Yuki interrupted.

“I’ve been taking them.”

Rory looked at Yuki for reassurance, but Yuki could offer nothing. Ella had been diagnosed with severe OCD and anxiety over a year ago, and it was still an adjustment..

It was a short walk. Every student was wearing their uniform, liberty blue skirts and pants, white shirts and silver ties and periwinkle blue blazers, a crowd of blue descending the path. The rain had stopped but the clouds had stayed, and the sky was gray like the mountaintops. Students started filling the front, but Yuki preferred the back.

Ariane’s parents were standing in the front row. There was no coffin—they would take the body home, sealed up so no one would ever see the bright red flaming head of hair, but there was a picture of her. Yuki avoided Ari’s eyes, and stared at the ground.

Ella had sat down almost immediately on the chair, and Yuki closed her eyes, but there were the whispers, talking of the bloated body, talking of Ariane drowning, her body sinking into the lake, and how they had found her, face up, barely recognizable. Accident. Suicide. Same thing. It didn’t matter. She was dead.

When Reyna Castilla stepped to the pulpit, Yuki was almost glad to hear her stepmother’s voice.

“It’s with great sorrow we are gathered here today,” she started. “One of our most promising students has been taken from us so abruptly. Ariane was a great student, and beloved by all. It’s difficult to describe how terrible her loss…”

Yuki tuned all of it out. Reyna didn’t know Ariane enough to truly understand what it meant to lose her. Her loss was pure, untainted by knowing and loving Ariane.

Yuki’s loss was not pure.

When she looked up, she saw another face in the crowd. Edric, Ariane’s ex-boyfriend. Only one week after he and Ari had broken up, he’d been with someone else. All over each other in the halls.

Yuki wished she could watch him choke.

To calm herself down, she recited the facts of the case to herself.

Ariane did not know how to swim. Ariane would not go near the lake at night. Ariane would not leave without saying goodbye. But there had been no foul play discovered.

Reyna’s eulogy ended, and Ari’s father took over the microphone, giving another thankful speech. All the students in the school were courteous enough to pretend they cared, even though Ariane did not belong with them.

She belonged to us.

Yuki’s heart beat faster in her chest.

The memorial dissolved little after that. Ella got up before any of them could stop her and walked decidedly over to Ariane’s parents. Yuki could almost hear what Ella was saying. She could imagine her words would be firm and kind. A flash of a smile from Ariane’s mother, a hug, Ella handing them the sweater she’d finished.

Someone else approached Yuki, and she turned to see her stepmother.

Reyna rarely looked tired, but today, Yuki could glimpse something raw in her, as if she’d lowered a barrier that wouldn’t be lowered again in the next hundred years.

Reyna didn’t look like she was old enough to be Yuki’s stepmother. Her medium brown skin was flawless, and her rich chocolate brown hair fell in generous waves over her shoulders. She dressed the part of the Headmistress at least, today a dark red dress that was both formal and elegant.

“Walk back with me?” Reyna asked, gesturing to the castle.

Yuki obeyed, as she always did. Perfect posture, walking calmly side by side. Their shoulders never touched. The silence stretched as they climbed.

“How are you doing?” Reyna asked at last, not unkindly.

Yuki did not answer for a moment. She knew what was expected of her. She’d seen the answer in Ella’s hands, in Ella’s gestures, in Ella’s words. She was supposed to be holding up, to accept her loss gracefully, to think of the others.

“Fine,” she answered curtly. “Just fine.”

Reyna paused as they climbed and Yuki was forced to stop her march.

“Yuki, one of your friends just died,” Reyna said. “I’m asking because I know you can’t be all right.”

“Well, I am.”

She spoke the words with such conviction that she almost felt like she could hear them ringing across the gardens, across the leaves and carried by the bird’s wings. I am. I am. I am.

She wouldn’t lose her composure. She was the headmistress’ stepdaughter, after all. Her behavior would always be examined first.

“I’ll ask the police to keep the questions to a minimum,” Reyna said, and Yuki took a deep breath, because she did not lose her composure, because she was always, always, the image of perfect, no matter what happened, and she was not going to lose her cool today. “It’s all routine.”

“It’s fine.”

“I’m just preparing you for what’s to come,” she said. “I don’t want to make this worse for you. I know how hard it must be.”

Except Reyna didn’t know.

She had no idea.

She could never have any idea at all, because Ariane was dead, and it was Yuki’s fault.

***

 

Laura Pohl is a Brazilian YA author. She likes writing messages in caps lock, quoting Hamilton and obsessing about Star Wars. When not taking pictures of her dog, she can be found curled up with a fantasy or science-fiction book. She makes her home in São Paulo, where she graduated in Literature. She is the author of THE LAST 8 duology, which won the International Latino Book Awards. Her next novel is A BEAUTIFUL DOOM, which opens the Grimrose Girls duology. Learn more about her on her website (www.onlybylaura.com),  and make sure to follow her on twitterinstagram, and pinterest.

Backlist Book of the Month: The Last 8 by Laura Pohl

With sequel The First 7 releasing on March 7th, now is the perfect time to grab this alien sci-fi with a queer cast, including aromantic bisexual lead Clover. I am not typically a sci-fi reader, and this one had me on the edge of my seat the entire time and dying to see what comes next, so if you’re even on the fence because it isn’t your typical read, rest assured it’s the perfect choice to yank you out of your comfort zone a little bit without really doing that at all, especially if you love found family vibes!

The Last 8 by Laura Pohl

The Last 8 (The Last 8, #1)A high-stakes survival story about eight teenagers who outlive an alien attack—perfect for fans of The 5th Wave 

Clover Martinez has always been a survivor, which is the only reason she isn’t among the dead when aliens invade and destroy Earth as she knows it.

When Clover hears an inexplicable radio message, she’s shocked to learn there are other survivors—and that they’re all at the former Area 51. When she arrives, she’s greeted by a band of misfits who call themselves The Last Teenagers on Earth.

Only they aren’t the ragtag group of heroes Clover was expecting. The group seems more interested in hiding than fighting back, and Clover starts to wonder if she was better off alone. But then she finds a hidden spaceship, and she doesn’t know what to believe…or who to trust.

Buy it: B&N | Amazon

New Release Spotlight (+Interview!): Reverie by Ryan La Sala

Honestly, I’m not sure what I can say about Reverie that’s going to top the very fact of its containing a drag queen sorceress, but in five words, this is The World’s Gayest Fever Dream, so I hope that helps any reluctant readers over the fence! It also happens to be a B&N book club pick, so bonus points for being able to participate in that after you read! And now, onward to the blurb and buy links!

Reveries are worlds born from a person’s private fantasies, and once they manifest they can only be unraveled by bringing their conflicts to resolution. Reveries have rules and plots, magic and monsters, and one wrong step could twist the entire thing into a lethal, labyrinthine nightmare. Unraveling them is dangerous work, but it’s what Kane and The Others do.

Or did, until one of The Others purged Kane of his memories. But now Kane is back, and solving the mystery of his betrayal is the only way to unite his team and defeat reality’s latest threat: Poesy, a sorceress bent on harvesting the reveries for their pure, imaginative power.

But what use might a drag queen sorceress have with a menagerie of stolen reveries? And should Kane, a boy with no love for a team that betrayed him, fight to stop her, or defect to aid her?

Buy it: Amazon | B&N | IndieBound | Indigo | Book Depository

Now, as you may know, dear reader, the whole staff of B&N Teen Blog, including yours truly, was let go with approximately no warning, and I had a bunch of interviews lined up as part of my Get to Know a YA Author series, including one by Ryan La Sala himself! And so, I’m gonna go ahead and continue the delight here so you can Get to Know Ryan La Sala!

Describe your new release in 5 words.

I need at least six.

As this is a book blog, let’s hear three recommendations for favorite queer YAs!

We Set the Dark on FireTehlor Kay Mejia – a gorgeously written, compelling story that I return to again and again. The queerness is central to the plot, and the world is incredibly rendered. I adored.

Black Wings Beating  – Alex FREAKING London!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What a mind, what an imagination. Proxy was the first book of his that I read, and I would have been a life long fan with just that. But lucky for humanity, he consistently is delivering excellent books. We are so blessed.

The Wise and the Wicked – Rebecca Podos — Wow did I adore this book. It’s creepy, grim, fantastical, and has one of my fav recent romances. I actually didn’t know much going in, and I’m glad. I hope you read it, and love discovering it as much as I did.

What’s your favorite thing to do when you’re not writing or reading?

Anybody who’s been to my house could answer this: arts and crafts. I have a constant need to create stuff using my hands. Along with drawing, I’ve recently been doing a lot of bedazzling and fabric work. My second book is all about arts and crafts, and specifically cosplay, and it’s directly inspired by my own fascination with using materials to shape an idea into something tangible, cool, and a little magical.

I also go to the gym a lot. Maybe you think that means working out, but it actually means sashaying on a treadmill to Broadway dance numbers, at very high speeds, until a get flung backwards all at once.

Where’s your dream Book Tour stop?

The Vatican. Wouldn’t that be just wild? But the Pope and I haven’t texted in years. So instead I’ll say: DragCon. It’s a massive drag convention organized by RuPaul, and I would love the opportunity to meet many of the queens that inspired me to write Poesy, my own queen in Reverie. It would also give me a chance to talk to young, queer readers, who are the people I’m most interested in reaching with my work.

If you could retell any story as a YA novel, what would it be and why?

I have major aspirations of digging into some of my favorite, old operas and doing YA retellings. In operatic fantasy, there are simply no rules. Just none. It all comes down to the drama, the performance, and the emotion. And I love applying that same production to my books.

That, or CATS, for all the same reasons.

What’s your favorite way to reward yourself for publishing a book?

For any of my achievements, I tend to lean heavy into retail therapy. But not like, “Oh I want this cute sweater” retail therapy. I mean, “decide I’m now a person who cannot bear to sit on a couch that’s not made from crushed velvet” retail therapy. I think it’s because I spend so much time being an anthropomorphic crab person on my way towards publication, what with all the writing and shut-in-tendencies and all that. By the time I actually hit a milestone, I’m ready to husk off my entire self and just reinvent me. And usually the most expedient way to do that is to buy something so bizarre to your everyday life that it feels like an ejection.

What are you working on now?

Between you, me, and the entire internet? A sequel. 🙂

(c) Lauren Takakjian

Ryan La Sala grew up in Connecticut, but only physically. Mentally, he spent most of his childhood in the worlds of Sailor Moon and Xena: Warrior Princess, which perhaps explains all the twirling. He studied Anthropology and Neuroscience at Northeastern University before becoming a project manager specialized in digital tools. He technically lives in New York City, but has actually transcended material reality and only takes up a human shell for special occasions, like brunch, and to watch anime (which is banned on the astral plane). Reverie is Ryan’s debut novel. You can visit him at ryanlasala.com.

New Releases: December 2019

LGBTQReads is an Amazon, IndieBound, and Apple affiliate, which means purchasing through those links will bring a small percentage of income back to the site. Please use them if you have the means!

Collie Jolly by Leigh Landry (1st)

Ashley’s never owned a dog, much less trained one. But she’s not about to let that little detail stop her—especially during the holiday season—from applying for this dog training job. Her new gig is the perfect way to survive the recession while strolling the festive streets of New Orleans with a cute pooch. The biggest challenge? Heeling a growing attraction to her stunning shut-in of a boss.

When her girlfriend died a year ago, Madison found herself overwhelmed by grief and her girlfriend’s rambunctious puppy. Now the dog is an unmanageable, attention-starved reminder of everything Madison has lost. She’s still afraid to face the world, but her vibrant new dog trainer—with the help of a furry sidekick—is determined to bring light, laughter, and Christmas cheer back into Madison’s life.

Buy it: Amazon | iBooks

This Will Kill That by Danielle K. Roux (3rd)

District City is full of monsters. Not the kind that appear particularly vile from the outside. The kind who murder innocent people for no apparent reason. Abandoned houses are haunted by wayward spirits. Leaders of rival Colors clash over the secrets of a brutal past.

After the Plague thinned out the population, Rin Morana figured people would have stopped killing each other. No such luck. Her parents disappeared, and now she is set to take over as the new Lady Morana, head of the Green faction. To be a leader, Rin must contend with her relationship to her rival, Lady Amaya, as well as her own history of violence.

A series of riddles take Amaya Verity out of her isolated room in the Blue compound and into the hidden spaces of the City. Running away from captivity, Amaya takes shelter with Rin at the old Sydis house. There she meets two young men with demons of their own to contend with and abilities to match. Alan who is hiding out from his abusive ex, and Kazuki who might be the only person in the City that remembers the events of the Plague.

As they dig deeper, Amaya and Rin must decide whether to fight monsters or become them.

Buy it: Amazon | B&N

Reverie by Ryan La Sala (3rd)

Reveries are worlds born from a person’s private fantasies, and once they manifest they can only be unraveled by bringing their conflicts to resolution. Reveries have rules and plots, magic and monsters, and one wrong step could twist the entire thing into a lethal, labyrinthine nightmare. Unraveling them is dangerous work, but it’s what Kane and The Others do.

Or did, until one of The Others purged Kane of his memories. But now Kane is back, and solving the mystery of his betrayal is the only way to unite his team and defeat reality’s latest threat: Poesy, a sorceress bent on harvesting the reveries for their pure, imaginative power.

But what use might a drag queen sorceress have with a menagerie of stolen reveries? And should Kane, a boy with no love for a team that betrayed him, fight to stop her, or defect to aid her?

Buy it: B&N | Amazon | IndieBound

Runemaker by Alex R. Kahler (3rd)

This is the final book in the Runebinder Chronicles

Tenn thought the spirits wanted him to find his fellow Hunter, Aidan, to win the war against the undead. But with Aidan on the brink of self-destruction and Tenn reeling from his lover’s spite, their fated convergence seems far from promising.

Especially because Aidan no longer appears to be fighting for the living.

With the Dark Lady whispering commands and Tom‡s guiding his hand, Aidan slips deeper into darkness. And while the world rallies for its final battle against the Dark Lady’s minions, Tenn finds himself torn between saving the boy who’s slipping away and fulfilling a prophecy he can’t understand—one that will require him to harness the most powerful magic the world has ever seen: the Sphere of Maya.

And depending on who unleashes its power, that magic could either save humanity…or erase it.

Buy it: Amazon | B&N | IndieBound

Hot Ice by Elle Spencer, Aurora Rey, and Erin Zak (10th)

In Ice on Wheels by Aurora Rey, all’s fair in love and roller derby. That’s Riley Fauchet’s motto, until a new job lands her at the same company—and on the same team—as her rival Brooke Landry, the frosty jammer for the Big Easy Bruisers.

In Private Equity by Elle Spencer, Cassidy Bennett spends an unexpected evening at a lesbian nightclub with her notoriously reserved and demanding boss, successful venture capitalist Julia Whitmore. After seeing a different side of Julia, Cassidy can’t seem to shake her desire to know more.

In Closed-Door Policy by Erin Zak, going back to college is never easy, but Caroline Stevens is prepared to work hard and change her life for the better. What she’s not prepared for is Dr. Atlanta Morris, her new professor whose tough demeanor is no match for Caroline’s burgeoning confidence.

Buy it: Amazon | B&N | IndieBound

Eight Kinky Nights by Xan West (16th)

A femme kink expert who recently realized something new about her own sexuality…

Leah, a 51 year old fat Jewish queer femme, is an experienced submissive who recently came to terms with being gray ace and is trying to figure out how to rework her life and relationships in a way that more fully honors her gray aceness: as a kink educator, as a sex shop owner, and as a polyamorous kinky person with multiple ongoing play relationships.

A newly single butch who wants to finally explore her dominance…

Her best friend Jordan, a 49 year old fat disabled Jewish pansexual stone butch with PTSD, is newly divorced, has just gotten an awesome new job, moved to NYC and is subletting a room in Leah’s apartment. After years of vanilla monogamous marriage, Jordan wants to explore kink and polyamory. Jordan devoted her adult life to parenting her younger sister and building a home with her wife, and now she is going after what she wants, which may even include making a move on Leah after all these years.

Eight kink lessons between friends…

Leah offers Jordan eight kink lessons, one for each night of Chanukah, to help Jordan find her feet as a novice dominant, certain that they can keep it friendly and educational. After all, she’s been keeping her kink life casual for years. Why would this be different?

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The Kill Club by Wendy Heard (17th)

Jazz will stop at nothing to save her brother.

Their foster mother, Carol, has always been fanatical, but with Jazz grown up and out of the house, Carol takes a dangerous turn that threatens thirteen-year-old Joaquin’s life. Over and over, child services fails to intervene, and Joaquin is running out of time.

Then Jazz gets a blocked call from someone offering a solution. There are others like her—people the law has failed. They’ve formed an underground network of “helpers,” each agreeing to eliminate the abuser of another. They’re taking back their power and leaving a trail of bodies throughout Los Angeles—dubbed the Blackbird Killings. If Jazz joins them, they’ll take care of Carol for good.

All she has to do is kill a stranger.

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Mangos and Mistletoe by Adriana Herrera (23rd)

Kiskeya Burgos left the tropical beaches of the Dominican Republic with a lot to prove. As a pastry chef on the come up, when she arrives in Scotland, she has one goal in mind: win the Holiday Baking Challenge. Winning is her opportunity to prove to her family, her former boss, and most importantly herself, she can make it in the culinary world. Kiskeya will stop at nothing to win , that is, if she can keep her eyes on the prize and off her infuriating teammate’s perfect lips.

Sully Morales, home cooking hustler, and self-proclaimed baking brujita lands in Scotland on a quest to find her purpose after spending years as her family’s caregiver. But now, with her home life back on track, it’s time for Sully to get reacquainted with her greatest love, baking. Winning the Holiday Baking Challenge is a no brainer if she can convince her grumpy AF baking partner that they make a great team both in and out of the kitchen before an unexpected betrayal ends their chance to attain culinary competition glory.

Buy it: Amazon