pairing – f-f

Word Count: Click here to reveal50000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Claire, a Detective Inspector in her late forties, has known and worked with Estelle for many years. Ever since they met, it felt like there could have been something more there: Estelle's gentle flirting and compliments have been a constant in Claire's life, but her self confidence never allowed her to truly believe the other woman meant anything by it. Until one day, Claire breaks her leg and finds out soon after that Estelle has decided to retire from the police, at only 56. Something doesn't feel right there, but before Claire can begin to ask more questions, Estelle offers to take her away to her seaside cottage for a week. After all, with Claire on sick leave and Estelle retired, they both have the time. Surely a week of lazy mornings, too much food and wine, and walks through the countryside aren't enough to make Claire fall when she’s resisted for so long?

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

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

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

Word Count: Click here to reveal43000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealBisexual, Lesbian (Click here to hide)

Summary: Home for the holidays never felt so complicated. When Joelle returns home to the little Michigan town of Butternut for the holidays after many years away, romance is the last thing on her mind, but a planned encounter to confront her best friend from high school, her first girlfriend, stirs up long-buried feelings. Sid is now a successful romance author, and Joelle believes Sid's latest Christmas book slanders her. Yet as they spend more time together decorating the town and helping Sid's family foundation, Joelle starts falling for Sid all over again. Just when it seems they may find a way to rekindle their romance, a threat from Joelle's past endangers their holiday and their future. To keep her new love, Joelle must confront her past and open her guarded heart. Can two friends, to almost enemies, and back to friends, become more than that once again? Find out in this heartwarming story about coming home and finding love in the most unexpected place. Even long-lost loves deserve a second chance at Christmas.

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

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

Summary: RISE (noun / verb) Eight definitions to inspire writers around the world, and an unlimited number of possible stories to tell: 1) An upward slope or movement 2) A beginning or origin 3) An increase in amount or number 4) An angry reaction 5) To take up arms 6) To return from death 7) To become heartened or elated 8) To exert oneself to meet a challenge Rise features 300-word speculative flash fiction stories from across the rainbow spectrum, from the minds of the writers of Queer Sci Fi.

Word Count: Click here to reveal37000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Mave Kitten is ecstatic when she lands a dream job as a paranormal journalist for a local newspaper, the Echo. It’s a chance in a lifetime for a neurodivergent Witch. She’s a little nervous about the boss, leather-clad motorcyclist Lisa Blonde. But Lisa’s got a heart of gold, and Mave soon settles into her new role. There’s even an office cat to help out. Only one tiny problem remains—Lisa doesn’t believe in the paranormal. How is Mave to change her mind? Her Little Joke Mave and Lisa investigate a creepy sound emanating from a nearby canal. Little do they know to what depths the trail will lead: Ghosts, a haunted well, ignorance, a flapping bird. What of the woman in green? Mave’s interviews lead to some unexpected situations, and all the time, the hissing sound grows louder. The last place Mave and Lisa wish to visit is the depths of a macabre well. Heck, no. They’re just ordinary women with bills to pay. But entities are fashionably unpredictable, and ghost whisperers can’t choose when to answer a supernatural SOS. When the darkness closes in, Mave is glad of Lisa’s winning formula of strength and softness. Swamp Woman Although Mave loves her Sunday dates with Lisa, she wishes the outings would lead to something more intimate. When a swamp monster at Ladybower Reservoir goes AWOL and a researcher disappears, it’s a brilliant opportunity for Mave and Lisa to get better acquainted and stretch their investigative skills. Mave leaves no gravestone unturned. Phantom aircraft, a missing scientist, abandoned lizard tails, tussles in the bushes: all pathways lead to one heated conclusion—it’s time to tell Lisa how she feels. Kitten and Blonde set forth on Lisa’s motorbike armed with packed lunches and crucial questions. Why is a mysterious noise coming from the well? What’s causing the toxic chemicals at Ladybower Reservoir? Where’s the nearest pub? Maybe the most crucial question of all is whether Lisa Blonde will ever believe in the supernatural.

Word Count: Click here to reveal20000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Craw city has always been magical, at least to Luce. No boring war could ever make her love her seaside home any less. There’s the beach, where she and Adu can mess around and cause trouble, as well as the ancient songs they love to sing. Legends state that a vengeful mermaid named Sea Mother will protect the children from war. Why worry about politics and fighting? Nobody would risk the wrath of an angry sea serpent. Would they? So why are groups of people fleeing the city, and why do Luce’s parents disappear every day to partake in mystery war work? What exactly are they doing, and why doesn’t Luce’s artist mother invite her along? One day, Luce spies something that rocks her beliefs and changes everything. Her faith in the sea, and all she holds dear, will be sorely tested. But love is fierce, and so are sea goddesses.

Word Count: Information not available

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

Summary: "Today I swam through MOMA. Leon says it was a waste, encasing the art, then flooding the museum—frivolous and elitist. I say it was a gesture of optimism, a triumph of technology and political will." Want to thrill to the possibilities of a hopeful future? We asked a bunch of sci-fi writers to spin tales of a better future, imagining ways in which the world might become a better place. From a swim through an underwater museum to a joyous dance at a futuristic concert, from the eco-friendly aftermath of an alien invasion and retreat to the refurbishing of an old climate-ravaged home in New Vancouver, these fourteen short sci-fi stories will to restore your faith in the future. A world transformed is a world we can all hope for. Book three in the Writers Save the World short story anthologies. If you enjoy this book, check out Fix the World and Save the World.

Word Count: Click here to reveal49000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealBisexual, Lesbian (Click here to hide)

Summary: Can a fake romance lead to true love? Iva Romano runs a successful event planning business specializing in weddings with her best friend Jon, but secretly operates a side hustle staging fake nuptials for clients with something to hide. When investigative journalist Cheyenne Moore asks her to plan a sham wedding to fool her conservative family and to pose as her fiancée, Iva reluctantly agrees despite her ethical reservations. As they pretend to be in love and hurtle through wedding planning, the lines between real and fake begin to blur. Iva struggles to reconcile her growing feelings for Cheyenne with her concerns about the morality of their deceptive arrangement. Further complicating matters, a rival wedding planner finds out about Iva and Jon's secret side business and threatens to expose them. In the end, Iva and Cheyenne will have to decide if their relationship is based on lies or love. Will they take a leap of faith to find their own happy ending? Or, will the falsehoods tear them apart? Filled with humor, heartache, and deception, this charming fake relationship tale explores what happens when make-believe becomes all too real.

Word Count: Click here to reveal16K (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: What’s a butch to do? Ignore everything she’s ever believed or listen to her heart? Straight-talking gardener, Shelly, doesn’t understand why her flowers refuse to bloom and why the weather won’t do as it should. Give her a square patch of earth and she’ll bring it to life. Hand over a power drill, and Shelley can knock together a fancy bedroom in under a day. Physical tasks are easy. If only people were as straightforward! The problems arise when she begins work on a garden near the sea. The owner insists the property has a water issue and demands an excavation of the area. Shelly digs deep, but the ground is dry as sand. In frustration, she talks to the flowers. A sweet voice answers from beneath the ground, and out flies a beautiful Jinni who badly needs the help of a buff woman. Shelly insists the voice is her subconscious. After all, it’s been a year since her last relationship. Everyone gets lonely. Right? Magic? Get out of town! Supernatural spirits? Nope. Paranormal? Don’t make her laugh! Kind, loving Jinni. The unluckiest of magical spirits with a history of choosing the wrong mistress. All she’s ever wanted is the love of a strong woman exactly like Shelly… Can Shelly find the strength to believe what’s in front of her nose and make them both happy?  

Word Count: Click here to reveal40000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealBisexual, Gay, Lesbian (Click here to hide)

Summary: Lizzie Ferguson isn’t your typical 1912 woman! She does not intend to ever marry, her lovers could be male or female, she was a Pinkerton Agent, carries a Derringer in her handbag, her best friend is Stiles Long (The Pinkerton Man Series), and she will do anything to solve a case. Including dressing in rags and scrubbing toilets in a male brothel. You can read some of her adventures with Stiles and Michael in the Pinkerton Man Series. Now, she’s beginning her own adventures and she’s not afraid to do anything it takes to catch a killer.

Word Count: Click here to reveal54000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: When Andy Campbell, Detective Inspector in Leicester, gets assigned the case of Mr Parry’s disappearance, she expects to find nothing else than an umpteenth marriage ruined by a husband taking off with his mistress. Instead, she ends up investigating a murder case, and struggling to fight her attraction for the wife of the missing man. When she realises the feelings are mutual, things definitely get complicated… A secret, forbidden relationship caught in the middle of a murder investigation... Can it become something more?

Word Count: Click here to reveal20000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: It Takes Two to Write a Love Story A writing retreat brings Caitlin and Iris together at a secluded cabin in the mountains. Caitlin is a successful romance novelist and Iris is a struggling veterinary nurse who seeks solace in her diary. They're both deeply romantic souls who share a love of writing. Soon, they realise their paths have crossed before. It has been eight years since they met at a friend's wedding. They spent the night talking and dancing, followed by an unforgettable night of passion. The memory had woven itself into their souls; a bittersweet reminder of what could have been. Although life led them in separate directions, neither of them has forgotten that night. Then and now, destiny has brought them together. Will they repeat the past? Or will they finally surrender to their feelings and transform them into something more powerful?  

Word Count: Click here to reveal70,259 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealBisexual (Click here to hide)

Summary: Her passion smolders. Will it ignite? When art student Melissa Hopkins finally unpacks the two boxes her Aunt Phoebe left for her and sees Phoebe’s black and white photos, it’s like opening Pandora’s Box. A simple quest to find a new job morphs into an about face—not just in her art, but in her career and personal life. Short on funds now that her graduate stipend is ending, she applies to work where Aunt Phoebe once worked: a center for sexuality and sex studies. Sworn off women after a disastrous relationship, Center Director Harry Gage ignores the danger signals and hires the striking young woman who reminds him of his former lover. Her air of innocence will captivate center viewers, so he’s sure she’ll be a hit on camera. What he’s not prepared for is how she pierces his heart. When the sparks flare up, is it love or just sex—and what must each of them risk to find out?

Word Count: Click here to reveal45000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: These three tales tell the story of Tharassas before the Tharassas Cycle, including the origin of the hencha queens, the ce’faine, and the colonization of the Highlands, essential companions for the four novels that make up the cycle: The Fallen Angel Charlie Fah, Cha’Fah to most of the world, has never fit in with the other citizens of Gully Town, thanks to his darker skin that sets him apart. But one day, an Angel arrives on a supply run from Earth, and what happens next sets Charlie on a new path that will turn his life upside down. The Last Run Sera is the last runner from Earth, bringing badly needed supplies to the Tharassas Colony across a twenty-five year gulf between the planets. Jas works on a hencha farm to make ends meet, harvesting berries from the semi-sentient plants. Neither one that knows their lives—and worlds—are about to change forever. The Emp Test Jey awakens to find himself in the care of a handsome stranger—a cheff from one of the mountain tribes. Afraid for his life, Jey has no choice but to let the man take care of him and his broken leg. Avain is on his Aud'ling—the coming-of-age test that requires him to spend a couple months away from his own people. The two of them will have to come to an understanding if they're going to help one another. The Last Run and The Emp Test have been published before in previous stand-alone editions, but The Fallen Angel is a new story written exclusively for this collection.

Word Count: Click here to reveal120000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealAce, Lesbian (Click here to hide)

Summary: She meets her match! When ice queens converge at a business conference, they exhibit ultimate control, authority, and strength. The conference forces the women to show their vulnerabilities. Will they thrive in the training situation? Is there a chance that any romantic unions could form? Or will any sparks of romance remain hidden beneath the icy exteriors of the attendees? Three novellas of power and passion, all with a Happily Ever After.

Word Count: Click here to reveal10000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Delia loves a beautiful green-eyed woman who gives her exquisite sensual pleasure but only in her dreams. To meet her love in flesh, she must find the blue door in the duke’s castle. When the duke proposes, she marries him even though four of his previous wives disappeared mysteriously. Delia is willing to risk being the fifth casualty of the powerful duke if she can find her one true love. Once married and mistress of the castle, she locates her lover behind the blue door and discovers more than she bargained for. The duke accuses her of witchcraft, and Delia fears for her life. Is her love strong enough to show her what is real and what’s a trap?  

Word Count: Click here to reveal85700 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: War brews among vampires. Facing extinction at the hands of an ancient one, the Vampire Council plods along with a secret strategy. Jaret Bachmann, both vampire and witch, fears the Council elders move too slowly. He has the power to assist them in defeating their enemy, but the longer they keep him at arm’s length the more defiant he becomes. He’s already pushing the boundaries to assert his will when tragedy strikes, devastating him and compelling him to become even more rebellious. A young vampire alone in the world, Jaret struggles to find his true self and discover how he wants to spend the remainder of his eternal life, even as the vampire war intensifies and the rogue vampire strikes again. To compound his problems, he’s faced with the allure of a hot renegade vampire, not sure if he is friend or foe. Who will win the war, and where will Jaret’s soul-searching lead him? Find out in The Vampire’s War.

Word Count: Information not available

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

Summary: Charlotte Miller is tired of feeling like a failure. She may have gotten herself fired, her love life has imploded…so when she gets the call that the annual Summit Springs Christmas Bazaar, which helps support her family’s farm, is in trouble, she heads home to try to save the day. Maybe her luck will change and she will be happier for the holidays. Too bad her car decides to break down on the way. Naomi “Lars” Beckett is too busy with the tree farm she runs and Christmastime to worry about a stranded hottie like Charlotte, but when they get snowed in together at an old cabin, she figures that’s what she gets for trying to help. On the surface these two seem to have nothing in common, but opposites do attract, especially with the magic of the season, and they find they have more in common than they think. Once they’re back in the crazy mix of family, well-meaning town folk, and trying to make things just right for Christmas though, will they be able to make something together that lasts longer than old wrapping paper and holiday leftovers? Christmas Bizarre is a small town, opposites attract, lesbian romance set in fictional Summit Springs, Colorado.

Word Count: Information not available

Character Identities: Click here to revealBisexual, Demisexual (Click here to hide)

Summary: (Jimmy) I fell for my best friend. Shifters like us have mates. If I didn't know better, I'd swear he was mine, but Savi's feelings for me? Purely platonic. I need to find a way to fall out of love with him. Because losing him? Not an option. Who would have thought a trip to the zoo would be the start of my forever? At just five years old I knew that the cute kitty in the cage was meant to be mine…my best friend, my person, MY Kiki. At sixteen, I prayed to every deity known in the human world that he would be my mate. At nineteen, I left. Now?  Our lives will never be the same.   (Savi) We should be planning the best summer ever, instead, I’m learning how to live without my best friend for the first time since he and his family rescued me from my terrible foster “parents” when I was a kid. Jimmy, my best friend, my person, up and left me for 6 whole months! One hundred eighty-two and a half-ish days. Maybe forever. It’s only a matter of time before Jimmy finds his mate and our separation is permanent. If only I was that mate. Because it’s only a matter of time before he can’t deny anymore that he needs more than me. He needs a mate. Something I’m not, something I can never be. Shouldn’t be. For anyone, but especially not for Jimmy LaFleur. For All Eternity : Destinies Entwined is an ongoing M/M Best Friends to Lovers, Paranormal, Kindle Vella Romance serial. It contains multiple points of view, but the main bulk of the story and main focus is on these best friends and their path to their eternity. For All Eternity : Destinies Entwined features an autistic main character, traumatic pasts, horses, and lots and lots of cuddling. Oh, yeah, and Blood Play (eventually!) The friendship these two have is nothing ordinary! Note: Heat level of 3 is indicative of the heat in the story thus far, not the entire story, which will be a 5.

Word Count: Click here to reveal67000 (Click here to hide)

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

Summary: Androids & Aliens is Scott's third short story collection - eight sci fi and sci-fantasy shorts that run the gamut from cyborgs to (comedic) alien invasions: Rise: The rise in sea levels caused by climate change swallowed Venice beneath the lagoon half a century ago. But what if we could bring it back? Ping: I was a real estate agent by day, and a museum curator in the evening at a sci-fi museum. What I saw one night changed everything. What the Rain Brings: Miriam struggles to make a living in post-climate-change Vancouver. But her friend Catalina has it even worse in the Arizona desert. So Miri hatches a plan. High Seven: Zan dreams of making full reals - immersive live virtual reality skins - but his low score may doom him to a life of cheap coding. Full Real: Dek's given up his life of spying for the city. But one more case awaits him. Will he regret it more if he takes it, or turns it down? Shit City: The Bay Area is being walloped by a hurricane, and seventeen-year-old Jason Vasquez has been relocated to a refugee city in the Nevada Desert. Will it be temporary shelter, or change his life? Firedrake: Kerry has always wondered about his deadly powers. But a mysterious bunch of violet roses starts him on the path to discovery - even if he's not sure he's going to like what he finds. The Last Human Heart: I'm one of the Remainers, the few cyborg humans still living on this busted planet. But if my still-human heart finally gives out, I may not live to find out the truth about who I am. This is the first time all of these stories have all been collected in one place, and the first publication of the Pacific Climate Tryptich - What the Rain Brings, High Seven, and Full Real - in any form.