Queer for the New Year

Nine Stories of New Beginnings

by Leo Otherland

Editions:KindlePaperback

“Now is the time to release the burdens you have been carrying.”

The holiday season is traditionally one of reunions, homecomings, and family gatherings, but for the LGBTQIA+ community, it can be a time of anxiety and dread—a time we must hide our true selves in order to feel welcome. Too often, the holidays bring about loneliness and pain—a longing to be unequivocally accepted, seen, and loved for who we are.

This season, we invite you to be Queer for the New Year! Enter nine fantastical worlds and witness rebirth and release as individuals let go of the past and welcome the new year with open arms and fearless hearts. In the final minutes to midnight, journey with us as we discover that acceptance can be found in the most unlikely of places, pain is not forever, and if nothing feels okay, then it is not the end.

Move from the heartaches of old, make a fresh start with hope and renewal in your heart, and join us in being—

queer for the new year.

Against Coven Policy by Leo Otherland

Victor (Vic) Lazarus has avoided his home town since he was lucky enough to leave it to join the main Coven and become one of the magical caretakers of the world. But when his aunt passes and leaves his childhood home to him AND his sister, he's foced to go back home. There's... a few things about himself Vic has changed since leaving, and his return will mean reconciling his present with his past. And though Vic has dreaded this meeting of worlds it just might not be so bad.

Published: December 2, 2022
Cover Artists:

Rue Sparks

Genres:

Fantasy, Fantasy - Contemporary, Fantasy - Dark Fantasy, Fantasy - LGBTQ+, Fantasy - Low Fantasy, Fantasy - Romance

Tags:

format - anthology, identity - asexual, identity - gay, identity - lesbian, identity - polyamorous, identity - transgender

Languages Available: English
Languages Available: English

About the Author

Leo Otherland is a queer author, literal goblin, member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association, and lover of all things strange and unordinary. This elusive scribbler acquired his passion for weaving stories of dark and broken things through a childhood spent huddling in books and dodging the unfriendly spirits that resided in the haunted house he called home.Still in disbelief that his book, Inflicted, was a success, Leo has locked himself away in a very ordinary apartment hidden away somewhere unobtrusive in the arctic north woods of Wisconsin. In seclusion, he continues to doodle out several different novels at once, as well as various "short" pieces of fan fiction. During the few occasions he is not writing, this finicky, unrepentant otaku enjoys reading web comics, watching anime, and playing Japanese role-playing games. And while it's rare to catch this skittish wordsmith out in daylight, he can occasionally be located on his website, leootherland.com, or on Facebook and Twitter @LeoOtherland. For more frequent updates, subscribe to his newsletter: bit.ly/TheGoblinSpeaks.

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Summary: The Mother Dark. The Chained Goddess The Serpent of Judgment In the space between the Realm of Mortality, the Expanse of the Celestial Choir, and the Void, Shi Coils around Hir throne. Hir opelecant gaze looks not to the singing stars nor the great black ocean of lucious agony. Instead, they look to the chains that bind the Goddess to this place. They were at first chains of sadism and dark intent. Every link forged by the Void to keep her from the love of Hir children in Mortality. Yet as she undulated within their grasp, her own sensual mind learned their construction. Now Shi is no longer a Goddess in chains, but a Goddess of chains. Forging new links in secret, Shi imbues them with the stories of Hir many children. Hir mystical eyes look into the glowing loop of eldritch metal. The patterns of silver-blue that formed as it cooled told the story of a love triangle that defies the boundaries of normality. A deathly howl echoes into the night, a young girl is visited in her dreams by the wolf's immortal spirit. He teaches her of his kind, the Uadeans. As she grows up, the wolf becomes more handsome to her own maturing sentiments, and she falls in love. Yet this love was not meant for the wolf, but for his mate. Now, years after, Jenova stands at the edge of life and death. Having earned her right to stand with the others of the pack, the woman prepares herself for the Heartsblood Rite. She must challenge one of these lycanthropic beings to ritual combat. The prize is the Heart of an Uadean and all the power that comes with it. Jenova faces her opponent in the ritual circle, the lust of the crowd overwhelming her human senses. She has not intention of killing tonight. The heart offered as the prize is that of the she-wolf Jenova had been chosen to love... And to bear the children she cannot.