I’ve been a bit busy, but I wanted to pop in and say – Magician won the Queer Indie Book Award for Best Fantasy! That’s pretty awesome, is what that is – thank you all for loving my magician and his prince. It means a lot, especially for this one, which lived in my head for a decade before I could write it. So, thank you!

Also! Today is a Book Release Day! Spells & Sensibility, book one of the Regency Magicians trilogy that K. S. Murphy and I have been writing, is out now! It’s got…a deadly curse! A former spy! The head librarian of the Royal College of Wizardry! M/M Regency-era magicians, magic, and mysteries! Tea & scones! Starlit first kisses!

You can buy it at Amazon here, or at JMS Books here,or wherever you like to buy books! And we are working on book two, so that’s coming soon… 

Lots of things to share! First, I hope you all had a marvelous holiday, whatever form that takes for you, and that you’re all staying safe and cozy! Much love, always.

Okay, let’s see...the Things, mostly just in the order I think of them...

First, I have a short story release tomorrow! January 8!

Three (or Four, depending on how one counts) Cool Things to share today, and a lot of excitement!

First, a free book! JMS Books is doing a free ebook per day Advent Calendar this month, and mine’s today – and it’s Seaworthy (Character Bleed book 1)!

Actors filming a Napoleonic Wars drama & falling in love! Terrible bread puns! A Good Sex Awards runner-up for Sexiest Consent! Come grab it now!

Next, I’m over on Ofelia Grand’s blog today, chatting about my new short story release! “December with Peppermint” is a short fluffy holiday follow-up to “October by Candlelight,” and it’s all about handmade decorations, terrible puns about mint, and definitely no one making a holiday-themed sex tape, no matter what Finn’s agent suggests! Come read about it – and the Colby from Character Bleed cameo! – over here at Ofelia’s!

“December with Peppermint” is a 5k short, a holiday follow-up for Finn and Wes from “October by Candlelight,” my autumn-themed moving-in-together story—here, they’re getting ready for their first Christmas in their home together! Which comes with families wanting to visit, and Finn wanting to decorate everything in sight, and Wes needing to grade papers…and, on top of that, Finn’s agent worrying that he’s not visible enough, not memorable enough, not someone casting directors think of, these days…in need of something drastic, perhaps, to get people talking. (The sex tape suggestion isn’t entirely serious. Though…if Finn and Finn’s boyfriend might be willing to go along with it…) (Wes: “Not in this or any other universe, as much as I love you.”)

And look at the adorable cover! You can get it at Amazon here, or at JMS Books here, or all the places you like to buy books!

And…finally…the big news!

So… Frost & Raine, my little paranormal m/m romance novella about a Cupid & his Frost spirit, just won the 2020-2021 Rainbow Award for Bisexual Fantasy & Paranormal Romance – and was a Runner-Up in overall Best Bisexual Book!

The other two I submitted – Seaworthy (Character Bleed book one) & Cadence and the Pearl – also received Honorable Mentions! And I pretty much haven’t stopped smiling about it since yesterday! So many fabulous authors – it’s such an honor, and such a good cause, with over $10k raised for various charities! And now I suppose I should properly get back to work on the Frost & Raine spin-off, which is Luke’s story, and his own magical happy ending…

A cover reveal, a book rec, a guest post, and some news! Lots of things! So let’s dive in…

First, I’ve done a little guest post about “The Snails of Dun Nas” over on Ofelia Grand’s blog, in which I talk about sword-and-sorcery pulp influences and giant snails! You can find that over here.

Second, both Seaworthy (Character Bleed book 1) & “Frost and Raine” have received Honorable Mentions in this year’s Rainbow Book Awards! Very cool.

Third, speaking of the Character Bleed books and Jason & Colby, the bonus story “Cinnamon & Strawberries” will be part of this year’s JMS Books Top Ten Gay Romance collection, release date December 25! Thank you all for loving these characters and this world as much as I do. 

Fourth, a cover reveal – if you enjoyed “October by Candlelight,” my fluffy candles-and-emotions autumn short – Finn and Wes will be back in “December with Peppermint,” out December 8! Holiday decorations, peppermint hot chocolate, some emotional hurt/comfort, and fun with ribbon. Here’s the cover…

Fifth, a book rec, if you are in the mood for luscious lesbian historical romance! Author-friend Edale Lane has a new release out: Shadows over Milan, book five of the Night Flyer Series – here’s her description:

Murder strikes Milan, threatening the city’s future under an ominous shadow of war. Was it the Spanish, the Germans, the Milanese, or were darker forces at play? The city is thrust into a frenzy only the Night Flyer can quell, but can she halt the wheels of war?

Maddie’s greatest fears are realized when the Night Flyer incurs a serious injury that leaves her just short of dead. Florentina suffers more than physical pain as she grapples with a crisis of faith. Will she be forced to choose between continuing as the Night Flyer and staying with the woman she loves?

The final installment of the Night Flyer Series is riddled with mystery, political intrigue, danger, and heart-felt moments as the various storylines from throughout the saga come together in an exciting conclusion you don’t want to miss!

Buy link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09KF53VTZ

I feel like I’m forgetting something, but I’m sure I’ll think of it later – it’s that time of the semester when thoughts are scattered and I really want to just curl up with a cozy beverage and write some words…with a cuddly cat, and gingerbread coffee, and a fire in the fireplace!

Oh, gosh, I’ve been neglecting this newsletter thing! Lots of Things happening. Let me share some of The Things…

First, Seaworthy is officially the Runner-Up in the Sexiest Consent category in the Good Sex Awards! It’s such an honor – and I’m so glad it’s that story and that scene; it’s actually one of the first scenes I wrote for Jason and Colby, and it’s very much them. And also it’s the scene I’ve described as “the best sex scene I’ve written in which no one touches anyone” and also “THE TEA IS A METAPHOR”. So I’m just delighted, and still smiling about it! You can find all the winners, runners-up, etc over here: https://goodsexawards.com/winners/

Second, my flash fiction short “Openings” has been selected for the Ink anthology of queer science fiction, fantasy, and speculative fiction – our release date is August 10! Here’s the Amazon buy link (it’s available other places, like Kobo and such, too): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B099QBY988

Third, the contract is all signed with JMS Books for the m/m retelling of “The Princess and the Pea,” which has grown to 47k and is now called The Featherbed Puzzle. It’s got jigsaw puzzles and Terrible Suitors and a lot of soup for some reason and a dark & stormy night and one True Love who is a prince who also rescues homeless puppies and kittens, and a rose garden, and too many featherbeds, of course, and it’s pure fluffy frothy ridiculousness and I had such a good time writing it. I think there’ll be a bonus/spin-off story for Arthur’s best friend. He deserves it.

Fourth, I am over on A.L. Lester’s blog chatting about Magician today! And book playlists, and naming characters, and my firm belief that Gareth would get along with Peter S. Beagle’s Prince Lir from The Last Unicorn. You can come read it all over here (despite my name being spelled slightly wrong in the url; but that’s all right, no one ever gets it right): https://allester.co.uk/kristen-noone-magician/

Fifth, One Night in London – the three-novellas-in-one Regency m/m novel I co-authored with K.S. Murphy and Shelly Greene – is now out in paperback! You can find it at Amazon here (https://www.amazon.com/One-Night-London-Shelly-Greene/dp/B098WDC6CG/ ) or at JMS Books here (https://www.jms-books.com/paperbacks-c-86/one-night-in-london-print-p-3923.html ), where it is on a very small sort of sale – 9% off!

I think that’s everything, unless I can think of a sixth… I’ve been doing a lot of rereading of Mercedes Lackey’s Valdemar novels lately – they were so fundamental to my teen years, and I was chatting with someone about Vanyel and Tragic-But-Also-Kind-Of-Happy-Ending? Early Gay Fantasy Characters, and then I ended up doing a massive nostalgic reread. They mostly hold up, if not entirely, I think, but I do see why I started finding some of the later books repetitive. The newest one, though, Beyond, the one that just came out, is actually really good – a return to the strengths of the series, exploring some unanswered questions of the history of that world plus morally complex characters, and it made me happy. So that’s sort of a book rec?

Also I’ve had an academic book chapter proposal accepted for a Very Neat Thing, about which more later. (It’s related to Supernatural, let’s say that.)

I have a LOT of thoughts about KJ Charles and how much I love the Will Darling Adventures (there, a proper romance book rec!) but that’ll have to be a separate blog post, because THOUGHTS, I HAVE THEM. (Pretty much all incoherent delight and pure admiration for the skill, mind you. I love Kim. And Will. And KJC for writing them.)

Love you!

Just a quick bit of exciting news - and I hope you’re all doing well!

So I was just reminded by a friend to check the Good Sex Awards Finalists List (and just got the official shiny email while typing this!) and, er...

Just dropping by with some news – a paperback release and some upcoming events!

Cadence and the Pearl is now out in paperback! So you can have a shiny physical copy! It’s slightly cheaper directly from JMS Books over here, but you can also find it on Amazon here, and wherever else you like to buy books! It’s full of ocean magic in a vaguely 17th-century setting, about a schoolteacher and a playwright and enchantment. And it comes with a bonus story or two…

The pre-order link for my next little flash fiction short story is up at JMS, too! (I don’t think it’s on Amazon yet, or at least I can’t find it.) “A Sonnet for a Thunderstorm,” is historical and a little steampunk (a retired pirate! a wealthy merchant’s son! 18th century submarines!) and very sweet – and currently only 79 cents, for pre-orders! Release date April 17.

And some more cool things…I’ll be doing a little Zoom talk about Batman as part of the DePaul Pop Culture Conference Celebration of Superheroes on May 1 – the conference is free, if you want to come hang out with us! Details here.

And I got to do a tv interview! Nothing big, and I won’t say too much more now (after all, who knows, they might have more news and end up not airing it or something), but it was very fun. We talked about romance and representation, and had a good time – so I’ll let you all know when it airs!

That’s it for now - stay safe out there!