Tag: lgbt

Nemesis Series Review 1 & 2

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Today I’m reviewing the Nemesis Series. Dreadnought and Sovereign are both by April Daniels. Here’s a quick overview of the series as a whole. Then we will get to the reviews of each.

Danny Tozer has a problem: she just inherited the powers of Dreadnought, the world’s greatest superhero.

Until Dreadnought fell out of the sky and died right in front of her, Danny was trying to keep people from finding out she’s transgender. But before he expired, Dreadnought passed his mantle to her, and those secondhand superpowers transformed Danny’s body into what she’s always thought it should be. Now there’s no hiding that she’s a girl.

Dreadnought’s murderer—a cyborg named Utopia—still haunts the streets of New Port City, threatening destruction. If Danny can’t sort through the confusion of coming out, master her powers, and stop Utopia in time, humanity faces extinction.

Dreadnought

Nemesis Series

That’s it. This my whole review in highlighted / blackout poetry form.

Kidding! This book shines by interweaving own voice experiences with a kid picking up the mantle of a famous superhero. It also has the worst/best bad guys in any story I’ve seen in a very long time. There’s nothing redeemable about them, but since their motivations are so every day I found myself rooting for their downfall even harder.

Sovereign

Nemesis Series

The Nemesis Series continues with my next highlighted poetry review for you. I normally care most about the plot the most in sequels. When continuing a story the story is a really important factor. But here, I cared more about how Dreadnought was doing. And that answer makes up the majority of the book. It’s also nice that book 2 showed more community issues giving us a bigger picture of both the superhero and transgender world. There were several lines in this book that were simply brilliant and I stopped to think only a thoughtful author like April Daniel could have pulled them off. Villains continue to be the ~worst~ but to my delight, we also get another trans superhero, Kinetiq, who I love dearly.

I don’t want to spoil anything, but I’m pretty happy how this book ended and I’ll be among the first to nervously and hopefully read a book 3 when we get it.

As a series, I give these two ★★★★½ ! I’d suggest this series for anywho who has ever even vaguely enjoyed superheroes, burnt out on the “trend” or not this story has something unique and powerful to offer.

Don’t miss out on other Rose Reviews.

October’s Little Free Library Picks!

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Thought I’d throw in a Star Wars coloring book and an R2D2 model kit for kids or stressed out adults along with this month’s patreon supported books which are:

How to Be You by Jeffrey Marsh

This book is about how to finally give up on feeling bad about ourselves and discover the best person we can be.

An interactive experience, How to Be You invites you to make the book your own through activities such as coloring in charts, answering questions about how you do the things you do, and discovering patterns in your lives that may be holding you back. Through Jeffrey’s own story of “growing up fabulous in a small farming town”–along with the stories of hero/ines who have transcended the stereotypes of race, age, and gender–you will discover that you are not alone, can deepen your relationship with yourself, and find the courage to take a leap that will change your life.

Their tweets are such a breath of fresh hopeful air I knew I just had to add this book to the collection for anyone who needed it.

The Memory Book by Lara Avery 

They tell me that my memory will never be the same, that I’ll start forgetting things. At first just a little, and then a lot. So I’m writing to remember.

Sammie was always a girl with a plan: graduate at the top of her class and get out of her small town as soon as humanly possible. Nothing will stand in her way–not even a rare genetic disorder the doctors say will slowly start to steal her memories and then her health. What she needs is a new plan.

They say don’t judge a book by its cover, but I saw the design and was instantly curious, so when it came out on paperback I grabbed a copy! Also, the typography is realistic and intriguing from what I’ve seen so far.

The End of Protest by Micah White

Is protest broken? Micah White, co-creator of Occupy Wall Street, thinks so. Disruptive tactics have failed to halt the rise of Donald Trump in the upcoming US presidential election. Movements ranging from Black Lives Matter to environmentalism are leaving activists frustrated. Meanwhile, recent years have witnessed the largest protests in human history. Yet these mass mobilizations no longer change society. Now activism is at a crossroads: innovation or irrelevance.

In The End of Protest Micah White heralds the future of activism. Drawing on his unique experience with Occupy Wall Street, a contagious protest that spread to eighty-two countries, White articulates a unified theory of revolution and eight principles of tactical innovation that are destined to catalyze the next generation of social movements.

I can’t think of any book more timely to America’s mass involvement while those in power give us new and horrific headline s daily.

Little Free Library is a book exchange program in your front yard. Take a book or leave a book at any of the 50,000 micro-libraries in the world.  You can also help sponsor my Read Box here!

Unburied Fables Release Day!

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Hello all! Today is the release of Unburied Fables! This collection enlisted talent around the world. From students to seasoned professionals, these writers came together to raise awareness and reinvent classic stories. While they showcase a wide variety of LGBTQA identities, origins, styles, and endings, all the tales in this anthology have one classic element in common: a happily ever after.

Fifty percent of this collection’s proceeds will be donated to The Trevor Project, a non-profit focused on suicide prevention efforts among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, asexual and other queer youth.

You can win a copy on tumblr or get your own today on Amazon!

Unburied Fables Releases Next Week!

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Over the last week, two people commented on the title of Unburied Fables. Said that these stories are often left buried, or on the importance of having representation unearthed. I’m glad that some people have picked up on the meaning below the surface. Because this project has turned into something really personal. Or as personal a project with fifteen different collaborators can be.

I remember first talking about it, I was sitting on the floor upstairs in my underused office. It was after Pulse, which broke my heart in a way that I hadn’t expected. It was after this hard year where every activist I know is just bone tired.

And I thought that we could all use a little good in our life.
And I thought about stories with happy endings.

And I thought about how I wanted to help create them.

I feel like it’s safe to assume that 2016 isn’t going like anyone expected. But my hope was, if I could dig something of the dirt that it wouldn’t all be a waste. It wouldn’t all be pain and waiting for things to get better.

So I made the decision, had some people help me put the very first things together and asked. Just asked, would anyone else be willing to help me for the sake of community and charity. Would anyone else be willing to help me subvert the bury your gays trope and give our effort, if we had nothing else to give, to The Trevor Project.

And people did.

The collection has some of my friends. Like Rachel Sharp who stepped up and saved this project. But it had so many people I didn’t know at the start. Which was its own kind of magic.

I’ve said a couple of times that our communities often fight with each other and how it tears me apart to see it. But the Unburied Fables collection shows that despite all of that, we can create something good for ourselves, and for each other.

Despite the words already written, I’m near speechless that this book now exists. It seems almost unreal that the ebook is available for pre-order right now. It seems almost unreal after a month of the airwaves jammed with pain, hell after ten of them, that on October 25th the paperback will be out. That it will be a tangible thing that you can hold. That in some way or form these stories will last forever now, like yours.

Books That Inspire

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Books That Inspire: The Legend Mirror Series
(A Guest Post By Saruuh Kelsey)

I’ve always been inspired by books one way or another, whether that was children’s stories when I was younger, or YA novels when I got older. But a few books stood out and spoke to me as a writer, as well as a reader. These are the books that inspired me to write, and keep writing, The Legend Mirror series.

The Lynburn Legacy Trilogy, by Sarah Rees Brennan 

These were the first books I read that featured bisexual and lesbian characters, and it thrilled me so much to see part of the queer community represented without the tragic ending I’d heard of and dreaded. Reading about Holly and Angela falling in love made me desperate to write my own f/f story, and The Beast of Callaire—the first Legend Mirror book—was born from that.

The Soul Screamers Series, by Rachel Vincent 

This was the series that got me really hooked on mythological creatures. Kaylee in the Soul Screamers series is a Banshee, and reading about her, I became interested in other creatures like her. At some point down the long road of research, I discovered Persian mythology and Manticores, and that’s where I got the idea for Yasmin – the main character in The Legend Mirror – being a Manticore shifter.

The books of Maggie Stiefvater 

Maggie Stiefvater always blends romance and fantasy perfectly, so I took a lot of inspiration from her books, more notably the Shiver series and my favourite, The Scorpio Races. Whenever I’m low on inspiration and my creative well is dry, I’ll read a Stiefvater book and usually by the end, I’ll have a clear idea where to go with what I’m writing.

These are just the books that I consciously know inspire me but I’m sure I’ve got ideas from every book I’ve read, maybe even from the ones I didn’t like.

The Powers of Callaire is out now! It’s YA Urban Fantasy and has a homoromantic asexual lead. Um, all seriously among my favorites things.Check it out on Goodreads and Amazon.  Or anywhere because this blog will come back for this series. – Tiffany

The Powers of Callaire

Yasmin’s girlfriend is dead, but she will stop at nothing to bring Fray back. Even if that means going to the Otherland and making a bargain with the Ruler of All Souls. If Yasmin finds Pluto’s lost power, they’ll return Fray’s soul to her body.

Yasmin’s search takes her, and two of her friends, from Bucharest to France to Wales, and exposes a horrifying secret with Venus, Yasmin’s mother, at the heart of it. With a murderous, fiery god and the incarnation of death in her way, Yasmin will have to compromise her morals and harness the Legendary power in her veins. If she fails, Fray’s soul will be lost forever.

Author bio

SARUUH KELSEY lives in Yorkshire, in a house halfway between the countryside and the city with an absurd amount of books and craft supplies. She’s the author of The Legend Mirror and Lux Guardians series. Find her online or follow her on twitter at @saruuhkelsey.

You can get The Beast of Callaire for free right now on Amazon!  Definitely give this series a try!

Unburied Fables Anthology

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Creative Ace Publishing  first project of fiction is an anthology that you are invited to join! They are looking for fairy tale retellings with two caveats: All main characters must be canonically LGBTQIA+/MOGAI and they must have a happily ever after.

This doesn’t mean it has to be a romantic ending however. Finding a home, themselves, or some other non-romantic happy ending is also acceptable. Basically the opposite to the negative tropes you can find on the Bury Your Gays page.

Fairy tales are stories that refuse to fade away, so show us queer characters who do the same in order to find their happy ending.

Submission Guidelines:

  • Short stories must be 2000-5000 words and suitable for a young adult audience.
  • We also want minors, the sex repulsed, and abuse victims to be able to read this collection. So mind the steam level and be careful with how “dark things” are in order to make them “light” again.
  • Title your work: Title by Author Name when emailing submissions@creativeacepublishing.com. Word documents with 12 point Times font only please.
  • You must be able to legally give us permission in order to be part of the collection. Pen names are fine for the bylines, simply let us know by adding it after your author name.

Deadlines and Details:

  • We hope to have this collection out during Asexual Awareness week which is in October. So while the stories don’t need to have asexuals in them, please do take that into consideration.
  • You have until September 9th to send your stories in.
  • 50% of profits will be donated to The  Trevor Project which is an inclusive crisis hotline for LGBTQIA+ youth. The other half will be used to branch out to producing novels which will pay competitive royalties to the author.
 For more details, questions, or to keep an eye on Creative Aces Publishing check out their website, twitter, or tumblr.