To Haunt and To Hold by Taliesin Neith

When they first got together, Sam had resolved to never tell him. He was so afraid of loss, and so drawn to the bright, aching thing in Malcolm that called to him. He had reasoned that he never would need to tell Malcolm. In the end, casual practicality had become something stranger. Sam’s secret held Malcolm’s secret, like a crocodile holding its young in her mouth, so gently in spite of all the teeth. Malcolm and Sam have been together for a long time. Sam knows what Malcolm does when he leaves their shared flat, late at night, returning alone and washing his clothes immediately. It's something worse than an affair. To Haunt and To Hold is a 5,400 word short story about a trans man who can see ghosts and his lover of three decades: a serial killer who is reaching the limits of what he can get away with. If you like your horny stories to be creepy and splattered with gore, if you like your horny stories to feature older men and/or trans and queer characters, you will enjoy this.

The Century Blade by Rob J. Hayes

Orochi, the king of the dragons, has ordered his brothers and sisters to destroy humanity. It falls to a young hero to assemble a team and stop the dragons' rampage. It falls to the Century Blade. This is a short story set in the world of the award-winning Mortal Techniques. It is designed to be read as a standalone story, completely independent from the full length novels set in the same world.

The Haunting of Sheila Lee by Uilleam Whitedale

Sometimes the human psyche seeks to protect itself in ways that shield one from trauma in the short term through denial, sublimation, projection. Regardless, the emotions shunned must be addressed in due time in some manner. Yet, once in an age, trauma is so severe and the bearer so unwilling to face it that it is wholly displaced, made homeless, and, epitomizing pain in excess, intends to punish its source. Sheila Ann Lee, a narcissistic and neurotic seeker of affluence, creates her own manifestation of trauma and leaves it forlorn. As it tortures her mind, and, eventually, interferes with the true love she finds, it remains unclear to her and all those seeking to protect her whether she is being haunted or she is the source of her own misery, and theirs.

Wings So Soft by Dani Finn

SPFBO10

Can love bloom in war’s darkest hour? Mara and her owl work surveillance to keep Kuppham safe, but the news on the Stream is grim. The humans are coming, and she and her owl will soon be in the line of fire. Her once-vibrant city is a ghost town, with little to distract her as she waits for the skin-covered hordes to overrun the Maer capital. Until one day, this timid little artificer wanders into the aerie, asking to watch her owl land over and over. Uffrin makes owls powered by clockwork and magic to guard the great automatons on the northern front. He visits the aerie to study the owls’ flight mechanics, but it’s the owl handler who captures his attention. So gentle, so in control, with quick eyes that seem to stay with his all the time. Amid the looming clouds of war, hearts intertwine and feathers fly, but duty soon flings these two lovebirds apart. If the war goes as badly as everyone seems to fear, how will they ever find each other again? Love might be the only thing that saves them. Fly away from your troubles with this standalone fantasy romance, part of the Time Before trio. It’s steamy, with over 150 kisses, and includes a picnic in the park, a date in a basement speakeasy, and a secret mountain lake far from the ravages of war.

Neglected Merge by Eve Koguce

SPFBO7

“Neglected Merge” is an inspirational thought-provoking futuristic fantasy romance novel. The story of fated lovers developed against a backdrop of a new post-apocalyptic world painted in bright tones. A fortuitous meeting of Tauria, an independent woman living in one utopian-style world, and Doron from high society of the other world, is destined to be the new beginning for both worlds. Tauria, aged 32, lives in the society that seems to believe that happiness is a universal concept. People, who had survived the near apocalyptic experience, have built a whole new world full of pleasure and easiness. It is designed to make everyone feel happy every minute of their lives. Work brings satisfaction, hobbies are encouraged, relationships are supposed to bring out only positive emotions. Does it matter that things that don’t fit into the general happy pattern get discarded and disappear? Things like friendship and commitment. Things like true love. It is supposed to be enough with lightness and never-ending joy. But there are two worlds now. They are forced to exist side by side. Can they find a way to live together? The Chinese proverb says: “When the winds of change blow, some people build walls and others build windmills.” What will the people of two worlds, so utterly different and at the same time so similar, choose?

Family Binds (The Journey Missions Book 2) by Holly Ash

Teacup Dragon Coop

It should have been a routine rescue mission Lieutenant Commander Crystal Wolf could lead in her sleep: go in, restore life support, and evacuate the colonists of Stapleton Farms if things went south. But when the true identity of Stapleton Farms’ leader is revealed, it changes everything. And for the first time in her career, Crystal is emotionally compromised. With the Commander gone, Lieutenant Desiree Flint must put her own prejudices aside and lead an investigation into the sabotage against Stapleton Farms’ computers; but she soon realizes there’s more at stake here than one colony or Neophia's food supply. War is in the air, even if no one else can see it yet. And Desi can’t stop it on her own. In over her head, Desi only has one person she can turn to for help. But can Crystal set aside the betrayal, pain, and chaos of a compromised past in time to stop Stapleton Farms from being destroyed – and prevent war?

Silence is Silver by Andrew Watson

The Urdahl believe pain is inevitable. But if one can lean into that suffering they can achieve anything. Beneath the desert sands, Bas has spent his entire life training to become a fully-fledged Urdahl. And now his time has come to prove his worth. First, he must drink from the Seeing Bowl to clear his clouded mind and witness visions bestowed to him by ancient deities. Next, he must prove strength of body with the Passage of the High Pass. But destiny is shrouded in red and strength of arm will not be enough to survive its true tests. Will he ascend to a full Urdahl or will his visions of blood come to pass? The turning season has begun. Taking place before the events of the Shadowbinders trilogy, “Silence is Silver” is a novella for both old and new readers.