SUNDAY SHORTS: 2025 RoundUp Part 2

Last week on Sunday Shorts I listed all of the stories I read in January through June of 2025, with links (where possible) to where they could be found. Today I present the list of all the short stories I read in the second half of 2025. As with the first post, I decided to break them up by month and then within each month by where they were published. I am really going to try to do monthly round-ups instead of waiting until the end of the year.

 

JULY

Lightspeed Magazine #182, edited by John Joseph Adams

“The Lord of Mars” by Meghan McCarron

“How to Win Against the Robots” by Katherine Crighton

“Domestic Disputes” by Naomi Kanakia

“Finding Love in a Time Loop: A How-To Guide” by Leah Cypess

“What Else, What Else, in the Joyous City” by Sadoeuphemist

“A Dish Best Served Cold, or, an Excerpt from the Cookbook of the Gods” by Oluwatomiwa Ajeigbe

“Un-Pragmagic: A Tyler Moore Retrospective” by Spencer Nitkey

“You Knit Me Together in My Mother's Womb” by Paul Crenshaw

Nightmare #154 edited by Wendy N. Wagner

“Asking For It” by Kristi DeMeester

“The Hearth” by Benjamin Percy

Clarkesworld #226 edited by Neil Clarke

“Serpent Carriers” by K.A. Teryna

The Dark #122 edited by Sean Wallace

“Skin and Bones” by Gary McMahon

The Shivers (Amazon Originals) (editor unknown)

“The Indigo Room” by Stephen Graham Jones

“Letter Slot” by Owen King

“The Blanks” by Grady Hendrix

“Night and Day in Misery” by Catriona Ward

Kaleidotrope Summer 2024 edited by Fred Coppersmith

“How to Create a God” by Rachel Meresman

 

AUGUST

Lightspeed Magazine #183, edited by John Joseph Adams

“Five Dispatches From Conflict Zone W-924/B Regarding Post-Battle Deployment of A. Thanatensis” by David Anaxagoras

“Feast of Famine” by Adam-Troy Castro

“The Dream Tourists” by Sarah Langan

“To Access Seven Obelisks, Press Enter” by V.M. Ayala

“It Might Be He Returns” by Fatima Taqvi

“Dad Went Out to Get the Milk” by Osahon Ize-Iyamu

“Savannah and the Apprentice” by Christopher Rowe

“Anti-Capitalism vs. The Man of Flowers” by Naomi Kanakia

Seanan McGuire’s Patreon

“Those Three Girls From Rush's Bend” by Seanan McGuire

Carribean Phantom and Other Stories (single-author collection)

“The Ghost Crutches” by Mary Gann

“The Wanted Bone” by Mary Gann

“Juan” by Mary Gann

“On Board the Argolla” by Mary Gann

“The Winking Eye” by Mary Gann

“There Is A Way” by Mary Gann

“The Governor's Visit” by Mary Gann

 

SEPTEMBER

Lightspeed Magazine #184, edited by John Joseph Adams

“Last Meal Aboard the Awassa” by Kel Coleman

“The Place I Came To” by Filip Hajdar Drnovsek Zarko

“The Girlfriend Experience” by C.Z. Tacks

“City of One” by Stephen S. Power

“Beginning Before and After The End” by Jake Stein

“Apeiron” by Cadwell Turnbull

“On An Unusual Kind of Spatially Distributed Haunting” by Bogi Takacs

“Human Voices” by Isabel J. Kim

Seanan McGuire’s Patreon

“Married in Gray” by Seanan McGuire

Nightmare #156 edited by Wendy N. Wagner

“Autogas Ferryman” by Champ Wonsatayanont

Carribean Phantom and Other Stories (single-author collection)

“Across the Bluff” by Mary Gann

“The Bungalow of Mystery” by Mary Gann

“Outwitting Justice” by Mary Gann

“What Was It?” by Mary Gann

“What Happened to Jim MacNarth” by Mary Gann

“The Black Bat” by Mary Gann

“Dr. Holm's Unsolved Problem” by Mary Gann

“Xcunya” by Mary Gann

“Orchid Hall” by Mary Gann

“Heirlooms” by Mary Gann

“Admonition” by Mary Gann

“The Tide of Retribution” by Mary Gann

“Port Quin” by Mary Gann

“Little Pitchers” by Mary Gann

“The Little Wood” by Mary Gann

Black Hole Heart and Other Stories (single-author collection)

“Black Hole Heart” by K.A. Teryna (Translator: Alex Shvartsman)

“Songs of the Snow Whale” by K.A. Teryna (Translator: Alex Shvartsman)

“The Errata” by K.A. Teryna (Translator: Alex Shvartsman)

“Untitled” by K.A. Teryna (Translator: Alex Shvartsman)

“Morpheus” by K.A. Teryna (Translator: Alex Shvartsman)

“Copy Cat” by K.A. Teryna and Alex Shvartsman

“The Chartreuse Sky” by K.A. Teryna and Alexander Bachilo

“The Jellyfish” by K.A. Teryna (Translator: Alex Shvartsman)

“No One Ever Leaves Port Henri” by K.A. Teryna (Translator: Alex Shvartsman)

“Madame Felides Elopes” by K.A. Teryna (Translator: Anatoly Belilovsky)

“The Tin Pilot” by K.A. Teryna (Translator: Alex Shvartsman)

“Lajos and His Bees” by K.A. Teryna (Translator: Alex Shvartsman)

“The Farctory” by K.A. Teryna (Translator: Alex Shvartsman)

 

OCTOBER

Lightspeed Magazine #185, edited by John Joseph Adams

“O Mechfighter, O Starfighter” by Osahon Ize-Iyamu

“The Porniest Porn in Porntown” by Stephen Graham Jones

“Everyone Hates the Auditor” by Megan Chee

“Thaw” by An Owomoyela

“At the Bottom of the Bonfire” by Martin Cahill

“Dirge and Gleam” by Micah Dean Hicks

“Dating Fortune” by Sean McMullen

“Drosera regina” by A.L. Goldfuss

Asimov's Science Fiction #596/597 edited by Sheila Williams

“Frankenstein's Book Launch” by Karen Heuler

Seanan McGuire’s Patreon

“Seek Sweet Safety” by Seanan McGuire

Nightmare #157 edited by Wendy N. Wagner

“Courtney Lovecraft's Book of the Dead” by Sam J. Miller

“The Version of Yourself That You're Better Off Without” by Aimee Ogden

Silver and Lead (October Daye Novel)

“Seas and Shores” by Seanan McGuire

Complete Tales and Poems (single-author collection)

“The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe

 

NOVEMBER

Lightspeed Magazine #186, edited by John Joseph Adams

“How to Set Up Your Mourning Robot” by Angela Liu

“Elegy For Zephyr One” by Gene Doucette

“Visible Damage” by Nina Kiriki Hoffman

“Operation: Grapevine” by Joel W.D. Buxton

“In the Zone” by Lisa M. Bradley

“Beneath the Umdlebe Tree; or, A Vegetable Love Story” by Modupeoluwa Shelle

“How to Build a Homecoming Queen: A Guide by a Bad Asian Girl” by Tina S. Zhu

“The Cold Burning Light of Her” by Sam W. Pisciotta

Seanan McGuire’s Patreon

“What We Forget, What We Forgive” by Seanan McGuire

Delphi Anthology One (single-author collection)

“Kade & Karger: Big Trouble for Lil' Easy” by Randy Duncan

“The Four Aces: Zombies of Howling Cave” by Randy Duncan

“Conrad's Crew: The Crimson Triangle” by Randy Duncan

 

DECEMBER

Lightspeed Magazine #187, edited by John Joseph Adams

Reality Check by Nancy Kress

Us, In Another Universe by A.C. Wise

The Hub Living Among the Stars by Oyadotun Damilola Muess

The Space Between Us by P.A. Cornell

You Always Told Her You'd Give Her the World by Aimee Ogden

Cricket in the Lost Light by Jonathan Olfert

HagioClass by Jose Pablo Iriarte

Memories of the MindMine by David Marino

Seanan McGuire’s Patreon

Infringement by Seanan McGuire

Lies I Tell Myself: Stories (single-author collection)

How to Make A Souffle in 38 Easy Steps by Jeffrey Ricker

Looking for Bigfoot by Jeffrey Ricker

Peripheral by Jeffrey Ricker

Shepherd by Jeffrey Ricker

Multiverse by Jeffrey Ricker

Nightmare #159 edited by Wendy N. Wagner

The Short History of a Long-Forgotten, Ill-Fated Telenovela by Dante Luiz

Review: When the Baby Sleeps by Lyndsie Manusos

Shahmeran by Leyla Hamedi

The Dark #127 edited by Sean Wallace

Most Likely To ... (Class of 1997) by A.C. Wise

Lustre Mining by Eliza Chan

Uncanny #67 edited by Lynne Thomas and Michael Damien Thomas

The Millay Illusion by Sarah Pinsker

Who Are You Wearing? by Russell Nichols

To Speak in Silence by Mary Robinette Kowal

Plott Hound #3 edited by Allison Thai

The Cemetary Cat by Renee Carter Hall

A Mountain Retirement by Jeanne Kramer-Smyth

Clarkesworld #229 edited by Neil Clarke

The Job Interview by Carrie Vaughn

In Luck's Panoply Clad, I Stand by Phoebe Barton

Beneath Ceaseless Skies #447 edited by Scott H. Andrews

A Good Brother by Anne Wilkins

Vanya and the Dog Witch by Walter J. Wiese

Upon The Midnight Queer (single-author collection)

Dolph by 'Nathan Burgoine

Frost by 'Nathan Burgoine

Reflection by 'Nathan Burgoine

The Five Crowns and Colonel's Sabre by 'Nathan Burgoine

Five Shillings and Sixpence by 'Nathan Burgoine

The Doors of Penlyon by 'Nathan Burgoine

A Day (Or Two) Ago by 'Nathan Burgoine

The Future in Flame by 'Nathan Burgoine

Not The Marrying Kind by 'Nathan Burgoine

All of '81 by 'Nathan Burgoine

Folly by 'Nathan Burgoine

‘Nathan Burgoine’s Website

Wonder by 'Nathan Burgoine

A Winter's Hourglass by 'Nathan Burgoine

The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction #773 edited by Sheree Renee Thomas

Soul Rebel by Maurice Broaddus

Christmas Days: 12 Stories and 12 Feasts for 12 Days (single-author collection)

Spirit of Christmas by Jeanette Winterson

The SnowMama by Jeanette Winterson

Dark Christmas by Jeanette Winterson

Christmas in New York by Jeanette Winterson

The Mistletoe Bride by Jeanette Winterson

O'Brien's First Christmas by Jeanette Winterson

The Second-Best Bed by Jeanette Winterson

Christmas Cracker by Jeanette Winterson

Ghost Story by Jeanette Winterson

The Silver Frog by Jeanette Winterson

The Lion, The Unicorn and Me by Jeanette Winterson

The Glow-Heart by Jeanette Winterson

Strange Horizons November 2025 ed. by Joyce Chng, Dante Luiz, Hebe Stanton, Kathryn Weaver and Aigner Loren Wilson

Palimpset by Melissa A Watkins

If Dragon's Mass Eve Be Cold and Clear (single-author collection)

If Dragon's Mass Eve Be Cold and Clear by Ken Scholes

The Doom of Love in Small Spaces by Ken Scholes

Golden Age Christmas Mysteries edited by Otto Penzler

Mystery For Christmas by Anthony Boucher

Christmas and Other Horrors edited by Ellen Datlow

The Importance of a Tidy Home by Christopher Golden

The Ones He Takes by Benjamin Percy

His Castle by Alma Katsu

The Mawkin Field by Terry Dowling

The Blessing of the Waters by Nick Mamatas

Dry and Ready by Glen Hirschberg

Last Drinks at Bondi Beach by Garth Nix

Return to Bear Creek Lodge by Tananarive Due

The Ghost of Christmases Past by Richard Kadrey

Our Recent Unpleasantness by Stephen Graham Jones

All The Pretty People by Nadia Bulkin

Loyla Sow-na by Josh Malerman

Cold by Cassandra Khaw

Gravé of Small Birds by Kaaron Warren

The Visitation by Jeffrey Ford

The Lord of Misrule by M. Rickert

No Light, No Light by Gemma Files

After Words by John Langan

Mysterious Bookshop Chapbook, edited by Otto Penzler

A Christmas Delivery by Andrew Welsh-Huggins

Jericho Hill Books Chapbook, editor unknown

A Night in the Lonesome by Richard Chizmar and W.H. Chizmar

A Good Night For Bad Dreams by W.H. Chizmar

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, editor unknown

A Scandal in Bohemia by Arthur Conan Doyle

The Adventure of the Red-Headed League by Arthur Conan Doyle

A Case of Identity by Arthur Conan Doyle

The Bascombe Valley Mystery by Arthur Conan Doyle

The Only Way Out Is Through The Window (single-author collection)

Build My Body Around My Bones by Christine Vartoughian

All The Falling Stars of Rome by Christine Vartoughian

As Far As My Body Can Take Me by Christine Vartoughian

The Only Way Out Is Through The Window by Christine Vartoughian

The Color of Forgotten Dreams by Christine Vartoughian

Small Creatures Vanishing by Christine Vartoughian

The Benefits of Being Misunderstood by Christine Vartoughian

Animals of A Vicious Kind by Christine Vartoughian

No One Dies Here by Christine Vartoughian

The Last Encore by Christine Vartoughian

Top Ten(ish) Tuesday: 10 Favorite Books of 2025

I read 123 books in 2025. Disregarding titles that were re-reads from previous years, here are my Top Ten(ish) favorites, in no particular order, with links to reviews if I posted one.

 

How To Fake a Haunting by Christa Carmen. I have loved all of Christa Carmen’s “New England Gothic/Spooky” novels to date, so it is probably no surprise that this in on my list of favorites. A woman in an emotionally abusive relationship decides to gaslight her husband into thinking their house is haunted … but what if it really is? Keeps you guessing throughout as to how supernatural it really is and provides more than a few good scares and creepy moments along the way. I interviewed Christa earlier this year about her writing process and this book in particular.

Christmas and Other Horrors, edited by Ellen Datlow. The darkest, shortest days of winter in general, and Christmas in particular, is traditionally a time for ghost stories. Editor par excellence Ellen Datlow once again assembles a great group of writers to spin horror stories around Christmas, Hannukah, Solstice, Yule, and even sometimes your average winter day. Favorites included Mary Robinette Kowal’s “To Speak in Silence,” Benjamin Percy’s “The Ones He Takes,” “Return to Bear Creek Lodge” by Tananarive Due, “Gravé of Small Birds” by Kaaron Warren, and M. Rickert’s “The Lord of Misrule,” but there isn’t a clunker in the group.

The Breathtaker Collection by Mark Wheatley and Marc Hempel. I didn’t read a lot of graphic novels in 2025, but even if I had this one would stand out. A woman who survives by draining the energy from the men who loves her is pursued by a government super-hero for her perceived crimes. There are so many twists in this one I can’t say much more without giving them away. I interviewed Mark Wheatley earlier this year about his creative process.

Our Share of Night by Mariana Enriquez, translated into English by Megan McDowell. In a narrative that spans decades and changes not just character point of view but narrative style multiple times, Enriquez melds almost every sub-genre of horror (cosmic, cult, supernatural, slasher, body, medical, and haunted houses) with generational trauma and the real-world horrors of living under Argentine dictatorship. This is not an easy read, but I stand by my assessment that it is an important, vital, one. I read it for the Stanza Books (Beacon NY) Dark Fiction Book Club and reviewed the book back in February.

Born A Crime by Trevor Noah. Noah’s memoir of growing up under Apartheid as a mixed-race child moved me deeply. Highly recommended. I listened to the audiobook, narrated by the author, which just heightened the emotion.

The Front Seat Passenger by Pascal Garnier, translated into English by Jane Aitken. I tripped across this French noir novella at McNally Jackson Books in Rockefeller Center, apparently the only one of Garnier’s books currently in print in English translation. At first it didn’t feel particularly noir, but man does it get there. And when it does, the twists are fast and furious. I loved this one so much I immediately sought out everything of Garnier’s I could find in translation and look forward to doing a deep dive at some point soon.

Saint Death’s Herald by C.S.E. Cooney is a complex fantasy featuring Miscellaneous “Lanie” Stones, a young necromancer who gets ill at any signs of violence, which makes her job – hunting down the man possessed by the ghost of her evil grandfather – must more difficult. This is the second book about Lanie (the first was Saint Death’s Daughter) and the third volume is coming in 2027. The world-building is wonderful, the characters quirky and relatable, the footnotes hysterical. I reviewed the book earlier this year.

Cheddar Luck Next Time by Beth Cato. The mystery I loved so much, I read it then listened to it on audio, then moderated a Sparta Books (Sparta NJ) book club meeting about it. Set in a small town on the central California coast and featuring an autistic lead character who gets embroiled in a murder investigation while dealing with the recent death of her grandmother, Cheddar Luck is hopefully the start of a new series that is part cozy mystery, part thriller. I reviewed the book earlier this year, and interviewed author Beth Cato as well.

The Art Thief by Michael Finkel. The second non-fiction book on the list. Read this one for the Mystery Book Club at Stanza Books, and I’m so glad we did. The book is a fascinating character study of the most successful art thief in European history – a thief who operated not in the 18th or 19th century, when such thefts would have been easier, but the 1990s!

Amplitudes: Stories of Queer and Trans Futurity, edited by Lee Mandelo. The second short story anthology on the list, almost every story in this volume blew me away with honest yet still hopefully looks at the future and in particular how LGBTQIA+ people exist in that future. I particularly liked Sarah Gailey’s “Moonwife,” Bendi Barrett’s “Six Days,” “The They Whom We Remember” by Sunny Moraine, and “Sugar, Shadows” by Aysha U. Farah, all of which I talked about in my review back in July.

Sgt. Janus and the House That Loved Death by Jim Beard is the fourth book in his occult detective series starring the mysterious Sgt. Roman Janus. This may or may not be the last book in the series, as it establishes quite a change in the status quo for the main character and his compatriots. The previous three books, which I reviewed in a Series Saturday post in 2020, were purely epistolary in style; this book breaks that mold a bit to great effect. I really need to update the series post to include this latest book.

Girl in the Creek by Wendy N. Wagner. A fantastic ecological horror novel set in the Pacific Northwest that manages to feel cosmic and claustrophobic at the same time and equally effectively. That’s quite a feat in my opinion. Wendy N. Wagner’s work always excites and intrigues me, and this one was no exception. I reviewed this one back in July.

Dogs Don’t Break Hearts by ‘Nathan Burgoine. Burgoine is another of my “go-to” auto-buy authors. This is his second “HiLo” book (High Interest, Low Readability, aimed at getting kids who struggle with reading to read). Teenager Beck volunteers at a dog rescue to get over being gaslit by who he thought was his boyfriend, and through the dogs finds both healing and a new love interest.

Black Hole Heart and Other Stories by K.A. Teryna, translated into English by Alex Shvartsman. The only single-author short story collection on this list, for which I still need to write a review. Teryna’s speculative fiction (mostly science fiction, but not all) is character-based while still exploring larger ideas of how technology improves and disrupts our lives and our greater need for community. I particularly enjoyed “Lajos and His Bees,” “Madame Felides Elopes,” “The Chartreuse Sky,” “Songs of the Snow Whale,” and the title story.

 

I have to also include Jack of All Comics! A Fan Conversation About the King of Comics, edited by Jim Beard. I had an essay in the book, discussing Jack Kirby’s work on DC’s 1970s Sandman title, so this feels a little like cheating or shameless self-promotion … but the other essays in the book are all great. Each one focuses on a different series Kirby wrote and/or drew for Marvel and DC through the 60s and 70s – from the well-known (Fantastic Four, Thor, Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen) to the more obscure (his issues of DC’s First Issue Special, the aforementioned Sandman run and his work on DC’s war comic The Losers).

 

Top Ten(ish) is a feature where I identify my personal top ten (or so) favorites in a given category. The key words there are “my” and “favorites.” My favorites may not be your favorites, and I’m not claiming that my favorites are necessarily the best in a given category. Everyone’s tastes are different, and “best” is subjective. I welcome polite discussion on these lists.

Book Reviews: Three for the Twelfth Day of Christmas (a little late)

Growing up, January 6th (the twelfth day of Christmas; Three Kings Day; Epiphany; Theophany) was the day we took down our Christmas decorations (which went up, unfailingly, the day after Thanksgiving). For me, that includes putting away all the Christmas books (and I have a LOT of Christmas and winter holiday-related books!) So I figured, why not use today to talk about a few of my favorite Christmas reads from the past month? Maybe you’ll want to seek them out now to have in hand for next year. Or maybe you’re one of those folks who enjoy reading Christmas stories all year long, which is totally cool.

 

EDIT TO ADD: Somehow, this didn’t post on January 6th like it was supposed to, so here it is on January 8th. I’ll figure this scheduling posts thing out eventually.

 

cover by Inspiral Design

 

TITLE: Upon the Midnight Queer

AUTHOR: ‘Nathan Burgoine

202 pages, Dominant Trident Press, ISBN 9781777352363 (paperback, e-book, audiobook)

 

MY RATING: 5 stars out of 5

For several years now, ‘Nathan Burgoine has been writing a new queer retelling or reinterpretation of a classic Christmas tale and posting it for free on his website. This year, he’s collected them into book form (print, e-book, and audio, narrated by Giancarlo Herrera and Hannah Schooner), and added a new “Little Village novella” not available on his website. He started this project at a time when there was far less representation for the LGBTQIA+ community in televised Christmas movies (and especially, televised Christmas romances). That centered representation (as opposed to stories that just include a seemingly celibate gay best friend or neighbor) still has a long way to go. But the landscape is much more diverse in print, and Burgoine is one of the reasons why. Not just because of the short stories collected here, but also because of his Little Village holiday romance novellas (three of which, to date, take place on or near Christmas).

The previously available stories include twists on the well-known classics (Rudolph, Frosty and Jack Frost, Jingle Bells, the Little Matchstick Girl), expand upon supporting characters from other classics (Peter Cratchit from A Christmas Carol) classic Christmas tales from the well-known (Rudolph, Frosty, A Christmas Carol, Jingle Bells), and bring back to light some less well known Christmas stories from the past (including The Christmas Hirelings by Mary Elizabeth Braddon, a novella I'd never heard of before reading Burgoine's story but have come to really love; and The Romance of a Christmas Card by Kate Douglas Wiggin). There's also one story brand new to the collection (that is, not available for free on the author’s website), “Folly,” that is set in Burgoine's Little Village novella series and is an excellent addition to that world, introducing us to characters I do hope will show up in future Little Village novellas.

These are stories that show that no matter the time and place, LGBTQIA people exist and deserve love and to celebrate as much as straight people do. These are stories of hope, love, redemption, and making a place for yourself, during the holidays and all year long.

 

cover design by Olga Grlic, cover illustration by Nina Hunter

TITLE: The Merriest Misters

AUTHOR: Timothy Janovsky

305 pages, St. Martins Griffin, ISBN 9781250338938 (paperback, e-book, audiobook)

 

MY RATING: 4 stars out of 5

 

I’ll be honest: I was sold on this book when I heard it described as “a queer The Santa Clause.” Take one of my favorite Christmas movies and make it less heteronormative? And then tweak the world-building and magic system so that the only real connection to The Santa Clause is the concept of the main characters discovering, through an accident, that “Santa” identity/mantle is passed down (sometimes in a planned way, sometimes not-so-planned)? I’m definitely in.

This is the first Timothy Janovsky book I’ve read (although You’re a Mean One, Matthew Prince has been sitting on my shelf since last Christmas…. Sorry, previously purchased book!), and it won’t be the last because I mostly had a blast reading this. The main characters, Patrick and Quinn, are lovable and relatable (if, near the start, a bit infuriating). Through flashbacks we see how they met, how their romance developed, how they got married and rushed into buying a home (because heteronormative expectations of wedded life…), and how they perceived their families’ reactions to all of it. This is important because, as I mentioned … they’re a bit infuriating at the start. I am not usually a fan of books where everything that happens hinges on a total lack of communication between people who should be communicating. There were several times early on where I stopped reading to shout “Oh, for Kringle’s sake, JUST TALK TO HIM!” But just as I was hitting my limit, the characters did start to talk it out – haltingly, yes, but just enough to keep me invested. And I’m glad I stuck with it, because the second half of the book was even more worth sticking around for. I laughed a lot, and I got teary-eyed as well. And may have cheered once or twice. (Without spoilers, let me hit you with this phrase: Non-Binary Young Elf Poet.)

The world-building is also fun, including looks into the elf society and the existence of a Council of Priors whose guidance isn’t always perfect but at least is heartfelt (including changing the title of Mrs. Claus to the titular Merriest Mister). I would welcome a repeat visit with Patrick, Quinn, their human families and friends, and their new extended family at the North Pole.

 

 

Cover art by lilithsour

TITLE: The Nightmare Before Kissmas (A Royals and Romance novel)

AUTHOR: Sara Raasch

356 pages, Bramble/Tor Publishing, ISBN 9781250333193 (paperback, e-book, audiobook)

 

MY RATING: 4 stars out of 5

 

I’ve always loved the idea of the personifications of different holidays meeting (perhaps clashing and then teaming up, perhaps getting right to the teaming up part). Through in a little gay romance to move the plot along and all the better. The Nightmare Before Kissmas, the first entry in Sara Raasch’s “Royals and Romance” series (the sequel, Go Luck Yourself, comes out in March) is silly, giddy fun from start to stop. This does not mean that the emotional stakes aren’t real – they are, and range from living up to your parents’ expectations to realizing your parents are not as infallible as child-you thought, to making amends to people you didn’t realize you were hurting – but those stakes are surrounded by a comedy of errors. And all the main characters, male and female, are hot and very human. This is less Nightmare Before Christmas and more Red, White & Royal Blue for the soon-to-be monarchs of the holidays. I liked that we meet Nicholas “Coal” Claus, prince of Christmas, at essentially rock-bottom and slowly get to see why his brother Kris and best friend Iris (the princess of Easter) support him and love him despite all the ways he self-sabotages himself under the weight of the family legacy (and a decent helping of generational trauma). I enjoyed meeting Hex, the prince of Halloween, before we really know who he is, and learning about his own family pressures. These four main characters are the core of the book, although it is narrated in the first person by Coal so most of our views of the other holidays are from his (sometimes skewed) perspective. I also like that most of the drama stems from Christmas’ ongoing, ever-quickening, encroachment of the other holiday. Raasch is not afraid to make that a clear point of contention in this fictional world, as it is for many people in the real world. (If you know me, you know how much I love Christmas – but not to the point that we’re putting Christmas trees up in October and taking them down in March.) While very few are mentioned by name, the author acknowledges that there are a lot of holidays observed and celebrated during the winter months.

I enjoyed this enough that I’m intrigued to see where the sequel, focused on younger brother Kris, will go in exploring holidays other than Halloween, Christmas, and Easter.

 

I received electronic advance reading copies of these books for free (one from the publisher, two via NetGalley) in exchange for honest reviews. This does not affect my opinion of the books nor the content of my reviews.

Series Saturday: Nathan Burgoine's TRIAD

This is a blog series about … well, series. I love stories that continue across volumes, in whatever form: linked short stories, novels, novellas, television, movies, comics.

 

Triad Trilogy

Written by ‘Nathan Burgoine

Novels published by Bold Stroke Books

 

Novels:

·       Triad Blood (2015)

·       Triad Soul (2017)

·       Triad Magic (2019)

 

In the supernatural underworld of ‘Nathan Burgoine’s Ottawa, “three” is the magic number. It takes three wizards to start a coven, three vampires to start a coterie, three demons to start a pack. Loners are looked down upon at best and more often hounded to an early grave. Until Curtis (a wizard), Luc (a vampire), and Anders (a demon) form a Triad of their own. Their action is unprecedented, upsetting Ottawa’s supernatural powers-that-be. Their union makes them stronger but also makes them targets.

Luc, Anders, and Curtis debuted in a short story in an anthology and proved popular enough to get their own novel trilogy. You do not have to read any of the short stories to follow the flow or to understand the world-building or character backgrounds of the trilogy. The short stories enhance the novels, but the novels stand completely on their own.

The relationship between Curtis, Anders, and Luc starts out as an act of necessity. They renew the bond that makes them a triad every month because they need it to survive; separating would put them again at the mercy of the covens/coteries/packs. But the relationship grows as the trilogy progresses, becoming more emotionally intimate (physical intimacy … okay, sex … is what brought them together in the first place). What we see is a nuanced portrayal of consensual polyamory, each partner bringing strengths and vulnerabilities to the triad. Burgoine doesn’t shy away from the very realistic potential for jealousy and misunderstanding that any open relationship, polyamorous or not, faces but he also doesn’t make these tensions the sole focus of the books nor does he drag them out longer than necessary the way some polyamorous romance novels would just to maintain “tension.”

              The real focal point of the novels is the effect the Triad’s existence has on the political landscape of Ottawa’s supernatural community. The wizards have traditionally been in control, in a strained détente with the vampires, demons, and other supernatural entities (werewolves, spirit-talkers, and others). There is bitterness over the accords that formed this power structure and keep it in place. I loved how Burgoine teases out the strains and uneasiness throughout the books, eventually revealing how things got to where they are and just why the Triad’s existence is a threat to that structure. While each book does a wonderful job of standing complete on its own, there’s a definite through-line and build up of subplots that lead to a big finale at the end of the third book, a very satisfying conclusion. So if you’re looking for a complete-in-three urban fantasy that still leaves the door open for the main characters to have more adventures, this is the series for you.

I also love these books because I’ve come to love the three main characters. Burgoine takes what could be standard, flat tropes (young nerdy wizard; vampire with a mysterious past; horny lust-demon) and imbues them with depth and complexity. The transformation from three guys bound together by common need who also enjoy having sex with each other into a relationship of mutual respect is so well done. Anders and Luc warily put up with each other at the start; they have a history of competition that is hard to work past even while they acknowledge just how much they both care for Curtis. Curtis’ physical attraction to both men, despite how different they are, leads to strong feelings for both that the trio have a tough time reconciling. And their banter is snarky and often self-effacing, with quips perfectly timed – just my kind of humor.

There is also a diverse supporting cast of friends and grudging allies who also grow and change over the course of the trilogy. And something else I appreciate: Burgoine does not give his bad-guys redemption arcs or tragic back-stories to make them relatable. The bad guys are bad; they may be different levels of bad, but they’re bad just the same.

I am heavily skirting around anything that might be considered a major spoiler, intentionally not naming some of the supporting cast or villains. I highly recommend this trilogy, and the associated short stories.

Speaking of which…

 

Related Short Stories:

·       “Three” (in the anthology Blood Sacraments)

·       “Intercession” (in the anthology Wings: Subversive Gay Angel Erotica)

·       “Possession” (in the anthology Erotica Exotica: Tales of Sex and Magic)

·       “Necessary Evils” (in the anthology Raising Hell: Demonic Gay Erotica)

·       “Bound” (in the anthology Not Just Another Pretty Face)

 

As you can tell by the titles of the anthologies, our three heroes made their debut, and several subsequent appearances, in erotica anthologies. I enjoyed all five of these stories, only one of which I think I read before the first novel came out. But I know explicit, or even close-to-explicit, sex scenes are not for everyone, which is why I mentioned near the start of this that you can read the novels without reading the associated short stories. But if you don’t mind a bit of sex in your fiction, these stories absolutely enhance the action of the main novels and add depth to a few of the supporting characters.

Highly recommended if you enjoy urban fantasy with gay male leads, interesting world-building, and strong representation of polyamorous relationships.

Sunday Shorts: Valentine's Dave

I love short fiction, and Sunday Shorts is the feature where I get to blog about it. I’ve considered promising to review a short story every day, but that’s a lot of pressure. And while no one will fault me if I miss days, I’ll feel guilty, which will lead to not posting at all. So better to stick to a weekly post highlighting a couple/three stories, as I’ve done in the past.

At the start of the month, editor Lee Blair published Candy Hearts: An LGBTQIA2S+ Charity Anthology, an e-book collection of 16 romance novellas featuring, as one might be able to guess from the title, LGBTQIA2S+ characters. The collection is available for only a limited time, and all proceeds go to the Transgender Law Center and the National Center for Transgender Equality – in my opinion a pair of organizations that absolutely deserve our support. So I’m urging anyone who loves romance to pick the anthology up while it’s available – and even if you don’t love romance, pick it up anyway! Then gift it to someone you know who does love the romance genre while supporting an excellent cause.

Upon opening my copy, I did something I almost never do with anthologies. Instead of reading the stories in order (which I prefer to do because I know how much effort anthology editors put into determining story order), I jumped straight to ‘Nathan Burgoine’s novella – because it is set in the Little Village, and thus connects to the novellas in Burgoine’s “BitterSweets Club” series, which I reviewed a few weeks ago. (A neat little bit of timing/serendipity/whatever you want to call it, that my first “Sunday Shorts” post of the year directly connects to my first “Series Saturday” post.)

Valentine’s Dave by ‘Nathan Burgoine

Dave has had a pretty disastrous streak of Valentine’s Day dates – from the married man to the barfer to the “coffee incident” – but he’s hopeful that this year he can break the streak through a “Secret Admirer” messaging program administered by the Village Business Council and with a little help from his roommate/best friend Asher. Asher is a recent cancer survivor, coming out the other side of chemo, and seems content to help his bestie find romance rather than seek it out himself. Dave has a crush on Victor, a “silver fox” of a veterinarian. Problem is: Dave is not at his most eloquent when it comes to sending secret messages to a cute guy. Luckily, Asher has a way with words. Of course, complications ensue on the path to happily ever after.

Burgoine is not the first author to run a gay spin on Cyrano de Bergerac, to be sure (although I can honestly say I’ve never read another such book, I’m sure they must be out there). But in standard Burgoine fashion, he tweaks the original story by merging it with another standard romance trope (which, if I made it explicit here, would spoil the ending, and I am loath to do that). This combination of tropes makes the story a little twistier, adding just enough inter-character angst to keep the story interesting without causing the reader undue anxiety.

I found Dave’s verbal and physical awkwardness endearing, and his obliviousness a bit too relatable (I tend to be, shall we say, a bit blind when it comes to whether other men are interested in me). Asher’s post-chemotherapy struggles with energy, and his declaring “Are you okay” a forbidden question, was also relatable as a colon cancer survivor myself. I remember the on-set of sudden, unexpected (even though I should have expected it) fatigue in the midst of an afternoon out with friends very well, and I think Burgoine captured it perfectly. I also enjoyed the view of Dave and Asher’s friend group; I think it’s always important to recognize that love doesn’t happen in a vacuum, that outside forces, including caring support from found family, have an effect (thankfully, in this case, positive) on the way romantic relationships form.

As a regular reader of Burgoine’s work, I was overjoyed to see references to members of the BitterSweets Club, and I loved how this novella gives us a tour of the various queer-friendly (and queer-owned) businesses in the Village. If you’ve never read anything by ‘Nathan Burgoine, this novella is a great introduction to the world his characters inhabit – but not in a way that detracts or distracts at all from the main story, which is a wonderful romance.

 

I’m hoping to post about other novellas in Candy Hearts between now and Valentine’s day. In the meantime, you can read my thoughts on ‘Nathan Burgoine’s other holiday-themed romance novellas featuring the BitterSweets Club in this Series Saturday post.

I’m not a total stranger to writing romance, either. My supernatural gay love story Paradise Fears can be read free here on my website.

SERIES SATURDAY: THE BITTERSWEETS CLUB

This is a blog series about … well, series. I love stories that continue across volumes, in whatever form: linked short stories, novels, novellas, television, movies, comics.

Series cover art by Inkspiral Designs

It’s a little past the season, but I thought I’d relaunch regular Series Saturday posts with a look at what has become one of my annual re-reads: a set of holiday-themed novellas, three of which take place at Christmas (and the other on April Fool’s Day).

The Little Village novellas (4 volumes)

Written by ‘Nathan Burgoine

published by Bold Stroke Books (2019 – 2022)

 

Titles:

·       Handmade Holidays

·       Faux Ho Ho

·       Village Fool

·       Felix Navidad

 

A substantial number, if not all, of ‘Nathan Burgoine’s novels and short stories interconnect, with his fictionalized version of Ottawa’s Gay Village as a shared setting. Main characters in one story will play supporting roles or make cameo appearances in others, local businesses with names like Body Positive, NiceTeas, and Bittersweets recur, incidents are mentioned in passing, lending all the stories a shared history and timeline. Part of the fun of reading any Burgoine work is figuring out how it connects to all his other work. Some are more obviously connected than others, such as those identified as “Little Village novellas” on the cover – and in particular, the quartet of romance novellas featuring a group of friends called “the Bittersweets Club.”

The Bittersweets Club are four friends who meet regularly at the titular coffee shop: graphic designer Ru, the quippiest member of the group; software designer Silas, the most socially awkward; I.T. Specialist Owen, who still bears the mental and physical scars of a bad car accident; and home health aide nurse Felix, who never met a practical joke he didn’t love and never met a man he did. Each man’s road to romance gets its own novella focused, as mentioned above, on a particular holiday,

What I love about this series as a whole is how sweet and straightforward each book is. These are books about gay men finding love, yes, but also about friends nurturing each other and the strength of “found family.” They have just the right amount of “will they get together or won’t they” angst, are playful with the tropes of the romance genre, and all have HEA (Happily Ever After) or at least HFN (Happy For Now) endings. Which is not to say the stories are completely light or frivolous. Burgoine’s romances are always grounded in our very real current culture, where queer people still have to check their surroundings before holding hands or kissing in public, where birth families still disown gay children, where transphobia is very real even within the LGBTQ+ community. I always appreciate Burgoine’s refusal to paint his stories into some rosy world where homophobia is a thing of the past. Because it isn’t.

Though they share characters and a timeline, each of the four novellas stands alone and thus can be read in any order. References are made to events in the other books, but always in a way that does not make the reader feel like they’re missing vital information for the story at hand and I think in a way that intrigues the reader enough to seek out the other books regardless of which one you start with.

That said, I’ll discuss the books in publication order since that’s the order in which I read them.

Handmade Holidays

Handmade Holidays is Ru’s story, even though he is not the focal character. That would be bookstore manager and budding author Nick. Disowned at nineteen but his family for the “sin” of being gay, Nick begins to build his own traditions with a found family that includes his best friend Ru. The only novella in the series told in strict chronological order, each chapter covers an important Christmas in Nick’s life, and therefore Ru’s, as the friends navigate unsuccessful relationships, changes in employment, parental illnesses, and the growth of their found family. This is also the novella with the longest timespan, stretching over 15 years of Nick and Ru’s lives. I love the pacing of this book. Burgoine packs so many major life events in and manages to make it feel neither rushed nor lacking in detail. It’s also a wonderful take on the “friends to lovers” trope, as Nick and Ru bounce off of each other and second-guess their feelings, the timing never feeling quite right – until one of them takes a risk. It all feels totally authentic. And as with all the Little Village romances, both leads are men I’d like to know in real life.

 

Faux Ho Ho

But lifelong friends finally admitting they’re in love with each other can have repercussions on their friend group. When Nick and Ru move in together, Ru’s roommate Silas is left in search of someone to share the rent with. The apartment is perfectly placed above Bittersweets, but Silas’ pay as a freelance IT consultant and software designer won’t cover the rent and he knows that asking his conservative and politically powerful parents (who tolerate Silas for the optics more than anything) for help will come with strings attached. Silas is skeptical when Ru suggests he consider personal trainer Dino as a new roommate. Big, burly bodybuilders do not really fit in the Silas Waite Venn Diagram of Life. But as they get to know each other, Dino causes Silas to readjust his outlook. Told in Burgoine’s signature style – that is, chapters that alternate between the present and the past to heighten the story’s tension (juxtaposing “what will happen next” with “how did the characters get to this point”), Faux Ho Ho plays with both the “opposites attract” and “fake relationship” tropes. To get Silas out of spending Thanksgiving with his very conservative family, Dino pretends to be Silas’ boyfriend … which inspires Silas’ sister to finally marry her boyfriend because now Silas can attend with a date, which she knows will piss off their parents and siblings. I love how Silas and Dino bring out the best in each other. I love the contrast between Dino’s family, who all instantly love Silas and go along with the “fake relationship” hoping it will turn real, and Silas’ family, who (other than his wonderfully supportive sister and her fiancée) are only okay with Silas being gay as long as he stays quiet and single. And I love the themes of found family what it really means to be an ally to the LGBTQIA+ community that Burgoine continues to thread through these books.

 

Village Fool

Village Fool is the only “Bittersweets Club” novella which does not take place on or around the Christmas holidays. While this is Owen’s story from start to finish, the main action is incited by Felix’s impulsiveness. He plays an April Fool’s joke on Owen, switching Owen’s phone contacts so when Owen thinks he’s texting Felix, he’s really texting his unrequited crush Toma. The fact that Toma is Owen’s physiotherapist complicates matters even more. Like Faux Ho Ho, the chapters in Village Fool alternate between the present, where we see the set-up of the practical joke, how it plays out, and the immediate aftermath, and the past, where we see how the Bittersweets Club formed, how Owen met Toma and how their mutual crushes (this is not really a spoiler) developed. One of the things I love about this book is the way Burgoine presents Owen’s anxiety and insecurity as compared to Silas’s in Faux Ho Ho; the author is very conscious of the fact that no two people’s anxiety, insecurity, or depression operate the same way and makes sure that Own and Silas are not cookie-cutter stereotypes. They have certain commonalities (just as Ru and Felix, the group extroverts, do) but their coping mechanisms, as well as their formative backgrounds, are quite different.

 

Felix Navidad

The final “Bittersweets Club” novella is all about Felix, but it also ties the series’ subplots together in a nice little bow. Ru and Nick are finally getting married, after Covid forced them to delay. Owen and Toma and Silas and Dino are of course going together, but Felix is going solo. He’s had a rough year but is also still feeling the sting of how his impulsive April Fool’s gag affected Owen, even though everything turned out okay. The story alternates between the present holiday, (where Felix and another wedding guest, Ru’s ex Kevin, end up stuck in a cabin that only has one bed, thanks to a massive blizzard), and the past year (with Ru getting to know a new patient, retiree Danya, who has a thing or two to say about Felix’s lack of a social or romantic life). In the “present holiday” chapters, Burgoine moves from one classic trope (the “blind date misunderstanding”) to another (forced proximity/one bed) so smoothly you almost don’t realize it’s happening … and manages to tweak both in very satisfactory ways. The flashback chapters focus on Felix’s growing friendship with sickly but still effervescent Danya, and they are an amazing look at how intergenerational friendships in the gay community should (but all too often don’t) work. Burgoine often comments on how hard it is for younger queer folk to learn our community’s history, because so many of those who should be our elders were taken away from us by the AIDS epidemic. But here, he reminds us that some of that history is still living, still vital – if only younger folks are willing to pay attention, learn, and develop actual connection with our elders. Danya’s illness (NOT AIDS, I feel like I must stress) is a major part of the flashback chapters but please don’t think this means the book is depressing. It is not. It’s as sweet and cute and romantic as the other books in the series – but it also doesn’t shy away from the reality that often joy and sorrow walk beside each other.

 

While books focused on the “Bittersweets Club” may be done for now, Burgoine isn’t done with gay romances set at the holidays in the Little Village. He recently teased plans for a series featuring a new group of Little Village residents taking place on holidays other than Christmas, and I don’t need to tell you I’m here for them all. He’s also got plans for non-holiday romances building out some of the characters and locations we’ve met along with the Bittersweets guys. In fact, A Little Village Blend is already out in the world.

So: what are your favorite holiday-set LGBTQIA+ romances? Let me know in the comments!

PRIDE 2020 INTERVIEWS: 'Nathan Burgoine

Today’s Pride 2020 interview is with author ‘Nathan Burgoine:

Nathan Burgoine photo.jpg

Hi, ’Nathan! I hope you’re staying safe and healthy during current events. What are you doing to stay creatively motivated in these unusual times?

About a month before the lockdown began, my dog, Max (short for Maximum, his default setting) launched himself at a squirrel on a snow-drift behind me and to the left, pulling my left arm all the way around my body, suddenly and at a terrible angle, and blowing a bunch of my tendons. I was in physiotherapy, getting dry-needling, TENS, and so forth, trying to recover the use of my left hand especially (I still can’t quite type, or at least, not for long), so all writing kind of crashed to a halt, and is still pretty much at a halt.

But I like to remind other people when they’re stuck how much of writing is as much in your head as words on paper, so I am trying to remind myself of that. I’ve scribbled notes and scenes (I’m right handed, so I can at least scribble on paper), and I can accomplish little bursts when my hand cooperates. Mostly? I’ve given myself permission not to be creative on any sort of scale beyond what I can manage, at least until I can get back to physiotherapy.

 

Since June is Pride Month, I have to ask: how has being gay influenced or informed your writing?

The short answer: in almost every way.

The long answer: I approach writing from a “what if this is the first time someone queer sees themself?” most of the time, especially if I’m writing stories with a remotely heavy (and queer) topic. We all know the damage done by terrible representation, and while I’m not mister roses-and-sunshine, I do try very hard to make sure that even in darker toned stories there is hope, or at the very least a range of hopeful queer characters. Not that I write many dark stories at all. I’ve touched on horror only once.

Even in the happy stories, though—like romance—I also want to do my best to write characters who are facing down the realities of queerness without shying away from the impact of those realities. A few of my novellas have specifically been born from frustration in particular plot patterns repeating that shut the door on me as a queer reader with my own queer lived experiences. I think I had a lightbulb moment a year or two ago where I realized I couldn’t write an “everyqueer,” but I could write a specific person with experiences that mirrored the queerness I see all around me, and that’s been liberating even as it’s doubled down on the sense of responsibility.

 

You’re almost halfway through a really cool project on your blog: reviewing one short story per day for the entire year. What inspired you to take this project on?

It’s no secret that I’m a lover of short fiction, and also that I get frustrated at the short shrift it gets (no pun intended). I put a lot of the “I don’t like short fiction” attitude down to what we were forced to read in school (even I didn’t like many of those, especially the ones chosen for us in high school), and it colouring opinions even after graduation. Much like how when you talk about Canadian books and many readers kind of glaze over with “Oh no!” looks in their eyes because their only exposure to CanLit was the stuff forced upon them in high school.

Talking about a story I loved every day isn’t hard work (or, well, wasn’t until I blew those tendons, but I’m managing), and if even a couple of people decide to pick up an anthology or collection because of what I’ve said, that’s a win.

Also, as an author, I’m a slow producer to begin with, and completely stuck right now. I have almost nothing to talk to my readership about right now that’s from me, but recommending others? That I can do without blinking. You can take the bookseller out of the bookstore, etcetera.

 

How are you choosing the stories you’ll review? Is there any rhyme-or-reason to which authors, genres, etc. you’re featuring when?

A little bit of reason, but mostly not. In February I only spoke about stories written by Black authors, and in June I’ve been focusing on queer authors (and being conscious of not only talking about white-cis-male queer authors, especially). October will be horror (well, horror-ish. I don’t read a lot of horror, so…) Early December will likely be full of holiday novellas. And I try not to talk about the same book within a week, so if it’s an anthology or a collection, the “next” story won’t appear until at least a week goes by, so books where I’ve really enjoyed a lot of the stories are taking months to complete, and that’s kind of fun. I have a chart, and I write the blogs as I finish the stories, so sometimes I’m many days ahead with blogs to go, and then other times I realize I’ve got four more until there’s a day without a blog lined up, and I need to dive back into my pile of anthologies, collections, novellas, and magazines and put down the book I’m loving.

So… borderline organized chaos?

 

I know thanks to physical issues you’ve been on a bit of a hiatus from working on your next novel or short stories. How are things on that front?

I hate it. J

I talk a really good game with my author friends about being okay with low word-counts and taking time to recharge the creative batteries, but I honestly loathe this right now. That said, I did manage to tune up a trunked tale (it’s about nine thousand words long, so it never found a home), and I’m going to take this opportunity to attempt a self-publishing release given the stakes are so low. It’s a comedic and erotic story (which is another reason it never found a home), and we’ll see how that goes, but it’s giving me a project I can poke at with zero time limits.

That is one saving grace: I’m really lucky this happened before I signed a contract and had deadlines. As much as I’m hating not being able to type properly, at least I’m not having to force myself to do it through injury.

 

I absolutely loved Of Echoes Born, your collection of connected short stories taking place in The Village. Can you tell us a bit about what inspired The Village, and what keeps drawing you back there to tell more stories?

Linked short fiction is my favourite as a reader as well as a writer, so I think it just honestly comes down to being the sandbox where I like to play the most. Also, it allows me to build on what came before without the daunting task of plotting out a whole series ahead of time (it’s much harder to write yourself into a corner with linked short fiction, as you can shift to another character, or if I realize I’ve maybe given a character a bit too much magic or power or closed off plot avenues by giving them a specific gift, say, I haven’t wrecked future stories, just narrowed options for that specific character).

The Village is also my love-letter to the way the queer community was when I originally came out, and while I love so many of the changes that have happened in the past decades, I do mourn the strip/shops that used to be, and so having a dash of magic reinvigorate a fictional version of that place is as much homage as it is wish fulfillment, but also a way to talk about our history for some readers who maybe weren’t there for it and haven’t bumped into it yet, which was basically the whole point of Of Echoes Born, really.

 

And finally, where can people find you and your work online?

If you head on over to nathanburgoine.com, there’s a handy tag on the blog where you can find all my published work, with links even! But there’s also a tab for some free short fictions I’ve written if you wanted to take me for a test run first.

 

 ‘Nathan Burgoine grew up a reader and studied literature in university while making a living as a bookseller. His first published short story was “Heart” in the collection Fool for Love: New Gay Fiction, and was followed by dozens of short stories. His first collection of short fiction, Of Echoes Born, is now available through Bold Strokes Books, and includes six stories unique to the collection. Despite preferring the shorter fiction life, he’s also released three novellas (In Memoriam, Handmade Holidays, and Faux Ho Ho), co-authored a fourth novella (Saving the Date), and written three novels for adults (Light, Triad Blood, and Triad Magic), and one for young adults (Exit Plans for Teenage Freaks), all between walking his rescued husky a lot, usually alongside his husband, Dan. He lives in Ottawa, Canada.