#queer children's lit

[picturebookshelf]

a collection of Pride-related picture books I read this June!

[can-of-w0rmz]

I was looking through some A-Level English literature resources since I’m going into sixth form next year and determined to convince my teachers to let us read Frankenstein, and I just came across the take that Victor is sexist because he wants to “cut women out from the creation process” 💀 just say the man is gay and move on

[hypokeimena]

what books are out there that are like chrestomanci series

[mishkwaagegekwereads]

This Is Our Rainbow Review

This is the book I needed as a kid.

  "This collection is perfect for the middle schooler (or kid at heart) in your life, but it'll also be meaningful to many adults who didn't get to see this kind of representation when they were in middle school themselves. "- A.J. Sass, author of "Balancing Act" This middle-grade anthology truly covers some of the most difficult and awkward parts of the Queer experience, while offering up hope that we are growing and learning as a society.  Each of the 16 stories brings a unique perspective, with an incredibly diverse cast, and they will have you feeling every emotion under the sun. This is truly an inclusive read, with characters covering every part of LGBTQ+. My favorite stories were "Petra and Pearl," "I Know the Way," "Balancing Act," and "The Purr-cle of Life." I would give each of these 5 stars! They cover a range of topics, from transitioning and pet loss, to generational trauma and first kisses. Each was brought something different to the table and I can't wait to re-read them. I will definitely be getting this book for my shelf, and would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a light hearted, hopeful Queer read. It brought out so many different emotions and made me mourn for baby queer me, who was unable to live life authentically. But through mourning comes healing, and I believe this book has the ability to help many heal, and prevent some of the pain from happening in the first place. 

CWs listed in order of major to minor occurrences based off my reading, and the warnings listed on TheStoryGraph 

CW: Racism, Bullying, Homophobia, Transphobia, Grief, Animal death, Misogyny, Sexism, Slavery, Ableism, Outing, toxic relationship, Death of parent, Acephobia Arophobia, Cultural appropriation, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Murder, Outing, Alcohol, Colonization, Classism

[jameelaillustration]

Here is a spread from the picture book I have coming out next spring written by Amy Bloom! It's called FLOWER GIRL and it's about gender identity, family, and wearing clothes that feel right for you!

[chuck-the-author]

Pre-order Nigel Sat in a Box:

[chaotic-neutral-ferret]

I might piss some people off with this, but I have incredibly strong feelings about modern interpretations of classical literature. Especially queer literature entirely told through subtext due to the era it was created in. (The Portrait of Dorian Grey is a fantastic example of what I’m getting at, but not what I’m going to be talking about in this post.) And I’m going to preface this by saying this is all my opinion and interpretation.

When you look at classic literature with a modern lens, you take away much of the nuance it comes with. It would be the same if you looked at modern lit with a historical lens. There’s a lack of nuance and ability to interpret that comes with looking at art like that.

Taking a classic and boiling it down to its bare bones by looking at it through a modern lens gives you nothing. You have taken away all the context, subtext, and meaning. When you do so, you’re left with a desecrated corpse of what was intended to be area of interpretation.

This is the part where I’m going to go off the rails a bit by talking about The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen. Which, in my eyes, is in fact a piece of queer lit if you’re open to hearing me out.

The Little Mermaid was written by Hans Christian Andersen and published in the year 1837. Anderson was a very queer man if you know anything about him, and this book is potentially a love letter from him to a man he could not openly love (although that is just speculation).

The book thrives on, in my opinion, very queer themes. Hoping on the absolute most nonsense dream of love and going for it to catch even the slightest glimpse. The curiosity for new things outside of your sheltered life. Finding that your view of identity has changed with the new things you have found. Learning that despite your hoping upon hoping, that even in despair there can be a chance at a new good thing at the end of the tunnel, even if you have to go through hell to reach it. All of these things I find to be queer tropes and themes. (They can be and are used in non-queer media as well, but within the context of Hans Christian Andersens life I find it unlikely that he wasn’t aiming at some subtext.)

The Little Mermaid is a tragedy with some light at the end of the tunnel. She does reach a happy ending, even if it’s bittersweet and heart wrenching. She doesn’t get the guy, and by the end she knows she never truly had a chance. She is curious and bright, willing to risk it all to learn more. She is incredibly compassionate and self sacrificing, willing to do anything to make those she loves happy. She finds identity in this new, intriguing world. And in the end she gets a well deserved chance to get something she wanted, despite all the pain she has gone through.

The story on the surface is about a young woman experiencing first love, and going through an unreasonable amount of suffering for it. On the surface it’s about a young woman who is in a unrequited love with a man who loves another. I find it’s more than that though. It’s a story about finding oneself. About how love can prevail even if it’s not in the way you wanted or expected. It’s about sacrifice and what you get in return, good and bad.

The ending is what really hits home for me. The little mermaid sees the man she loves happy. And even when given the chance to live as a human, she decides that his life and happiness is more important than, what she views as, her own selfish desires. The opportunity her sisters handed to her at the expense of something of theirs, she denies in favor of moving on. And when she dives into the sea with the silver dagger and turns to sea foam on the waves, a door opens up and gives her a chance at a different but equally good life. A life she knows she would enjoy a million times more than a life where she killed someone she loves. She knows that nothing could have changed that the prince would never love her romantically, and decides to live what’s left of her life (in the weird inbetween land) in service of her wish for knowledge and her capacity for generosity.

All of this adds up, to me, to make a subtly queer story. Less about romance than about identity and exploration. While it is narratively about her relationship with the prince and what circles around it, the nuance of the little mermaids character is what makes it a great story. She gives me the vibes of a young queer person exploring themselves and the world around them, experiencing first love and first heartbreak, desperate to learn more and willing to give up everything in pursuit of knowledge. She reminds me, quite fondly, of many people i know, and I love everything about this story.

I am quite willing and open to hearing other interpretations and opinions on The Little Mermaid. This is just my own and I had too many brain worms to contain.

[picturebookshelf]

The Boy in the Dress (2008)

Story: David Walliams -- Art: Quentin Blake

[bluewingedcoyote]

The Children of Triad series (Delan the Mislaid, The Moonbane Mage, Ara's Field) by Laurie J. Marks!

It's a trans allegory, a fish out of water allegory, it has found family, raised by the wrong species, and love doesn't solve all problems, love is it's own very complicated problem. It has cool aliens on a crystal world with magic and several competing intelligent species (also everyone is vegetarian and everyone but the mers lay eggs).

The first book is also an Ugly Duckling story, where the furry grey alien that was thought to be an ugly deformed mutant by the ones who raised them, grows cloud-white wings and discovers they were born to fly!

The second book follows Delan's bratty bratty offspring as they run away from home and fall in very ill-advised love.

The third book actually branches out to multiple POV and the attempts of the most dominant species to achieve peace in the face of the return of an ancient danger that threatens the whole world.

It has characters in loving poly relationships, a species that frequently has poly relationships and are also a fully hermaphroditic species where everyone is capable of getting pregnant and getting another pregnant.

And the author is a lesbian.

Seriously, why isn't this doing numbers on here??

what’s the most underrated piece of fiction you’ve ever seen? For me it is the Johannes Cabal books series about a Necromancer running a carnival. Honestly, I’m shocked it doesn’t have a cult following

[selkies-world]

What's your name, little dragon?

The original publishing date was the 21st of December, but I ran into some unforseen formatting issues. So for that, I'm sorry. But here's the good news...

It'll be getting published on the 25th of December!!!

[bigfootsboytoy]

Robin is positive that Steve isn't straight. At first, she thought she was projecting. Maybe she just wanted to share another aspect of herself with her best friend, but no. She's very confident now. The way Steve acts sometimes makes it so obvious. He's listened to her talk about how scary it is, being a lesbian in a town like Hawkins, and he talks to her about it like he undertands, even if he doesn't realize it. She roped him into watching a movie with a gay couple in it, and Steve's eyes lit up seeing two men kiss on screen. He once cracked a joke about going on a date with a guy that sounded far too sincere to be a joke. She knows, deep in the depths of her very soul, that Steve is a little bit queer.

And she could prove it if she could just figure out what his type is

She's been doing research, real genuine research into what male celebrities are considered hot. Finding movies with said supposedly hot men and making Steve watch them with her. But there's nothing! No reaction, not even the slightest blush when Harrison Ford was sweaty and shirtless right before his eyes. It isn't until she gets him to watch Rocky Horror that she finally catches something. Tim Curry in all his fishnet-clad glory brings a flush to Steve's cheeks. One that gets even worse when the character dons a leather jacket halfway through. It isn't much, but it's enough.

She mentally tallys everything about Tim Curry in that movie. Dark eyes, curls, makeup, tights, and especially the leather. She tries not to get her hopes up too high, knows that Tim Curry was wearing feminine clothes and makeup in the movie, so maybe Steve was just thrown off and confused, but it's a start at least. She makes a new list of movies, and pays close attention to his reactions.

The real breakthroughs come with The Lost Boys and The Breakfast Club. Lost Boys had been planned, one of her choices designed to illicit a response from Steve. Lots of pretty boys, some with dark curly hair, some with big dark eyes, and quite a few wearing leather jackets. Steve had been interested, that was for sure, a lot more than he had in the other movies she'd shown him. The Breakfast Club was a surprise. It had been one of Steve's picks, and Robin hadn't even been paying close attention. But it was impossible to miss the way Steve's eyes shot to the screen every time John Bender was speaking.

So, Robin has an answer. Steve Harrington liked bad boys. Men with dark hair and dark eyes, clad in leather with attitude for miles. Not what she had been expecting, but she's delighted, to say the least.

The delight only grows when Eddie Munson comes into their lives, and she gets a front row seat to Steve Harrington's Big Gay Meltdown. Eddie ticks off all Steve's boxes. Dark curly hair, big brown doe eyes, leather and denim from head to toe, and he has the attitude. But he checks off other boxes too, ones Robin hadn't even realized existed. He checks off the 'great big nerd' box. Because when she thinks about it, yes. Steve surrounds himself with exclusively nerds. He checks off the 'good with kids' box effortlessly, to the point that Robin almost screams when she hears Steve telling Nancy about his six kids and a winnebago dream, because Eddie basically already has part-time custody of Steve's weird gaggle of gremlin children. He tickes off the 'queer as fuck' box too, if Robin's judgement is any good, and she was pretty sure it was. The bandana in his pocket seems like a pretty good sign, if the zines she had smuggled on a family trip to Indy were to be trusted.

Eddie Munson is perfect for Steve, in every way possible, Robin is sure of it. So needless to say, shes thrilled when Steve finally, FINALLY pulls her into the crappy little bathroom at Family Video and asks her how she realized she was gay. This is going to be the start of a beautiful little journey for them both, Robin is going to welcome it with open arms.

Part 2

[writingsofwesteros]

Daemon having a thing for Alicent’s and Gwayne’s pretty sister. She’s a bit past her marrying age but Otto keeps his pretty light out of marriage proposals. Ever since Viserys was considering to divorce Daemon and Rhea due to their inability to produce an heir, daemon had been setting his eyes on lady Hightower. He knows Rhaenyra is unreachable but Otto cannot deny his king’s proposal, even if he does he’s already planning something to have that pretty lady under his arm. After hearing Otto’s hesitation to accept the proposal, he was already making his way to her chambers through the keep’s secret pathways. He could already smell the delicious expensive oils she’d bathe in, and grew harder at the thought. He had expected the Hightower girl to be bathing but found her soapy wet body laying in bed, with a knight between her legs. He could’ve been angry but the poor Hightower girl was well past her marrying age and experiencing the desires of lust. He’d be merciful to his future bride and let her experience another man before he could have her, he knew he could ruin any other man she’d had laid with when he has her. He touched his cock at the sound of her pretty moans and the sight of her wet body shining to the dimly lit candles in her room. Before he or his little light could finish, the knight stood up to kiss her whines and showed himself to be no other than her elder brother, Gwayne Hightower. His little light indulged in the Targaryen queer customs and he knew he’d have otto in the palm of his hand with this sinful information. He’d couldn’t help and watch the red-head siblings pleasure each other, already planning to wed Gwayne’s precious sister and fuck her even harder than the Hightower cunt was. But poor daemon was a fool, Otto already knew of his children’s relationship. It soothed him to know that his precious girl was protected and loved by his son, he couldn’t imagine any other man with his girl especially the rogue prince. The marriage of the two Hightower siblings was one of the biggest scandals across Westeros but money talks in the end.

!!!!

Oh Daemon was so close to having this !

The marriage of the two Hightower siblings was one of the biggest scandals across Westeros but money talks in the end. Hightowers just being so old money coded they can get away with everything and we love it ;)

[charlie-lec-stories]

Drama King // CL16 & MV1

Pairing: Charles Leclerc / Original Female Character / Max Verstappen

Summary: Already used to Max's shenanigans, Y/N finds out that Charles with the flu can be quite a challenge.

Warnings: None, this is fluff, fluff and even more fun. (Only one paragraph about homophobic Jos Verstappen)

Author’s Note: Gees, there's nothing worse than a guy with the flu. Also, there's a little introduction of Max and Y/N's parents and the relationship they have with their children. Rate: PG

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

She was used to Max being a drama queen, after so many years being friends, she already knew how he could turn a minimal problem into a world-ending alarm. His computer froze for 5 seconds? It was probably broken. He couldn't find his phone? He probably lost it forever. He was hungry? He couldn't function until he ate. She had fun with that, because Max's little drama stunts were never something that came without a good laugh for her. She would watch him run around the room looking for his phone, or quickly throwing a tantrum when his computer'd go slower than he'd like it. Charles was a lot more composed, which was also funny because he was the one that go into serious trouble more often. He set his dinner on fire? It wasn't that bad, he's not afraid of fire. He's at the police station because he tried to jump the fence when he forgot his keys? Just a little inconvenience and he made new friends! He hurt his hand trying to fix the toaster he just broke? Well, he has a lot more blood in his body, nothing to worry about. Sometimes she wished that Charles would take the bizarre situations he got himself into a little more seriously.

But she takes that wish back, dear God, she takes that back.

It all started with winter break, they were off season and they had been together for a year now, their first anniversary on the 26th of December. Charles, who loved to spoil his partners, decided that they deserved a week for themselves, before they all had to part for New Year's celebrations with their respective families. Plus, they knew that Max was less than happy to have to spend the holiday with his father, so the idea of chilling together, somewhere away from the world was more than appealing. The Monegasque made a reservation at a very private cabin complex, where they could be alone in the middle of nowhere, in Germany. From the 25th at night all the way to the 31st at noon, they would turn off their phones and ignore the rest of the world. Max was more than happy for that, he needed to recharge batteries before facing his father, and Y/N knew that this little trip was perfect for her to sleep all the hours she missed that season. It was the perfect plan, and it went amazing. They relaxed in the woods, lit a bond-fire, swam on the lake, and the cabin even had a jacuzzi, which they used every day. But, when they finally went back to reality on the 31st, happy memories weren't the only thing that Charles brought back home with him.

"Tu es pâle, mon garçon". (You look pale, my boy). Pascale, Charle's mother, said when he arrived at her door for New Year's dinner.

"Je vais bien, ne t'inquiète pas, Maman". (I'm fine, don't worry, Mom). She wasn't convinced, and she was proven right when Charles started coughing in the middle of their meal. The poor man started his new year with a fever.

Arthur called Lando, who made up an excuse and called Max. The Red Bull driver was supposed to spend a week with his father, Jos, the two of them going on a "healing" trip to "help Max outgrow his queerness". The moment he got the call from Lando about "Sassy being sick", he canceled his plans with his father and flew back to Monaco. His father was more than displeased with that, and didn't believe a thing his son told him, but he decided to keep his thoughts to himself. He had an already difficult relationship with his father, coming out as having two partners and having to tell him that they were his rivals was not something he needed to do at the moment. Jos Verstappen hated Y/N with passion, and it was a mutual feeling. He believed that the girl wanted to distract Max on purpose, to take advantage of that on the races. He also believed that she was trying to get into Max's pants to "trap him" with a kid. But, he would rather have her as his daughter in law than a man. He had never been as mad as when he discovered that Max was bisexual, the idea of having his son dating another man was his worst nightmare. He made it his life goal to "cure" Max and his son knew that if his father ever knew that Max was skipping his trip with him for Charles, he would straight up force Max into an asylum. Jos disliked Charles the most, after Lewis Hamilton, so if he didn't like the idea of Max dating a man, he would probably lose it with the fact that he was dating Charles.

Max made it back to Monte Carlo on January 2nd, but he called Y/N to let her know that he could take care of Charles and she should enjoy her time with her family. She had a big one, and she didn't get to see them much, he didn't want her to miss that chance. He could deal with Charles for a week, how hard could it be? She thanked him and let him know that she could fly back if he ever needed her, but he assured her that they would be alright. At the airport, he was welcomed by Lando, who coincidentally came back home from England to prepare everything for his New Year's party, a tradition he started two years prior and that was the most awaited event of the grid. The brit offered Max a ride and, together, they made their way towards the apartment that Max shared with his partners. Lando lived just a block away and offered to help out if he and Charles needed anything. He also let Max know that Oscar, Alex and George were flying to Monaco on the 4th, to help him out with the party, so there were going to be some extra hands. Max felt grateful, even if his father was not there for him, he had his grid family that loved him for who he was.

"Charlie? I'm home!". He called out when he opened the door. Usually, Charles would drop whatever he was doing to greet him and ask about his day. He was an active listener and enjoyed asking people things, but this time he was greeted by the faint sound of a cough and the pets, Pete, Charles' golden retriever, and his two cats. He dropped everything he had in hand and quickly walked to the bedroom followed by Pete. "Hey, Poepie, how are you feeling?". (Sweetie),

"I think I'm dying". Max had to actively do an effort to suppress his laugh. Charles was on the bed, the blanket up to his neck and his voice was barely over a whisper, but he was definitely not dying.

"I think you're doing pretty well!". Max said with a smile and sat on the bed next to Charles, but he pushed Max away. Pete jumped on the bed.

"Don't get close!". He yelled as loud as he could and then coughed again. "You'll get sick too and this is a nightmare".

"Charlie, it's only the flu. I'm Dutch, I'm used to cold weather and never get sick". He placed his hand on Charles' forehead and noticed that his boyfriend was burning up. "Don't worry about me".

"At least you got away from your dad". Charles said as he did the best he could to sit up. Max helped him a bit.

"Yeah, your stuffy nose definitely saved me from that". Charles smiled, his eyes shining in a mix of sadness and fever. He hated Jos for everything he put Max through.

"I'm your knight in shining armor, even when I'm sick". Max laughed out loud and Charles followed, but started coughing again.

"Okay, Sir Charles, let's make you some tea to warm up that throat".

The first night was terrible, Max didn't sleep, not even one second, Charles turning around and whimpering all night, uncomfortable and bothered by the fever. He was cold and hot, all at the same time, so he was pulling at the sheets constantly. Max wanted nothing more than to go to sleep on the couch, but he couldn't leave Charles alone. He turned the Monegasque around and spooned him to keep him from moving too much. They slept through the morning hours, until the pets woke them up asking to be fed. Max got up at lunch time to feed them and make some soup for Charles. He had two big black spots under his eyes and every now and then, a yawn would escape his mouth. Y/N texted him, asking about Charles and how he spent the night. Max didn't want her to worry, so he told her that Charles slept like a baby. It wasn't exactly a lie, never specified which type of baby, he slept like a possessed baby. Charles' fever went down through the day, but he still felt like he didn't have any strength. The medication was doing its magic, but he was probably going to get a fever again at night. And Max was right, Charles' fever came back the second night, sentencing Max to another sleepless night.

"If I die, I leave my sim to Y/N and my underwear to you". Charles told him at 3 am as they were cuddling. Max snorted, almost offended.

"I'm the one taking care of you and I get the underwear while she gets the sim?". Charles looked up at him in the dark, his eyes narrowed. "Make your own soup tomorrow, traitor".

"My underwear it's all Ferrari!". Max already knew that. "It's really important to me. I don't know what you're complaining for".

"It's a good thing you're not dying". Max chuckled and they fell silent for a few minutes.

"If I die and you don't wear that underwear, I'm haunting your ass". And he knew that Charles meant every word.

On the 4th, Lando called Max to let him know that the boys had arrived and offered to stop by and help out a bit. Charles was in a good mood, after Max promised to use the Ferrari underwear if he died, meaning that the visit was a good way to keep up his good spirits. While they waited for their friends to arrive, Max called Y/N to give her an update. She scolded him for refusing to wear the Ferrari briefs, and then she thanked him again for taking care of Charles all on his own. She was convinced that it was an easy task, Max was the drama king after all, but she was grateful anyways. Max decided not to tell her how much of a pain in the ass Charles could be, he would rather have her believing everything was alright. He took Pete out for a quick walk and then went to feed his little demons again, Sassy and Jimmy already planning on eating Charles if he let another minute pass without feeding them. Lando arrived with Oscar, George and Alex, and they all ran to the bedroom to say hi to Charles, but he had a fever again, and what they found was anything but festive.

"You look like shit". Lando said without thinking, and Max hit the back of his head.

"You don't, Charlie". But the Monegasque was already mentally writing his will.

"It's okay, dying must be the only thing that doesn't look good on me". Max rolled his eyes.

"We should help you get better". Oscar added, willing to help. The other three looked at him with their noses scrunched.

"I think we're all more useful at a safe distance". Alex looked around the room as he made the comment, looking for a place he could sit down and not get too close to Charles.

"It's just the flu, stop acting like he's got a deadly disease". But they all ignored Max as Oscar organized them to cover all of Charles' needs.

"Alex, you'll make the food. George, you'll bring Jimmy and Sassy, since Pete's already here. Lando, you'll pick a movie. I will gather all the blankets I can find. And Max...". Oscar looked at him, unsure of what Max could do. "You'll comfort him, but please, keep it decent".

"I'm not doing that while you guys are here". Max said, annoyed.

"Just making sure!". Lando laughed as he remembered the situation in the hotel room.

Oscar's plan was kind of chaotic, as always. While Max laid on the bed with his sick boyfriend, he could hear Alex fighting with the kitchen, George chased the cats around the house and Oscar opened every closet in the apartment looking for blankets. To add to that, Lando just couldn't pick a movie, going through all the streaming platforms and genres. Charles still acted as if he was dying and even though Max loved every person in that house, he was too sleep deprived to tolerate the chaos. After an hour, George walked in with Sassy and Jimmy, his shirt covered in holes and wearing kitchen gloves. He placed the cats on top of Charles and they both snuggled on his chest, purring and relaxing against their Papa. Max looked at George worried, as the brit just kept a wary eye on the cats. He couldn't help but chuckle at the situation, Sassy and Jimmy were the most loving cats in the world, but they loved to drive people crazy. Alex brought to the room the worst soup Max had ever tasted, but Charles was so sick that he couldn't even taste anything, so it wasn't a problem. Oscar placed all the blankets on top of Charles and, even though Max thought Lando would never pick anything, he actually did, and they all sat in the room to watch it together. Charles was finally asleep after 30 minutes and Max had never felt more relieved.

Around 6 pm they all left and Max took the pets to their beds. Pete slept on a pretty fancy bed that Charles had brought for him, it had Ferrari's emblem all over it, still, the dog loved his Red Bull toy, no matter how many times Charles took it away from him. Max gave Pete the toy and the dog curled up on his bed, ready to sleep, hugging the toy. Jimmy and Sassy had high beds, ones that Max had attached to the wall so they could sleep as up high as possible. He told them to go to bed, in Dutch, since it was the only language they understood, and they both obeyed instantly. If there was something that Max loved about their pets was how well behaved they were, George might not agree with that, but that seemed like George-problem to Max. After everyone was on their beds, Max went back to his room and lied next to Charles, his little snores making Max smile. Maybe they could finally sleep for a few hours. But they didn't. Charles' fever came back and he started moving around again. At some point, Max even heard him crying.

"Charles, are you okay?". Max asked as he turned Charles around to look at him and see if he could find what was hurting. "Does anything hurt?".

"I don't know!". Charles said, already done with being sick. "I just feel like shit and I'm tired and my head hurts... and... and my throat is sore!". Charles complained in between sobs. "And my nose is so stuffed! I just want to feel better and do my things, like training and going out. And I miss Y/N too".

"Charlie, it's okay". Max tried to comfort him, ignoring his own tiredness as best as he could. "Be patient, you'll feel better soon. I promise".

But Charles kept turning around all night again, coughing, mumbling, sighing loudly, blowing his nose. Max was close to losing it. There is so much time one can spend not sleeping and Max was close to his breaking point. At 4 in the morning, he got up and decided to call Y/N. She was in Buenos Aires, so it would be around midnight there, she was definitely up, no one slept early in Argentina. He felt terrible calling her to complain about their boyfriend, but Max just couldn't take it anymore, he needed to sleep and their friends were too loud and energetic to actually help. He confirmed that the day before. So she was his last resort. He sat on the toilet with the lid down, looking at his phone and re-thinking about calling her or not. She was having fun, spending some time with her family, people she missed all year round, he didn't feel comfortable ruining that, but he didn't know what to do. He heard Charles cough from the room and dialed his girlfriend's number. It rang a few times, then, he was met with the sound of music and people speaking loudly.

"Hey, Maxie, it's everything alright?". She greeted him. He could hear her friends mocking her, saying "Maxie" over and over again, her grandmother scolding them, and Y/N laughing at the situation. "Wait! It's like 4 am there. Max, is Charles alright?".

"YES". He quickly reassured her when he noticed how worried she was. She sighed in relief. "I just...".

"What is it?". He heard the noise turn down, she had probably moved away from people so they could talk better.

"I lied to you. Charles has not been easy to deal with. At all! He's terrible, and I miss my sleep and we miss you and he's coughing all the time and the guys came by and it was a mess...". He kept rambling about how the last few days had been horrible for him and she patiently listened to him. It was bad that Charles was still with a fever, that wasn't normal, since he was taking medication for that, but Max was also someone who could escalate a situation pretty quickly, so it was hard for her to know exactly if the situation was that bad. Nonetheless, she let him let it all out, once she noticed that he was done, she offered a solution.

"Listen, Amor, give me two days. Tomorrow I will say goodbyes and then I'll be on the first plane I can catch, okay?". She heard him let out a breath he had been holding. "We'll take care of him together".

"Thank you, Schat, thank you so much". He said, feeling a lot better.

On the 6th, around 8 pm, Y/N finally got back home. She slowly opened the door, Pete went to her to greet her. She patted his head and scratched the back of his ears, earning a little huff of approval from the dog. Sassy and Jimmy went next, rubbing against her legs and meowing, showing their Mamá how much they missed her. She tried to shush them, noticing that Max and Charles were probably sleeping. Quietly, she dropped her suitcase by the door and took off her shoes, walking around the dark apartment towards the bedroom. The door made a minimal cracking sound as she pushed it open softly and she cringed about it, but she discovered that her boys were wide awake inside, completely unbothered by the sound of the door. Charles was in a semi-awake state, his eyes glossy and forehead shiny with sweat, probably still with a fever. Max was next to him, his eyes tired and the bags under them prominent, like he hadn't slept in days. The Dutchman's eyes light up with her presence, the tiredness still there but now mixed with relief.

"Schat!". He jumped up and ran to her, picking her up and spinning her a few times, before he set her back down and kissed her, like his life depended on it. Maybe his sanity did. "You're here!".

"Yeah, how have you guys been?". Max was frowning at her instead of answering her question. "What?"

"Weren't coming back tomorrow?". She was the one frowning now. "I told you we could wait, I can't believe I made you leave your family so soon".

"No, Amor, I said two days, that was the day before yesterday". She went to the bed and sat down, placing her hand on Charles' face and caressing his cheek.

"No no, today's the 5th, Schat".

"Max, it's January 6th". She took her phone out of her pocket to show him the date. "When was the last time you slept?"

"I don't know...". Y/N looked at him, worried, taking into his pitiful state. Charles was still out so she got up and dragged Max to the living room. They sat on the couch and he rested his head on her shoulder.

"You should sleep here tonight, I'll look after Charlie". He hummed in agreement. "Did you guys eat already?". Max nodded. "Good, then lie down and rest".

"Thank you, Schat".

Max lied down and closed his eyes, falling asleep instantly. Y/N walked back to the room, changed for the night and got into bed with Charles. He had the flu, how bad could it be? Really bad, she discovered that night. The Monegasque spent the night complaining, she wasn't able to close her eyes for a minute. Between Charles' never ending turning and how tired she was from the trip, she was wishing she could go to the living room with Max. When the morning light came, she was still awake and extremely tired. Charles was the most annoying patient in the world. If he was complaining like that for the flu, what would he do for a stomach bug? They were lucky that Charles rarely got sick. Max went to the bedroom around 11 am, better rested and ready to treat his girl better than last night. But she was looking just as miserable as he did the past few days. Charles was finally asleep, so she got up and the two of them went to the kitchen for breakfast. Max, with more energy than her, made some Stroopwafels, while Y/N just rested her head on her hand, slumped over the table.

"I think it's time for Charles' meds, Amor". She told him after a few minutes in silence. "Where are they?".

"First drawer, my nightstand. It's a bottle that says-"

"Paracetamol, I know, my mother's a doctor, remember?". He noticed the pain in her voice, under the tiredness, but he chose not to keep up the conversation about her mother, she was not rested enough to talk about that woman. She walked back to the bedroom and opened the drawer, the bottle being the first thing she saw.

"Here's a glass of water". Max told her as she walked up to him, the bottle in her hand.

"Have you been giving Charles this?". She showed him the bottle.

"Of course, every 8 hours". He proudly answered.

"It's expired, Max". His smile dropped instantly. "This expired in 2020".

"You're fucking with me". He took the bottle from her and inspected it. "It can't be expired".

"This is so old I wasn't even in F1 when it stopped being useful". She ran her hands down her face and sighed. "I'll run to the pharmacy and buy a new one. Of course he's not feeling better, the meds don't work once they are expired, it's like giving him nothing".

Y/N brought a new bottle of medication and Charles was already feeling better that night. They all finally got some proper sleep. The next morning, Charles was a new man, back again with his good spirits and big smiles, as if he hasn't been the most over dramatic person for the last few days. Max and Y/N were still exhausted as he walked into the kitchen for breakfast.

"I can't believe you flew all the way back here just for the flu, Amour, it wasn't that serious!". He told Y/N as he took a bite of his Stroopwafels. "And I took it like a champ".

"Yeah, sure, Corazón". She said, condescendingly.

"Get sick again, Charles, and I'm personally burring you with your Ferrari underwear, you fucking Drama King".

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

This one is pretty long, but i had fun writing it! Hope you guys like it!

[goodluckclove]

You Don't Need an Agent! Publishers That Accept Unsolicited Submissions

I see a few people sayin that you definitely need an agent to get published traditionally. Guess what? That's not remotely true. While an agent can be a very useful tool in finding and negotiating with publishers, going without is not as large of a hurdle as people might make it out to be!

Below is a list of some of the traditional publishers that offer reading periods for agent-less manuscripts. There might be more! Try looking for yourself - I promise it's not that scary!

Albert Whitman & Company: for picture books, middle-grade, and young adult fiction

Hydra (Part of Random House): for mainly LitRPG

Kensington Publishing: for a range of fiction and nonfiction

NCM Publishing: for all genres of fiction (YA included) and nonfiction

Pants of Fire Press: for middle-grade, YA, and adult fiction

Tin House Books: very limited submission period, but a good avenue for fiction, literary fiction, and poetry written by underrepresented communities

Quirk Fiction: offers odd-genre rep for represented and unagented authors. Unsolicited submissions inbox is closed at the moment but this is the page that'll update when it's open, and they produced some pretty big books so I'd keep an eye on this

Persea Books: for lit fiction, creative nonfiction, YA novels, and books focusing on contemporary issues

Baen: considered one of the best known publishers of sci-fi and fantasy. They don't need a history of publication.

Chicago Review Press: only accepting nonfiction at the moment, but maybe someone here writes nonfiction

Acre: for poetry, fiction and nonfiction. Special interest in underrepresented authors. Submission period just passed but for next year!

Coffeehouse Press: for lit fiction, nonfiction, poetry and translation. Reading period closed at time of posting, but keep an eye out

Ig: for queries on literary fiction and political/cultural nonfiction

Schaffner Press: for lit fiction, historical/crime fiction, or short fiction collections (cool)

Feminist Press: for international lit, hybrid memoirs, sci-fi and fantasy fiction especially from BIPOC, queer and trans voices

Evernight Publishing: for erotica. Royalties seem good and their response time is solid

Felony & Mayhem: for literary mystery fiction. Not currently looking for new work, but check back later

This is all what I could find in an hour. And it's not even everything, because I sifted out the expired links, the repeat genres (there are a lot of options for YA and children's authors), and I didn't even include a majority of smaller indie pubs where you can really do that weird shit.

A lot of them want you to query, but that's easy stuff once you figure it out. Lots of guides, and some even say how they want you to do it for them.

Not submitting to a Big 5 Trad Pub House does not make you any less of a writer. If you choose to work with any publishing house it can take a fair bit of weight off your shoulders in terms of design and distribution. You don't have to do it - I'm not - but if that's the way you want to go it's very, very, very possible.

Have a weirder manuscript that you don't think fits? Here's a list of 50 Indie Publishers looking for more experimental works to showcase and sell!

If Random House won't take your work - guess what? Maybe you're too cool for Random House.

[chuck-the-author]

Concept Art vs. Final Image

Pre-order Nigel Sat in a Box:

[momotonescreaming]

Night Light

Rating: G | WC: 1.2k | Evan Buckley/Tommy Kinard A mini Tommy Kinard character study [Read on AO3]

Tommy has an antique lamp in his entranceway and a child’s night light in the hall.

A small unassuming thing in a plastic white cover, subtly plugged into an outlet halfway down the hall to the master bedroom. Buck thought it was an air freshener at first, didn’t think much of it. Which was kind of the point. It wasn’t until he stayed the night that very first time when he noticed. Padding through Tommy’s house on unsure, socked feet, making his way through unfamiliar rooms. It was getting dark, Tommy’s house aglow in the lamplight, when he saw it projecting little golden stars up the wall.

Buck wondered if there was a story there. Of army flashbacks, and gifting yourself the childhood you never had. Of not holding yourself back, of letting go of the man people wanted you to be. Of loneliness.

He wondered if it was his place to know it just yet. Another piece of the Tommy-shaped puzzle, aglow with tiny stars. They had started touching at things like this, merely breaching the surface, hinting at the things below. The things that lurk in the dark. Quickly, swiftly, dropping hints and then diverting away. This felt like it might be one of those.

Tommy doesn’t have any kids, and from the hints Buck’s already gathered — he doesn’t have any kids in his life, period. No nieces and nephews. No kids of friends or co-workers.

So the night light can’t be for any of them. Those children that don’t exist. Buck thinks Tommy might have gotten it for himself. Buck kind of likes it. He doesn’t want to go too far down the rabbit hole, too far into research and facts and theories about why. Doesn’t want to dig this up and risk exposing something he shouldn’t. Not before either of them are ready. He wants Tommy to give it to him. Revealed in time.

So Buck walks past the night light, goes to the bathroom, and then walks straight back past them on his way back to Tommy. To the living room, where his boyfriend is waiting. Curled up on the couch, soft and inviting. Curtains half pulled shut and room lit by lamplight. As soon as it got dark, Buck Noticed, Tommy always leaned towards a lamp first. Not an overhead light.

None of the lamps have stars.

He thinks that might be an easier conversation. Might not poke what’s lurking beneath. But he likes it too. It feels very Tommy, his house. Warm. Cozy. Safe. Buck knows it wasn’t always that way. That Tommy’s house was a fixer-upper and was in a perpetual state of construction for years. That Tommy learned what he liked and built it himself. And it appears his boyfriend likes soft lighting.

Buck doesn’t say anything about the night light, but he swear he sees something flicker in Tommy’s expression. He stops thinking about the topic entirely when Tommy draws him into his arms and holds him close.

They spend more and more time together. Going on dates, getting to know one another. Spending time at each other’s places, slowly mapping out the shape of each other’ homes. They way they act in a place that’s theirs. When no one is around but the other.

A part of Buck will never understand why Tommy seemed so impressed with his loft — considering his house is so much cooler. A cozy renovated bungalow with a home gym and an extra large garage with a car lift. Lined with many a bookshelf, filled with romance novels and car manuals. Piles of DVD’s, a modest collection of vinyl and a CD collection he had been growing since he was a teen. All shelves dusted, in a very particular order. Tiny helicopters on display. Little figurines and models, breaking up the wall of things.

A large comfy couch in the middle of his living room, framed by a plush rug and draped in throw blankets. A lamp on the side table, and another in the corner. Some subtly queer artwork on the walls, if you know where and how to look. He’s not hiding who he is, but he’s not shouting it from the rooftop either. It’s nice. Homey. It suits Tommy.

Paint swatches on the wall of his dining room, and his kitchen, with the old wallpaper half peeling off. He hasn’t renovated that yet, Tommy tells him. Hasn’t found the time, he says with a smirk. As if it’s a hardship Tommy’s been spending time with him, going on dates, inviting him round — instead of ripping up and renovating his entire kitchen.

Next to one of his bookcases, is the night light. Halfway down the hall.

A part of Buck wondered if Tommy would hide it, after that first night when Buck saw it on his way to the bathroom. Would unplug it and squirrel it away where Buck couldn’t see. Until Tommy was ready to talk about it. But he didn’t, and yet Buck still didn’t say anything.

He finds out about the lamps, earlier. The collection of them scattered throughout his house — the antique one in the entranceway.

Tommy turns it on every time he leaves the house. It’s a part of his routine. Shut the windows, lock the doors, wallet, phone, keys, turn on the lamp. Says he likes the soft lighting better, as compared to the harsh lighting from the overheads. Makes it feel warmer, and enjoys the way it makes everything glow. Orange soft around the edges. He likes coming home to the light on, he says. Makes it feels less imposing, more inviting. Seeing the gold from the lamp light shining through the curtains. Distorted and hazy from the lampshade.

Buck’s getting better versed at Tommy-speak. He knows how to read between the lines on this one. It makes his house feel a little less empty. Makes him feel a little less alone.

The night light makes a little more sense then.

Tommy got the lamp at an estate sale, he says. Went sifting through for things to help fill his house with. He got the lamp, a table, and a large worn-in armchair with pride of place in his living room. Things to make his house seem a little more lived in, a little more homey, a little less empty.

Buck still doesn’t ask when he got the night light, but he thinks about it more now. He thinks about it when he gets off shift and heads straight to Tommy’s, seeing the lamp light shine through the window. He thinks about it when he gets up early to get ready for a shift, and sees the little golden stars glow as he makes his way down the hall to Tommy’s kitchen.

It makes him sort of sad, to picture it. Young Tommy, trying to figure out who he is, to unpluck threads while the pressure of the macho fire house presses down around him. And then turning around and coming home to an empty, pitch black house. Putting the lamp in the entranceway so it’s the first thing he sees when he gets home. Buying a little night light to lead his way down the hall.

When Buck was living in Abby’s apartment, way back when, he thinks maybe he should have bought himself a children’s night light with little golden stars.