In November 2017, I participated in National Novel Writing Month. I had a nebulous idea for a story about four young adults living on a colossal space station encircling Jupiter’s moon Callisto when they discover a secret portal to Pluto.

I didn’t get even halfway through a first draft. Writing novels is hard, and I simply wasn’t prepared to write the epic book I had envisioned. But I came out of the experience with something just as valuable: a rich, compelling setting.

In the Sacred Solar System, humanity left Earth seven thousand years ago to colonize other worlds. Now, people live everywhere from mobile titancities on Mercury to a terraformed Ganymede to the Fisheye space station orbiting Neptune. The planets, moons, and Sun are worshiped as divine Celestials, and the incredible technology of the Miracles enable standardized gravity, Gates linking worlds, and much more. But while the Miracles appear stable, the knowledge of exactly how they function was lost a millennium ago.

Since the inception of this setting, most of my new work has been set somewhere within the Sacred Solar System. As a reader, I adore rich, multi-faceted settings that explore multiple worlds and sub-genres within the same universe, and that’s the type of setting I’m striving to create here.

My first two Sacred Solar System pieces were released in 2019. Other, Like the Sun to the Planets, published in Vulture Bones, Issue 6, is set on Mars and follows Robin’s return home after embracing xyr unconventional gender identity. In The Distant Earth, included in Exoplanet, Issue 4, Wendo struggles with zir lifelong desire to set foot on Earth despite the planet’s ban on visitors.

I’m pleased to announce that this summer, my first Sacred Solar System poems have been released. Three poems – Venus Burns, The Gravity, and The Return of Sacred Smog – are included in Coffin Bell Issue 3.3. Meanwhile, my poem High Season about a sapphic racecar driver on Mars (and a preview into the novel I’m currently drafting) is part of GlitterShip’s Spring 2020 issue.

A full list of my Sacred Solar System work is available here. You may note there’s one story listed that’s not yet live, as my story Luridia Beach will be coming out in Prismatica in August. I look forward to sharing even more with you in the coming years!

All six of my romance novellas and novelettes are out of print as of August 2019. My publisher, Less Than Three Press, shut down with less than a month’s notice, leaving me in an uncertain position. My rights to the stories have been fully and formally returned, so I could self-publish them or else submit them to another LGBTQ romance publisher who accepts re-releases. After careful consideration, however, I’ve decided that I do not want to republish any past work without doing, at minimum, a full set of revisions, and possibly rewriting or expanding.

I might republish some of these stories next year, but I have no concrete plans to do so yet. It’s a difficult decision. It’s sad and a little scary to go from having a small catalog of published romances to having none at all. But as I continue to grow as a writer, I want to be proud and confident of everything I put into the world, and as such I don’t want to rush to republish old work.

Despite this, my summer is not bereft of good writing news. I’m delighted to announce that for the first time, I have sold a short story. Other, Like the Sun to the Planets was recently published in issue 6 of Vulture Bones magazine. A young adult Martian revisits xyr hometown and struggles with parents whose old-fashioned ideas about gender don’t provide space for xyr identity.

Another short story of mine, The Distant Earth, has been accepted into Exoplanet Magazine and will be coming out this December.

Both of these short stories are set in the same universe, the Sacred Solar System. I’ve always loved rich, complex settings that can be viewed from dozens of angles, and so over the past two years I’ve been slowly but steadily worldbuilding. Most, but not all, of my work in the next few years will be set in the Sacred Solar System. It’s a space fantasy universe where humanity is spread across all the planets, facilitated by technological Miracles and the Gates between major worlds. I’m particularly interested in exploring relationships, gender, social structures, and “ordinary” life, but I also plan to incorporate ghosts, adventures, and tidbits of horror!

I’m honestly sad about leaving my romance work behind right now. I really enjoyed writing romance and I’m proud of the work I produced. LT3 Press was great, and I learned a lot from both the queer romance community and the process of writing, revising, and publishing several novellas and novelettes.

But romance has never been the sole genre I’m interested in. I love science fiction, space opera, fantasy, and horror. I’ve never wanted to solely write romance. Over the past few years I have focused on romance, and now it’s time for me to move on to my space fantasy stories. Some of which will probably be romance! But not all of them, and I am at least a year away from putting out a new novelette.

I’m excited for this next part of my journey as a writer and I’m confident that if you’ve enjoyed my poetry, romance, or other writing so far, you’ll likely enjoy the stories coming out later this year. Thank you for reading, and I look forward to sharing more of my work in the coming months and years!

As spring gives way to summer, I’m happy to announce that two of the projects I’ve been working on have progressed towards publication. Both are set in fantastical worlds, with Grimoire featuring summonable daemons while the land of Under the Midnight Sun is filled with larger-than-life monsters.

Grimoire, the Fate World of Adventure that I co-wrote with Christopher Caporaso, was released earlier this month:

Daemon summoning is banned in Ganseldom by religious and civil authorities alike, but that’s never stopped ambitious nobles and warlocks. Daemons are invaluable minions when there are battles to win, secrets to steal, and coups to enact. With the recent invention of the printing press and increased literacy rates, grimoires containing the rites for daemon summoning are more common than ever.

Now you too can join the ranks of warlocks, discreetly selling your services to those rich enough to afford them. But beware, as daemons’ capricious cleverness may lead their masters to downfall rather than glory. Can you control your daemon and please your masters?

The publication date for Under the Midnight Sun, a gay fantasy romance novella filled with warriors and monsters, has been set for August 15th:

The eldest son of Thunderhill’s warrior-kings, Otto Johanson lives for battle but has forsaken love since the death of his partner three years ago. Still, when the Midsummer festivities bring nomadic reindeer herders back to town, Otto can’t help but notice the handsome, if sullen, Lukas.

Tension rises between them during the annual tournament, but when a terrible attack devastates Thunderhill, Otto and Lukas must put aside their burgeoning rivalry to embark on a dangerous quest that may be the town’s only hope of survival.

In my previous post, I mentioned that I finished a new novella in December. I’ve been spending the beginning of 2018 on revisions, and I’m delighted to announce that it has been accepted for publication! Under the Midnight Sun will be published by Less Than Three Press, release date TBA:

The eldest son of Thunderhill’s warrior-kings, Otto Johanson lives for battle but has given up on love since the death of his partner three years ago. When the Midsummer festivities bring nomadic reindeer herders back to town, Otto notices the handsome yet sullen nomad warrior Lukas. Tension rises between them during the annual tournament, but when a terrible attack devastates Thunderhill, Otto and Lukas must put aside their burgeoning rivalry to embark on a dangerous quest that may be the town’s only hope of continued survival.

Under the Midnight Sun is a fantasy romance novella. If you enjoy warrior-princes, legendary monsters, or rivals-to-lovers, stay tuned for the release date!

Happy New Year! 2017 was a rough ride, but I’m looking forward to a happier, healthier, and more productive 2018. While I didn’t have many new publications in 2017, I’m pleased to let you know I have a few things in the works.

At the end of 2017, I finished drafting a second Fate supplement for the Fate Patreon Adventures and Worlds series. I co-wrote Grimoire with a close friend and fellow rpg enthusiast, and look forward to its release later this year:

Daemon summoning is banned in Ganseldom by religious and civil authorities alike, but that’s never stopped ambitious nobles and warlocks. As supernatural beings outside the constraints of human morality, daemons are invaluable minions when there are battles to win, secrets to steal, and coups to enact. With the recent invention of the printing press and increased literacy rates, grimoires containing the rites for daemon summoning are more common than ever. Now you too can join the ranks of warlocks, discretely selling your services to those rich – or foolhardy – enough to contract daemon summoners. But beware, as daemons’ capricious cleverness may lead their masters to downfall rather than glory.

I don’t have anything else in line for publication currently, but I hope to change that later in the year. I’ve begun revisions on a romance novella I drafted in December, and I’m also polishing two horror short stories.

In my personal life, I moved over the summer. It was a lengthy and stressful process, but the new apartment has been wonderful. We’re a little more out of the city than we were before, but the suburb where we live is lovely and has a good library.

Best wishes to you all as we enter this new year!

Hi again folks! Offline life has been a bit overwhelming lately, but I’m happy to say I’ve been keeping up with regular contributions to xojane. I appreciate the community there and I’ve gotten to discuss a variety of issues and experiences in my recent articles.

In case you missed any of my recent pieces, here they are:

• The Double-Edged Sword of Being Both Androgynous and Nonbinary
• 5 Important Things to Consider Before Attending or Hosting a Sex Party 
• My Best Friend is Dating My Partner, and This Arrangement Feels Totally Natural to Me
• I’m Nonbinary and I’m So Frustrated When Masculinity is Considered the Default
• So You’re Having an STI Scare – Here’s What to Do Next
• 4 Things to Keep in Mind When Dating Someone with Mental Illness
• Why It’s So Important to Respect Transgender People’s Chosen Names
• Having Mental Illness Itself Doesn’t Bother Me; What Bothers Me is That I’ll Probably Have It Forever

In the last several weeks, my focus has shifted from writing fiction to writing nonfiction. I still plan on writing some speculative romance stories this year, but when xojane gave me the opportunity to write for them more often, I couldn’t say no! This month I also wrote my first article for Elite Daily, which gives me an opportunity to write specifically for a LGBTQ+ audience with their Queer Culture section.

Without further ado, here are my recent articles:

“I’m Sorry, I’m the Worst”: What to Do When Your Partner (or You!) Gets on the Self-Deprecation Train – xojane. Jan 2016.

Three Things I Wish I’d Done Differently Coming Out as Transgender at Work – Elite Daily. Jan 2016.

In Defense of Labels: Why Self-Identification Matters – xojane. Jan 2016.

How to be a Good Ally to Nonbinary People – xojane. Jan 2016.

Why I Find Comfort in Reading Fictional Tragedy and Horror – xojane. Jan 2016.

In an Alternate Reality, I’m a Straight Girl – xojane. Dec 2015.

2015 was my first year writing professionally, outside of a few assignments at office jobs. While I didn’t meet all of my (admittedly lofty) personal goals, I far exceeded others, and I’m happy to say as I enter 2016 that overall, 2015 was hugely successful for me.

In this first year, I saw the release of my first novelette, two poems, and half a dozen articles on xojane. I also had two other romance stories, an rpg setting, and another poem all accepted for publication. I finished National Novel Writing Month for the second time ever, and the first time ever with something that will, after some revising, be worth submitting for publication.

This was all on top of some key accomplishments in my personal life, including getting both of the gender-confirming surgeries I needed and settling into a new office job.

Sometimes I get down on myself and feel like I’m never creating enough, never writing enough, never getting enough published. At the start of a new year, however, I’m taking a step back to look at my accomplishments. I wrote a lot, and I’m proud of it.

I still have a long way to go. I want to continue to improve both the quality and quantity of my writing, and really start treating it as a career, not just a hobby. I’m still refining my style and figuring out what I’m most passionate about writing – and what I’m most skilled at writing.

In 2016, I’m going to continue to write a combination of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. I will be revising and submitting both my NaNoWriMo project and a lesbian superhero novella that I’ve been working on. While my fiction writing will remain centered on queer romance, I may dabble with some shorter pieces in other genres I enjoy, especially horror.

I want to thank everyone who has supported me, both personally and professionally. This includes (but certainly isn’t limited to): Lesley at xojane; Mike and Sean at Evil Hat; the team at Less Than Three Press; and my friends and my partner, Q. Thank you too to everyone who has bought, read, reviewed, or commented on my work; I couldn’t do this without you!

Finally, none of this would have been possible without my best friend, platonic life partner, and taking-no-excuses editor, Jack. He has been supportive of me for years, and has tirelessly reviewed and revised nearly every piece I’ve submitted for publication. My work wouldn’t be the same without his input, and I can’t thank him enough.

I look forward to bringing you more of my work this year! Stay tuned!

I’m pleased to say that I will be writing more for xojane in the coming months. I’ve had a great experience writing for the site so far, and I look forward to doing so much more in 2016.

This week, my article is on Three Ways Polyamory Has Helped Me Have Healthier Relationships. For me, polyamory has been an excellent learning experience. It helped me re-evaluate my relationship ideals and recognize the importance of communication, boundaries, and compromise. These skills will serve me well in the future, regardless of if I’m in a monogamous or a polyamorous relationship.