We Hope You're Hungry: An Interview with Nicole Kimberling by Jack Shapira

Lambda Award winning author Nicole Kimberling is dishing up a three-course meal of mystery, murder, and romance in her new book Mystery on the Menu. A collection of three delectable culinary cozy mysteries, Mystery on the Menu is sure to satisfy the appetites of readers. Centered around Chef Drew Allison who, with the help hunky deputy “Big Mac” Mackenzie, must put his amateur sleuth skills to the test to solve a murder in which he’s the prime suspect, and avoid being cooked in the process, Mystery on the Menu is a feast for mystery fans. Mystery on the Menu will be available on May 23 at the Blind Eye Books website and in bookstores.

Too hungry to wait? As an appetizer, we’ve sat down with Nicole to find out more in an exclusive interview.

I know you worked for a long time in the food industry. Do you think that has influenced you as a writer?

Absolutely. My time in the restaurant industry instilled in me a sense of urgency and diligence that I don’t think I would have acquired if I’d only worked with books. But the biggest thing that I got from restaurant kitchens was a sense of teamwork and the importance of good morale—like keeping up morale is key to maintaining your stamina and endurance—which you need a lot of in order to finish a novel-length work. 

I was really happy to write an amateur sleuth who is a chef as well because chefs, and restaurant kitchen staff in general, are so much more proactive and ingenious than people who are not in the industry imagine. They are the kind of people who are game for anything and who will try to solve any problems themselves, up to and including homicide. I wanted to show that sense of agency when I created Chef Drew Allison.

Mystery on the Menu is set in a small Pacific Northwest Island town, what drew you to this setting?

Mysteries are all about controlling tension and creating a sense of pressure and an island provides a naturally closed environment, which, heightens the level of stress on everything within it. Islands are—kind of societal microcosms. And the islands in the Puget Sound are mostly on this tiny tectonic plate that’s sandwiched between the North American and Pacific plates which means that they’re separate even on a geological level.

I don’t go into that in the book of course, because none of the characters are geologists or anything, but that knowledge did inform the way that I wrote about the characters and the place. The PNW also has a lot of active volcanoes that seem peaceful but still do occasionally erupt and cause carnage which I thought was an apt metaphor for murder in a small town.

How did winning a Lambda Award affect your writing and career as a writer?

Mainly by giving me a huge confidence boost. It’s nice to win awards. It means other writers like your writing, which feels good.

Do you think living in the PNW has influenced you as a writer, and if so, how?

Yes, I think so. The PNW is a temperate rainforest which, in a nutshell, means that it rains a lot and nature is everywhere. It doesn’t matter where you are, some plant or animal will find a way to be there with you. Like if you leave your broken car sitting in one place too long, it will be subsumed by foliage. Then that foliage will be eaten by a random roaming urban deer. Everything becomes intertwined.  It’s not uncommon to see eagles and falcons just chilling by the interstate, or run into a whole pack of raccoons while taking out the garbage. All you have to do to see sea life is walk to the end of any dock and just look down into the water. It’s impossible to ignore nature or to separate yourself from it here even if, like me, you mainly see it from afar or through triple-paned glass. 

A lot of writing is about taking thoughts and experiences that have no inherent narrative and arranging them so that they make some kind of sense and can be communicated to other people. When you’re just starting out writing, it can be easy to fall into the trap of writing because you want to be understood by others, or wanting to have your thoughts and experiences validated by others, rather than writing in order to help others understand your thoughts and to help them understand, through your fiction, that their own experiences are valid. It’s a subtle but important difference.

The pervasive presence of nature here helped me understand that there are things both beautiful and terrible that just cannot be controlled, only adapted to. And that helped me understand readers much better than I did before.  A writer can’t control how a reader responds to their work or what comments they may or may not make about it any more than a gardener can control  what seeds blow into their flower beds. But, like a gardener can choose what volunteer plants they allow to grow, a writer can choose which reader feedback to focus on.

What inspires you to write?

To be honest, the idea that a reader can enter a story that I made and relax and have a little fun in another world is what makes me want to take the time to write down sentences. That’s the basic idea.

I’m the kind of person who laughs really easily . . . and sometimes really inappropriately. I find many commonplace occurrences in life absolutely hilarious and I do my best to carry that feeling into the stories I write. I try to bring readers more laughter than tears.

In terms of what inspires the content of those stories—like what I want to write a story about—I always write about the same thing, which is the interconnectedness of people. Mysteries are a great format for exploring very complicated relationships between people that include, their environment, their money, their goals and aspirations and, always, their great loves whether those feelings of love are toward another person, a place, a time or even something random, like pickles. 

Would You Like To Try A Sample? REFORGED, Chapter One by Seth Haddon

Hello Blind Eye Books Faithful, I’m pleased to announce we’re wrapping up production on our fall title, Reforged by debut author Seth Haddon. Lots and lots of people have been waiting for this one so I’m pleased to offer you a sneak peek at our heroes Paladin Balen and the newly crowned King Zavrius. If you like it you can preorder directly from our site or from your favorite local or online bookstore.

Here’s what the author has to say about Reforged, “I wanted to create a story with love at its heart. Reforged is the novel I wish I had growing up, where both masculine and flamboyant men are the heroes, and the romantic bond they share is crucial to their victory. Inspired by danmei and D&D, I wanted to show there is real heart in fantasy stories. “

Author Seth Haddon can be found on TikTok @authorsethhaddon and on Twitter @sethhaddon

Now, without further ado:

Chapter One

The moon was full and already at its zenith.

He was late.

Paladin Balen cursed under his breath. The conspicuous lack of music made his stomach twist. King Zavrius should have been playing that damned lute-harp by now. Running in full armor through a forest at night, Balen would be lucky if he didn’t catch his foot on a root, fall, and break his neck. That would be his luck, dying, stupidly, just before he claimed the most prestigious role in Cres Stros. He needed to focus on the uneven path before him. But how could he?

King Zavrius, and everyone else, was waiting.

Balen’s foot slipped in the mulch. He staggered forward in the dark, only righting himself by some miracle. He resolved to push the king from his mind. Always easier in theory. He failed.

Focus. You show up smeared in mud, and Zavrius will be offended.

And Zavrius knew how to hold a grudge.

The winding path straightened. It became a sudden arrow-sharp road cutting through an archway of evergreen trees. The path was lit by torches, their bare flames licking at the balmy air. Balen took a breath and slowed.

The primordial majesty of the Gedrok’s Glade opened before him. A massive, ancient and long-dead creature lay slumped in a semicircle at the perimeter of the clearing, forming the northern barrier. These massive beings had been named gedrok after the ancient king who had first harnessed their magical properties. This gedrok possessed a strange, composite quality. The top half resembled a giant, bulky panther, but its lower half tapered away into a lean serpent tail. Its head looked like an earless cat’s skull with a fine layer of skin laid over the bone. The rounded head sat tall; at four men high, the creature’s glazed, sunken eye could watch the whole glade. Skin covered in off-white and aquamarine scales enfolded long, blood-red tendons and sheathed near-transparent bones. It smelled faintly of brine and oakmoss. Parts of it had been carved away over the years, to create both magical instruments and armor, including Balen’s own. Now the creature’s rib cage looked brittle and weak. Fat, wild vines wove through places where harvesting the skin had exposed the ribs. The light glinted along Balen’s gedrokbone armor as he passed. Flickers of prismatic color split through the darkness.

Balen raised his head proudly to the ancient creature. This was the source of his power. He couldn’t help but feel a kinship with it.

On a wooden dais beneath the gedrok’s open rib cage, King Zavrius waited.

King Zavrius, fifth heir to the Dued Vuuthrik Dynasty, was a languid vision in the moonlight. He sat sprawled back in a carved wooden throne, tall, lean body stretched out with one leg softly bouncing. At twenty-two, Zavrius somehow managed to have the demeanor of a child and an old man at once. The moonlight turned the shadows on his tawny skin the color of wine. His deep-brown hair had been pulled up away from his face, so Balen had a moment to clock the king’s expression. Slight knot in his brow, quirk to his lip. He was making a show of inspecting his fingernails. Balen had known Zavrius for years, and still couldn’t be sure what sort of mood he was in.

Not a single soul in the dynasty had ever expected Zavrius to be king, and the tension of their uncertainty about him filled the night air.

Zavrius sat alone on the dais, facing rows and rows of seated nobility and other dignitaries. All of them were dressed in exquisite regalia, but many avoided including the deep mauves and purples Zavrius favored.

As Balen stepped forward into the clearing, a hundred faces turned to glare at him. The nobility wasn’t used to waiting. The Paladin grimaced, raising his chin high as he walked. He raked over painted faces and bored expressions, looking for nobles he recognized, eyes hovering on those he didn’t.

He spotted three delegates from the Rezwyn Empire in the front and felt his hand twitch instinctively toward his sword. Balen had to suppress a sneer. Two pale men sat either side of a bearlike woman. The men were dressed in cream-colored ceremonial robes. The loose garments fell like sacks over their bodies, but Balen could tell they were brawny beneath them. Fringed head covers obscured their richly beaded hair and faces. Balen suspected these two were priests. Pulled by the severity of the central figure, Balen noted her oddly pale skin and thick, black hair before his eyes caught on the sash that signified her as the Rezwyn ambassador. Balen spotted the strange symbol of the empire’s war god emblazoned on her cuirass—the twisted, open maw of a human-boar crossbreed roaring at the sky. It was provocative, but not as provocative as their faces; all of them sported different derivations of the wartime paint the Rezwyns wore on the field. For a group of diplomats, it was jarring. But that was the empire for you. And with how tense things were now, it was to be expected.

At the foot of the dais, between the nobles and the king, stood a line of Balen’s fellow Paladins. The newest recruits stood stiffly at the center, strikingly unarmored, as they had yet to be confirmed into the order. Balen’s peers were positioned alongside them. His senior, Duart, gave him a wink as he went by, but Balen knew not many others enjoyed losing this honor to him. The hard-set jaw of Alick, another senior, made Balen feel his youth like a stone in his belly. Alick’s armor was exquisite. Heavy plate crafted from anything else looked bulky, but the gedrok’s body made hulking pauldrons and greaves appear sleek and fitted.

Once Balen passed through the line of his fellow Paladins, he could ignore his king no longer.

Zavrius sat with his lute-harp over his lap, watching Balen’s every move. It was a stunning, magical instrument. Made from gedrokbone with tendon string, its bowled back was bone white and pearlescent. Streaks of red shot through the ribs like veins.

“Lovely of you to join us.” Zavrius pitched his voice just loud enough to reach a few of Balen’s Paladin brethren. Balen bristled at that.

Of course. Zavrius would make him a fool just for a laugh. But since he’d managed to arrive late for the event he’d dreamed of for years, Balen thought maybe he deserved it.

When he took his place at Zavrius’s right hand, the anger turned to nerves.

“I’ll make this up to you,” Balen said.

Voice lower now, a private whisper from Zavrius: “Does that mean you’ve had a change of heart?”

Balen’s breath stopped short. He glanced over at Zavrius, who was now fixing him with a cold stare. His fidgeting had stopped. The torchlight flickered around them, making Zavrius’s eyes glint gold. In them, Balen saw himself with his heart in his throat at seventeen, leaning in for a kiss—a year Zavrius’s senior, and three times the bumbling mess he still found himself to be. He blanched. Balen opened his mouth but found no words.

Zavrius raised a dismissive hand, his frown dissolving into a satisfied smirk as his leg resumed its playful bounce.

“Don’t make promises you know you won’t keep,” Zavrius whispered.

Zavrius always managed to throw him off. Balen bristled, momentarily angry at how easily Zavrius got to him. Getting himself involved with the king he was sworn to protect—any half-brained dolt could tell how resuming their old love affair would end.

“Shall I begin?” Zavrius asked, though he didn’t wait for anyone to answer.

There was an entire retinue of court musicians that could’ve opened this ceremony, but the king had insisted it be him alone. Zavrius had said something about the dull, sluggish way they performed—a long rant. Balen suspected the truth was much simpler. Zavrius loved to play. When Sirellius had been king, he rarely got the chance.

Now, he could perform.

The first lilting notes of a lute-harp glided through the glade. Balen, who knew little about music, knew at least this much: Zavrius played beautifully. There was none of the timidness he’d heard from other musicians, where the first notes lurch out of instruments and crawl their way forward. Zavrius’s music rose. Balen took in a slow breath and closed his eyes.

At first, Balen thought he’d never heard this song before; that all this was Zavrius gloating, showing off a new composition. But then Zavrius peeled back on the flourish and the melody slipped through. Balen’s mouth twitched with a smile. He heard the rhythmic beat of the dynastic anthem, a consistent, marchlike sound that had his new authority pounded into every note. Then, when Zavrius added some musical flourishes, he heard the influence of Zavrius’s late mother, Arasne, in the notes. It wasn’t that the music was sweet or gentle. Zavrius had stitched one of Arasne’s arcane arrangements to the anthem. And since this lute-harp belonged to the late queen, the Paladin felt certain there was some arcane power behind Zavrius’s playing now. How else could he explain the wash of calmness and awe that had come over him? A similar, comforted expression appeared on the faces of the nobility. Everyone watched with a shared awe as Zavrius’s music urged flame from the torches to break free and float around him. Wisps of fire were shaped into arcane fireflies that fluttered up and illuminated the gedrok’s translucent bones.

The sound swelled, swaying between the gedrok’s ribs, a mournful elegy, yet triumphant in places. Zavrius was the fifth heir, newly appointed, playing in the miasma following the deaths of the whole royal line. All of that and somehow the music never sounded morose. Always, somehow, slightly reserved.

It took seconds for Balen to register that Zavrius had finished playing. The fireflies flickered out one by one. The music lingered in the glade like it was clutching to life, and the spell behind it faded slowly. Balen struggled to tell when it had vanished completely, which said much about Zavrius’s power. He wondered if that should frighten him. But then Balen looked over at the king, saw him tilt his head with a satisfied sigh, and found him . . . beautiful.

Compulsively beautiful. Compelling in a way that being drawn to him was necessary and stopped feeling like it was somehow Balen’s choice. This—Zavrius—wasn’t something he missed, he told himself. Not the playful snark, nor the private smiles. He had trained too hard for too long to miss someone like him.

“So?” Zavrius whispered.

The Paladin looked down, suddenly interested in his sabatons. Hundreds of eyes were on them. “You know you always play well.”

“Sure,” Zavrius said, placing the lute-harp delicately on the stage. “But I like to hear you say it.”

Zavrius stood and stepped forward, body swaying like a dancer’s, and as he opened his arms the glade filled with applause. Balen was vaguely aware that since his ascension, Zavrius’s formal appearances as king had been sparse. After the coronation, he’d only made the briefest appearance at the tournament that had won Balen the honor of becoming Prime Paladin. And then . . . nothing. Balen wondered if the nobility took offense to that, or if they liked the mystery. The Paladin looked out into the dark, trying to parse the expressions of their softly lit convocation. Then one man stepped from the line of Paladins and approached the dais—head of the Gifted Paladins, Balen’s direct master, Lestr.

Zavrius nodded and the portly man stepped up, walking in a self-assured way that evoked the late Queen Arasne’s grace. He looked every inch her brother. Since he was cut off from the royal line by default, Lestr had devoted his energies to making the Paladin order essential.

He stopped before Zavrius, a flat smile on his thin lips.

“Well.” Lestr pitched his voice as loud as he could manage. He gestured with one hand toward Zavrius, who, upon realizing this would be the extent of the praise his uncle would offer him, opened his arms to another smattering of applause from the nobility. Zavrius spun on his heels to face Balen, rolling his eyes as he returned to his throne.

“Not even a smile,” Zavrius said, sounding pressed. “Your master is impossible to entertain.”

Balen suppressed a snort.

“I welcome you all,” Lestr began, taking center stage. He cleared his throat, mumbling something incoherent under his breath. At heart, Lestr was a soldier. His speeches never involved much beyond clipped praise and urging the junior Paladins to be glad that they could hold their own in training. At Lestr’s signal, four more Paladins began a procession toward the dais, carrying an intricate wooden chest between them.

Lestr continued. “When my sister, our late Queen Arasne, accepted her Prime, it was on the back of her husband’s murder at the hands of the Rezwyn Empire.”

Bold words. Bold tone to be setting.

Balen glanced sideways at Zavrius. The king shook his head imperceptibly, though Balen caught a twitch at the mention of his mother’s name. In the periphery of his vision, the Paladin noted the Rezwyn delegates shifting in affronted discomfort.

But that was Lestr through and through—not a warmonger, not like his brother-in-law, King Sirellius, or most of the royal children, yet angry. Driven. And if the rumors Balen had been hearing were true, Lestr was smart to invoke the name of their dynasty’s enemy—even if it upset all attempts at diplomacy. With so much uncertainty around Zavrius, Lestr was angling to rally the aristocracy. What better way than uniting them against a common enemy?

Zavrius clearly felt otherwise. Through a tight smile he sang, “What is your master doing?”

“Give him a chance.”

“There are voices in both the dynasty and the empire who call for war between our nations,” Lestr said, and Zavrius swore.

Balen steadied himself with a deep breath, suddenly aware of how on edge the nobility was. How divided. He glanced toward his fellow Paladins and wondered, if it came down to it, who would stand where. By the nature of their order, there should have been no doubt about their support of the new king. But such things were easy to promise when the battle wasn’t happening.

In the weeks since his coronation, Zavrius had been dubbed everything from listless to uncaring. Balen had had those thoughts himself, had been having them for years. The Paladins were made for glory. He had to remind himself that war wasn’t what he wanted. Not when they were weak. He looked once more to the Rezwyn ambassador, a clear paragon of the empire’s religious zealotry. The Rezwyns were geared for expansion; the Dued Vuuthriks had prioritized defense. There was no doubt the Rezwyn Empire would crush them.

“It has been a . . . difficult few months. Expectations have, uh . . .” Lestr sighed, clearly struggling to speak around the truth. “Expectations have shifted. The tragedy that befell our great royal line has shocked us. But we still have our king, our dynasty’s future.”

In the low light, Balen saw many of the assembled nobles turn to whisper to one another.

Lestr pressed on with an awkward cough. He spoke of the Gifted Paladins and their role in protecting the king, briefly thanked the Rezwyn diplomats for their attendance. He then called upon the seven new Paladins to accept their pledges. When he was done, he gestured for the four Paladins who stood by the chest to come forward.

Zavrius’ usual catlike smile reemerged on his face as he rose to his feet. “That’s our cue as well, I believe.”

Balen felt like he was either coming out of, or going into, a great delirium. He flexed his bare hands, palms clammy as he stood face-to-face with Zavrius. When they’d been together as boys, Zavrius had been taller than him. Now the situation was reversed; the new king had to look slightly upward to meet the Paladin’s eyes.

Zavrius turned to face him. Balen could have sworn he winked as he said, “On your knees, then.”

Balen flashed him a look, frowning at his tone, but he lowered himself to his knees and offered up his bare hands. Zavrius reached for them without hesitation, as if this wasn’t the most intimate they’d been in years. Balen exhaled and looked away.

The new king’s hands were soft but his fingertips were calloused, as much a mark of his training as Balen’s were. They waited as the handlers bumbled around them, placing the chest beside them. Zavrius thumbed at a callous on Balen’s forefinger, this strange back and forth that made his mind lurch, but whatever look was on the Paladin’s face stopped the motion.

“Balen of the Gifted Paladins,” Lestr began. With his name invoked, Balen tried to straighten his spine. “Do you swear to uphold your duty, to protect the king and defend the dynasty even at the cost of your life?”

“I do,” Balen said, without really hearing the words. Something swelled in him, made his heart creak and stretch. Then suddenly it was racing, pumping dreamlike ecstasy through him. This was the culmination of his life. This had been brewing since his childhood, since he’d sat on his father’s shoulders blinking back the sun. He must have looked elated or . . . exalted. Zavrius squeezed his hand. “I do,” he said again, forcefully, this time hearing the words for their true meaning.

“King Zavrius of the Dued Vuuthrik Dynasty, Protector of Cres Stros, do you accept Balen of the Gifted Paladins to be your Prime?”

Zavrius’s eyes glinted. “Without question.”

“Then it is so.” Lestr reached down and opened the chest. The latches sprang up with a loud pop.

Zavrius released Balen’s hands slowly, then from the chest, he withdrew a set of gauntlets.

The Paladin’s hands twitched involuntarily, betraying his obvious eagerness. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted the same hungry look reflected in his fellow Paladins. They’d all been trained in the same way. Using ichor harvested from the gedroks, Paladins could generate arcane power that they could channel through their weapons. It gave them an edge: more power in a swing, more bite when a blow landed. But if they attempted to use the ichor unprotected, all that magic would burn right through them, hence the development of the Paladins’ trademark armor, each piece of which had to be crafted individually from the bones of the gedroks.

Among all armor, these gauntlets were special in that they served as both pieces of armor and weapons.

Unique to the Prime, they were a symbol of rank as well. In truth, none of them knew the true extent of what they could do. But Balen knew he wanted them, had always wanted them. They were beautiful, articulated, and shimmered like pearl.

And when Zavrius slipped one onto each of Balen’s hands, he noted they were warm like pearl as well. Balen made a fist, feeling each polished knuckle click and curl. Something arcane flickered at the edge of his vision, like sparks. He startled out of impulse and sat back against his calves.

Zavrius let out a deep, quiet laugh. “Won’t you show them off?”

Balen glanced up. Zavrius stooped over him, stray strands of slicked-back hair curling over his forehead.

“More your purview than mine.” Balen smiled and turned his hands over to inspect them. “I don’t think they’re meant for performance.”

“Shame.” Then, a beat later. “Not even for me?”

Balen paused and met Zavrius’s eyes. “Are you asking?”

“I wouldn’t ask,” Zavrius said slowly, “I would order.”

A retort sat on the edge of Balen’s tongue, stubborn and weighted, and refused to be spoken. A tight, indignant smile was offered up in its place. Zavrius straightened, looking disappointed.

“Go on.” Zavrius gestured to the side, an odd hardness in his eyes. “This is your moment, after all.”

Balen wasn’t quite sure what he meant until he turned to face those assembled in the glade. Some nobles stood to applaud him, which no doubt upset a few of the others. If it wasn’t for the Paladin title, he’d be no one—a pauper.

He flexed his hand again, this time feeling the arcane force unfurling inside him. Odd. Somehow strong. He pushed himself to his feet with a slight smile and walked forward. Zavrius had resumed his sprawl, lute-harp cradled in his lap. He stroked it, eyes locked on Balen with a sudden, intense interest. His left hand was balled into a fist on his thigh, knuckles white.

Nervous for him? Or something else?

Balen dragged his eyes away from Zavrius and refocused.

The gauntlets weren’t meant for performance, but they were meant to protect the king, and in this case that meant a show of power. That was what Zavrius wanted him to do, Balen realized, staring down at the expectant congregation. They were fearful. Hungry for assurances. As much as he wanted to believe these people would support Zavrius, Balen knew how many had loved his deceased brother, Theo. These were the nobility who held lands and titles across the dynasty—who had personal armies, and who could turn whole regions against the king.

And for the Rezwyns, this was something else: not a threat, but a promise of arcane strength.

Maybe all that was a stretch. He told himself he was doing this for Zavrius, but he’d craved this display for years. He was Prime Paladin. He caught a few jealous gazes from his brethren and suppressed a smile. Balen raised his arms. Dim light caught the edges of the gauntlets, sending the light spinning. Then he took a breath. His lungs opened and small pockets of arcane energy began to widen, stretch, come to life. Where previously the magic he’d had access to was always capped by the filter of his armor, Balen now felt the full reach of his arcane ability. Power rushed through his forearms, unfettered. Nerves twinged and sparked. Lightning crackled in the palms of his hands and shot out in snaking waves. A stark white light lit up the glade.

Balen caught the sight of a dozen wide-eyed people staring up at him in awe, and pride swelled in him. He took a knee and slammed a gauntlet to his chest. It sizzled with the contact, sparks glancing off his cuirass as he spoke.

“As Prime Paladin,” he said, voice reverberating through the glade, “I will defend this dynasty with my body. I will defend our king to my death. With the power in my blood, the ichor of the gedrok, no empire will fell us. The dynasty will live!”

The oath seemed to buzz through him. His heart thrummed; he meant every word.

Though the diplomats stayed silent, the rest of the convocation responded in turn with applause; a sudden coming together, a rallying under tradition: the king and his Prime.

And when Balen turned, Zavrius was wearing a splitting grin, sparkle in his eyes.

#

An hour later, Balen found himself backed against the gedrok’s thigh, eavesdropping.

He leaned against the gleaming scaled mass that protected the hard muscle beneath it. Warmth radiated from within. The magic was incubated in a way that made the dead thing seem alive. He had his eyes on Zavrius, who was an odd eight or ten paces away on the stage, surrounded by a variety of nobles who all vied for his very limited attention while Zavrius’s paternal aunt, Petra, glad-handed them. She was seventy-something and stout, with her thick gray hair pulled up into a beehive bun. She had the same big nose Zavrius had gotten from Sirellius, making her look as severe as Balen knew she could be, even though she was trying to appear sweet and docile to this noble horde. Over and over again, she promised that the king would hold court as soon as he returned to the palace and that he would hear their various woes, complaints and disputes at that time. Zavrius smiled, nodded and remained silent.

Balen kept an eye on them but listened to the group closest to him—his fellow Paladins.

“All I’m saying is no one knows who he is. Not in the way we knew the previous Heir Ascendant or any of his brothers or his sister. We knew Theo and Lysio—we knew Avidia better than Zavrius. And this is—I mean, this is it, isn’t it? This is the time you get up and speak to the men and women who will be defending your life, but he’s up there with that bloody harp mistaking himself for the entertainment.”

Balen shifted his gaze from Zavrius.

Another Paladin spoke. “No need to convince us. He may have been dedicated to war, but at least when Theo was Heir Ascendant he had some direction.”

“Zavrius is the king now. We shouldn’t be—” a woman hissed nervously.

“He’s not our king.” A tight silence followed.

“By the gedrok’s bones, have some sympathy, Alick,” a voice said. Balen thought it might be Duart. “What was I like at twenty-two? What am I like now? He was fifth in line. You can’t blame him for not knowing what he’s doing. No one thought—”

“It’s not good enough,” Alick said. A few others murmured their agreement. Then, as if remembering where he was, who he was, “But I’ll defend him with my life.”

“Of course.”

Balen shivered. A cool breeze cut through the warm night.

The conversation shifted to rumors after that: the Rezwyn army milling in the isthmus, seeking to seize control of the gedroks that were unique to their lands. Then came new rumors.

“There’s folk missing, too,” some newer recruit was saying, hoping to be included in the Paladin camaraderie. “Nobility. Our elites. You can be sure he won’t do a thing about that.”

People going missing, so-and-so’s fifth son or third daughter, aristocrats, trading class, monied elites. Bogus stories, Balen presumed—the Rezwyns darting over enemy lines and stealing people in the night. It’s what he expected to hear from nobility, who seemed to fear having nothing to say and believed everyone was out to get them, but now the Paladins were shifting course too.

“They’re not missing.” It was Frenyur, Balen deduced, by the gruff sound of his voice. He was older than Balen by nearly two decades and well jaded. Definitely bearing a grudge after Balen had put him on his back in the tournament. “People aren’t happy. The Dued Vuuthriks are finished after this. You know he’s . . .” Frenyur clicked his tongue. “King Zavrius won’t have a natural heir. Nothing stable about his rule. We have to be ready . . .”

Balen caught the suggestion, that subtle hitch in Frenyur’s breath as he lost his gall to admit that he’d be willing to oppose Zavrius.

Balen narrowed his eyes, feeling torn between a misguided sympathy for the Paladin’s complaints and his recently sworn oath to defend the king against any threat. Zavrius was a pain, and when you didn’t know him, he was a lazy sod with an attitude problem. He only became tolerable once you learned the language of his humor. But to betray him? To defect? These were Paladins, by the gedroks’ sake. Paladins. Protecting the king under any circumstance was in the oath they had all taken.

There was a long silence.

A voice Balen didn’t recognize said, “No.”

Balen thanked them silently for their loyalty. A few others said the same, a few others said nothing. Either way, Balen wasn’t happy about it.

Righteous anger swelled in him. A proper indignation. He pushed himself off the gedrok’s thigh to spin around.

Someone grabbed him by the arm.

Balen went stiff. He felt all that brewing anger lose its footing and slip, hurtling into his fingers. The gauntlets crackled.

“Enough of that.” It was Lestr, voice low. A full head shorter than Balen, his master stared up at him with a stern gaze. Lestr was stout and had none of his nephew’s grace, save for the steadiness in his hands. Balen’s eyes shifted to Lestr’s grip on his arm. He dragged his eyes to meet Lestr’s gaze, cheeks hot, and felt his anger buckle in the face of Lestr’s authority.

“Come on.” He tugged Balen away. “Let them have their griping and gossip. Trust me. It’ll help you with your sanity.”

Balen folded his arms against his chest. “Mm.”

Lestr blinked. “Listen. You’re only twenty-three. It shows.”

Balen bristled. Lestr put up a hand to stay him.

“Let them gossip and whine,” he said. “And when they’re ready, they’ll be what they promised. Right now, they’re just being people.”

Balen wet his lips to speak, and then said nothing. Lestr was right, but it was too hard to say as much. He made a noise instead, a soft grunt of agreement. Lestr slapped him on the back twice, grip tight on his shoulder.

“Good.” He squeezed, directing his gaze to Zavrius. “His highness is getting restless. You bundle him up to go and I’ll rally a party of Paladins to protect you.” Lestr stared at him for a moment too long, then nodded once. He turned and clanked away toward the gedrok’s tail at the edge of the clearing.

Balen looked over his shoulder. Zavrius sat strumming his lute-harp so softly the sound didn’t carry over the voices of the nobles surrounding him. He looked absolutely miserable. Balen strode up the dais and knelt beside him.

“Are you sad that I was the one to get the standing ovation?”

“Positively vexed.” Zavrius smiled slightly, eyes hooded. He glanced over to the retreating figure of Lestr, nodding toward him. “What did he do to you? Scold you for being late?”

“That’s your job now, I think.”

“Well.” Zavrius leaned forward to rest his chin in his palm. “I’m sure you had your reasons.”

“Nothing interesting,” Balen said flatly. Zavrius raised a brow, and Balen laughed, shaking his head. “Lost track of time.”

“Lost track of time,” Zavrius repeated. “Load of crap. Your obsession with those gauntlets wouldn’t let you do something like ‘lose track of time.’”

Balen felt himself tense. He should’ve known Zavrius would see through him. Still, the lie was out there now. He tried to sound sincere. “It’s the truth.”

Zavrius’s jovial demeanor vanished. “Had your cock in a stable hand, then? Or somewhere even less savory?”

Balen opened his mouth, genuinely shocked. “Here? In the glade?”

“No?” Zavrius crossed his arms. “If you say. But I can’t think of any other reason you’d want to lie to me.”

Balen was smart enough to know when he was being goaded. He wasn’t quite smart enough to avoid taking the bait.

“My cock’s whereabouts have nothing to do with you anymore.” There was heat in his cheeks now, and with Balen’s pale skin, there was no chance he could hide his embarrassment at the vulgar language.

“On the contrary, now that you’re my Prime its location could be said to be a matter of dynastic importance,” Zavrius said. Balen looked at Zavrius a long while. A snide smirk crept back along his face.

Balen leaned toward him, forgetting for a moment Zavrius was king and that at least a dozen people were watching. “What is your problem? Why do you do that?”

“Why do I—” Zavrius began, just as angry, half out of his throne. Then he collapsed back into it and held up a hand. “I don’t know.”

This movement seemed to trigger a resurgence in Zavrius’s waiting crowd. Before any eager noble stepped onto the dais, Petra intervened. She walked with purpose, shawl held tightly around her shoulders, as she approached the milling crowd.

“Oh, I do apologize, but that’s quite enough, I think,” Petra said cheerily. A grumble of protest went up, and Petra met it with the same happy expression. “Yes, yes. It’s tradition, you know? Once the king and his Prime speak, they must be left alone. It’s a private and eons-old ritual. I’m sure I can scrounge up the tome for you, if you’d like to read further on—no? Well. Your loss.”

“She’s brilliant,” Zavrius said quietly, trying to hold back a smile. The nobles moved away, and Petra went with them without another glance back.

Balen wondered in horror if she’d overheard their banter. The number of times they’d uttered the word “cock” in the last few moments made him want to implode.

Zavrius rubbed his forehead and looked up at Balen from underneath his hand. “I’m sorry. So where were you really?”

Balen considered lying again, but only because he felt duped. He missed Zavrius—missed how he’d been when they were younger and sharing a bed, when their form of intimacy was more than cutting quips. What he had been doing wasn’t exactly criminal, but he wondered how Zavrius would take it. He was still reeling from Zavrius’s line of questioning.

He sighed. “I really did lose track of time.”

“Doing what?”

“Shadowboxing,” Balen admitted.

Zavrius couldn’t stop his smile. “So you still do that when you’re nervous.” The idea seemed to please Zavrius. Balen remembered boxing out his anxiety in the courtyard years ago, trying to work up the courage to speak to Zavrius for the first time. The memory made him feel small. How little he’d changed. “And what about Lestr? Why were you speaking with him just now? What does he want?”

Balen cleared his throat. “He told me he’s organizing defenders for your traveling party.”

Zavrius raised a brow. “My what?”

“For the road.”

Zavrius scoffed. “The terribly long two-hour journey to the palace? On an internal royal road? What terrifying creatures have sprouted from the ground since we’ve been in the glade?”

“Oh, haven’t you heard?” Balen said with a grin. “There are insurrections, invasions—all manner of death traps for a king. And I’m only one man after all.”

Zavrius’s smile turned sour.

“King,” Zavrius said, like it was something stuck on his tongue. “Yes. Well. Another kingly joy. Spending all my time surrounded by my late brother’s greatest admirers.”

“They’re not—” Balen began, then stopped himself. A moment earlier he was ready to round on his brethren, and now he was here, defending them before the king they were openly questioning. Still, he was reminded of what he’d walked away from with Zavrius, and decided he was glad for it. How little did he think of the Paladins, of the life Balen had chosen? Did Zavrius think he worshipped Theo? Balen closed his eyes.

“Come on,” Zavrius said. Suddenly he was on his feet, loping down the stairs to the side of the dais and shouldering his way through the surrounding nobles.

Balen darted after him. They ran until Zavrius disappeared in the tall grass at the edge of the glade. Balen slowed, scanning the night for the shape of him. Somewhere ahead he heard the lute-harp strum, a little signal in the dark. When he caught up, he saw a gleaming white carriage was hung with four lanterns. The driver sat ready and gave an awkward bow to Zavrius as he approached.

This carriage had belonged to the late Queen Arasne—it oozed her personality, from the gold inlaid doors to the carved flowers poking out between the spokes. Even the luggage rack hadn’t escaped Arasne’s decorative urges. The iron railing twisted to resemble vines and had been painted with gold leaf, though that detailing was chipped in places. Zavrius had brought nothing with him, it seemed: the rack sat empty, which only emphasized the gaudiness of the entire carriage. He wondered what the carriages Zavrius would commission for himself would look like. Not this . . . he hoped.

As he had that thought, Balen heard the approach of hooves on the path. Two armored Paladins rode abreast: Alick and Duart.

They looked starkly different alongside one another. Balen found himself blinking at the comedy of it: Duart, broad shouldered and stout with a kind, round face, next to Alick’s sharp-angled jaw and hard eyes. They were both from the province of Cres Stros, center of the dynastic lands, their skin a rich taupe like Zavrius. Balen always envied that—Westgar was a colder region, closer to the Rezwyn Empire, and his pale skin betrayed every thought or emotion he ever dared to have.

Balen smiled up at Duart. He was Balen’s senior by twelve years and had always been kind to him. Duart grinned wide and winked at Balen, nodding down at the gauntlets in a silent congratulations. Alick didn’t even look his way, eyes distant and uncaring even when the clenched jaw and puckered lips gave away his resentment. Balen didn’t mind that; discomfort looked good on Alick. They’d never gotten along. Alick had always been full of quips about his attraction to Zavrius, and when that was done, he made the same quips about Balen’s supposed crush on Theo, though these were harsher and more cutting, less about making Balen blush and more about ensuring he never cheapened the Heir Ascendant with lustful thoughts.

Never mind that Balen felt nothing toward Theo—he was attractive, but only physically. He’d become near unhinged after Arasne’s death. Alick was just the type of man to tease people for the fun of it.

So now that Alick was sitting like he had a stick up his ass, Balen thought it suited him.

Balen called up at him. “You here on Lestr’s orders?”

“The others’ll be here soon.” Alick clearly wished he was anywhere else. His roan gelding snorted beneath him.

“They’ll find us gone,” Zavrius said.

Duart frowned at Balen before turning to the king. “Your Highness?”

Zavrius approached his carriage. “You two and Balen are quite sufficient. I want to go.”

He opened the door, stepped inside and placed the lute-harp delicately down on the only clear spot on the floor. Balen caught a glimpse of the carriage interior and realized with a start there was no room for him. Or anyone else, for that matter. It was packed full of Zavrius’s instrument cases.

Alick and Duart exchanged a nervous glance. Balen shrugged at them, making his way toward the carriage. He peered inside, not bothering to comment on the lack of space for him. How many bloody instruments had Zavrius brought for just one ceremony?

Zavrius turned his face away as Balen approached. Balen took the snub in stride. It looked like he would be the luggage for this ride.

“You heard the king,” Balen told the carriage driver. Then he climbed onto the roof. “We ride out.”

The Cadeleonians Finale, Master of Restless Shadows Book Two is On Sale Now

In 2010, Ginn Hale released Lord of the White Hell Book One. Now six books and twelve years later, we’re pleased to announce that the final book is on sale! Congratulations, Ginn, on completing this wonderful series!

Early reviews are looking promising. Sara of Bookshelf SOS says, “I have a lot of thoughts but what it all basically boils down to is: Ginn Hale is an outstanding writer and an even better world builder and I ultimately love everything she writes.”

Same, Sara…same. :)

Nicole

A Little Holiday Cheer

Hello again, BEB faithful!

We’re coming to you today with a little holiday cheer. Something you may or may not know about us here at BEB is that we like to do a little something extra when our characters won’t stop talking to us. Those are often in the form of little holiday codas!

We know we missed Hanukkah, but we’re here in time to present this collection of holiday codas and other stories as belated Hanukkah gifts and just in time for Christmas and Kwanza.

Here you’ll be able to find a myriad of holiday codas, featuring characters from The Irregulars, The Lord of the White Hell, The Rifter, Wicked Gentleman, The Devil Lancer, Highfell Grimoires, Champion of the Scarlet Wolf, and Bitter Legacy.

Most of the Codas are set during fantasy holidays, but for those looking specifically for a Jewish kind of holiday romance, Astrid Amara's collection of Hanukkah romances. Just go to her website and click “Holiday” to see her collection.

And lastly, Jess Faraday has a Christmas coda that’s new this year featuring her characters from Shadow of Justice! Check it out here!

We hope these stories help bring a little holiday cheer to your lives. It’s been a hard year for all of us, but as long as we keep our hearts warm and our hope alive, we know we’ll all get through it together.

Happy holidays from us here at Blind Eye Books!

See you in the New Year, BEB faithful.

-Theresa

Escape Through Fantasy

Hi BEB faithful,

It’s been hard to know what to say lately, but we have some good news, and a fun get away.

We’ve acquired a new book that’ll be coming out in May called Nothing But Good by Kess McKinley! Mark your calendars and get hyped for that!

And for your fun get away, we’ve got a little romp through Fantasy written by women by TK Huynh!

Five High Fantasy Books Written by Women

Most of the big-name high fantasy books are written by men. Tolkien, George R. R. Martin, Brandon Sanderson are some of the most well-known. But where are the women? They make up half the population, but somehow, they rarely take the spotlight in either high fantasy narratives or in authorship. I promise, however, that the landscape beyond Middle Earth, Westeros, and Roshar is just as rich and exciting with a woman behind the pen.

1.     Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

You’re probably at least familiar with the Ghibli film based on the book of the same name. The film differs from the book mostly in its portrayal of the main character, Sophie. In the film, she’s a plain girl who’s shy, but looks after the people in her life. Book Sophie is not so put together. She’s got anxiety and low self-esteem, but also stumbles into an enigmatic and possibly evil wizard of renown’s house and then just tells him she lives there. And she does.

When a witch curses Sophie to become old, she does what any reasonable person would do and seeks out a powerful wizard, Howl, to become his cleaning lady. She then proceeds to fall in love with Howl, an absolute disaster of a man, who does nothing but avoids his problems and can’t handle having more than one feeling at a time. He even spreads terrible rumors about himself, so people won’t ask him for things.

I personally favor Book Sophie (as a hot mess who gets things done) and her relationship to Howl (an even hotter mess), but both adaptations have their merits.

2.     Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb

This book features Fitz, the most introspective protagonist I’ve ever had the patience to care about. I’m pretty sure he just likes the sound of his own internal voice—to a comical degree. But if you enjoy the Tolkien-esque prose that reads like an academic paper on European colonialism, then you’ll probably enjoy Assassin’s Apprentice.

Fitz is the bastard son of a royal, who is adopted into a royal household and trained to become an assassin. He’s got a penchant for talking with animals, which helps him overcome the trials of his new position and his crushing loneliness—but mostly the crushing loneliness.

The narrative reads as something of an autobiography with Fitz reflecting on his lonely life as a young boy, through his training as an assassin, and eventually, the bloody consequences of his life choices.

3.     The Mirror Empire by Kameron Hurley

Did you want trauma? Did you want the apocalypse, but in a different world? Did you want the gore and horror of old gothic novels with none of the Catholic iconography and all of the thinly veiled homoeroticism? Look no further than The Mirror Empire.

The world is on the brink of destruction, and the book follows a couple players in the kingdom of Saiduan, where invaders from another realm are wrecking the place. All manner of people must band together to save themselves and their world.

The Mirror Empire has five POV characters, all with questionable motives and methods of achieving their goals and surviving an invasion of beings from another realm. If you’re looking for a clear cut good and bad institution of morality, you won’t find it in this book. Only one main character is a traditionally kind, compassionate type, and that doesn’t last forever. The narrative is a patchwork of perspectives on how people justify their means and struggle to band together to fight a common enemy.

4.     Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey

So if you did want the Catholic iconography and homoeroticism, you should read Kushiel’s Dart. My first impression of this book was that it embodies every sapphic impulse I’ve ever had, and it’s good to re-visit your gay roots every once in a while. My second impression was that Jacqueline Carey really likes femme fatales and BDSM—the latter, which we all know, is about as Catholic as one can get.

The story is set in a French-ish, British-ish, medieval-ish world, with the racist and religious righteousness that would make European colonizers proud. The narrative centers around Phèdre nó Delaunay, an indentured servant turned courtesan and spy. She is pricked by Kushiel’s Dart, marked by a scarlet mote in her left eye. That is all to say that she experiences pain and pleasure as one, and she doesn’t discriminate between genders when it comes to bedfellows. Her gift makes her particularly hard to combat, as pain is nothing to fear for Phèdre. However, neither her gift nor training saves her from being trapped in the enemy lands of Skaldia where she discovers the Skaldi plot to attack her homeland.

5.     The Rifter Series by Ginn Hale

The final station of our homoerotic train, The Rifter Series is not so much thinly veiled as it is tastefully overt with its queerness.

This whopper of a portal novel was initially serialized in ten episode-like installments all of them together amounts to about 200,000 words, which is slightly larger than Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring. The first episode is The Shattered Gates, which spends a decent chunk of time in a modern setting. The rest of the series is firmly in another world.

We start off with John, a nature enthusiast who finds a strange key belonging to his enigmatic roommate, Kyle. As it turns out, Kyle is actually Khalil—an assassin-ish, soldier-ish, priest-ish man who’s sent from another world to locate their destroyer god incarnate, the Rifter. While Khalil searches for the Rifter, however, John stumbles upon the gates to the other realm and lands in a foreign space(time).

John sets out to make a life for himself in this strange, new world while he searches for a way back home. Meanwhile, Khalil isn’t sure where he is, but his realm isn’t what it once was.

I’m not sure if I could classify this series as an epic fantasy or an epic romance. It has it all: fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles. I read the whole thing in ten hours, and I wasn’t bored for a moment.

In the Time of Quarantine We Bring You a Perspective

Hello again, BEB Faithful.

We hope you’re all safe and healthy in your homes and catching up on some reading.

A lot has changed in our world recently, including our lives here at BEB. Please take advantage of all our digital and audio releases to keep you entertained and happy in these trying times.

We’ve also brought you a story and an introduction! One of our interns is currently attending university digitally. Today, she brings you her story and her determination. Look forward to many more stories from her in the future!

Without further ado, our intern Delphia Lea:

Introduction by Delphia Lea

Howdy, folks! My name is Delphia Lea and I’m a senior at Western Washington University. It’s weird to think this is my last quarter. I never expected to spend it in quarantine, but who did, right? Despite the recent weirdness, I’m really excited and really grateful to intern at Blind Eye Books. Here’s to making the most of the situation!

To start, I guess, reading and writing have always been part of my life. My mom has this bit she loves to tell people: when I was little, I had a book about the universe I obsessively copied into a notebook, word-for-word, even though I didn’t know how to read yet. I remember this, vaguely, but I remember much clearer the stories I typed on our desktop as a grade schooler, pausing every other word to ask how to spell something. I didn’t consider myself a capital-w Writer until seventh grade, when my English teacher read one of my stories and asked, “When is your book coming out?” Those six words changed everything. Now, here I am, fiction editor of my university’s lit mag, about to graduate with a degree in creative writing, working the internship of my dreams. Oh, if that bookish little girl could see me now!

In terms of reading, I’ll humor the first chapter of almost anything, but I tend to seek out stories that feature mystery, magical realism, and/or queer protagonists. Real life is often so dreadful and dream-crushing, it’s nice to sit back with a cold drink and read something fanciful. That being said, I’m also fascinated with horror, even though creepy stories usually convince me there’s a monster lurking behind my shower curtain. I think it’s because my biggest selling point for a story is palpable emotion. No matter the genre, if there’s strong, genuine emotion conveyed through the language, I’m probably going to love it.

As for writing, I enjoy losing myself in my projects the same way I lose myself in books, really immersing myself in the world of the characters. I’m not super concerned with genre, but recently I’ve discovered a deep love for collaboration. My own ideas are good, but when I include someone else in the process, our creations tend to be so much more gorgeously complex than anything I could have made on my own. A creative partnership, however, is a delicate thing. I’m incredibly lucky to have found a compatible creative partner in my girlfriend, and I attribute most of our success to their endless kindness and patience.

Eventually, I’m going to have to commit to a career. I know I want to be part of the publishing industry somehow, even if I’m not sure how, yet. I know I’m good at reading and editing, and I know I’m an excellent micromanager, so maybe I’ll strive to be an acquisitions editor, or maybe I’ll look for something relating to physical book production. Things have obviously changed due to the looming global pandemic, but, based on the available opportunities I find, I’ll get my butt in gear, work hard, and adjust my plans accordingly!

Only after I reread and edited this did I realize y’all might be curious about my interests outside creative writing/publishing. In short, I love to knit, crochet, and cross stitch; I play a lot of video games and watch a lot of cartoons; and every other minute of my time goes to my bratty princess of a cat. Her name is Sebbe; she’s my favorite person in the whole world. Her teeth and claws are very sharp. If you want to see pictures of her, follow me on twitter @LeaDelphia!

Four Novels That Get Lesfic Right

Hello again, BEB faithful!

This month we’ve got another guest blogpost from our intrepid intern, T.K. Huynh! Get ready, buckle on in, and get ready to explore the world of good Lesfic:

Four Novels That Get Lesfic Right
By T.K. Huynh

I’ve got a problem with mainstream media lacking in narratives that get lesbian relationships right, probably because of the scarcity of popular stories written by and for women. In other words, we lack the female gaze.

So as with every problem in life, this can be solved with lesbians.

Got a leaky roof? Lesbians can fix it. Need cooking help? Lesbians got you covered. Can’t find non-exploitative LGBT romance plots rife with sexist undertones and tragedy? Lesbians won’t disappoint.

You can trust me on this because I am a scientist, who is totally not biased, and my hypothesis is, in fact, testable and repeatable. My wife told me so.

If you still don’t believe me, take this list as evidence. These novels are written by and for women who love women, and as expected, they get lesfic right.

And Playing the Role of Herself by KE Lang

Topping the list at number one, And Playing the Role of Herself follows a TV actress, Caidence Harris, who’s got a crush on one of her co-stars, Robyn Ward. The book follows the development of their relationship while being in the public eye and dealing with the biases in Hollywood.

One of the things I love most about this book is the progression of Caid’s and Robyn’s relationship. They grow as friends before the romance starts, and the transition into being romantic partners is smooth. The book also doesn’t gloss over the issues with being gay while a public figure and how that impacts their everyday lives.

Above All, Honor by Radclyffe

Radclyffe has written quite a few lesbian romances, but I’m putting this one on the list just because it has the ‘bodyguard falls for the person they’re protecting’ trope. I’m a sucker for it. It’s a little bit cliché nowadays, but you know what? If the straights get tropey, indulgent romance novels, then we gays can have them, too.

Above All, Honor follows secret service agent, Cameron Roberts, who’s tasked with protecting the president’s daughter, Blair Powell. Blair’s determined to run away while Cam is determined to make her stay. Shenanigans ensue.

This book is a lesbian daydream, plain and simple.

When the Stars Sang by Caren J. Werlinger

Continuing the line of indulgent romance, this book is the lesbian version of those holiday Hallmark movies where a city girl returns to her family homestead and meets a farm boy who makes her stay with the power of love and Christmas spirit. In this story, Kathleen Halloran moves to her grandmother’s little island town after years away, and she finds that she doesn’t fit in with the locals. One of them, Molly Cooper, thinks Kathleen’s never going to make it on the island. But Kathleen’s got more to her than big city vibes.

I don’t want to give the impression that this book is light-hearted. It deals with some serious issues, like prejudice and grief, and the narrative centers more around self-discovery than finding the One™. When the Stars Sang is surprisingly poignant for its premise and earnest to a fault.

Time of Grace by Gabriella West

Time of Grace tells the story of Caroline, an English governess who comes to Ireland in 1916. She befriends an Irish maid, Grace. As they get closer, Caroline discovers Grace is involved with the fast approaching Easter Rising, and being English, Caroline isn’t sure how their relationship can survive.

If you’re not familiar with the Easter Rising, it was one of many attempts by Irish Republicans to gain independence from Britain during WWI. Given the setting, the romance focuses on how the tension between oppressor and the oppressed bleeds into Caroline’s and Grace’s relationship. I’m always weak for love amidst an unforgiving socio-political landscape, and Time of Grace pulls it off well.

Got a recommendation for me? Want to question the validity of my scientific research? Let me know on Twitter @T_K_Huynh or on facebook @T.K. Huynh

New Year, New You

Hello once again BEB Faithful!

Did you maybe make some New Year’s resolutions to read more books? But you’re having trouble finding the time to make good on that promise to yourself?

Never fear! Blind Eye Books and our new line of audio books are here!

Love a good mystery? Dal MaClean’s and Nicole Kimberling’s spine-chilling stories are both available.

Or maybe you need something a bit more fantastical? Ginn Hale and Astrid Amara have you covered.

Maybe you’re stoked for audio books for when you’re taking care of laundry or dishes, but you want something else to have and to hold while taking some self-care time? On top of all our usual digital and physical titles, we have a new release! Blue on Blue by Dal Maclean out this March 24th! Snag a copy for yourself today. Have a little mystery, as a treat.

Society as a whole may be on standby, but stay home, stay healthy, and take the opportunity to catch up on your reading.

See you next month, Faithful!

-Theresa

Five Heroines Whose Strength Is Perseverance

Hey, all. Head editor Nicole Kimberling here.

As you know, Blind Eye Books is dedicated not only to queer publishing but to nurturing developing talent in aspiring writers, editors and publishing professionals. TK debuts on our site with her article, “Five Heroines Whose Strength Is Perseverance.”

Five Heroines Whose Strength Is Perseverance

By T.K. Huynh

I like a woman who does backflips and slings guns as much as the next person, but I like even more when they have a personality beyond their flashy Tae Kwon Do. Bonus points if they don’t die tragically for the express purpose of forwarding a man’s narrative (looking at you, Avengers). Sweet flips and gun tricks do not a strong female character make. So what does?

In the full spectrum of the human experience, I have to believe there’s more to being strong than physical prowess. Maybe I’m a little biased because I have a cane that’s very rarely used for swinging at people and more often a tool to keep the Jenga tower of my spine upright. But personally, strength is better defined (and much more interesting to read) as the ability to keep going—no matter the obstacle. The following list contains some of my favorite female characters who might not throw punch, but they wouldn’t let that stop them.

1.     Sunshine by Robin McKinley

Sunshine has everything I love in a novel: witty characters, terrifying magic, and a female protagonist who’s unapologetically strong. I use the term ‘unapologetically’ because I think a lot of writers soften their female character’s edges to make them more palatable. Male characters in general are afforded the privilege of being assholes and still likeable. Women should, too. That isn’t to say that that the female lead of Sunshine is an asshole, but she does have some sharp edges.

Rae “Sunshine” Seddon is a human who lives in a world where preternatural creatures and humans are at odds (but trying to live harmoniously). You wouldn’t know the trying-to-live-harmoniously part at the very beginning, however, because our heroine starts off with getting abducted by vampires. So she’s got to figure out a way to get out of her predicament before she becomes a tasty snack. The first thing she does is to, of course, take care of the vampire who’s supposed to eat her. You might be asking yourself if that’s a wise thing to do, but I assure you what Sunshine lacks in brawn, she makes up for tenfold in intelligence.

One of the things I appreciate about Sunshine and the main reason she’s on this list is that her best strength is just determination. Sunshine gets the shit kicked out of her…a lot…but she gets up again every time. She doesn’t have time to deal with her broken body or fears of impending death. No, all she’s got time for is kicking ass and taking on gangs of vampires.

2.     Moon Called by Patricia Briggs

Moon Called is the first in Briggs’ Mercy Thompson series. It’s set in a larger urban fantasy world that she’s developed over other series, but this one focuses on Mercedes “Mercy” Thompson. She’s a walker, capable of shifting into a coyote. In a world of werewolves and fae, she’s one of many beings that hide amongst human society.

Her story starts with her hiring a lone, young werewolf at her garage. He’s obviously new the world of the supernatural and running from something in his past. Time reveals he’s accused of murder, but he doesn’t think he’s done it. Meanwhile, Mercy’s got to deal with a local werewolf pack that isn’t so keen on a newcomer in their territory.

One of the things I love most about Mercy is she’s the living embodiment of “take no shit, do no harm.” With a sharp tongue and an even sharper mind, she has a way of letting everyone know she can hold her own without being mean. Her strength lies in finesse. She knows the rules of the world she lives in and can bend them accordingly.

3.     The Dust of 100 Dogs by AS King

Maybe you want someone strong in the traditional sense. Look no further than a bloodthirsty Irish pirate who loves robbery and murder almost as much as dismembering the English.

In the mid-1600s, Emer Morrisey was about run off with riches and the love of her life when she was murdered and cursed to live the life of 100 dogs. After doing her time as a hundred canid souls, she’s reborn as Saffron Adams, an American girl in the 1980s. But she’s got all her memories intact.

What I love most about Emer/Saffron is how unapologetically despicable she is. She’s foul-mouthed, cruel, and vindictive. It’s incredibly rare to see a female character like that, and King still manages to make Emer/Saffron likeable.

4.     Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

Like most of us have at one point or another, I was looking for books about assassin nuns, and I came across Grave Mercy. The book follows Ismae Rienne, a girl from the late 1400s, whose mother failed to abort her in the womb. She bares a scar upon her from the attempt, marking her as touched by Death. A convent of nuns who bare similar marks takes her in and trains her to be Death’s handmaiden, an assassin. And she’s really good at it until she falls in love with one of her marks.

Ismae earned a place on this list for two reasons: her earnestness and fortitude. It’s rare that I encounter badass characters who are also incredibly sincere. Ismae may work for Death, but she wears her heart on her sleeve and approaches life with a kind of earnest warmth that’s rare outside of middle-grade fiction. At the same time, Ismae bears the spiritual weight of her actions with grace. Her emotions hold little bearing on what she actually does, and the most interesting parts of the book are the times when her emotions do guide her actions.

5.     The Assassin’s Curse by Cassandra Rose Clarke

I had to add The Assassin’s Curse to this list, if only because the opening scene shows our heroine riding away from her betrothed on a camel. Ananna of the Tanarau was born to a pirate family, and she was about to be married off to another pirate family when she thought better of it. Her dream has always been having a boat of her own, not being forever second-in-command. Unfortunately, her would-be groom’s family sends an assassin after her. In true Ananna fashion, she magically (albeit unintentionally) binds herself to the assassin, and they’ve got to figure out how to break their bond.

Ananna gets a spot on this list because she works really, really hard, even though she’s a dumbass. And I don’t mean she’s not smart. Her intelligence is quite good. She just lacks the wisdom to use it. Most, if not all, her problems are of her own making, and I respect the tenacity she has to just keep working at her issues until they stop being issues. Ananna is the human equivalent of using a bomb to get rid of a roach infestation. Sure, you don’t have to worry about the roaches now, but at what cost? Truly, her strength is her ability to beat her problems to death, even if it makes ten more problems.

 T.K. Huynh is a writer of fantasy and queer fiction, as well as a concept artist. She graduated with a degree in biological anthropology from UC Santa Cruz at 19, specializing in ancient Central Asian biological histories. Her fiction has appeared in Piercing the Unknown: Short Stories and Excerpts into the Special World. In 2019 she won a mentorship at Blind Eye Books, where she is learning the ropes of indie publishing.

Find TK online on Facebook, Twitter, Wordpress, and Instagram.

All About Audio

Hello again, BEB Faithful, and happy Halloween!

If you’re like us here at Blind Eye Books, Fall is a great season. Tons of opportunity to cuddle up and read—not to mention all those lovely fall colors.

But maybe you love a good story, but you hate taking your hands out of your warm mittens or wooly blanket to turn pages? Lucky for you, Blind Eye Books as entered the world of audiobooks with Tantor picking up rights to Dal Maclean’s Bitter Legacy and Object of Desire as well as her forthcoming thriller Blue on Blue (forthcoming March 2020). All three Maclean titles will be narrated by Gary Furlong.

Tantor will also be picking up Ginn Hale’s Wicked Gentlemen (narrated by Antony Ferguson) and Lord of the White Hell Books One and Two (narrated by J.D. Jackson).

If you need some Blind Eye Books goodness to put in your ears right now, Astrid Amara’s novel, The Devil Lancer, narrated by Michael Fox was produced independently and is now available on Audible. Ginn Hale’s novella, “The Hollow History of Professor Perfectus,” narrated by Lisa Cordileone, is also being independently produced through ACX and will be available on Audible later this fall when it’s even chillier and hiding your hands away will be even more desirable.

Happy reading this fall, Faithful—and perhaps even listening!

- Theresa

Upcoming titles and events

Hello again, BEB faithful!

It’s been some time since our last post in June—but we’re back with more exciting news!

BEB will be at Geek Girl Con once again this year! Mark your calendars for November 16th-17th and come on by to grab BEB titles at conveniently discounted con prices.

In particular, keep your eye out for Ginn Hale’s upcoming release Master of Restless Shadows!

For those of you who loved Ginn Hale’s Lord of the White Hell series, Master of Restless Shadow takes you back to that world!

The book will be released on October 8th. Go here to read the back cover copy and here to see what Publisher’s Weekly has to say about it! We’ll have plenty of copies with us at Geek Girl Con too, so please come by and grab a copy while our stock lasts! Ginn Hale will also be there with us, so grab your old Lord of the White Hell books and get the whole collection autographed while you’re there!

Ginn Hale and Blind Eye Books will also be appearing at Gaylaxicon 2019 to celebrate the release of the book, so if you can’t make it Seattle for Geek Girl Con, come see us at Gaylaxicon in Minneapolis October 18th-20th!

If you won’t be able to come see us, you can reserve your copy of the book here and check out the new titles we have up for preorder on the website. There’s bound to be something that will get you excited.

Enjoy the beginning of Fall, BEB faithful, and we’ll see you next time!

-Theresa

Pride and Announcements

Hey there, BEB faithful!

At the beginning of the month, we promised you a pride-themed blogpost that got into the history behind the pride we know and love today.

But first, a couple  announcements from our editor Nicole:

“We extend our sincere congratulations to our social media coordinator, Theresa on her new position at Dark Horse Comics. Theresa will be staying on with us on at Blind Eye Books on a limited basis as she forges her new path in the world of comics and we offer her every encouragement, so you can still look for her at conventions and online.

We will also be joined in the office by our summer intern, Leah, who will be assisting with the promotion for Ginn Hale’s fall release, “Master of Restless Shadows Book One.” We’re excited to see what she’ll be dreaming up.”

But back to World Pride Month.

By this point most people know that American Pride event was a bar fight led by trans women and drag queens but did you know that most of those pioneering elders were people of color? The famous riot at the Stonewall Inn, fifty years ago sparked six days of protests and violent clashes with law enforcement outside the bar on Christopher Street, in neighboring streets, and in nearby Christopher Park.

If you don’t know anything about these events or the people who sparked them, may we recommend Stone Butch Blues, Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home, and this fantastic article on a mural in Texas that was recently made to honor the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots for some end of Pride reading?

But remember, these were only the events that sparked revolution in America. Long before our queer siblings rioted at Stonewall, people were fighting for our rights and making queer history in Germany. The book Queer Identities and Politics in Germany: A History, 1880–1945 may be two years old already, but the information about the activists and organizations that fought for queer rights certainly isn’t!

For example, on May 14th, 1897, German physician and sexologist Magnus Hirschfeld founded the Scientific Humanitarian Committee, the world's first official organization advocating homosexual and transgender rights. You can read more about how this organization fought for our rights here.

For a larger global view on the work the queer community has done throughout history, check out the Encyclopedia Britannica’s entry on the subject here.

Here’s hoping you had a lovey Pride, faithful. And never forget where you come from. <3

- Theresa

Blind Eye Books, a history with Nicole kimberling

Hello once again, BEB faithful!

April was a hectic month, but we hope you caught us at ClexaCon! If you didn’t we wanted to bring you something fun, so this month for our blogpost we’re hosting a small interview with co-founder and head editor of Blind Eye Books, Nicole Kimberling. For those of you wondering about Blind Eye Books’ story, how it started, what it aims for, and what sort of manuscript Nicole would like to see pop up in her submissions box, this interview is for you!

Okay, questions!


How and when was Blind Eye Books founded?

About eleven years ago my wife and I happened to come into some money and were looking at the way we could best use it to meet both our artistic and personal goals. I wanted to take an inspirational trip around the world but my wife wanted to start a publishing company. She won…and Blind Eye Books was created. And she was right. It was the best possible thing to do with that money.

I remember reading in the one of BEB’s books that you aimed to publish the sorts of stories you would have spent your money on when you were younger. Has that changed or evolved as you’ve moved forward with BEB?

Absolutely not. If anything I’ve grown even pickier. It’s important for small presses to specialize, I think. And to be really clear in their mission.

What has been the most difficult part of running a small press?

Learning to do business like a businessperson. There is so much admin that goes into any business—budgeting, paperwork, scheduling—all those things are so much more critical to the success of a project than anyone realizes.

Conversely, what has been the most rewarding part?

Knowing people like the books! Being able to launch new authors is amazing.

BEB has rebranded from gay and lesbian science fiction and fantasy to queer science fiction, fantasy, and mystery over the years. What sorts of submissions would you love to publish under BEB’s current branding?

Right now I’m on the lookout for strongly-plotted character-driven stories. I’m not looking for anything experimental or literary or any YA. (And to be clear, I have nothing against these genres, I just don’t know how to sell them so wouldn’t be of much benefit as a publisher.)

As BEB’s head editor, what does your dream manuscript submission look like?

My dream submission…wow. I want to read something thrilling and romantic that makes me laugh and makes me think and tells me something I don’t already know. I want to see characters I like facing genuinely difficult challenges and winning big. Yeah…that’s my dream manuscript.

That’s our head editor, always succinct and to the point. We hope you enjoyed getting to know her and the press a little better! For more about Nicole, follow her on Facebook and on Twitter (@nkimberling69). She cooks a lot and has wonderful quotes from her beloved wife on there.

See you next month, faithful!

-Theresa

Get Hyped for ClexaCon and a Free Book!

Welcome back, BEB faithful!

This month, there are two things to be really excited about!

First, Blind Eye Books will be partnering with Queen of Swords Press to bring out books to you at ClexaCon 2019! Unfortunately Nicole and Ginn won’t be able to make it like last year, but Theresa will be floating around the table and the con to see all your lovely faces and talk to you about your favorite books!

If you haven’t heard of ClexaCon before, get ready to have your socks knocked off, because it’s the hottest con for queer women in media on this side of the Atlantic! Everything from meeting your favorite writers and actors to learning what it takes to break in as a creator in your favorite medium/genre, ClexaCon is about bringing fans and creators together in a space to celebrate queer female and nonbinary representation together.

If you want to go, there are still tickets available! Grab them here and then figure out which swimsuit you’re going to bring with you to Las Vegas.

If you can’t make it out to Las Vegas for the con, never fear! We have something cool for you too!

We love our social media gal Theresa, and we love her writing too. While her books aren’t quite right to publish under the Blind Eye Books flagship, we’re thrilled to announce that she’s serializing her very own novel for free on her website! If you love queer women, realistic representation of what it’s like to be bi and have anxiety, and fandom shenanigans, you’ll love her story, Author X Audience:

Alexis Ainsley is used to struggle. From her strained familial relations to her bisexuality to trying to score an editorial internship, she’s familiar with how hard life can be—although this is her first time struggling with reality when Terry Walsh, the creator of hit cartoon series Serenity Peaks, bumps into her at the movie theater. After hearing her talk about his show as more than just a fan, Terry asks to see Alexis again, and it’s not long before Alexis finds herself an intern working alongside Terry on the Serenity Peaks finale. But what happens when a fan who got her job through the goodwill of the show’s creator disagrees with his proposed ending to the series?

Full of feminist propaganda, tragic backstories, and fan feels, Author x Audience tells the story of a fan and a creator that transcend the limited relationship of author and audience to relate to each other as people—and take it from Alexis; the struggle is real!

Check it out here on her website—and don’t forget to leave her a nice comment!

See you all in April!

Show Your Library Love for Library Lovers' Month!

Hello again, BEB faithful!

This month we have an exciting giveaway going on! As you may or may not know, all of our books are available in OverDrive through your local library! But what is OverDrive you might say? It’s a digital service that allows you to borrow ebooks from your local library! All you need is your library card!

“That’s nice, Theresa,” you might be saying to yourself right now, “but how does that fit into your giveaway?”

Great question! To enter the giveaway, all you have to do is borrow one of our books from your local library! Snap a picture of your order confirmation, and tweet it at us at @blindeyebooks. Be sure to include our username in your tweet or we won’t see it! The giveaway goes until March 15th, so you’ve got some time to plan your picture and get it to us.

“This is really cool, Theresa, but it looks like my local library doesn’t have any of Blind Eye Books titles in their collection…”

No worries! You can still enter the contest! Go in to your local library and find out how to request that the book you’re looking for be added to the library’s collection! Snap a pic of the request, and tweet that at us instead.

“Theresa, all of this sounds really complicated and hard, and I’m no good with technology.”

Don’t fret, my friend. You can still enter our contest. All you have to do is go to your local library, find a handy-dandy librarian, and ask them to help you. I can guarantee they would be thrilled to help you order one of our books through OverDrive! Snap a pic with the librarian that helped you, and tweet it at us to enter the giveaway!

“Okay, Theresa, I understand how to enter the contest…but I don’t have a library card!”

Friend, what have you been doing with yourself all these years? Libraries are the best! You can borrow books, video games, audio books, CDs, and so much more from your local library! Getting a library costs nothing, and they’re wonderful places for events and to learn things! Not to mention, they’re a great place to help support indie book publishers even when you can’t afford to buy all their books. Plus, February, is Library Lovers’ Month!

So, what I’m saying BEB Faithful: get thee to a library!

See you in March!

-Theresa

PodCon 2 Round Up!

Hey there, BEB Faithful!

For those of you in the greater Seattle area, and those of you who follow our podcast Lauren Proves Magic is Real, the weekend of January 19th was a great one!

We spent the weekend at PodCon 2 talking with other like-minded people, and talking about representation in media. Most notably, the Ars Paradoxica crew did a panel about transgender representation that we particularly liked!

If you’re not familiar with Ars Paradoxica, they do a pretty great job with asexual and trans representation. There are some other honorable mentions within the podcast, but we’ll leave them for you to discover. If you like science fiction, time travel, and stories with lots of characters, this is a great one for you the check out!

Some other podcasts we’d like to give shout outs to are The Strange Case of Starship Iris—who are doing a great job with racial and queer representation—and Redwing, which is written by an nonbinary person of color!

We ran into some old favorites as well! Here’s Cecil Baldwin of Welcome to Nightvale taking a moment to himself.

We’ll definitely be back for the next PodCon considering all the awesome people who keep showing up. Be sure to check out some of these awesome podcasts, and we’ll see you again next month!

-Theresa

Starting the New Year Write

Hello again, BEB faithful!

It’s been an exciting couple of months full of conventions, NaNoWriMo, and all of the preparations for the holidays. Things are finally starting to slow down in preparation for the New Year—but we all know you still need more books in your life. See if this next paragraph describes you or someone you know:

Got everything you wanted for the holidays except a new book to burn through into the new year? Or perhaps you know someone who could use a little extra dose of holiday cheer, a fantastical story to take them away from their troubles and keep them feeling warm and safe until the sun comes back and spring. If that’s you, we’re here to help with this months blog post!

If you relate, the rest of this post is dedicated to going through our books and telling you what kind of person would suit each best. We hope you enjoy this silly astrology by book blog post, and have all the very best stories to keep you company in the New Year.

Wicked Gentlemen - This book is for waist-coat wearing Fullmetal Alchemist fans who enjoy a fantastical approach to historical fiction. Angels, demons, mysteries, and a whole lot of romantic tension, this story is one of our favorites at the press.

Two Tangled Tales - The perfect little ebook for the fairytale lover in your life. These two charming short stories will have you getting out the tea set to enjoy an old-fasioned Victorian cup of tea.

Turnskin - Imagine being able to shift your physical form at will--and then grab this little number! Turnskin centers around one of the most skilled shapeshifters of the age in a society of shapeshifters. A little genderfluidity never hurt anyone. ;)

Strange Fortune - The epic stakes of Lord of the Rings with the added draw of queer characters--Josh Lanyon's Strange Fortune delivers that high fantasy feel and the LGBTQ good times.

The Archer's Heart - Looking for something in a non-western setting devoid of the society you know every day? Then check out Astrid Amara's little e-trilogy The Archer's Heart! With political tension and romantic tension in epic porportions, The Archer's Heart keeps your heart strung like a bow from start to finish.

Lord of the White Hell - The LGBTQ college version of Harry Potter you've been looking for, complete with falling in love with your gorgeous and haughty room mate, and taking him home to meet your mother in your women-run society. Lord of the White Hell is full of cozy moments by the fire and real and literal magic. Be sure to grab them as a set! No one likes cliffhangers!

Smoketown - In a city where birds are forbidden, one woman keeps them, waiting for the woman she loves to return to her. She's not the only one to wish for something she can't have in this city. Smoketown is a hauntingly beautiful, bittersweet tale of love, redemption, and independance. Don't worry, though; even though it sounds tragic, the play upon your heartstrings resolves warmly. Blind Eye Books has a soft spot for happy endings.

The Rifter - Like high fantasy? Want to escape to another world? Need a series that will take you longer to get through than the holidays with your family? Then The Rifter is the series for you! When John accidentally finds a key in his roommate Kyle's mail, he hardly expects it to take him to another world. Now he must survive it until Kyle find him--and a lot can happen when worlds are temporally locked together!

The Irregulars - Love interlocking short stories in the same universe? Then grab your copy of The Irregulars! Four stories from four award winning LGBTQ authors! Each story just long enough to get through before your next holiday commitment, or during commutes!

Highfell Grimoires - Blind Eye Book's signature Steampunk title! All the comforts of Victorian era London, now with floating islands, blood magic, the titular grimoires, and a little societal espionage besides, Highfell Grimoires keeps you guessing right up until the end.

Renovation - When everything you touch gives you memories of what it's been though, construction can be a rough job--especially when renovating an old house where someone died. If only the house could give you enough evidence to rule out your hot new neighbor at this job! Urban fantasy and mystery combined, Renovation will keep you on the edge of your seat and your mind off the cold.

The Devil Lancer - Set in an alternate history of Crimea, war is at hand--but so is black magic. When Elliott Parrish is assigned to spy on fellow officer Cornet Ilyas Kovakin, he finds the rumors about the man's demonic power on the battle field to be more literal than he expected. But when that power is revealed to be more curse than boon, how will the two soldiers save each other, and the war?

Champion of the Scarlet Wolf - Another duology set in the same universe as Lord of the White Hell, but now five years later. If you gave someone the gift of The Lord of the White Hell last year, this is the perfect set to follow up with. Great for December birthdays! One book for the birthday, and one book for the holiday.

Bellingham Mysteries - When they say "Read all about it!", Jack Fontaine wishes they were talking about his journalism. Instead, he gets more than he bargained for as his journalistic desires draw him further into murder and mystery. Pair this with Renovation for the perfect LGBTQ murder mystery package for the thrill-seeking reader in your life.

Bitter Legacy - When crime is too big for one man to solve, you can bet it leads to a team-up. Set against the backdrop of a police procedural with notes of detective noir, a detective and a photographer find out if they're compatible enough to take down a serial murderer. Chilling to the bone, you won't notice the cold while reading this.

Maze-Born Trouble - Love a good thrilling space podcast? Lovers of Wolf 359, Girl in Space, Starship Iris, and The Penumbra Podcast will find themselves enraptured with Maze-Born Trouble.

Blades of Justice - Looking for a good, old fashioned, queer female power trip? Maybe with some non-binary representation on the side? Then Blades of Justice is the perfect gift for you! Who says the tool of justice can't be domestic?

The Long Past and Other Stories - Looking for a mixed bag of queer stories all under one cover? The Long Past and Other Stories gives you dinosaurs, magic, boys in love, and girls in love all in one book! Grab it for the starry-eyed older teen in your life and watch them geek out over feathered dinosaurs and clockwork robots brought to life.

Grilled Cheese and Goblins - Looking to gobble up more than just your a holiday meal this year? Food inspector Keith Curry offers a delectable selection of food description--and a rather tasteful array or mystery to be solved. Grab this for the food lover in your life!

Object of Desire - More Dal Maclain means more mystery--this time with the fashion and modeling industry at its core! If you've got a beautiful friend, let them know just how gorgeous you think their make up and clothing choices are by grabbing them this story about unbearably beautiful and well dressed people falling in love with each other while trying to solve a murder.

Happy Holidays from Blind Eye Books! See you in the New Year, BEB faithful!

-Theresa

Getting Ready for Geek Girl Con

Blind Eye Books will be in the Dealer’s Room at Geek Girl Con at table #118

Come visit us and see what’s new. (Sadly, this cat won’t be working the table—her paws are too big to work the credit card reader.)

September in Retrospect and Great Things to Come!

Hello BEB Faithful!

If you kept tabs on us, you’ll know that we had a fantastic time in Florida at Bouchercon!

Here’s a picture of the Ginn Hale title we brought with us!

Here’s a picture of our head editor Nicole Kimberling having a great time with author of Smoketown, Tenea D Johnson.

And here’s a picture of two jolly old gents having tea that we found pleasing at the Norman Rockwell museum of fine art in St. Petersburg.

It was a lovely time, and we can’t wait to see all the lovely faces of those of you that came by again soon!

Now, on to October!

As those of you who keep tabs on the blog will know, Geek Girl Con is quickly coming onto the horizon! There’s still time to get your ticket if you haven’t already, so grab yours and make your plans for the weekend of October 27th and 28th! We’re bringing the new printing of Ginn Hale’s Lord of the White Hell books with the beautiful new cover! If you haven’t seen it already, please direct your attention to our Facebook page, here! We’ve got another little goodie we’ll be bringing as well! A chapbook with the lesfic story from Ginn Hale’s book The Long Past and Other Stories.

But that’s not the only exciting thing we have planned for you in October, no sirree! Our newest title Goblins and Grilled Cheese will be debuting on October 9th! Check out the reviews so far:

“Kimberling's world-building is wide-ranging and imaginative. She draws on every possible myth, fairy tale, or folk tale for inspiration -- but her monsters are never typical, and they are never just monsters… And it is a fun collection. There's action, mystery, magic, and even a bit of hanky panky. This is just the thing to beat back the blahs on a rainy afternoon.”
— Rebecca Buchanann

"Grilled Cheese and Goblins is an incredibly fresh look at urban fantasy. Not only is the book a m/m romance, but it blends fantastical elements with food health and safety administration. I mean, what? Who would even think to mix the two? Better yet, why would you?! I’ll tell you what, Kimberling has merged the two to create such a nuanced and different world!”
— Ally, Ally’s Appraisals

With so many goodies in October, it’s almost like we’re just handing out candy.

Sounds like the right October spirit to us!

Until next time, Faithful!

-Theresa