Join any Pride march and you are likely to see a glorious display of papier-mâché unicorn heads trailing sequins, drag queens wearing mermaid tails and more fairy wings than you can shake a trident at. But these are not just accessories: they are queer symbols with historic roots.
Queer as Folklore is an exhilarating journey across centuries and continents which reveals the unsung heroes and villains of storytelling, magic and fantasy. Featuring images from archives, galleries and museums around the world, each chapter investigates the queer history of different mythic and folkloric characters, both old and new.
Leaving no headstone unturned, Sacha Coward will take you on a wild ride through the night from ancient Greece to the main stage of RuPaul's Drag Race, visiting cross-dressing pirates, radical fairies and the graves of the ‘queerly departed' along the way. Queer communities have often sought refuge in the shadows, found kinship in the in-between and created safe spaces in underworlds; but these forgotten narratives tell stories of remarkable resilience that deserve to be heard.
To truly understand who queer people are today, we must confront the twisted tales of the past and Queer as Folklore is a celebration of queer history like you've never seen it before.
For 60 years Mr George Leo John Lucas led a double life. By day, he was a civil servant at the Board of Trade, but by night - unable to live openly as a gay man before the Sexual Offences Act of 1967 - he was a fixture of London's colourful underground gay scene, a twilight world of petty crime, louche pubs and public lavatories. He was also an obsessive diary writer.
When Mr Lucas died in 2014 he left his diaries to the journalist Hugo Greenhalgh. This book combines Mr Lucas's deliciously indiscreet entries over the course of the 1960s with Greenhalgh's razor-sharp historical insights. Together they give a vivid, one-of-a-kind account of gay life that has been overlooked.
Twelve years ago, Edwin Tully came to Oxford and fell in love with a boy named Marius. He was brilliant, an artist. It was going to be forever. Ten years later, it ended.
Now Edwin lives alone in the house they used to share. He tends to damaged books and faded memories, trying to build a future from the fragments of the past. Then the weather turns, and the river spills into Edwin’s quiet world, bringing with it Adam Dacre from the Environment Agency. An unlikely knight, this stranger with roughened hands and worn wellingtons offers Edwin the hope of something he thought he would never have again.
As the two men grow closer in their struggle against the rising waters, Edwin learns he can’t protect himself from everything—and sometimes he doesn't need to try. Because love doesn’t only leave scars; oftentimes, it heals them too.
This lyrical, moving LGBTQIA+ romance contains never-before-seen content and exclusive bonus material—including a NEW novella, Chasing the Light, following Marius as he rediscovers love and the complicated joy of being truly alive.
Enter the bazaar of the bizarre where fate and fortunes are for sale in this high-stakes magical adventure across a London not quite like our own, perfect for fans of Neverwhere and The Night Circus.
Below Covent Garden lies the Untermarkt, where anything and everything has a price: a lover's first blush, a month of honesty, a wisp of fortune. As a child, Deri was sold to one of the Market's most powerful merchants. Now, after years of watchful servitude, Deri finally spots a chance to buy not only his freedom but also his place amongst the Market's elite when he stumbles into the path of a runaway princess desperate to sell her royal destiny.
But news of the missing princess and her wayward destiny spreads. Royal enforcers and Master Merchants alike are after it. Outmanoeuvring them all would all be hard enough had Deri not just also met the love of his life, a young man called Owain, whose employers are using the Market for their own nefarious schemes.
Deri soon finds that the price of selling the royal destiny, making a name for himself, and saving the man he loves is dear. The cost of it all might just change the destiny of London forever.
If you thought you learned more about the dangerous and sexy alpha vampire, Bones, in the USA Today bestselling scorcher, THE OTHER HALF OF THE GRAVE, you haven’t seen anything yet.
Bones is back to tell you his side of what happened when he spent four long years looking for Cat, the half vampire now known as the “Red Reaper.” But now that he’s found her, has time hardened Bones too much to risk love again? Or will his passion for Cat burn through every obstacle–alive, undead, or otherwise–between them?
From the New York Times bestselling author of the Night Huntress series comes a fresh, new perspective on the origin saga of Cat and Bones, in Bones’s own words…
“Living everything through Bones’s eyes was amazing!” –Tynga’s Reviews
“I had no idea how much I needed Bones’s point of view. But apparently I did.” –Carol’s Random Life'Think Buffy the Vampire Slayer for Anne Rice fans' –Apple Books
My name is Evangeline Astley, and the only thing you need to know about me is that I never imagined this was how my life would go. I was supposed to devote all my time to painting gorgeous things to eventually open my own art gallery. Instead, I spent it all trying to sell my art to save my parents' hotel. Cue the Earl of Anglesey and his not-so-stunning idea. Matthew Bennett needs an heir to the earldom, but for an heir, he needs a wife. And I'm the one the extremely eligible bachelor has chosen. Except I'm just as marriage-phobic as he is, so naturally, I refused-until he gives me an offer that I couldn't resist. If I agreed to marry him, provide an heir, and divorce him amicably in due course, he would save The Fox and Hound hotel that I love so much. That, ladies and gents, is how I became the Countess of Anglesey. The one thing I didn't count on? Falling in love with my husband.
A M/M Shifter Romance: Enemies to Lovers/Fated Mates
Haven is set on a two year journey to find his mate
Haven and his tiger half can't wait to set off on the traditional trek. An unmated male, he'll be searching for territory, but also a lifemate. The best part? He's leaving that egocentric, narcissistic jerk, Ramon, behind. Yeah, he's hot as hades, but he's also a player. Tigers mate for life, and Ramon can't be trusted. Hopefully, they won't meet again for years.
Ramon is positive Haven belongs to him.
Haven thinks he's leaving without him, but that's never going to happen. Unfortunately, the male is planning on trekking through the High Sierra wilderness. The closest Ramon has ever been to a forest was when he and his sisters used to hang in Golden Gate Park.
But Ramon has struggled though hard times before. Hiking and camping beside the male he intends to spend his forever with should be a breeze compared to what Ramon and his sisters have already lived through. One way or the other, he's gonna find a way to convince Haven to come home, even if he has to follow him to the top of the highest mountain.
'The post-apocalyptic Santa Cruz Shifter world has a community of awesome characters who all make sense together!' Goodreads Reviewer
My name is Adelaide Astley, and if there was anything remotely exciting about me to tell you, I would. Sure, my uncle is the Duke of Leicester, and my mother bucked family tradition to marry "below" her and open a hotel, but I'm nothing but an aspiring author with a Tudor era obsession. Oh, and I'm spending the summer tutoring the daughter of the current Duke of Worcester-who happens to be a regular in my highly inappropriate midnight dreams. Thirty-year-old Alexander Winthrop-Bentley is so not my type, but hours of chess games and arguments over Tudor dynasties mean we're thrown together more often than we should be. And when he shares with me that he needs a date for a charitable event, my mouth betrays me by offering myself up for the evening. How I find myself naked in the library is another matter entirely. Ahem. When the society papers declare us an item, neither of us have the heart to tell our families the truth. Only my twin sister and best friend know the truth, but they both agree we need to keep up the charade, even if only for the summer. But when the end of August comes and my return home beckons, I have to ask myself a question: Is it only his daughter who's stolen my heart, or has Alexander done the very same thing?
A Gay Shifter Romance
Caden: Rav could have abandoned me, but instead he saved my life, even when depression kicked me in the gut. Because of him, I may be strong enough to help the rest of my pack find their way in our new territory. More than anything else, my wolf and I want to claim our hot tiger, but Rav continues to push me away. He's mine, whether he admits it or not, and I won't give up trying to make him see the truth.
Rav: Caden keeps nudging his way into my life, getting under my skin more and more with his beautiful smiles and lean wolfy body. But my clan and I learned the hard way that wolves can’t be trusted and as much as I'd like to, I can't make Caden a part of my life. So far my clan's secrets have held. I have to continue to stay strong for them, no matter how much I want the stubborn wolf.
Ronan
After a stint in the Irish Defense Forces, I drifted. No purpose, no place I felt truly at home. Until I joined Second Sight, Boston's leading security and protection firm. It's more than a job. It's a family. One I don't deserve. One of these days, they'll see through my sarcasm and bravado and realize I'm just a screw up.
My first solo assignment? Hunt down a trained assassin and stop her. Whatever it takes. But the more I learn about Zephyr, the more I wonder if there's more to this case than meets the eye.
Zephyr
I was set up by the only family I've ever known. On the run, always looking over my shoulder, unable to trust anyone. Until I land in Boston, searching for the one man who can clear my name. The only other person to ever escape the Strauss Cartel.
I should have known I was walking into a trap. My only hope of survival? Convince the Irish hunk holding me at gunpoint I’m not the person he thinks I am.
And wonder what it would be like to kiss him.
Protecting His Target is the 9th book in the Away From Keyboard series. Each book can be enjoyed as a complete standalone, but characters from past books always show up sooner or later.
After four years living the single life, it's decided that I, London Stuart, am back on the market. I'm not even mad when my cousins and best friends put my name down for the speed-dating sessions. In fact, I'm actually a little excited about it. But then one of my dates turns out to be my six-year-old son's irresistibly sexy soccer coach-his irresistibly sexy British soccer coach. Oliver Hayes is too good to be true-he's tall, dark, handsome, hilarious, and genuinely loves kids...especially mine. But he's not sure if he's even staying in the country, and I'm not sure I can handle giving him my heart if he's only going to leave. So why is he over for dinner almost every night? Why is he giving Leo private goalie lessons in the backyard? Why is he sending flowers to my desk at the newspaper? And why, oh why, can't I stop kissing him?
From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Claire Contreras comes a story in her Sexy Royals series…
Princess Pilar is tired of playing by the rules. She’s sick of the spotlight and being seen as the uptight goody-too-shoes the media has cast her to be. She’s especially tired of the fact that her brothers are allowed to run off and do whatever they want while she sits inside watching the world pass her by. That’s why she decides that while her older brothers are off on their usual summer holidays, she’s going to quietly pack her things and travel to the one place her parents have always forbidden her to step foot on – Ibiza.
As the star of the French premiere fútball league, Benjamin Drake has it all – the money, the cars, the clothing contracts, and any woman he wants. Problem is, the only woman Ben has ever wanted badly enough to stop partying is Princess Pilar, the one he can never, ever have. Despite his fame and achievements, in Pilar’s world, she’ll always be royalty and he’ll always be a kid from the wrong side of the tracks who got lucky. He’d never be accepted. He knows that. Yet, when he spots Pilar partying at the same club as him, all bets are off. He’s determined to get her in his bed, even if it’s just for one night.
**Every 1001 Dark Nights novella is a standalone story. For new readers, it’s an introduction to an author’s world. And for fans, it’s a bonus book in the author’s series. We hope you'll enjoy each one as much as we do.**
