Queer SciFi feature on ‘Making Friends’
On launch day, the lovely folk over at Queer Sci Fi did a fantastic launch article for ‘Making Friends (and other fictions’) – you can read it here and it includes a taster of my story ‘The Night Post’ which features in the book.
While you’re there, I highly recommend checking out the Queer Sci Fi website – it’s a fantastic resource for LGBTQ+ speculative fiction of all kinds!
Making Friends (and other fictions) OUT NOW!
Sound the alarm, the day has come! Making Friends (and other fictions) has finally been released into the wild!
This one has been a long time in the making and I want to sincerely thank everyone who has been there cheering me on, sharing my social media posts and generally being hyped to get hold of this collection. I am truly grateful to every single one of you and I’m excited for you to finally meet my creature.
Now, onto the where and how:
- Pick up an e-copy (all formats) from Smashwords here ($4.99 / £3.65)
- Pick up a print copy from Lulu here ($9.31 / £6.99) (and if you use the code INSPIRE15 at the checkout before 24th September 2021 you can get 15% off.)
- Enter a competition to win an e-copy over at The Horror Tree (ends 1st October 2021)
- Check out the Goodreads page here – and do please leave me a review there, or on Smashwords, Lulu, your personal blog or anywhere else you know of if you are so inclined and you enjoyed the book (or even if you didn’t – I won’t judge!)
- You can read content warnings for Making Friends here (does contain spoilers).
I also have a VERY LIMITED number of copies on hand that I can send out signed (£7 plus p&p) which I’ll be announcing on social media later today.
If you buy this book, then I thank you sincerely for supporting an indie author, and I hope that your copy behaves itself and doesn’t claw at the furniture when you’re out of the house. If you love it, then any reviews, mentions or recommendations – either online or word-of-mouth – are really valuable to me to help spread the word.
And don’t be deceived by the photo – Making Friends isn’t as tame as it looks, although it is very loyal and affectionate.
One month til Making Friends launch – and TOC reveal!
Time is really flying – I can’t believe it’s just a month until my new collection ‘Making Friends (and other fictions)’ is released into the wild. It will come pawing at your door at night, so my best advice is to let it in, feed it some bread and milk, and then maybe when you wake up it will have folded all your laundry.
Until then, you can pre-order the e-book here in all formats, or if you’d like an ARC for review then please comment on this post or drop me a note at die[dot]booth[at]gmail[dot]com or via my social media and I’ll send one over to you.
If you’re familiar with my work in various magazines and anthologies, here’s the table of contents for Making Friends – let me know if you recognise any!
1 – Making friends 
2 – Then the clocks went back
3 – Stone ghosts
4 – Junk medicine
5 – Things the sea brings us
6 – The left behind
7 – Your punishment is
8 – Family
9 – Not today
10 – The cutter
11 – Nix
12 – Mommet
13 – Still Dawn
14 – The full circle
15 – The night post
16 – Upcycling
17 – Whole wide world
18 – Badass
19 – The headless army of Charlie Close
20 – A murder
21 – Somebody’s truth
22 – The cat in the window
23 – Neverburied
24 – Wine-drowned sorrows
25 – The man who sticks his head up petticoats
Making Friends – release date confirmed!
Here’s a little bit of good news for this Friday 13th – I’ve now confirmed the release date for my new collection of stories.
‘Making Friends (and other fictions)’ will be released into the wild on 21st September, 2021 (a good planetary alignment date!)
This is a collection of short stories and flash fiction with the main theme being it was all written by me..! It’s a bit quiet horror, a bit historical, a bit LGBTQ+, a bit uplifting, a bit unsettling, but hopefully all worth your attention.
It’ll be available in both paperback and ebook formats. I’m particularly chuffed with how the paperback has turned out for this one – it has a few little illustrations throughout, the cover is matte and looks lush, and I’m grateful to have been given some lovely quotes to use in the blurb.
(That’s it! That’s the paperback, sitting nicely out on my back yard paving!)
The process has really reminded me of just how much work goes into self publishing (the last time I put out a book was in 2016). Writing the stories is only the start. Then comes editing, interior illustrations, additional copy (we all know the blurb takes longer to write than the book..!), formatting for print, formatting for ebook, getting blurb quotes, cover design, uploading to sales channels, registering ISBNs, reaching out to reviewers and bloggers, writing blog posts, designing promotional material, updating websites, updating social media and finally the ‘please buy my book!’ bit. I’ve done it all solo – it’s been a bit daunting and isn’t even nearly over yet!
Definitely the hardest leg of the journey for me is reaching out and asking for reviews and promotion. As someone who deals with a lot of anxiety and has a very hard time ‘bothering’ people by asking for anything, I find marketing my own work incredibly difficult (ironically, I find marketing other people’s work absolutely fine). So I am hugely grateful to everyone who is helping me promote this baby.
If anyone would like an ARC ebook of ‘Making Friends’ in exchange for an honest review (you don’t need to be a large scale reviewer, I’d be super happy with a Goodreads review or a mention on your blog or social media) then please feel free to get in touch on Twitter or email me at die[dot]booth[at]gmail[dot]com before 21st September.
I can’t wait to get this odd little collection out there!
Queer Sci Fi ‘Ink’ out today!
Queer Sci Fi’s annual flash fiction anthology is finally here – and this year the theme is Ink. My story ‘Faith and the Thorncutters’ features in this hefty collection and I was honoured to get both an Honourable Mention and Judges Choice.
I received my copy yesterday and it’s a really lovely, thick book, packed full of 121 little stories spanning horror, fantasy and sci fi LGBTQIA+ voices. I’m so happy to be a part of it!
INK (NOUN)
Five definitions to inspire writers around the world and an unlimited number of possible stories to tell:
1) A colored fluid used for writing
2) The action of signing a deal
3) A black liquid ejected by squid
4) Publicity in the written media
5) A slang word for tattoos
Ink features 300-word speculative flash fiction stories from across the rainbow spectrum, from the minds of the writers of Queer Sci Fi.
You can pick up a copy of the book from the following outlets:
Publisher | Amazon Kindle | Amazon Paperback | Amazon Hardcover | iBooks | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Scribd | Thalia | Vivlio | Goodreads
Queer Sci Fi are also running a $25 Amazon Gift Card giveaway here from 10.40pm GMT on 10th August 2021.
Authors
- Amarilys Acosta – Heart Ink
- Emilia Agrafojo – Mixology
- Addison Albright – Cave Drawing
- Tam Ames – The Autograph
- RE Andeen – The Skinchanger’s Art
- Laura Antoniou – A Most Rewarding Quest
- Blaine D. Arden – Mending
- H. Argent – Impending Affair
- Aten – Power
- Ryley Banks – Right Place, Right Time
- Jorane G. Barton – Alternate Endings
- Joe Baumann – Babbler
- Brooke K. Bell – Temporary/Permanent
- David Berger – Indelible
- Eytan Bernstein – I Never Knew
- Gordon Bonnet – Nexus
- Die Booth – Faith and the Thorncutters
- Charlie Boynton – He Bleeds Ink
- Ryan Breadinc – The Ink Reader
- M. Burns – The Final Line
- Meghan Byers – Unmoored
- Aron Caer – Writer’s Blood
- Elsa M. Carruthers – I Am Happy to Be Here Today
- Foster Bridget Cassidy – Unfamiliar Waters
- Minerva Cerridwen – Not Alone
- Amanda Cherry – Signed
- Gwen Coholan – Ballpoint
- Rory Ni Coileain – All Myths Are True (but some are truer than others)
- Comer – Her Very Comfy Couch
- Georgia Cook – Butterfly
- Elliot Cooper – The Collection
- Bryan Crystal-Thursdton – Fluid
- Monique Cuillerier – The Present
- Claire Davon – Squid on the Beach
- Nicole Dennis – Hidden Spell
- Toshi Drake – Indelible Ink
- James Dunham – Lydia’s Back
- Allen Dyen-Shapiro – To Share the Sky
- Eason – On the Conjoined Practice of Demonology and Scribal Longhand
- P. Egry – Confessions of an Inkaholic
- B. Eyre – A Prisoner and a Captain
- Kim Fielding – Devil and Advocates
- Sheila Finch – Love is Blind
- Steve Fuson – Blank as the Page
- Jasie Gale – Pandora’s Row
- Magaly Garcia – rough draft #9/grocery list
- Isobel Granby – The Date Book
- Jacqui Greaves – A Dish Served Hot
- Sacchi Green – S/He Who Remembers
- D. Grimm – Companions
- Kaje Harper – The Pen is Mightier
- Brenna Harvey – EduTron 6000 + Principal Vertner 4Ever
- Kelly Haworth – Off Spectrum
- Sheryl R. Hayes – Panagram
- Chisto Healy – The Fine Print
- A. Hunt – Untitled
- S R Jones – So Let it Be Written, So Let It Be Done
- Dale Jordan – The Summoning
- Kim Katil – Heart Bound in Ink
- April Kelley – How to Create a Monster
- Ava Kelly – Soullink
- Laura J. Kelly – Rougarous Inc.
- X. Kelly – To Have and to Hold and to Hold and to Hold
- Adrik Kemp – Meet Cute
- Jessica M. Kormos – The Tattooist
- Barbara Krasnoff – The Inker, The Cat and The Parrot
- Jamie Lackey – Inksticks and Paper Swans
- Benoit Lafortune – Dragon Blood
- Tris Lawrence – Soul Afire
- Anja Hendrikse Liu – Stranger Stories
- Ainslie Lloyd – Off the Wall
- Nathan Alling Long – It’s What’s Inside That Counts
- Lily Luchesi – The Angel With Demon Blood
- K. Mads – The Dragon’s Price
- L. McCartney – Risotto Nero
- Paula McGrath – Free Hugs
- Helen M. Merrick – The Rose Tattoo
- Lynn Michaels – Battleground
- R. Moler – Ink is Memory
- Fiona Moore – The Muse’s Gift
- W. Murks – Just a Nudge
- S. Murphy – Love’s Portrait
- RJ Mustafa – Shadowbird
- Mary Newman – Graven Images
- Thea Nishimori – Glossaderma
- L. Noone – Openings
- Raine Norman – The Morning After
- Orion O’Connell – The Midnight Librarian
- Bradley Robert Parks – Guilty Pleasure Reading
- Dale Parnell – Belonging
- Terry Poole – Sign on the Dotted Line
- Brooke Prado – Cursebreaker
- Taylor Ramage – Inkshader
- Robin Reed – Printed Love
- S. Reinholt – Colours of Union
- Jen Rivers – The Aerium
- Jeff Ronan – Inked
- Herminia Root – Aedan
- Taylor Roth – For Death Doesn’t Part
- Jamie Sands – Toby’s Tattoo
- Rodello Santos – Told
- F. Schraeder – Spider Legs
- Ziggy Schutz – Renaming
- RJ Scott – Blood
- Alex Silver – Summoned
- Alex Sobel – Tense
- Ada Maria Soto – The Marks of a Knight
- Anna Stacy – Livename
- Susan Stradiotto – Moon Child
- Lou Sylvre – The Flight of the Telorites
- Nathaniel Taff – For Posterity’s Sake
- Naomi Tajedler – Oddities
- Sara Testarossa – Subversion
- Lauren Triola – The Unmarked
- Geneva Vand – The Colors of Fate
- M. Walker – The Hurt Patch
- Dean Wells – A Flacon of Ink
- T. Wyant – Future Perfect
- Rina Youngblood – Proof in the Telling
- Aubrey Zahn – Jumper
- Rainie Zenith – Blind Date
Humans are the Problem
Very soon Weird Little Worlds are publishing ‘Humans are the Problem’, an anthology for monsters struggling to navigate the 21st century.
As someone who usually sides with the ‘monster’ I love the concept of this one – and I am stoked to have a story included in it! You can read more about the anthology on the Weird Little Worlds website here.
Making Friends cover reveal
It’s my birthday today, so I think it’s an appropriate day to do the cover reveal for my new book. I can’t believe it’s been five years since I released a new one!
‘Making Friends (and other fictions)’ is due out… well, soon… like, in the next couple of months soon. I’ll post more on that when I have a firm date set.
I’m pleased with how the cover turned out. As with all of my books, this is a completely solo effort – written, formatted and illustrated by me, cover photo and design by me (not to mention marketing and admin!) The only thing I outsource is editing. It’s a monumental piece of work to get a book into being entirely by yourself, but I appreciate the control self-publishing affords and I’m proud of how my books turn out.
So, without further ado: the cover for ‘Making Friends’! Please get in touch if you’d be interested in a ARC or in exchanging book blog posts.
Double good news
Sometimes I get a timely reminder of why all the hard work and heartache is worth it when it comes to writing.
My workload this week, with day job, short story writing deadlines, story submission deadlines and printer deadlines for my upcoming collection ‘Making Friends’ along with a job interview next week, my birthday this weekend and the ongoing pandemic situation and current stresses of living in Tory Britain and worrying about health and friends’ health was severely getting on top of me. Yesterday was not good times. But when I stopped working for the day around 9pm I received notification that my flash fiction ‘Faith and the Thorncutters’ had been chosen for a Judge’s mention in this year’s Queer Sci Fi contest anthology ‘Ink’. To know that out of 384 submissions, mine merited a special mention is absolutely priceless validation in a job that can sometimes feel like throwing endless messages in bottles out into a harsh ocean.
Read the rest of the mentions here.
Thank you so much to Devon Widmer for the incredibly kind words about my story, it really means the world to me.
Judge: Devon Widmer
Faith and the Thorncutters
Die Booth“The stories that impressed me the most were those that managed to use the sparse 300-word limit to offer a glimpse into a fully-developed speculative world. Only a few stories achieved this monumental feat, and “Faith and the Thorncutters” was without a doubt one of the most successful in that regard. This story truly makes every single word count, resulting in a rich narrative that feels so much more expansive than any 294 little words have any right to be. An all around excellent story that showcases just how much a skilled author can accomplish with only a few words!”
Then, to my delight, this morning I woke up to the fastest story acceptance I’ve ever had, from an editor and magazine I really admire, along with more incredibly kind words about the piece I’d submitted.
I don’t want to say any more until the contract is signed, but let me tell you, this has made a world of difference to my mood. Best birthday gift I could have wished for.
Reissues and an important announcement!
After a horrible 2020 (sounds familiar) I’m relieved to say that I’ve finally managed to get onto some authorly tasks that have been on my to-do list for more than a year. I’m happy to announce that my back catalogue of e-books is now available on Smashwords, so you can now purchase them for just $3.99 (that’s around £2.90) each in .mobi format. This also means they’re distributed to most major bookstores, but if you buy direct from my Smashwords page you’ll be helping me to earn a larger percentage of the sales price:
Even more importantly, I can now announce that my next collection of short stories will definitely be published this year – more information on that very soon!
