Kaje Harper's Blog, page 16

Rainbow Briefs is published

My Young Adult short story collection under my YA pen name Kira Harp is now available - Rainbow Briefs volume 2 is free in ebook on Smashwords, and should distribute free to B&N, Kobo and iBooks in the next couple of weeks. It's .99 on Amazon until they decide to price match.

There is also a paper copy on AZ, and I'll bring some to GRL in October.


blurb:

Dragons don't care what gender you are.
A small town may be a refuge, or a trap.
Some younger brothers really do save the planet.
Three people can be the strongest shape.
There's nothing quite like a gorgeous girl on a shape-shifting motorcycle.

This second Kira Harp collection brings together LGBTQ teens in 21 stories of adventure, discovery, and romance, in fantasy, paranormal, contemporary, and SciFi settings. Ranging from a few short pages to 12,000 words, each story was inspired by a prompt picture from the YA LGBTQ Books Group on Goodreads.

(Content warnings for abduction, bullying, self harm, substance abuse, suicidal ideation.)


I hope readers enjoy this new collection of stories with teen MCs are who are gay, lesbian, genderfluid, trans, asexual, bi, poly, etc. It was fun revising the drafts from my YA group and polishing things up. The prompt picture descriptions are in the text, (and the actual pictures are in the YA group's "Tales Told" folder. ) I do love the challenge of writing to a prompt.

AZ US - https://www.amazon.com/Rainbow-Briefs...
Smashwords - https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...

Cover Reveal - "Fair Isn't Life"

Check out the cover reveal for Fair Isn't Life, my forthcoming book from Dreamspinner Press in the "States of Love" series. When i saw Minnesota was left unclaimed it felt like fate :)

The reveal is here: (Plus the chance to win a backlist book.)
http://lovebytesreviews.com/2018/08/1...


Blurb:

Luke Lafontaine survived the past year by not thinking about the father he lost, the dairy farm he couldn’t save from bankruptcy, or his way of life that vanished with the rap of an auctioneer’s hammer. Cleaning up city folks’ trash at the Minnesota State Fair is just another dead-end job. But at the Fair, surrounded by a celebration of farm life, ambitions he’d given up on and buried deep start to revive. And seeing Mason Bell in the parade—gorgeous, gay, out-of-his-league Mason—stirs other buried dreams.

Mason left his hometown for college in Minneapolis without looking back. Student life is fun, classes are great, gay guys are easy to find, but it’s all a bit superficial. He’s at the State Fair parade route with his band when he realizes a scruffy maintenance worker is Luke, his secret high school crush. Luke should be safely home working on his dad’s farm, not picking up litter. Mason wishes he hadn’t fallen out of touch. He’s an optimist, though, and it’s never too late for second chances. Now he just has to convince Luke.

52,000 words
States of Love: Stories of romance that span every corner of the United States.

This book will release November 16th. Preorder is currently available on the Dreamspinner Press page - https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/boo...

When Romance Means Three (or more)

Today I'm blogging on Love Bytes Reviews about writing poly relationships in romance, and the idea of opening up to different pictures of what real love looks like.






Post link: http://lovebytesreviews.com/2018/08/1...

Bi characters and the evolution of the genre

I'm blogging on Love Bytes Reviews today about bisexual characters in M/M.

http://lovebytesreviews.com/2018/07/1...

Fun at Pride 2018

I had a great time at Pride this year! We got really lucky with the weather - Saturday was warm and sunny, but not quite as hot as some years. On Sunday there were brief, hard showers round the metro Twin Cities area (including up by my house) but only 4 drops of rain at Pride itself. It wasn't so windy we had to anchor down the swag and books, or as dusty as last year. Wonderful days. And I got to finally meet author Jaye McKenna face to face after years of online friendship, as well as reconnect with Posy Roberts and Rory Ni Coileain.

We met some great people, and talked books, writing, genre issues, publishing... dogs, recipes... :) We met some aspiring writers, and others with a completed book they want to publish. We met readers who knew half the books in the genre, and others who had not found books with happy endings for gay couples. There is still clearly a dearth of LGBTQ fiction in paper in brick and mortar bookstores. We were selling ours close to author cost, so hopefully we sent people off happy with their purchases.

We were located between a booth with some lovely dresses, another with fun fairy wings and knit hats (I seriously want the rainbow Tardis hat), and across from the corsets, wolverine gauntlets, and shiny underwear booth. Everyone's enthusiasm was contagious (and wow, some of those folk have so much energy. None of us are really sales folk.) We saw lots of wonderful pets out with their humans celebrating, including a kitten and a rabbit and many cute dogs wearing their human's colors with Pride. A good time was had by all.


BTW, I had a teacher/librarian asking if I knew any children's picture books with LGBTQ content and adult characters of color (parents, teachers) in them. If anyone knows of something, (or is maybe writing a child's book with gay POC parents, or a trans kid and POC teacher...) let me know. There are still some gaps in the books we can find. I applaud this gentleman's search to give his young students images of their real lives.

Now I have 4 days to get ready for flying off to EuroPrideCon. I'll see how many clothes I can fit into the weight allowance once the books are packed :) If you'll be there, I look forward to seeing you.

Getting out of my familiar spaces

I'm blogging on Love Bytes Reviews today about going to EuroPrideCon - an LGBTQ romance reader and writer conference in Europe. I'm looking forward to Amsterdam. (BTW if you are going and wanted to pre-order paper books from me, today is the last day. My order form link is on the EPC Facebook list, or contact me here.)

http://lovebytesreviews.com/2018/06/1...

Interview and a chance to win

I have an interview up on Lou Sylvre's blog. Lou asked me about my start writing M/M, about my YA books group, and more. Check it out and there is a link to enter to win a free backlist ebook of your choice from me.

http://sylvre.rainbow-gate.com/2018/0...

Power to the kids

I'm blogging on Love Bytes Reviews about the hope I get from seeing so many out and proud LGBTQ teens going to prom. So different from when I was growing up.

http://lovebytesreviews.com/2018/05/1...

Gift of the Goddess released

Amazon came through fast this time, and my rerelease fantasy novella "Gift of the Goddess" is now available on Smashwords in all formats, and on Amazon in .mobi.



Gift of the Goddess

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Garvin’s worst fear is realized when he runs home from the fields to find his lover’s forge empty, his tools scattered, and the ground trampled by a band of soldiers. Nyle has been kidnapped and conscripted into the King’s army—a death sentence even for a big smith like Nyle.

Garvin is untrained, unarmed, and nowhere near strong enough to take on one soldier, let alone a whole army. His household skills and a way with horses aren't much to work with, but he can't let that stop him. For the first time in his life, he prays to the Goddess for the help he desperately needs.

He’s not expecting an answer. Particularly the one he gets.

~*~*~*

This is a rerelease of the 2012 Storm Moon Press story. It has been edited and polished, but there are no substantial changes.

Content warning - contains a brief on-page episode of dubious- to non-consensual sex.

~*~*~*

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CZRX4T5/
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07CZRX4T5/
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...
Barnes&Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/gift...

New Cover for "Gift of the Goddess"

Among the stories I got back from publishers in the last couple of years is Gift of the Goddess - a 22K fantasy novella. When it released, it was part of a collection, and as such, there was a group cover used. It was fine, but not a great fit for my story. I always wanted to put out one more suited to the tale I wrote. I finally have the re-edit done (thanks, Jerry L Wheeler for editing) and a wonderful cover (thanks to Lex at Winterheart Design, and a great photo from Dan Skinner.) Isn't it pretty? :)



So perfect for my Garvin, on his way to find Nyle. I'm planning for a mid-May release, and I'll have the exact date and blurb for you soon.