Pretty sure this post will go nowhere because I haven't been on in ages so... IF YOU REBLOG THIS, message me and I'll give you an ebook copy of my TRANS M/M VAMPIRE NOVELLA*

Anyways...

Guides For Dating Vampires Hardcover Special Editions are HERE! (for now)

They have sexy jacket art by @houdabelgharbi (as seen below) and romantic cover art by @oblivionsdream (as seen here), sprayed edges, bookend art, and a full-color illustration inserted inside each book, as well as all the bonus content and free shorts I've written for the characters printed at the back of the books!

You can order your own set at my kickstarter!

You can also grab a discounted set of the ebooks and/or fandom goodies if you don't collect physical books.

* Up to the first 50 people who contact me, though I'm not expecting that many frankly. Just gotta disclaimer it in case.

These books are fucking PHENOMENAL and are some of my favorite portrayals of vampires I have yet seen. I devoured these books and highly recommend them if you’re looking for a fun, queer romance that you can sink your teeth into (HA). Also, the art is GORGEOUS so it’s a simple all around win.

You are TOO SWEET <3 <3

Pretty sure this post will go nowhere because I haven't been on in ages so... IF YOU REBLOG THIS, message me and I'll give you an ebook copy of my TRANS M/M VAMPIRE NOVELLA*

Anyways...

Guides For Dating Vampires Hardcover Special Editions are HERE! (for now)

They have sexy jacket art by @houdabelgharbi (as seen below) and romantic cover art by @oblivionsdream (as seen here), sprayed edges, bookend art, and a full-color illustration inserted inside each book, as well as all the bonus content and free shorts I've written for the characters printed at the back of the books!

You can order your own set at my kickstarter!

You can also grab a discounted set of the ebooks and/or fandom goodies if you don't collect physical books.

* Up to the first 50 people who contact me, though I'm not expecting that many frankly. Just gotta disclaimer it in case.

I'm so thrilled to announce that four out of our five stretch goals have been met! 

They include...

❤️  Each book gets its own full page of art inserted into the book at the point where it's relevant, illustrated by Atlas Schmidt. ❤️  A character illustration by Cerys will be added to the back of the laminated quote bookmarks, which EVERY reward tier will now receive.  ❤️  Every artist who worked on this special edition gets a bonus! (The exact amount will depend on how much funding the project gets in full.) ❤️  Header art will be added to the books! These pieces will alternate between POV chapters.

Do you think we can hit $13k more in funding (that's about 130 orders) in the next 8 days to reach the final art addition?! (I might even throw in prints of this new art for all orders if we make it 😈 )

Share the kickstarter with your bookish friends to help us get a second set of illustrated full-color inner art pages! (Pst, I'm still giving out novella ebooks to people who reblog!)

Pretty sure this post will go nowhere because I haven't been on in ages so... IF YOU REBLOG THIS, message me and I'll give you an ebook copy of my TRANS M/M VAMPIRE NOVELLA*

Anyways...

Guides For Dating Vampires Hardcover Special Editions are HERE! (for now)

They have sexy jacket art by @houdabelgharbi (as seen below) and romantic cover art by @oblivionsdream (as seen here), sprayed edges, bookend art, and a full-color illustration inserted inside each book, as well as all the bonus content and free shorts I've written for the characters printed at the back of the books!

You can order your own set at my kickstarter!

You can also grab a discounted set of the ebooks and/or fandom goodies if you don't collect physical books.

* Up to the first 50 people who contact me, though I'm not expecting that many frankly. Just gotta disclaimer it in case.

I loved getting to be a part of this and contribute art to these lovely editions!! 🥰

Dez's art for these is SO GORGEOUS too <3 <3 <3

Pretty sure this post will go nowhere because I haven't been on in ages so... IF YOU REBLOG THIS, message me and I'll give you an ebook copy of my TRANS M/M VAMPIRE NOVELLA*

Anyways...

Guides For Dating Vampires Hardcover Special Editions are HERE! (for now)

They have sexy jacket art by @houdabelgharbi (as seen below) and romantic cover art by @oblivionsdream (as seen here), sprayed edges, bookend art, and a full-color illustration inserted inside each book, as well as all the bonus content and free shorts I've written for the characters printed at the back of the books!

You can order your own set at my kickstarter!

You can also grab a discounted set of the ebooks and/or fandom goodies if you don't collect physical books.

* Up to the first 50 people who contact me, though I'm not expecting that many frankly. Just gotta disclaimer it in case.

These books are excellent and my favorite vampire books ❤️ Can't wait for these special editions with gorgeous art

SO excited to have Curiouser And... involved in the Kraken & Friends sale!

From January 17 to 22, browse through queer indie SFF books for your next read, complete with a short quiz to find out which queer character you are!

krakenfriends.claudiearseneault.com

Fortitude's Prize is now out in the world!

Get ready to dive into a fantastic world of flying ships, found family, and pirate heists as you follow Edward through the Atlantic Skies onboard the Vulturnus.

Maddox and Diego from the Stars and the Stage, drawn by @thistlearts

Guess what's coming out NEXT WEEK?!

(Hint: it's the new prequel novella for the Guides for Dating Vampires series, the Stars and the Stage!)

While we're waiting for the third main series book, I'm so excited to bring you this wonderful, fierce second chance couple who comes back together like a thousand fireworks after ten years apart. For a little sneak peak at who they are as a couple, check out this snippet from the first chapter that shows a bit of their teenage relationship before their breakup…

(For one more week, you can still pre-order the ebook for only 99 cents!)

Making character designs for Achillean and MLM writers is my favourite thing to do!

(Pst, follow thistlearts for more awesome achillean art!!)

this book has the ace rep of my dreams. aro/ace & demisexual, about finding yourself and your identity, while falling in love with a vigilante determined to atone for his youth and protect his vampire family

did i mention the lead is an ace-spec, fanfic writing scientist (says the ace fanfic writing scientist?) this book came for my throat. i loved it.

No it doesn’t. You are confusing a tagline with a blurb. The tagline is designed for maximum impact with minimum words. It is designed purely to get you to look at the blurb. I have never seen a tagline like this without an easily available blurb, either by googling the book or, even more often these days, the tagline itself being a link to the blurb.

It’s the single most obvious marketing tactic there is, they are not trying to hide it or obscure what they are doing in the slightest because the point is literally to drive traffic to the blurb which is the real hook, and it is almost universally used and has been for over a decade. Taglines for books were common even before the internet existed.

I honestly don’t understand how a person who reads commonly enough to actually be impacted by something like this wouldn’t understand this. My only conclusion is that most people complaining like this don’t read commonly and don’t search for books outside of recommendations from friends. It just makes you look foolish when you say things like this.

It’s also hurting small time and indie authors who are not well enough established to rely on word of mouth trying to attract an audience. They need punchy taglines to get people to consider their book enough to look at the blurb. This is especially true of authors who’s books are heavily focused on themes that traditional publishers think “don’t sell well”, like basically every minority theme or issue ever.

It’s not a coincidence that the tweet mocking these taglines specifically mentions bisexuality. This type of criticism is often specifically targeted at minority themes and authors, like it is in this case.

If you want books by and about minorites you gotta stop undercutting them and poisoning general opinion against everything that isn’t marketed with all the expertise and resources of a major publishing house. Not everyone has the resources or expertise to focus test tag lines.

If “bisexual druids in space” doesn’t sound interesting to you on its own, you probably won’t be interested in the longer blurb that gives you details about the bisexual druids in space, either. You can just keep scrolling at that point, with no harm done to anyone, and go about your life. The tagline is there for people who might be interested in reading about bisexuals, druids, and space.

If “bisexual druids in space” does catch your attention, the tagline has done exactly what it’s supposed to, which is get you to–get this–go look at the longer blurb to find out more info. It’s not “lacking information,” its sole goal is to get you interested enough to go learn more.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: people who say shit like in the OP aren’t going to be happy until we authors just start posting the full text of our books in a single tumblr post. Though then I suppose they’ll harass us over the posts being too long instead, because being an artist means you’re free game to harass in the minds of…like, half of tumblr, to be honest.

(Personally, “bisexual druids in space” sounds like a kickass premise. Is this real? Someone tell me it’s real. Send me a link. I want it.)

Because people are reblogging this with tags like "but I see authors who only have taglines and no blurbs anywhere!!"

And I'm sorry, but friends, if an author has a professional sales page (ie Amazon, goodreads, etc) and does not have a full blurb (probably with a line of metadata) then you don't want to buy their book anyway.

They clearly didn't do the barest minimum to figure out what publishing standards are and don't read actual books themselves. Just skip them and find one of the other 98% of books out there that has a blurb, because most of the published books you're seeing taglines for do.

No it doesn’t. You are confusing a tagline with a blurb. The tagline is designed for maximum impact with minimum words. It is designed purely to get you to look at the blurb. I have never seen a tagline like this without an easily available blurb, either by googling the book or, even more often these days, the tagline itself being a link to the blurb.

It’s the single most obvious marketing tactic there is, they are not trying to hide it or obscure what they are doing in the slightest because the point is literally to drive traffic to the blurb which is the real hook, and it is almost universally used and has been for over a decade. Taglines for books were common even before the internet existed.

I honestly don’t understand how a person who reads commonly enough to actually be impacted by something like this wouldn’t understand this. My only conclusion is that most people complaining like this don’t read commonly and don’t search for books outside of recommendations from friends. It just makes you look foolish when you say things like this.

It’s also hurting small time and indie authors who are not well enough established to rely on word of mouth trying to attract an audience. They need punchy taglines to get people to consider their book enough to look at the blurb. This is especially true of authors who’s books are heavily focused on themes that traditional publishers think “don’t sell well”, like basically every minority theme or issue ever.

It’s not a coincidence that the tweet mocking these taglines specifically mentions bisexuality. This type of criticism is often specifically targeted at minority themes and authors, like it is in this case.

If you want books by and about minorites you gotta stop undercutting them and poisoning general opinion against everything that isn’t marketed with all the expertise and resources of a major publishing house. Not everyone has the resources or expertise to focus test tag lines.

If “bisexual druids in space” doesn’t sound interesting to you on its own, you probably won’t be interested in the longer blurb that gives you details about the bisexual druids in space, either. You can just keep scrolling at that point, with no harm done to anyone, and go about your life. The tagline is there for people who might be interested in reading about bisexuals, druids, and space.

If “bisexual druids in space” does catch your attention, the tagline has done exactly what it’s supposed to, which is get you to–get this–go look at the longer blurb to find out more info. It’s not “lacking information,” its sole goal is to get you interested enough to go learn more.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: people who say shit like in the OP aren’t going to be happy until we authors just start posting the full text of our books in a single tumblr post. Though then I suppose they’ll harass us over the posts being too long instead, because being an artist means you’re free game to harass in the minds of…like, half of tumblr, to be honest.

(Personally, “bisexual druids in space” sounds like a kickass premise. Is this real? Someone tell me it’s real. Send me a link. I want it.)

-D. N. Bryn, How to Sell Your Blood and Fall in Love

Like yeah, I'll never have a pain-free day in the future. I will experience pain every day for the rest of my life. But! I also will laugh with my family. I will create beautiful things. I will share beautiful moments with my partner. I will experience the bands that I love releasing new music. Things will get worse and maybe get better and it really sucks that I hurt so much but there is still so much good waiting for me. And I'm really glad that I'm still here to see it.

imo it’s fine to ask what the purpose of a sex scene is in a story IN THAT, BEAR WITH ME, it’s valid to ask what the purpose of any scene is, in an exploratory, curious kind of way.  what are we learning, what’s being conveyed, what are the vibes, how is the writer using this, etc.

however it is silly to act like the act of putting sex in a story is a dangerous last-resort option that should never be done casually, in the same way that it would be silly to be like “did this story NEED a scene where they wash dishes together, did they HAVE to be washing dishes”.  people sometimes wash dishes! and you can use that cooperative activity to convey loads and loads of things about them, or maybe the framework of dishwashing isn’t really relevant but the scene still works because you needed the characters to be alone together after the dinner scene.  or maybe it’s just a scene where we take a little breather and enjoy watching these two people being close to each other.  you see the comparison I am making here.

The Disability Library

I love books, I love literature, and I love this blog, but it's only been recently that I've really been given the option to explore disabled literature, and I hate that. When I was a kid, all I wanted was to be able to read about characters like me, and now as an adult, all I want is to be able to read a book that takes us seriously.

And so, friends, Romans, countrymen, I present, a special disability and chronic illness booklist, compiled by myself and through the contributions of wonderful members from this site!

As always, if there are any at all that you want me to add, please just say. I'm always looking for more!

Updated: 12/08/2023

@thebibliosphere I would love if you could boost this, my friend does great work :))

For sure! And might I humbly suggest my own work? Hunger Pangs: True Love Bites has multiple main and side characters with disabilities and chronic illnesses.

The main arc of Nathan, a deaf, disabled werewolf, is about not only coming to terms with his new disabilities, but finding support and validation through community, physical aids and compassionate medical care.

The fact that he gets to smooch the neurodivergent mad scientist vampire who also has chronic pain and migraines is the other main arc 😅

(Ursula is also revealed to have physical impairments and needs that require her to have a care taker, but we’ll get into that more in the next book.)

I have six books out and all of them have multiple main characters with disability rep (as will most of my future books until the end of time), along with disabling mental illness rep.

Basic rep rundown is:

Our Bloody Pearl: paraplegic (and PTSD)

Once Stolen: deaf, sensory perception disorder

Odder Still: chronic depression, anxiety attacks, blindness

Stronger Still: all the above, plus chronic fatigue and chronic illness.

How to Bite Your Neighbor and Win a Wager: Vincent has had chronic depression and fatigue on and off for much of his life, and though he doesn't experience it directly much during the book, it's had a massive effect on how he views the world and himself.

How to Sell Your Blood and Fall in Love: chronic pain and autism.

Oh that’s amazing! Thank you, I’ll definitely add them!

Thank you so much! This list looks wonderful, I'm excited to find some new reads! <3

The Disability Library

I love books, I love literature, and I love this blog, but it's only been recently that I've really been given the option to explore disabled literature, and I hate that. When I was a kid, all I wanted was to be able to read about characters like me, and now as an adult, all I want is to be able to read a book that takes us seriously.

And so, friends, Romans, countrymen, I present, a special disability and chronic illness booklist, compiled by myself and through the contributions of wonderful members from this site!

As always, if there are any at all that you want me to add, please just say. I'm always looking for more!

Updated: 12/08/2023

@thebibliosphere I would love if you could boost this, my friend does great work :))

For sure! And might I humbly suggest my own work? Hunger Pangs: True Love Bites has multiple main and side characters with disabilities and chronic illnesses.

The main arc of Nathan, a deaf, disabled werewolf, is about not only coming to terms with his new disabilities, but finding support and validation through community, physical aids and compassionate medical care.

The fact that he gets to smooch the neurodivergent mad scientist vampire who also has chronic pain and migraines is the other main arc 😅

(Ursula is also revealed to have physical impairments and needs that require her to have a care taker, but we’ll get into that more in the next book.)

I have six books out and all of them have multiple main characters with disability rep (as will most of my future books until the end of time), along with disabling mental illness rep.

Basic rep rundown is:

Our Bloody Pearl: paraplegic (and PTSD)

Once Stolen: deaf, sensory perception disorder

Odder Still: chronic depression, anxiety attacks, blindness

Stronger Still: all the above, plus chronic fatigue and chronic illness.

How to Bite Your Neighbor and Win a Wager: Vincent has had chronic depression and fatigue on and off for much of his life, and though he doesn't experience it directly much during the book, it's had a massive effect on how he views the world and himself.

How to Sell Your Blood and Fall in Love: chronic pain and autism.