Illustrations by Kelsey Smith  //  Etsy  

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queer indie and self-published books to read during pride month

It’s the end of May, which means Pride Month is quickly approaching and because of this many creators are sharing queer book lists. Don’t get me wrong, I always love and appreciate people sharing queer books, but I have to admit that it upsets me a little that most people only share a few books, and it’s always the same popular (and traditionally published) ones.

The indie and self-published community offers a great range of identities and diversification that you often can’t find in traditionally published books, but because of people’s prejudice against these books, or because of their laziness in trying to find them, indie books often go unnoticed.

So here I am, asking you to consider indie and self-published books for your reading during Pride Month (and every other month of the year).

Brace yourself, because I’m about to give you a long list of books, divided by identities.

For all the titles and the links to their goodreads pages, please check out my blog post.

(someone reposted my slides here on tumblr without my permission so I'm making my own post, this time with watermarks on the photos. Please don't support reposters).

also, if you can, please check out this post.

I loved these authors’ books so much that I absolutely cannot wait to read more from them! check out these 5️⃣ 2023 sequels and sophomore novels/series I’m unbelievably excited for!!

This excellent steampunk world that also has dragons was not only fun but also very poignant about the reality of colonialism and racism (many of these factors still exist today).

I loved the energy here. The author did not hold back with this main character. I felt pure pride reading about this MC challenging every misconception of her people and standing up against any slight.

This is a great fantasy with a lot of attention to the details, which is what really highlights it as steampunk to me. These small details of designs to either create machinery or to control a dragons breath are simply fantastic.

I will say that parts of this book seriously dragged for me and seemed a bit slow. But I am so glad I kept reading because the ending is wild!

Out May 9, 2023!

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/706010/to-shape-a-dragons-breath-by-moniquill-blackgoose/

ABOUT TO SHAPE A DRAGON’S BREATH

A young Indigenous woman enters a colonizer-run dragon academy—and quickly finds herself at odds with the “approved” way of doing things—in the first book of this brilliant new fantasy series. The remote island of Masquapaug has not seen a dragon in many generations—until fifteen-year-old Anequs finds a dragon’s egg and bonds with its hatchling. Her people are delighted, for all remember the tales of the days when dragons lived among them and danced away the storms of autumn, enabling the people to thrive. To them, Anequs is revered as Nampeshiweisit—a person in a unique relationship with a dragon. Unfortunately for Anequs, the Anglish conquerors of her land have different opinions. They have a very specific idea of how a dragon should be raised, and who should be doing the raising—and Anequs does not meet any of their requirements. Only with great reluctance do they allow Anequs to enroll in a proper Anglish dragon school on the mainland. If she cannot succeed there, her dragon will be killed. For a girl with no formal schooling, a non-Anglish upbringing, and a very different understanding of the history of her land, challenges abound—both socially and academically. But Anequs is smart, determined, and resolved to learn what she needs to help her dragon, even if it means teaching herself. The one thing she refuses to do, however, is become the meek Anglish miss that everyone expects. Anequs and her dragon may be coming of age, but they’re also coming to power, and that brings an important realization: the world needs changing—and they might just be the ones to do it.

PRAISE

“A thorough delight … To Shape a Dragon’s Breath reveals a world that is complex and political through deft, thoughtfully drawn characters who, like their world, are complicated and believable. I love Anequs!”—K. Eason, author of How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse “Imagine a world full of dragons where a newborn chooses you to be its caregiver. Imagine you have to go to a special school to learn how to train it. Imagine that almost no one at the school wants you there. This is how the well-written, compelling tale of To Shape a Dragon’s Breath begins, and once underway it doesn’t let you go.”—New York Times bestselling author Terry Brooks

Just Dare Me: Chapter 1

Westbrooke University’s starting tight end stood at my front door soaked from head to toe. His scowl welcomed me like I was the one who’d knocked on his door at nine PM. The annoyance radiating off from him contrasted with my calmness. Tonight, David Porter was my antonym.

“Did you do it?” I asked, even though his success was clear.

David scoffed, mouth parted and tongue poking into his cheek. He was trying to decide whether or not today was his last straw. Trying to decide if today was the day he let me win once and for all.

He raked his fingers through his hair, shoving the short brown strands off his forehead. The ever-present wrinkle in the space between his brows reminded me of a valley. I enjoyed how his dark eyes looked even more like pits of despair when he was the one on the edge of giving up.

I straightened with a small bit of hope. David wasn’t a quitter but he did have a low tolerance for…mostly everyone. I’m squarely in the bubble of mostly everyone. In fact, I might be smack dab in the center.

He held up a shiny dime. “Here’s your year 1915.”

I laughed and snatched it from his hands. “No way. How long did it take you?”

“Three hours,” he grumbled.

“You dived in a fountain for three hours. God, David.” I shook my head. “You’re something else.”

“No diving necessary. I used a net,” he said, matter of fact.

“Smart.” I nodded, appreciating the ingenuity– though I would have preferred the full dedication of him wading. But, I hadn’t set any rules for the original dare so that was on me.

I tilted my head to the side, considering. “Wait…So, why are you all wet?”

His jaw tightened. For a second, I didn’t think he’d tell me the actual reason.

“I…slipped,” David said through gritted teeth.

“Damn it! I knew I should have stayed with you.” I shook my head, mourning the missed opportunity. “God, I would have killed to see that. Professor Hoyle’s lecture on capitalism and consumerism could have waited.”

“Did you at least take notes for me?” He looked like he didn’t want to ask. I’ve never had a class with David, but this semester we had two. It felt like college’s last-ditch effort to get me to crack.

“You may copy my notes,” I permitted with a curt nod. “Now, if you excuse me. I have a hair appointment to make and a discussion board to finish.”

As soon as I tried to close the door, David held up his arm to stop it. “I need to shower.”

I snorted, looking him up and down. “Yes, you do. Who knows what filth’s in a college water fountain.”

“Now, Yara. Right. Now.”

“You’re not tracking water and muck all over our nice rugs,” I protested. “Ari just saged the place yesterday. I don’t believe in that kind of stuff but if it were real then you’d definitely be carrying around some bad mojo. I mean, coins in fountains are wishes, right? You just stole someone’s wish.”

“You were the one who instigated a stolen wish,” he threw back. “So, where does that leave you?”

I gave him a look. “If you’re trying to guilt trip me, you’re going to have to do better than that.”

“Yara,” David’s voice was at least two octaves lower. It reached a part of my body that had no business getting excited. “Don’t make me beg.”

My eyes widened. I almost said something teasing but the look in his eyes reminded me of why he’d thought of the net, to begin with. It was the same reason he’d panicked when his water bottles got mixed up with the other guys on his team during practice. And why he couldn’t stand hanging out with his messier friends for longer than a few hours. I could be a hardass but I wasn’t completely heartless.

“Okay.” I nodded, voice softening a little. “But you have to be quick. Covee and Ari are out. If they come back and see you, then I’m in for another sage and incense session. I don’t have time for that.”

“Deal,” he agreed, pushing past the threshold.

“Wait, wait,” I said, waving my hands for him to stop.

“Seriously?” He froze and took a sharp inhale. “Yara, you just–”

“You’re tracking water,” I said, quickly hurrying through the living room and into the bathroom. “Let me get towels and lay them out.”

David looked pissed but kept his commentary to himself. I laid the towels on the ground one after another. With each towel laid down, David stepped forward.

“Slow down, slow down,” I protested when he kept catching up to me.

“This is ridiculous,” he complained but stopped on one towel to give me a lead.

“Hey, I’m not the one who tripped.” I glanced up at him with a smug smile. His hands were on his waist. The stance makes his soaked t-shirt stretch across his chest…strain might be a better word. I could make out every curve of his muscles. In addition to being impressive on the football field, David was an avid runner. We’d bumped into one another quite often on the trails on campus. Those runs were doing wonders for his overall toning.

“Are we waiting for an alien invasion or the polar ice caps to stop melting?” he asked, snapping me back to the present.

“You joke but I think we’re closer to an alien invasion than not,” I teased. His scowl made me laugh.

Our towel bridge made it to the bathroom mat laid out in front of the shower. I smiled, satisfied at the outcome. David seemed even more pissed than before. Despite David winning his dare, I felt like the victor tonight. His frown was like catnip to me.

“You can use my soap in the caddy,” I instructed, pointing at my pink bottle. “It’s rose-scented.”

“Lucky me,” he mumbled and went to remove his shirt.

“Woah, woah.” I held one hand over my eyes and stretched out the other as a sort of defense against his stripping. He snorted at my reaction.

“Well, you’re taking so long to leave, I figured you wanted a peek,” he teased.

“You figured wrong, asshole.” I waved my hands, trying to feel my way out of the bathroom while keeping my eyes closed. David’s deep laugh hit my core. I slammed the door behind me only to have it open a few seconds later. He tossed a pile of clothes out.

“Excuse me?” I squealed when they fell close to my heel. “You some speed undresser?”

He ignored my question. “Wash those.”

“I take ‘pleases’ and ‘thank yous’ like a normal human being.”

The door shut again. I waited for a moment. When the shower turned on and the rings of the curtain scraped the plastic rod, I let out a huff.

I’d have to wash his clothes or listen to him complain and put them in the washer himself. If the clothes didn’t get in the wash now, that meant I’d endure his presence for a little longer.

So, I took the L, complaining under my breath the whole time. Before picking up his clothes, I grabbed a pair of disposable gloves from the kitchen.

“Slipped or catapulted?” I mumbled with a creased brow as I carted the dripping pieces to our small laundry area. As per usual, Covee had her load still in the wash. I switched her clothes over and poured an insane amount of detergent into the machine. I smiled at the thought of David walking around with not just his skin but clothes smelling like me.

Someone could take it the wrong way…and you’d like that, wouldn’t you?

I frowned. No. Absolutely not. I was a lot of things but a fan of David wasn’t one of them. I’m not dense enough to deny the attraction. He was athletic with dark hair, eyes, and the kind of sultry look that would get him cast as a vampire in a Gothic romance. But there were so many sides to David I didn’t like. Looks only got people so far.

After turning on the washing machine, I went to my room. My desk was covered in textbooks, notepads, and my laptop. I’d dived into my homework, trying to get ahead so I’d have enough time to plan my campus organization events for this semester.

I was the president of The Black Women Development Circle. Our organization worked on connecting black women on campus, encouraging personal and professional growth through workshops, lectures, and parties. This semester would be my last before graduating. I wanted to be big. Needed it to be big to solidify my place in its history.

My mom had been a president when she was on campus. She’d not only got the role as a sophomore but singlehandedly put our chapter on the map with her incredible fundraising skills and her famous end-of-year balls. Over the years, the org fell off. Attendance to meetings was sparse. Getting girls to join in exchange for rushing was becoming more and more difficult. By the time I became president during my junior year, the club was dead. I’d done everything in my power to bring it back to life. Each semester it felt like I hit a wall…except my last meeting boosted the most interest from freshmen in years. And most of the girls wanted a spot on the executive board. This semester, I had a full roster and I was going to do everything humanly possible to put on this end-of-year ball or die trying.

“You always pick the same spot?” a deep voice asked.

I started and looked up to find the bare-chest David standing in my doorway. He wore one of my gray towels around his waist. From my perspective, it looked like it was tucked pretty loose. Talk about risky.

“What?” I cleared my throat and tried not to look as dazed and confused as I felt.

David gestured to the back of his head. “The hair at the nape of your neck. You were picking at it.”

“No, I wasn’t.” I shot out of my seat to go to the closet. “I might have an oversized shirt for you.”

“I’m fine.”

I frowned, still rummaging through my clothes. “You’re half-naked. No one’s fine half-naked in a stranger’s room.”

“Is that what we are? Strangers?” He was on the move now. Near my dresser where most of my books were displayed.

“Well, we’re not friends,” I countered, looking his way for some sort of clarification.

“No, not friends,” he agreed with a nod.

“Acquaintances, maybe?” I pulled out a black Daytona 500 tee. My folks were huge racing fans. I’d gone to more races than I could ever keep straight. Each one felt rowdier and hotter than the next but I always tagged along, not wanting to be the odd man out.

David didn’t accept the shirt when I held it in his direction. I wiggled it, doing everything outside of insisting he wore it because we had a good forty minutes to an hour until his clothes were ready. I don’t think I could wait that long. I’d started counting the freckles on his shoulders, for Christ’s sake. Seventeen on the right, eight on the left.

“Acquaintances doesn’t feel right either.” David gestured to my books. “Why organize alphabetically by the first name instead of the last name?”

“Because I like it that way.” I shrugged.

“And the color coding system? Your little circle stickers.”

I laughed, surprised he noticed such a small detail. “Purple’s my comfort reads, blue’s copies I’m willing to lend out, and reds are ones I love but will never read again.”

“Why keep it if you’re never going to read it again?” He looked genuinely perplexed.

“Sentimental value.” I tossed the shirt over his shoulder. “Of course.”

David snorted. “Didn’t take you as the sentimental type…that’s a little disappointing.”

“Didn’t take you as the questioning type,” I shot back, trying to hide the dip my heart made when he said, “disappointing.” Was he serious? I didn’t care, of course…But, still, was he serious?

“Just starting a conversation,” he said, simply. “My questions are arbitrary and meaningless like most.”

I scoffed. “We’re not having a conversation. You’re judging me while I wash your clothes, give you something warm to wear, and offer you a drink.”

He raised a brow. “Did I miss that last part?”

“It was coming up,” I said with a sigh. “I’m making coffee. You want one?”

“It’s a little late for caffeine, don’t you think?” Thankfully, David started pulling on the shirt. He looked funny with the towel on the bottom but unless he wanted to wear one of my dolphin shorts, that’d have to do.

When I smiled at the thought of him squeezing into my shorts, he frowned at me.

“Why are you looking like that?” he asked, suspicion in every word.

I shook my head. “No reason. Was that a no on the coffee?”

David didn’t believe my lie for a second but said, “I’ll take some water.”

“Coming up.” I went to the door, pausing before I left to say, “Don’t touch anything. If you do, I’ll know.”

He raised a brow, impressed. Maybe I’d made up for my “disappointing sentimentalism.” “You calling me a thief, Yara?”

“The dime could have been a gateway.” I shrugged. “Who knows?”

“I don’t keep around stuff I don’t want. Your sentimental clutter is safe with me.” He drew an X over his chest.

My smile fell. His dark eyes sparkled as he waved at me. I left, reminding myself I was too big of a person to pick another petty fight. By the time I got back, David was lying on my bed with a blanket underneath him and a few pillows propping him up. He rested on his elbow and flipped through one of my sketchbooks that’d been on the bookshelf.

“Um, excuse me?” I snatched the sketchbook from him. My heart hammered at the thought of anyone – especially David – judging my random doodles. I was no artist. I was downright terrible. But on my worse days, I put pencil to paper because it was stress relieving.

“I said don’t touch,” I reminded him as I pinned the book against my chest.

“That’s yours?” He sat up a little straighter and doing so made his towel loosen. I swallowed at the sight. Anger mixed with curiosity was uncomfortable. It felt as if I swallowed ice and it was currently melting on my chest. David’s brows were raised as he studied how tightly I clung to my secret relaxation tool.

“None of your business. Now, here.” I shoved a glass of water in his direction. He took it, barely mumbling a ‘thank you.’

His lack of guilt from invading my privacy made me roll my eyes. I tossed a blanket over his legs before slipping my sketchbook into a drawer and sitting back down at my desk.

He chuckled, readjusting the blanket on his lap. “What was that for?”

“Your thighs were showing. No one wants to see that,” I said, even though at least ninety percent of the student population who were attracted to men would have loved to see that.

“You sure? Because you seemed pretty into the sight.”

Before I could answer, my phone buzzed. I glanced at it and winced when I saw the caller ID.

“What?” David asked, sitting up a bit.

“Nothing.” I sent the call to voicemail and opened a fresh Google doc on my laptop. The phone started buzzing again, and I ignored it this time.

“You need to get that?” David stared at me.

“No…maybe.” I took a breath.

“Well, don’t let my presence stop you.”

“Maybe you could go into the living room?”

“Sure. And greet Covee and Ari in a towel.” He nodded. I could see the wheels turning in his head. “What should I tell them happened?”

My expression darkened. “The truth.”

He tsked and looked up at the ceiling to think. “That’s no fun.”

“They’d never believe anything else,” I said, even though that might not be the case.

I’d been in this dare battle with David since the beginning of this school year. And my friends were getting more curious about it with each day that went by. I didn’t blame them. If one of my friends swore they hated a guy but then, spent copious amounts of time with him when they didn’t have to, I’d be a little curious, too. But my dare battle with David was about principle. Something which Covee and Ari didn’t understand. And I wasn’t the best at explaining it just yet.

“Promise you’ll be quiet,” I said when my phone buzzed with a few “worried” texts.

“I don’t like to make promises, Yara. I’ve accepted a long time ago that I’m unfortunately human and thus, will most likely break them.”

“David, come on. You’ve got to work with me. You owe me that much,” I insisted when I grabbed my phone. I needed to take this call or else, I’d never hear the end of it.

“Fine. I promise I’ll only speak if necessary.” His grin didn’t sit well with me. “In case of fire or flood.”

“I think I’d smell a fire or see a flood coming.”

He shrugged. “You never know.”

“But you do know…” I let out an exasperated sigh when my phone vibrated again. “Fine. But, I swear to God I’ll rip you a new one if you make the smallest noise. Swallow your sneezes and coughs. Sip your water, no big gulps, and scroll on your phone in silence.”

David nodded, mischief in his grin. “Yes, ma'am.”

I gave him one final look before picking up the call. “Everything okay?”

“God, does it really take all this to get a hold of you?” Logan asked.

“Sorry, I was caught up in something.” My voice habitually changed to something far more unassuming and meek than my natural tone. I could feel David’s gaze land on me. My cheeks burned. I turned in my seat so I faced the window.

God, I should have said the hell with whatever misunderstanding that would have happened with Covee and Ari. Because David hearing me in this state could potentially be ten times worse.

“Mom wanted to make sure you knew there’s still a no casual policy for lunch,” my sister said. “Why she needs me to relay the information and not Janelle – who’s actually in your time zone – I don’t know.”

“I got it,” I assured. Non-casual had been a rule in place since the beginning of time in our family. Along with several others relating to appearance.

“I do know why she didn’t ask Janelle. It’s the same reason she doesn’t ask Sonya anymore,” Logan continued. This was what she’d actually wanted to talk about.

“Why?” I took the bait like I usually did. Being the youngest Every girl meant being the lending ear for every issue.

“Mom thinks she’s so busy now that she’s a live-in girlfriend to an executive producer. I have shit to do, too. With or without a relationship.”

“Yeah, I feel you,” I said, trying my best not to state the obvious. No matter the time or day, my sisters called me with orders, complaints, and rants. Having an exam in the morning or a paper due was never important enough in comparison with their adult lives. I endured because what else could I do? They were family and before coming to Westbrooke, the only people I had to talk to…I wasn’t exactly a popular kid growing up. Having no friends meant I had to take what I was given.

“I’m on the partner track for the love of God,” Logan continued. I could hear her stomping upstairs. Her swanky Cali apartment was a dream she often made out to be a nightmare.

“She should respect your time,” I agreed and looked at my clock to see my hair appointment was approaching fast. If I wanted to bang out my homework, I needed to focus now.

“Right? But she won’t ever until I have everything…” Logan’s pause made my stomach turn. She never left room for me to speak unless something was up.

“What’s wrong?” I ran through the list of possible family problems ranging from accidental pregnancies with married men to dire health concerns.

“It’s Rose”

My forehead wrinkled at the mention of our sister. “What’s wrong with her?”

“Yeah…so, I’m not supposed to tell you this. Mom wanted to break it to you at lunch.”

My hand went to the back of my head immediately. I picked at a few strands of hair, waiting for Logan to continue. The springs on my bed creaked. I’d nearly forgotten about David’s presence until his hand nudged my wrist. I yanked my fingers away from my hair, embarrassed at being caught. I frowned up at him, upset about being torn away from my conversation.

“Do you think my clothes are done?” he asked at a normal volume. I muted myself, but not fast enough. Logan quickly asked who else was there.

“I don’t know, asshole. Check.” I waved my hand toward the door but he didn’t move an inch.

“Oh, my god…” Logan sounded scandalized. “Is that a guy?”

I unmuted and quickly confirmed. “It’s no one.”

David snorted – once again loud enough for her to hear – and I swear to God I was about to catch a charge after this call.

“Um…I think maybe I should leave you to it,” Logan said.

“No,” I said, quickly. “You were going to say something else.”

I needed to stall her for information and also to make sure she didn’t go back to spreading gossip to the rest of our family. By Monday, even my grandma would know I had a guy in my dorm after hours. That shouldn’t feel as embarrassing as it did.

“You’ll know soon enough,” Logan promised. I could hear her knowing smile. As soon as she hung up, I turned to David and promised,

“You’re dead.”

He gave me a warm grin. “You can thank me later.”

“Excuse me?”

“You wanted off of that call but were too afraid to speak up for yourself,” he said and paused to consider it. “Which, is weird for you.”

I frowned. “You don’t know me. Let alone what’s weird for me.”

David shook his head and leaned closer. My breath caught in my chest. How did he smell so much like himself after being engulfed by my scent?

“I disagree. I think we both know one another better than most people in our lives,” he said, voice almost too low for me to hear. “I’m going to find a word for us. Not strangers, acquaintances, or friends. There’s something more and I’m going to find it.”

His promise rang in my ears and his smile faded. The words weren’t warm but not entirely cold either. David looked at me like I was some mystery. I stared back, just as desperate to solve our puzzle.

Mhm

anyways if you’re as upset about the first kill cancellation as i am, here’s a list of sapphic books and books featuring queer girls to check out! for those i haven’t read, i’ve heard they’re worth reading, so please check out any of the books on this list!!

PLEASE REBLOG WITH YOUR OWN IF YOU HAVE RECS!! i’m looking to add more sapphic books to my tbr and i know i’m not the only one

anyways if you’re as upset about the first kill cancellation as i am, here’s a list of sapphic books and books featuring queer girls to check out! for those i haven’t read, i’ve heard they’re worth reading, so please check out any of the books on this list!!

PLEASE REBLOG WITH YOUR OWN IF YOU HAVE RECS!! i’m looking to add more sapphic books to my tbr and i know i’m not the only one

Karaoke time with moon knight and Spider-Man

The way Marc backs away from her although she’s just a memory but Steven doesn’t is breaking my fucking heart 

Oscar Isaac on Steven Grant in THE MAKING OF MOON KNIGHT (2022)

Miss Jodie at Met Gala 2022

tfw you realize the guy who keeps kidnapping you and using you as bait to catch his arch nemesis is actually just a theater kid who’s really nice

We shutting this down. He getting too smart. ABBOTT ELEMENTARY, 1.06

I remember how throughout middle school - high school there was so much pressure around to be dating someone, and if you weren’t, you were a loser or deemed unattractive. Your relationship status was like a social status, and if you’ve never been in one, you’re inexperienced and missing out.

I always thought to myself, what about the work I put into my personal interests? What about the friends I build deep connections with? What about me just being capable of taking care of myself? I feel like there was a lack of emphasis of being your own self and not giving a shit about what other people are doing back in middle school / high school.

While some people may think it’s important to have had previous relationship experiences before (which yeah, it works for some people that way), there’s also nothing wrong with investing that time in yourself and your friendships, and placing yourself first ✌🏻

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