"Where My Heart Goes" is now available!

The anthology Through the Hourglass is now available from Amazon Kindle. (Other e-book formats and hard copy will be available soon.)



Sixteen lesbian historical romance short stories, ranging from 10th century Iceland through 20th century America. (Over half the stories are set in the 20th century.)

My story is an imagined romance between the Siennese poet Laudomia Forteguerri and Duchess Margaret of Parma, illegitimate daughter of Emperor Charles V, inspired by the love sonnets Laudomia wrote to her and the witness of their contemporaries that "with the most ardent flames of Love each burned for the other." I'll be blogging more soon about my research for this story and the fascinating lives of these two women.

I haven't had a chance to read the rest of the stories yet, but I'm looking forward to it!

Literary Community: My Publications This Year

It has become a (mildly controversial) tradition in some circles to post a year-end round-up of the fiction one has had published, in order to help remind people who might be thinking about award nominations. I have few illusions about awards season (although some lovely person has added The Mystic Marriage to the SWFA Nebula Recommended Reading List) but I think it's a lovely tradition to do a look-back at one's body of work for the year. With the release of the short story that will complete my publications for 2015, it seems a good time to join in this tradition.

Novels

The Mystic Marriage (Bella Books)



A historic fantasy (with romance), set in a mildly alternate early 18th century in the Ruritanian country of Alpennia. Alchemy and political intrigue complicate the lives of four women, bound together by ties of blood, friendship, and love.

Short Stories

Hoywverch (Podcastle.org)

Published in both text and audio versions. In the world of the medieval Welsh Mabinogi, two women subvert the tropes of heroic romance. My answer to the premise that the Mabinogi needed more lesbians. This is the first of a planned quartet of stories.

Where My Heart Goes (in Through the Hourglass, edited by Sacchi Green and Patty G. Henderson



Not SFF, a historical romance set in 16th century Italy. Politics shaped the life of Duchess Margaret of Parma, illegitimate daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor, married to two scions of Papal families, governor of the Spanish Netherlands. But her heart was her own to give, and it was given to the lovely and learned poet Laudomia Forteguerri.

ETA: Non-Fiction

It occurs to me to note (and take credit for) the Lesbian Historic Motif Project. This is an on-going blog (begun June 2014) that surveys and summarizes scholarly research on history and literature with lesbian-relevant themes. It doesn't fit neatly and tidily into my SFF interests as it mostly focuses on history. But on the other hand, given the deep roots of modern fantasy in the history and literature of the period my project covers, it is a project that could be of significant use to writers trying to portray queer female characters in any sort of non-modern or non-future setting. Both my historic fiction and my fantasy are informed by this research. It also serves to keep my hand in on semi-academic pursuits.