My wife, author Jennifer Diemer’s, novella Seven, the third novella of our Sappho’s Fables (Lesbian Fairy Tales!) series, is released today! Seven is a lesbian version of Snow White~ <3 (And is BEAUTIFUL. <3)
Seven: A Lesbian Snow White, by Jennifer Diemer
The strange witch girl Neve has skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood, and a dark secret. Her father Lexander, an alchemist, harbors an evil obsession, and Catalina, his newest bride, made the grave mistake of becoming his wife. When Catalina finds herself falling in love with his daughter, Neve, instead, the deepening bond between the women sets in motion the final chapter of a story that began long ago, with a desperate longing and a handful of apple seeds. Together, Neve and Catalina must venture into the Huntsman’s haunted forest to undo what has been done and set themselves free.
Available for purchase from: Amazon (Kindle)
Barnes and Noble (Nook) (Coming soon!)
Smashwords (All other eReaders/Online Reading)
I was ecstatic when my short story, “The Witch Sea,” won Kissed by Venus’s Fresh Voices short story competition. So much so, that I decided when I released it as a downloadable eBook, I would make it free. The original short story was roughly eleven thousand words, but the short story competition’s cut off for entry was four thousand words. “The Witch Sea” was the story I wanted to submit, so I ended up taking much of a side story and many, many scenes out of the original tale in order to enter it. I now release the full, extended version as a free downloadable eBook to you~ It has been available on Smashwords, and Barnes and Noble…
And it FINALLY updated as FREE on Amazon, just in time for the long weekend! <3
I’d love to see it get pretty high on the free charts, because everyone needs a little lesbian fiction in their lives! If you have a Kindle, please consider downloading the short story, and if you don’t have a Kindle, please consider spreading the word—every little bit helps, and is much appreciated! <3
Download “The Witch Sea” for FREE on Amazon!
The witch Meriel has spent her entire life in the lighthouse on tiny Bound Island. Upon the distant shore prowls an ancient sea god kept captive by a generations-old spell, a spell that Meriel alone must protect.
Meriel’s life has been lonely and unchanging—until the arrival of Nor. Nor’s shape is that of a woman, but her heart belongs to the sea. Even though Nor is also held captive by Meriel’s spell, she shows kindness to the isolated witch. Nor sparks a passion within Meriel, defying every law that binds them both.
This award-winning short story (“The Witch Sea” won first place in the “Kissed by Venus” Fresh Voices short story competition) is a dark fantasy tale of love, loss and the price of freedom.
(“The Witch Sea” will be included in the same collection of short stories as “Far—” the collection, Love Devours: Tales of Monstrous Adoration is coming soon!)
(Originally posted at Muse Rising~)
Thanks to the amazing fans of The Dark Wife, our Kickstarter to create the FREE audio book of the ENTIRE novel was a resounding success. :) The Dark Wife in audio form! The installments will come roughly bi-weekly until the novel has been completed, and all parts of the novel will be available to download for FREE. <3
The AMAZING Hugh of The Way of the Buffalo Podcast produced, mixed and did all sorts of other fanciness to it to make it sound as amazing as it does (and hosts it! <3), and the illustrious Veronica Giguere provided the beautiful vocal talent.
The Dark Wife — Before
I’ve created a dedicated page for the audio book production, and will be adding each installment there as the story progresses! <3
(Originally posted at Muse Rising~)
A year ago today, I published my first novel, The Dark Wife. This past week has been very reflective for me…it’s not everyday that a lifelong dream you’ve worked ceaselessly on your entire life (hence the term LIFELONG dream XD) comes true, and when it does…that’s not something to be taken lightly. So I’ve been celebrating in quiet ways, filled with gratitude.
A year ago, I put out a novel that I really believed in. It was a crazy move on my part. I’ve wanted to be an author since I was six years old, writing stories about unicorns with rainbows manes (SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE). An author’s first novel makes or breaks them, and I’d written a retelling of a myth, and I’d retold it in a pretty drastic way, and I was completely unapologetic about reclaiming something that was traditionally straight and deeply unfeminist as…you know. Lesbian and feminist. AND SELF PUBLISHED? Radical stuff! Crazy stuff! What was I thinking stuff!
But I believed in the novel. I believed in the fact that people wanted a story like this. I believed, wholeheartedly, that young women who love other women deserve stories that celebrate them, which has—and always will be—the driving force behind my stories, why I write for hours every single day, why I do everything that I do.
So, I went out on a limb, and I put out The Dark Wife.
And one year later, I am a self employed, full-time lesbian author of lesbian stories.
I’m a really optimistic and happy person. I’m not going to stand here and point fingers at all of the people who told me, once upon a time, that writing lesbian stuff was going to get me absolutely nowhere, that my stuff would never be seen, try writing something straight. I might, for one teeny, tiny moment take a little bow and grin a saucy little grin, but that’s about it. Because this has never been about the people who thought the world wanted nothing but straight stories.
All of this has been about you.
If you’re reading this, I’m going to assume you’re one (or more) of a couple of things. Because this is who my readers are:
- The queer young woman who just came out to her mom.
- The straight woman who loves reading a good story about love and courage and kick-ass ladies.
- The gay man who collects and loves good love stories.
- The straight man who respects lesbian relationships as he respects all relationships and enjoys a good story.
- The gay boy who enjoys queer stories, no matter the protagonist.
- The trans woman who loves queer stories.
- The trans man who supports queer storytellers.
- The bi mother-of-four who said “fuck yes,” when she saw a story about two ladies in love.
- The bi man who believes that love is beautiful no matter what.
- The poly chick who shared the story with her family.
I have the most diverse, beautiful readership in the cosmos, and every fucking day, I wake up and say a resounding thank you to the universe for all of the queer, lesbian, straight, gay, bi, poly people who have believed in my work. I am supported by a vast array of awesome folks who know and understand the importance of the lesbian novel reaching a vast audience, building empathy and giving queer kids the stories that they’re asking for.
Self publishing a lesbian YA book is not easy. Actually, it’s really effing difficult. This past year, I faced more prejudice and anger and bigotry and ignorance than I’d care to elaborate on, and being a lesbian myself, some days it was so hard, dealing with all of that ignorance directed at me, my story, who I am which was all tangled up in the novel, too, that I almost gave up. You have to have the thickest skin in the world to be a minority and publish a book where the minority is the main character in a world that’s still growing and evolving to be something more than tolerant to minorities. Something like accepting. Embracing.
But, as it turns out, the ignorance was always trumped by the excitement, the bigotry was always steamrolled by the support. My fans are some of the most supporting, enduring and big-hearted people in the entire world, and every time I thought I couldn’t take one more comment about lesbians and how “I’ll-never-read-a-book-because-it-has-teh-gayness-in-it,” I would receive an email that told me how much someone had loved The Dark Wife, that it had made a difference. And I kept going.
The voices are still out there. In a lot of circles, it’s still crazycakes that I’m making a living writing books about young ladies who love other young ladies, who kick butt and take names. Don’t I know that lesbian books don’t sell? Don’t I know that women only want to read about gay guys? Don’t I know that the straight world is really uncomfortable with lesbians? (<—all things that have been said to me multiple times.)
No. I don’t know. Because it’s not true. I’ve proven it. Straight women who are open-minded love reading a good love story, no matter who it’s about. The open-minded, straight world is not uncomfortable with lesbians. And lesbian books do sell. Because the world is desperate for stories that show the variety of life, that tell different perspectives, that have been needed and wanted and asked for.
This is my dream come true, and I’m not going to stop saying thank you. Thank you for believing in me, and my work. Thank you for supporting me, for wanting lesbian stories, for proving to the world that they were wanted and needed. Thank you for responding so positively and wonderfully and excitedly about a novel I put my heart into. Thank you for continuing to buy my work, for continuing to spread the word, for loaning my novel to your friends and your friends’ friends. Thank you for the countless emails telling me how much you loved it, and tweets and re-tweets. Thank you for the encouragement and the big-heartedness and the resounding yes that you have given this little novel that could.
I will never stop telling stories. This is my passion, my dream, my joy, and it has changed my life—through you.
Thank you, thank you, thank you. <3
~*~
Footnote~
The Dark Wife is a finalist for the Golden Crown Literary Award in both Debut and Speculative Fiction, and the first two audio chapters were nominated for a Parsec Award. It has been produced, through fan support, as a free audiobook, and continues to be downloaded many, many times daily as as a free PDF. It can be purchased…
- on Amazon.com (for Kindle)
- on BarnesAndNoble.com (for Nook)
- on Smashwords (for eReaders/reading online)
- and in paperback
A lot of people ask me: “Sarah, I’m really excited about your XXXX novel(la), when is it coming out?” I am HELLA HAPPY that you’re so psyched about something my crazy-and-slightly-unicorn-filled mind came up with, so I thought to myself: SELF, PERHAPS YOU SHOULD MAKE A USEFUL LIST OF SPARKLY THINGS WITH TENTATIVE DATES ON THEM SO THE PEEPS CAN BE KEEPING TRACK INSTEAD OF HAVING TO SEARCH OUT INFORMATION LIKE AN EASTER EGG HUNT.
Hence, this list was born. <3
I hope to put this out on a bi-weekly, status-type-thingy basis, so people can keep track of the novels/novellas/short stories/sparkly bits they’re most looking forward to!
If you have any questions, ask me! I’d love to answer. :)
Coming Soon (As Sarah Diemer):
The Bone Girl (Novel) — Gay YA, dystopia/dark speculative fiction. Will hopefully be released at the end of June—a tentative date we’re shooting for is June 26th. Read the synopsis/add it on Goodreads here!
Marrow Moon (Novella) — Lesbian fantasy. Second in the Maja Trilogy, shooting for a June release date!
Sparkle Princess Were-Unicorn (Short Story Collection) — Gay YA, speculative fiction. Shooting for a release date on my birthday, July 6th. :) Read the synopsis/add it on Goodreads here!
The Dream Queen (Graphic Novel/web comic) — Gay YA, speculative fiction—a lesbian retelling of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream!” Written by me and illustrated by the incomparable Stephanie Blackwell, the collaboration begins (the first page is released) on Midsummer, June 20th!
Coming Soon (As Elora Bishop):
Sappho’s Fables, Volume 1 (Novella Collection) — Lesbian Fairy Tales! This collection will contain Crumbs (Hansel and Gretel), Braided (Rapunzel), and Seven—both Crumbs and Braided are released, and Seven should be released at the end of May, so that’s when we’re hoping to release the collection, too! :)
Shimmer: A Lesbian Rumpelstiltskin (Novella) — Part of the Sappho’s Fables series, fairy tales retold from a lesbian perspective! We’re shooting for a June release for Shimmer— it starts the second volume of Sappho’s Fables!
In the Farther Out Stages (As Sarah Diemer):
Ragged: A Post-Apocalyptic Fairy Tale (Novel) — Gay YA, dystopia. I’m actually (crazily) re-re-re-writing this with a July release date in my head. Lesbians, fairies, the end of the world—it’s my most anticipated release, and the one that I’ve worked the hardest on, and I’m hoping it continues to be nice to its author. ;D
Twixt (Novel) — Gay YA, dark speculative fiction. Twixt is The Bone Girl’s sister novel—not that they’re in the same universe or are remotely similar, but I came up with their plots I think…two days apart? And have been working on both for roughly the same length of time (about five years). I have a tentative release date for August for this one, and it will probably be pushed back—out of everything I’ve ever written, this is my absolute favorite.
Burning Moon (Novella) — the third in the Maja Trilogy! Shooting for an August release date!
Keeping the Moon (Novella Compilation) — Sugar Moon, Marrow Moon and Burning Moon (in other words, all three novellas of the Maja Trilogy), gathered in one volume—this will include a print release! Coming August 31st!
Love Devours (Short Story Collection) — Dark Speculative Fiction. I’m about half-way through with the stories for this volume, but keep pushing off the release date, due to other projects. I’m hoping September or August on this one!
In the Farther Out Stages (As Elora Bishop):
One Midsummer Day (Novella) — Lesbian Fantasy/original fairy tale. The second installment of The Benevolence Tales! I’m looking to a June release date on this one, but it may have to be pushed back—I’m hoping not to!
(Please note: these are just projects that I’ve announced—there are actually lots of other things I’m working on, but haven’t made a peep about yet! Watch this space for other sparkly things~)
(Originally posted at my LiveJournal!)
(Originally posted at Muse Rising~)
Welcome to the Sparkle Party! This week marks the one year anniversary of my debut novel, The Dark Wife’s publication. (If you’re just tuning in, The Dark Wife is a YA, lesbian retelling of the Persephone and Hades myth.) My life has changed drastically in one year, and I owe everything to the little novel that could, and to the incredible people who have supported it. This week is in celebration of that fact, and I thought we’d get the Sparkle Party started off with—well—SPARKLE!, by placing my next novel’s announcement (and cover reveal) on the very first day!
So, it is with a ton of excitement and MORE GLITTER than this world has ROOM for, that I announce The Bone Girl
The cover was drawn by the supremely amazing and talented Laura Diemer, who also illustrated The Dark Wife’s cover. <3
~*~
The Bone Girl
by Sarah Diemer
In a world where snow never falls and flowers never grow, the animals have learned to speak, and the people change their skins as easily as they change their clothes. But while Skin Peddlers sell fleshy wares in corner shops, the radical Church of the Skinned preaches against the impurity of selling one’s most precious possession.
One night, a greedy Skin Peddler steals the most beautiful skin he’s ever seen, leaving a girl of bones behind. Lutese wakes up skinless—and though other people would simply buy and slip into another skin, Lu refuses. As a bone girl, as a freak, she ventures into the wild, dying world to get her skin back.
Unbeknownst to Lu, there is a prophecy about a bone girl whispered among the animals. It foretells of an ending to the world, of an everlasting winter. As Lu draws closer to End City, the rumors grow stronger, following in her wake. But she doesn’t care about anything besides getting her skin back…
Until she falls in love with an outcast girl named Mara, one of the reviled Low. This simple act sets events into motion that could destroy the world…or save it.
Getting ready to spend all night working on my next YA novel, THE BONE GIRL! I’ve been working on and off on this one for about five years, and will be very, very happy when it’s completed. :) It’s about a girl whose skin gets stolen, and her journey to get it back…falling in love with a shapeshifter girl along the way. It’s set in a dying world, contains a lot of magic and weird monsters and I’m so very psyched about releasing it. Excerpts coming soon! ♥
So, now I have tea, a tea and lemonade combination and water, and am thinking of adding COFFEE to the mix. Many tea-related-beverages, it is how lesbian literature gets written. ;D
ANNOUNCING: The Dream Queen — A Lesbian Retelling of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in Comic Form!
When my wife and I first began dating, we bonded over many things, but none were so strong as our mutual love of Shakespeare. We each had our favorite plays, sonnets, characters, and we each had gotten so much out of his plays, and would talk for hours about the metaphors and magic of the comedies and tragedies. When we were finally able to live together after a long (and heartbreaking!) long distance relationship, we began to go to see Shakespeare plays together as often as we could.
Years ago, we were walking home after a play put on by Shakespeare in Delaware Park (our absolute favorite production company~<3), and we were laughing about something or other, and Jenn said “you know, you should write a TRULY LESBIAN ‘Twelfth Night.’” We both love “Twelfth Night” together, but the gears in my head began to turn, and I replied: “but my favorite is ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream…’”
When Jenn and I were married (in fairy wings, at a fairy wedding), much of the wedding ceremony was lines from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” So much of my life has been, in some way, shape or form, marked by that play…it holds incredibly deep meaning for me, and is my favorite of the Bard’s work. The seed had been planted. I wanted to retell “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
Years went by, and a very dear friend of mine, who is an incredible artist, Stephanie Blackwell approached me a few months ago. She wanted to collaborate, and I’m deeply in love with her work, and absolutely adore her. It was the opportunity of a lifetime, and I eagerly said yes~
“The Rose Cottage” by Stephanie Blackwell. YOU CAN SEE WHY I ADORE HER ART. 
You see, many years ago, when The Dark Wife was in its original version—then called Hymns for Her (I KNOW YOU ARE GLAD I CHANGED THE TITLE), Stephanie did an exquisite piece of art for me, to encourage me to finish the story.
Well, one of Stephanie’s obsessions in life is Titania. As we began to talk about collaborating, everything began to fall into place.
The Dream Queen, written by me—Sarah Diemer—and illustrated by Stephanie Blackwell, is a lesbian retelling of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in comic format. It will be released as a free web comic beginning—fittingly enough!— on Midsummer, June 20th, 2012, and will be updated twice (or more!) weekly, until the story is ended. It’s a set story, so there will be a limited number of pages. Once done, we will also be offering it in book format, which should be released sometime this coming late autumn/winter.
I am so excited about this project, and can’t WAIT to share it with you.
What’s it about? Well, all I can tell you is that tou are going to see Titania, Oberon and Puck as you have never seen them before. <3
~*~
Excited about this? We are too! To keep up to date with the project, please sign up for my mailing list to stay abreast of all updates. You can also add me or the ever awesome and fabulous Stephanie Blackwell on Twitter! <3
(Originally posted at Muse Rising~)
Panera Bread is a very happy, easy place to be a vegan. (It also makes for a cozy spot to borrow some wifi and browse Tumblr.) Pictured above is a vegan You Pick Two combo—a cup of Vegetable soup (order it without the pesto) and half of a Mediterranean Veggie sandwich (without the cheese, please) on ciabatta bread. And, you know, since I’m a breadivore, I got a side of French Baguette to dunk in my soup, too.
Other Panera Bread vegan options are:
- black bean soup
- peanut butter and jelly sandwich (on a vegan bread)
- plain, blueberry, sweet onion poppyseed, sesame, or everything bagels
- artisan french, ciabatta, country, plain focaccia, sesame semolina, sourdough, stone-milled rye, and three seed bread
- chips or apple
- coffee, lattes, cappucccino with soy milk
- lemonade (frozen or iced)
If you’re vegan, you know that when faced with a DIZZYING ARRAY OF OPTIONS when you’re out, it’s very daunting to know without reading eighty bagillion ingredients what exactly is vegan. I recommend Easy Vegan Options wholeheartedly—Rachel, the lovely lady who runs it, is incredibly compassionate, knows her stuff, and has some fabulous ideas for the vegan-on-the-go. You should follow her! <3
