#indie lit

[kjscottwrites]

Click here to follow, order the ebook, or read FREE preview chapters <3

thank you!

[bryszket]

Happy spring, all! To celebrate, and also to encourage any readers trying to find non-Amazon alternatives for their indie queer lit needs, we are holding a sale on all of our ebooks--now priced a dollar (or less!) until the end of this March. If there's a title you've been curious about, or you just want to round out your collection, now is a great time!

Our books are roughly in these categories:

queer horror: EUSECT, by C.L. Methvin; Darknesses, by Lachelle Seville; Corrupted Vessels, by Briar Ripley Page.

outside the box fantasy/speculative: Something's Not Right, by yves.; MAEJ, by Dale Stromberg; Airy Nothing, by Clarissa Pattern; Noema, by Dael Akkerman.

surreal/absurd: Love/Aggression, by June Martin; Most Famous Short Film of All Time, by Tucker Lieberman; QUERY, by Zilla Novikov.

queer bildungsroman/slice of life: It Helps with the Blues, by Bryan Cebulski; A/E and Read and then Burn This, by R. Merey.

Regardless of category, all of these books are something off the beaten path, playing with reality, form and comfort; so if you're looking for some fresh queer and trans lit, have a go!

tRaum Books Itch-Io store HERE.

[author-finn-lee]

FREE Horror Short Story

Follow me on BookBub

Second Skin

One night to survive. One soul to save. When five friends break into an abandoned house, they expect to find dust and old furniture. Instead, they find themselves caught in a terrifying trap. After a séance gone wrong, a primal, bloodthirsty spirit takes root in their friend, and the teens find themselves trapped in a house of horrors with a predator that is evolving. As the moon climbs higher, the human part of Jared begins to fade, replaced by a hunger that can't be satisfied. With every exit barred, the group tries desperately to escape the beast their friend is becoming. Get it here.

There is a longer version of this horror short with a different ending called The Board. You can find it in the book The Barrow, The Board, and The Bunny: Three Short Tales of Horror.

"Second Skin" is free, but it has PWYW pricing so you can leave a tip -totally optional, but very much appreciated. 4k words, file is ePub.

The Barrow, The Board, and The Bunny: Three Short Tales of Horror

This ebook uses PWYW pricing. The minimum purchase price is 1.99 USD. 32k words. Get it here.

The Barrow

In old Scandinavian folklore, the dead do not always rest. When a careless young man unwittingly violates an ancestral taboo, he awakens an angry undead creature fueled by bitterness and brutal strength.

The Board

Five friends. One abandoned house. A game they should never have started. When the group breaks into the abandoned childhood home of a serial killer, they expect a night of tall tales and urban legends. But after a session with a Ouija board goes wrong, Jared isn’t himself anymore. He’s faster, stronger, and his eyes reflect a light that shouldn't be there. As Jared’s scent for blood rises, his friends are looking more like prey by the second. It’s a race against time: can Jared’s friends exorcise the killer before the transformation is complete, or will they become the first kills in a new cycle of blood?

The Bunny

The rabbit is gentle. The rabbit is sweet. The rabbit is never afraid. The child calls it a pet. But her mother feels something watching from behind its glassy eyes—something old, hungry, and patient.

Shadows of the Past

This novel uses PWYW pricing. Minimum purchase price is 4.99USD. ePub file. 120k words. Get it here.

When a young woman returns to her family’s derelict mansion, she does not come alone. With her estranged cousin, she reenters a house where a child died—and where the explanation was easier than the truth. As rooms are reopened and memories surface, the line between belief and blame begins to erode, and the house reveals a quieter, more devastating kind of haunting.

[mkzariel]

DIFFERENT WITH HIM has an ISBN so can be requested for library spaces!! if anyone's able, this triggers institutional purchases and gets trans writing into shared spaces. most libraries have a “suggest a purchase” form on their website <3

Different With Him: Poems by mk zariel — Rockwood Press

From classic inner-voice scenes to an overly dramatic debate at an anarchist convergence, this chapbook describes the ephemera of a transmas

[bhavna-writes]

The Girl Next Door

The birds resumed chirping, the glass room displaying the miniature garden through the blinds. Plucking oranges to uphold the market’s legacy of the national fruit. Olivia had woken up earlier than usual.

The light tapping of feet on the porch was made out. Nursing the olives — rather fresh for this month — while the rest of the neighbourhood were allergic to her unmatched enthusiasm. In spite of that, Olivia and yearning likely maneuvered into happy hours.

The tagline girl next door was imprinted on her. Morning playlist reduced to a volume incapable of disturbing a flatmate.

“Oopsie daisy.” A pot displaced. Gathering the item, rearranging it on the balcony, earning a pat on the back.

August had misplaced her room number in his passwords folder. When he visited, the numbers used to come to him like mental math. Gently fed, mixing dough — the sugar melted into her nuzzles.

The living room — a hideout for binge-watching House of Guinness. Newspapers unmarred on the foyer. He cherished how she giggled when resting on his shoulder.

They dated for a brief patch. He retired to his apartment when it concluded. The breakup invited anticipated questions.

We had other priorities — an expected response.

If only they had been informed about how Olivia drenched his sweatshirt, sobbing muffled. His conscience prodded:

Only an idiot would let her go.

The wimp as he was, August did.

Hibernation elapsed. The lily barrette he tucked into her pashmina loosely clung on.

“I want Olivia back.”

[tremendousmawdilemma]

Brackish Water | litrature

[thejadedjesterssociety]

About

The Jaded Jesters Society is an independent literary magazine established in 2026 by Ash Muzzillo.

"The goal of TJJS is to find today’s jesters and restore their privilege by providing a space where they can let it rip. For those who have been outcast from the 'norm', scarred by authority, or systemically tread upon, this is an outlet for them to be seen and heard by their true peers. For everyone tired of hearing history’s rhymes, desperately trying to spin the Earth in a new direction for once, this is a resource to find others who are just as jaded and not at all crazy, no matter how much it may seem that way."

Submission calls will be posted here on Tumblr and to the website as soon as they open. The website is actively being updated and will get new pages (including submission guidelines and a code of ethics) ASAP.

If you've been looking for a place to submit but just haven't found the right fit - this might be it ;)

[rustbeltjessie]

Reckless Chants #27: to resist despair

I entered this issue of my zine into this year's Broken Pencil Zine Awards, in the perzine category, and I recently found out it didn't even get nominated, let alone win. I was venting about it on Facebook and said: "I should make a promo image for it that says something like this zine didn't win any awards, but previous issues got good reviews in "Maximum Rocknroll," and it's been compared to "Cometbus" several times." One of my friends said: "You should make something like that, it's a clever way of handling your disappointment with humor and style." So I did! I also made some other promo images, featuring collages and excerpts from the issue.

A text-heavy zine with some collages (+ a comic and a pull-out centerfold), Reckless Chants #27 includes pieces about growing up as a queer punk in a mid-sized Midwest city, favorite bands, old friends lost and found, Wisconsin and Chicago, disappointment and sadness, resisting despair, still believing in punk after all these years, and so much more. 52 pages, half-letter size. $5+$3 shipping (w/in the U.S.). Available for purchase via: ko-fi.com / rustbeltjessie paypal.me / rustbeltjessie Venmo: @ JessieLynnMcMains If you live outside the U.S. and would like to order a copy, or would like to pay some other way, please contact me at coeur.de.fantome @ gmail.com. Also, if you run a shop or distro and would like to sell this zine (or any other zines I have available), I offer bulk/wholesale prices—please contact me!