Tag: fantasy books

Queer-Normative SciFi & Fantasy Direct from Authors

August 9, 2026 / Elise Carlson / 0 Comments

Introducing 19 authors who write SciFi/ Fantasy/ Speculative Fiction in which being queer is perfectly normal, thank you very much! In this post you’ll find author bios, their main SFF subgenres, queer, disability and BIPOC rep, and links to buy directly from each author. The advantage of buying direct is the author only has to pay payment processor fees for each book sold, instead of giving a store 30-40% of the book’s price. In other words; its the best way to support independent authors!

Most of these authors are multi-genre, and are loosely grouped by one or two subgenres, the + symbol indicating they write others too. These groupings are: Urban Fantasy+, Cozy Fantasy+, Epic Fantasy+, Dark Fantasy+, Horror & SciFi+, SciFi & Fantasy+, Contemporary Fantasy/ Magepunk+, with Romance being mixed in throughout.

Urban Fantasy +

A. E. Bross

A.E. Bross is an author and librarian who spends their time not only writing their own books but also making sure everyone around them has access to the books that make them feel seen and heard. They write queer fantasy and science fiction, often with neurodiverse characters, and always brought together by love, be it romantic, platonic, or found family. They have written high seas adventure and romance, modern paranormal romantasy, and even fairy tale retellings in cyberpunk settings. They’re always looking for new ways to craft their stories and bring their characters to life.

Direct Store
Author Website

Genres: Romantasy, High/Low Fantasy, Urban Fantasy.

Queer Rep: Asexual (including bi & panromantic), Gay, Sapphic, Pansexual, Bisexual, Trans (binary), Trans (nonbinary), Lesbian, Queer Questioning.

Disability Rep: Mental health, neurodivergence, chronic illness.

BIPOC Rep: African American, Latine, additional Fantasy/SciFi world BIPOC.

Nonbinary individual standing in the sunlight, their back to brick. The individual is smiling at the camera. They have brown eyes, glasses, pale skin, and freckles.A.E. Bross Books Queer author writing queer stories that stretch across genres. CyberSnow A sapphic, no-heat, cyberpunk retelling of Snow White that follows Bianca Nieve, the last member of a corporate legacy who is framed for murder, and Taja Soliño, a trans woman and hardware tech who always finds herself in trouble, good or otherwise. Autistic MC • Trans Woman MC • Cozy • Heist Vibes 49k word novella The Elysium Proposal A low-heat, woman/nonbinary high seas, romantic fantasy where Kyle Talos, captain of the Stargazer, just wants to propose to the love of her life, but their romantic evening is interrupted by toxic family and a quest for the spring of eternal life. Cis Woman MC • Nonbinary LI • Pirate Adventure 27k word novella Where We Converge A low-heat, M/M modern romantasy set in Chicago, where two mages rush to keep raw magic from being poured in to the world and destroying everything it touches. They find each other and together find a way to stop the danger facing them all. Dual POV • Achillean • Modern Romantasy • Found family 76k word novel.

Stephanie Caye

Steph loves cats, long city walks and cooking Tex-Mex during blizzards. She writes action-packed urban fantasy with the motto, “low spice, lotta banter.”

Direct Store
Author Website

Genres: urban fantasy

Queer Rep: Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Other Queer.

BIPOC Rep: Asian, Latine

The face of a middle-aged white woman cocked to the left, against a background of yellow. She has reddish hair pulled back and yellow eyeliner around her hazel eyes.A black background with grey text at the top that says The Gravity’s Daughter series. Three book covers are arranged diagonally, all by Stephanie Caye. At the top left is “The Flaws of Gravity,” which has a cover on which woman is facing away from the camera sitting upright on a glass window while the purple-lit Montreal skyline sits at a ninety-degree angle in front of her. In the centre of the tableau is the cover for “A Trick of the Shade.” On this cover, a dark-haired woman in dark pants and a brown corduroy jacket sits on the bottom of a metal fire escape, holding a silver sword. Behind her, the autumn-coloured orange and yellow skyline of Montreal is upside down. At bottom right, the cover for “Stark Raving Mab,” which has a dark-haired woman in a black jeans and hoodie sitting at an angle on top of a dormered window holding a crown with the black and green lights of Montreal skyline tilted behind her at a 45 degree angle. At the bottom of the frame are more words in grey that say “fast-paced fae urban fantasy.”

Barry Ryerson

Barry Ryerson is now retired due to ill health, but this has allowed him the chance to write the stories that have plagued his mind for years. He enjoys blending genres to create his own, unique style that includes gender-fluid dragons, intersex main characters, scifi military action along with shapeshifting and magical powers; all of which are sprinkled with a bit of humour and life.

Direct Store
Author Website

Genres: SciFi, Fantasy, Romance, Thriller.

Queer Rep: Bisexual, Other Queer, Queer Questioning

Disability Rep: physical disability (leg).

BIPOC: black and mixed Jamaican & Scottish heritage.

arry Ryerson wearing a grey hat and looking over his glasses.Paperback books The Child of Fire and Earth (a MG fun fantasy adventure) and The Magic Circle (a YA/NA urban scifi fantasy) stacked together. They have "author signed" stickers on them. The text reads "Signed, Personal Message, Worldwide Delivery."

Cozy Fantasy+

May Barros

May writes magical stories where everyone can find themselves in, exploring queer & platonic relationships in Fantasy.

Direct Store
Author Website

Genres: cozy fantasy, sci-fantasy, urban fantasy.

Queer Rep: Aromantic, Asexual (including bi & panromantic), Sapphic, Trans (nonbinary).

Disability Rep: Neurodivergent.

BIPOC Rep: Fantasy Latinas.

Veo Corva

Veo Corva writes neurodiverse, queer speculative fiction with warmth and weirdness ranging from slice-of-life sci-fi to cosy fantasy to subterranean necromantic towns. Nothing light without conflict, nothing dark without hope.

Direct Store
Author Website

Genres: cosy fantasy, slice-of-life, space fantasy.

Queer Rep: Asexual (including bi & panromantic), Bisexual, Pansexual, Trans (nonbinary), Queer Questioning, Lesbian, Sapphic.

Disability Rep: autism, mental health, ME/CFS, chronic illness, low vision/blind, limb difference.

BIPOC Rep: secondary world BIPOC.

Formats: include audiobook.

Kit Muse

Kit turned their passion for storytelling and horses into their fantasy world filled with magical equines and a diverse cast of characters often with disability, neurodivergent, and queer representation.

The world of Radio Arcanum is our own world filled with magic and mythology where characters are finding their place amid their own found families.

Direct Store
Author Website

Genres: cozy, cozy-adjacent, equestrian, animal companions, naturecore.

Queer Rep: Lesbian, Gay, Aromantic, Trans

Disability Rep: neurodivergent, mental health, chronic illness, mobility issues, chronic pain.

BIPOC Rep: Fantasy/SciFi world BIPOC.

Epic Fantasy+

C. R. Collins

C. R. Collins is a tree hugging indie author with a passion for nature and wildlife. Her Tales of Ardonna series offers fairy tales for adults: eco-friendly, hopepunk, epic fantasy adventures set in an improbable world with norms outside the familiar status quo. Diverse characters deal with everyday life issues disrupted by outlandish complications. All books, save the trilogy, have standalone main plots.

Direct Store
Author Website

Genres: epic fantasy, fantasy adventure.

Queer Rep: Gay, Lesbian, Pansexual, Bisexual.

Disability Rep: mental health.

BIPOC Rep: Fantasy world BIPOC.

Niranjan

They are a queer, neurodivergent, PoC writer who writes sci fantasy books and high fantasy books set in queernormative secondary worlds.

Direct Store
Author Website

Genres: Queer Fantasy, Urban fantasy, high fantasy, political fantasy, epic fantasy.

Queer Rep: Aromantic, Asexual (including bi & panromantic), Gay, Lesbian, Sapphic, Bisexual.

Disability Rep: Neurodivergent, mental health, injury related issues, blindness for one PoV character in the Jaya! series.

BIPOC Rep: Asian (Indian), secondary world BiPOC.

Elise Carlson

Elise is an Aussie, queer and neurodivergent, restless adventurer and passionate educator, with an endless list of ‘what if?’ questions to explore in Epic Fantasy and SciFi-Fantasy. They write adventures with strong threads of mystery, in which the found families saving the world just so happen to be queer and neurodivergent, for readers who may age, but will never get old.

Website: you’re on it 😉
Direct Store

Genres: Epic & Portal Fantasy, SciFi-Fantasy.

Queer Rep: Nonbinary, Gay, Aro-Ace (including panromantic), lesbian.

Disability Rep: autism, ADHD, CPTSD.

BIPOC Rep: Aboriginal Aussie, Vietnamese-Aussie, Fantasy/ SciFi world BIPOC.

Left Image: Elise looks at camera through black topped, clear bottomed glasses. They have short curly brown hair and wear a smile and a blue patterned short. Background: white trunked gum trees atop a mountain.Right image: graphic for;
Sythe Series book covers
Walking the Knife's Edge (Rarkin points a stun gun left and Miona raises gloved fists, atop a grassy hill with paddocks and trees behind them).
Countering the Hands of Crime: Rarkin and his syther team of 4 stand in green uniforms, holding stun guns or wearing gloves, beneath a rainbow magic shield and before the gates of Monster Containment.
Skirting the Fires of Revolution: the same team wear blue uniforms, carry yellow glowing stun guns and stand in a rubble strewn street at night.And Ruarnon Trilogy covers, each bordered with stone archways of glowing runes.
Manipulator's War: Ruarnon leans on bronze tipped spear, wearing bronze armour, before fires burning on battlements, over which fire arrows fly through night sky.Secrets of the Sorcery War: a ship sails on bright blue waters through tall cliffs, into sunlight.War in Sorcery's Shadow: lightening strikes a magic shield around a brown crystal castle, on a dry plain with dead tree trunks, scattered spears and a skull.

Dark Fantasy+

Burgundy Athena Pendragon

Burgundy is a queer, neurodivergent, non-binary author and environmentalist who loves to garden and pet cats. Vir stories range anywhere from short stories to unwieldy sagas of absurd proportions, to speculative fiction, memoir, environmental writing, poetry or even some mixture of all of the above. These works overwhelmingly touch upon many hard topics. Vi also produces vir own audiobooks.

Direct Store
Author Website

Genres: Dark fantasy, high fantasy, action.

Queer Rep: Aromantic, Asexual (including bi & panromantic), Trans (binary), Trans (nonbinary), Sapphic, Lesbian, Gay, Pansexual, Bisexual, Other Queer.

Disability Rep: neurodivergence, autism, mental health, chronic illness.

Formats: include audiobook.

Nicole Hidalgo

Nicole Hidalgo is a video game and book writer with a passion for the fantastical. She writes dark fantasy in queernormative worlds filled with magic, (often gory) fighting, and slow-burn lesbian romances. Found family, non-human characters, and legendary weapons also have a special place in her heart and in her tales.

Direct Store

Genres: Dark fantasy, lesbian romance, slow-burn romance.

Queer Rep: Lesbian, Sapphic, Trans (binary)

Disability Rep: Neurodivergent

BIPOC Rep: Fantasy/ SciFi world BIPOC.

Rien Gray

Rien is a nonbinary, butch, and intersex author of sapphic romance, fantasy, and horror. Their current series, Out of True, is a queernorm and lesbian interpretation of Arthuriana myths and legends, following the knights in service to a transfemme King Arthur.

Direct Store

Genres: fantasy, horror, romance.

Queer Rep: Asexual (including bi & panromantic), Lesbian, Sapphic, Trans (binary), Trans (nonbinary), Other Queer, Bisexual.

Disability Rep: Autism, PTSD, blindness, limited mobility.

BIPOC Rep: Fantasy BiPOC – Asian, Black, MENA.

Horror (and SciFi)+

Sadhbh Frost

Sadhbh loves exploring myths and legends through a modern queer lens. Her stories feature trans characters in science fantasy situations.

Societas Aenigmatum, her main series, follows preternatural investigators fighting against an extra-dimensional invasion.

Direct Store

Genres: paranormal fantasy horror, weird science.

Queer Rep: Aromantic, Asexual (including bi & panromantic), Lesbian, Pansexual, Trans (nonbinary), Trans (binary).

Disability Rep: ADHD, chronic depression.

BIPOC Rep: Ecuadorian American lead detective.

Kay F. Atkinson

Kay is a lover of cats, robots, and music on physical media, whose particular passion for machines that click and whirr informs much of her writing. She is an author of tragic, intense, and deeply personal sci-fi horror, with a specific focus on flawed and human trans lesbian protagonists who hurt, and struggle, but survive, perhaps even finding renewed hope in the end.

Direct Store & Website

Genres: Horror, Sci-Fi.

Queer Rep: Lesbian, Trans (binary).

Disability Rep: Neurodivergent, mental health, psychosis, dexterity issues, nonverbal.

BIPOC Rep: Black, sci-fi world BIPOC.

Fantasy & SciFi+

JD Rivers

JD loves everything weird and cute, consumes cooking shows as if it were its own competition, and was indoctrinated into the speculative fiction life as small kid with fairy tales. They write stories straddling different genres, always queer, always fantastical, always with a dash of romance. Often with characters trying to figure out the world around them, while collecting people, they will call family, on the way.

Direct Store
Author Website

Genres: romance, adventure, horror, magic inclusive (even the SciFi).

Queer Rep: Gay, Bisexual, Trans (binary).

Disability Rep: anxiety, mental health.

BIPOC Rep: Fantasy/ SciFi world BIPOC.

Formats: include audiobook.

Janina Franck

Janina is a nature-loving story-addict who may have tea and chocolate running through her veins. She writes character-led stories in a variety of genres for those who need a little escape from real life.

Direct Store: Itchio
Author Website

Genres: Fantasy, SciFi, Adventure, thriller and romcom.

Queer Rep: Aromantic, Asexual (including bi & panromantic)

Disability Rep: PTSD and neurodivergence.

BIPOC Rep: Hispanic, African descent and fantasy BIPOC.

G. M. Nair

G.M. Nair is a nerd, comedian, and general nuisance who can’t stop running his mouth. He writes science fiction/mystery/fantasy/adventure/comedies which sounds like a lot, because it is.

Direct Store
Author Website

Genres: Sci-fi, mystery, fantasy, comedy.

Queer Rep: Bisexual, Gay.

BIPOC Rep: Black, and mixed Asian & caucasian.

Contemporary Fantasy/ MagePunk+

R. A. Meenan

R. A. Meenan was born in the steampunk Victorian London era during the golden age of science fiction, but somehow time traveled to the Modern Era and started writing fantasy fiction. They write queer-normative magepunk with flashy elemental magic, found family, inner-demon battles, and creative swears. Rise up, Defenders!

Direct Store
Author Website

Genres: magepunk, action/adventure, contemporary fantasy.

Queer Rep: Aromantic, Asexual (including bi & panromantic), Gay, Lesbian, Pansexual, Bisexual, Trans (binary), Trans (nonbinary), Sapphic

Disability Rep: ADHD, Autism, blindness, PTSD, prosthetic limbs.

BIPOC Rep: secondary world BIPOC (aliens).

Formats: include audiobook.

Close-up view of a robot's face, with a purple energy beam dividing the image into left and right. The metal is black, the optics red, the background reddish-brown.
Upper-left shows cover of 'Demon King Daughter Book 1: Raising the Demon King" with the text 'Contemporary fantasy! The Demon King is reborn as a young lesbian, and loves her family SO MUCH! Just wanting to live happy lives, they confront bigotry, bias, and magic in this mingling of slice-of-lice and action-adventure!" Lower-right shows cover of "N.I.C.E.F. Neural-Interface Controlled Exo-Frame" with the text "'Space shonen mecha anime in novel form!' - A space opera following the adventures of an alien assassin, the underdog teens she's hiding among, and the corrupt corporations and government keeping them all down!" -All Art by Luigiix.

P. J. C. Cahill

P.J.C. Cahill is a husband, author, and gamer, who explores sci-fi and fantasy settings with large, inclusive casts that mingle often-absurd action with deep and loveable characters.

Direct Store

Genres: space opera, contemporary fantasy, paranormal romance.

Queer Rep: Asexual (including bi & panromantic), Lesbian, Sapphic, Bisexual, Queer Questioning.

Disability Rep: Prosthetics, neurodivergence, intense social anxiety/depression.

BIPOC Rep: Fantasy/SciFi world BIPOC, and non-white characters in contemporary settings.

Patrick Charlton-O’Shea

Patrick is a mad scientist, mildly rational technician and occasionally lucid author. Their books are always LitRPG, frequently steampunk, and quite often contain positive depictions of rats. They’re books for people who think normal is boring, and would rather walk on the wild side.

Direct Store
Author Website

Genres: LitRPG, Steampunk, Magepunk, VRMMO.

Queer Rep: Asexual (including bi & panromantic), Aromantic, Trans (nonbinary).

Disability Rep: paraplegia/ wheelchair usage, PTSD, bulimia.

BIPOC Rep: Vietnamese.

A distinguished gentleman in a bowler hat and driving goggles, a swallow tail coat, puff tie and white shirt, set to a background of mountains.
The cover for Death Becomes Him, book one of The Age Of Steam And Sorcery. It's a white cover, with a greyed out ghost and a war scythe beneath the title and author.

Want More Books Direct from Authors?

My Diverse Books links to pages where books are organised by LGBTQIA+ identities, some neurodivergent and general disability bundles, with bonus SFF & international book bundles.

And if you’d like EVEN MORE books books direct from indies, this 2026 Bsky thread has 64 indie authors introducing our books, again, with plenty of queer, disabled and some BIPOC rep throughout.

December 10, 2023 / Elise Carlson / 2 Comments

Twitter’s slow death has made 2023 a hard year for authors to celebrate our books, with many of us (myself included) losing our biggest platform. Meanwhile, many diverse authors are still finding the surest path to get our books out into the world is going indie. But without financial backing or publisher connections to promote our books, indie books of even the highest standard risk languishing in obscurity.

So as a queer, neurodiverse, chronically ill indie author of fantasy worlds, the logical thing was to showcase SFF worlds, diverse characters and key themes fellow authors of other worlds have written here. Most of the thirteen books in this post are first in a series, and all come with a Goodreads link to bookmark for future reading if you wish.

Cozy/ Comedy Fantasy

Dragonbirth

Genre: cozy epic fantasy set in pre-medieval times.

Cast: Asexual spectrum rep (ownvoices). and gender non-conformity.

Major themes: blind fear & hate vs. good, love and friendship in day-to-day life.

Short Blurb: in a world where dragons & their riders are feared & killed, the life of one devout village huntress is changed forever when she meets a dragon hatchling.

Series info: book 1 of 3, all out now.

Goodreads: link

Book cover
Title: DragonBirth
Image: young woman kneels before grey baby dragon, between two broad trees in a forest.

Dexter & Sinister : Detecting Agents

Genre: Victorian Steampunk

Cast: includes black & queer characters, variable socio-economic backgrounds, a talking cat.

Major themes: capitalism, equality, and societal expectations.

Short Blurb: Solving crimes is hard enough with secret societies and criminal chocolatiers to contend with, but add to that Dexter the talking mechanical cat, and it’s safe to say John Sinister is not having a good day.

Series info: stand alone, out now.

Goodreads: link

Book cover
Title: Dexter & Sinister, Detecting Agents
Image: grey and white cat wearing goggles on its forehead and a green scarf sits looking up and out at the viewer, on a red background.

Duckett & Dyer: Dicks for Hire

Genre: Scifi/ Mystery/ Comedy -recent past Earth & alternate dimensions.

Cast: bi main character.

Major themes: friendship, maturity, growing older.

Short Blurb: They’re not detectives, but they have to become detectives in order to figure out who’s telling people that they’re detectives.

Series info: book 1 of 3, all out now.

Goodreads: link

Book cover (mostly blue toned)
Title: Duckett & Dyer, Dicks for Hire
Image: one detective raises an arm to their neck and looks uncertainly at the other, who thumbs up's the viewer with a crooked, uncertain smile Between them stands a dark, yellow eyed bull flanked by hands with eye balls instead of finger tips.
Bellow the title, a gun shoots a blue squiggle and sparks.

YA Fantasy

Manipulator’s War

Genre: epic, portal, YA fantasy with beginnings in Australia, but mostly set in an alternate world (Umarinaris).

Cast: nonbinary and aromantic asexual leads (ownvoices), other queer, neurodiverse and BIPOC characters.

Major themes: found family, friendship, optimism and visionary leadership vs. adversity and war.

Short Blurb: King Kyura doesn’t want to invade Tarlah. Heir Ruarnon doesn’t want their people invaded and Aussie Linh has no desire to visit another world. But this book isn’t about getting what you want, it’s about people doing their best under exceptionally challenging circumstances.

Series info: book1 of 3 (1-2 out now, 3 on pre-order till April 2024 release).

Goodreads: link

Manipulator's War Cover
Left: portrait of young Heir Ruarnon, their hair braided back, eyes outlined with kohl, wearing fitted bronze armour, a bronze disc kilt, holding a helmet in their left hand and leaning on a spear with their right, which pierces the ‘A’ in the title.
Right: Red glyphs outline a stone archway, through which fire arrows rain down on torch-lit battlements atop a castle, at night time.
Bottom text: Elise Carlson, Ruarnon Trilogy Book 1

The Call of the Rift: Flight

Genre: YA fantasy alternate history set in 1600s Viking and Spanish settled Canada.

Cast: First Nations / Indigenous rep, queer rep (after book 1 including ownvoices bi rep and lesbian, gay, trans, ace/aro rep.)

Major themes: anti-colonialism, anti-racism, climate change, elemental/ nature-based magic, people’s lives diverging within parallel worlds diversity.

Short Blurb: A rebellious heroine faces a colonial world coming unstitched: in a region tainted by prejudice and on the brink of civil war, 17-year-old Kateiko has to decide what’s worth dying – or killing – for.

Series info: book 1 of 4, all out now.

Goodreads: link

Book cover
Title: The Call of the Rift, Flight
Image: A teenage girl walks alone through a dim, misty rainforest, carrying a spiked flail and magically lifting tendrils of water from a creek. The girl has brown skin, long brown hair blowing in the wind, and an arm tattoo of a bird and flowers. She wears a brown belted tunic, green leggings, tall fur-lined boots, leather bracers, and an embroidered red cloak. A line at the top says, 'The wind dies a thousand deaths, and still it returns.' "
and thanks so much, by the way!

Adult Dark SFF

My Lord (first in series)

Genre: gothic horror/dark fantasy-ish set in 13th century Eastern Europe in the fictional country Tristanja.

Cast: Bi & pan rep, demiro, polyam, and PTSD (ownvoices for the queer rep/polyam and PTSD).

Major themes: overcoming/healing from PTSD, rediscovering your sexual self after sexual trauma.

Short Blurb: Meya is Lord Deminas’ latest chambermaid and favourite source of blood to drink. To avoid being his next servant to vanish, she must uncover all of Castle Tristanja’s dark secrets.

Series info: 1 of 2 related books, both out now.

Goodreads: link

Book cover
Title: My Lord
Image: naked young woman kneels in a bare stone room, strange red markings on the floor around her, a gold goblet before her, her hands raised and long, dark red hair flowing over her pale skin.

Everything Is Wonderful Now

Genre: dark urban fantasy set in modern times (the 90s-present years) in small American cities.

Cast: includes a trans man, mental illness/ disability and DID rep (ownvoices).

Major themes: religious trauma, reversing the light vs dark narrative (dark’s good, light’s evil), angels & demons.

Short Blurb: Follow a trans man trauma survivor from childhood to adulthood as they face not only an evil angel, but also a sinister entity in their own head.

Series info: book 1 of 2 out now.

Goodreads: link

Book cover
Title: Everything is Wonderful Now
Image: upwards angle at a stone statue of a bare chested man, one hand raise to stone, wind blown locks, eyes wide, mouth open to cry out.

Dead Lake (Dark Adult SFF)

Genre: Dark Paranormal Fantasy set a few 100yrs from now in a post-apocalyptic world.

Cast: includes a lesbian and many POC characters.

Major themes: simple living, with money, rulers & religion no longer tolerated.

Short Blurb: An eviction. A stolen gemstone. A hidden network. Will retrieving her precious obsidian get Tricky killed.

Series info: book 1 of 2 out now.

Goodreads: link.

Book cover
Title: Dead Lake
Image: wooden slatted side of a house before golden, sunlit lake waters, a thin tree rising on the right.

Adult Fantasy /- SciFi

Gathering of Four

Genre: Scifi/Fantasy set in the US – 2,000 years from now.

Cast: Black, Latino and queer leads.

Major themes: accepting oneself/found family, bringing down corrupt govt/upsetting the status quo.

Blurb: In the distant future, the United States is long gone… the Realm stands in its place… and one peasant woman will become the catalyst for a revolution. The Serrulata Saga is a speculative dystopian sci-fi adventure you won’t want to miss.

Series info: book 1 of 5 out now.

Goodreads: link.

Book cover
Title: Gathering of Four
A young black woman with short hair stands in a red dress, her hands raised either side, flames burning from them. A young woman stands with a revolver raised in her right hand on the left, two men standing on the right, one holding a raised sword.

Kotov Syndrome

Genre: Dystopia/Sci-Fi World/Era: Near future Earth and alternate universe intersecting with it.

Cast: mental health rep (own voices), lesbian lead.

Major themes: What is a human? How much impact can one person have on the world? Bigotry & othering.

Short Blurb: Local dumpster fire has her ex come back into her life. Plot twist — the ex is an android.

Series info: book1 of 2 out now.

Goodreads: link.

Book cover
Title: Kotov Syndrome
Image: a young woman's face, anime cartoon-ish style, her face framed with a long brown fringe on both sides and over her nose, her eyes glowing red, her mouth tiny and open.

The Flying Tiger: Mortal Engine

Genre: urban fantasy/Sci-Fi set in the multiverse.

Cast/ Major themes: include Dissociative Identity Disorder, Autism, kink/body positivity, and being transgender/queer by a trans, neurodivergent POC author with DID.

Short Blurb: Years after a senseless murder, an autistic transgender man and his young teen nephew hope to finally find closure. Instead they are whisked away into the vast multiverse where a mentally unstable robot is set to activate the Mortal Engine.

Series info: book 1 of 2 out now.

Goodreads: link.

Book cover
Title: Mortal Engine
Image: a man with glowing red skin and a black beard stands with fanged mouth open, swathed in a bright blue, interior glowing red cloak, with neon lines waving around him.

A Swift Kick to the Thorax

Genre: Future, alien planet

Cast: LGBTQA+ main characters (except the gorilla, though apparently no one’s asked him 😉 ).

Major themes: good vs bad, interplanetary culture clash.

Short Blurb: When space poachers release Earth animals on an alien world, threatening a fragile new alliance, they anger the wrong people: a veterinarian, an accountant, and a furious sign-language-fluent gorilla are coming for them.

Series info: stand alone, out now.

Goodreads: link.

Book cover
Title: A Swift Kick to the Thorax
Image: floating manuscript pages over outer space background, pen floating below, bite mark in bottom right corner of pages.

Tell us a bit about you. Where’s home and what’s your life like outside writing?

I currently live in West Yorkshire, UK but I was born and raised in Denmark. I moved to the UK to study some 7 years ago and somehow landed a job through volunteering and love it here too much to leave. Outside my 9-5 office job I spend most of my time writing or talking my adventure cat, Barry, on walks. Due to some ongoing health issues I don’t hike or do any martial arts at the moment but I hope I can return to these activities eventually as they give me a lot of joy and I certainly miss them.

What drew you to your genre/audience age?

Worlds different to our contemporary one have always been what drew me to reading fiction so it makes sense I mostly write fantasy, sci-fi and historical fiction. I love exploring the other and getting a break from modern life and nothing is more immersive than creating those new worlds yourself. While I enjoy reading everything from MG to adult, my voice and the themes I usually explore lend themselves best to adult audiences. I have dabbled in MG and YA but find it difficult not to become too whimsical when writing for younger audiences and I don’t enjoy having to mind the layers and themes I imbue a story with. So basically, I enjoy as much creative freedom as possible.

What are some big themes your writing explores?

I tend towards the dark side of mental health and the human experience. I enjoy scrutinising humanity’s faults and weaknesses. Sometimes this means my main characters are very morally grey and stepping on the fine lines between good or bad. Other times the main characters are the ones fighting a corrupt and (often) incorrigible society that tries to kick them back down when they’re straining to stay upright. Most of my main characters have poor mental health. Not only are they fighting an unfair system, they’re also fighting their own inner demons and these can prove a lot more difficult to get rid of or live with than the crooked government.

Found family and a sense of belonging are secondary but almost as strongly recurring themes. The sense of being lost and directionless, of not having a place to fit in, of being other and different to everyone around them. Their stories regularly revolve around finding ‘their place’ and ‘their people’.

What drives your point of view characters?

I think it usually boils down to finding happiness and a place to belong. Sometimes external forces trip them up but often they lay down booby traps in front of themselves, never even seeing the tripwires they need to dismantle in order to find that place of joy they’re searching for. They might know the end of the road they want to reach but can’t see what’s right before them. They’re also often fiercely protective of the people they call family – at least once they find those people.

How much do your point of view characters resemble or differ from you?

It varies between each character. I don’t purposely add something of myself as my main characters (and often most of the side characters too) appear in my mind like preformed people. Some will have one small thing – Merlon struggles with insomnia, Tara and Balfour with anxiety while Cali has my touch and noise sensitivity – others won’t really have much at all in common with me. Iolanthe believes slavery is fine and Torhildr thinks those who she judges unworthy deserve to be killed, obviously neither of those are things I would ever agree with. I do notice I have certain types of characters appear more often than others and this usually matches with my own personality. Most are depressed or anxious, many don’t like being the centre of attention and would be described as “reserved” or “quiet” if someone met them.

What influenced the settings they inhabit?

In my space fantasy series, Inner Universe, I have created a huge world with enough planets and galaxies I can take full advantage of all the travelling I have done. I have been extremely fortunate that I saved up enough (by working 3 jobs while studying) to move abroad, alone, at age 21 and from there on I worked in countries all around the globe. This means I have first hand experience with both Outback Australia and working outdoors during Canadian winter. I can pull on skills learned while doing martial arts and Viking reenactment when I write fight scenes and know what it’s like to forage your own food or live without electricity and running water for months at a time. I noticed a shift in my writing from before I had all those life experiences to after and definitely hope I’m not done raking up knowledge first-hand by going out there and doing the things most people only read about.

What do you gain from writing your books and what do you hope your readers will gain from them?

This ties back to the main themes in my stories: mental health and belonging. I suspect I’m autistic and have never truly fitted in anywhere. I struggle a lot with chronic depression and moderate anxiety but the one thing that consistently helps and keeps me afloat is writing characters who keep fighting even when they face much larger challenges than I (hopefully) ever will. It’s my hope that my stories don’t just bring catharsis and healing for myself but also for other people who find life difficult – because it’s really bloody hard sometimes and it can be nice to read about characters who aren’t so different to yourself.

Where can we find your books?

Author hand-stamped paperbacks and my free short stories are available on my website(https://nataliekelda.co.uk/shop) while ebooks of River in the Galaxy and Outer Universe can be found on Amazon and they are available through Kindle Unlimited as well.

Author bio

Storytelling and inventing new worlds has been a part of Natalie’s life since before she could read or write. Nowadays she mostly writes in English but you’ll often discover hints of her native Danish or some of the other languages she has picked up along the way.

Website Bluesky

Related Reading

You’ll find more talk of fantasy characters, setting and world-building inspiration in:

Fantasy Author Features: Nikky Lee (YA SFF)

Mara Lyne Johnson (Comedy SciFi)

Nikky’s Interview Of Me

Ash Oldfield’s Interview of Me

Where Fantasy Worlds Come From

July 6, 2023 / Elise Carlson / 0 Comments

Where do you get your ideas? is a question writers are often asked. But the question that interests me more is ‘where do the ideas for an entire fantasy world come from’? Having already blogged about the cultures and characters in my YA Fantasy Trilogy, I took the question to three fellow SFF authors: Joyce Reynolds-Ward, Mindi Briar and J.F.R. Coates.

How did you develop your magic system(s)?

J.F.R Coates

I love magic. A well-done magic system can add a huge amount of depth and interest to a world, and it’s no a surprise I’ve found a way to include magic in every story I’ve written so far.

I believe there are several important factors to consider when coming up with a magic system. How widespread is this magic system? Who can use it? What is the source of magic? And how is it used?

With my sci-fi series, I took a different approach. I worked hard to make something separate to the Force in Star Wars, so I linked the magic to the subspace dimension that also controls the setting’s FTL travel. Only a select few can utilise this magic, and it allows for the manipulation of inorganic matter. There is even one character who can sense the ripples of distant events through this dimension, giving him a limited ability to see into the future. Knowledge of this magic is strictly controlled by the religious fascist antagonists, so exploration of these newly-developed powers is just one of the many ways the main protagonist can break away from his old life.

Joyce Reynolds-Ward

In the Goddess’s Honour world, magic is tied to tangible things. It’s present in the land to various degrees, and the leaders of various nations must be able to channel and control that land’s magical strength in order to lead. Some nations require that the prospective leaders be able to weave a Tapestry or create some other sort of artefact that is reflective of the combination of their strength and the land’s.

In Becoming Solo, each chapter has an epigraph from assorted guides to that world’s particular form of witchcraft. Since Solo is, essentially, 4H Style Revue with magic, I needed a magic system that could be incorporated into clothing –and a reason for why it was so important for the woman winning assorted Crowns–Style, in this case to win those crowns, as well as what it meant to the magic system.

Mindi Briar

The “magic” in the Halcyon universe derives from the existence of alien dragons, who are able to teleport and read minds. I hate long travel scenes and wanted a way for my characters to travel between planets instantaneously. The dragons became intense pacifists who won’t teleport anyone they perceive as distressed, which means that pilots often have to take calming drugs. That prompted a bunch of questions about what it would mean for humanity to be in a symbiotic relationship with aliens.

In Adrift in Starlight, the dragons are revealed to be hiding the existence of other alien races from humans to protect the aliens. Later in the series, as the trust between humans and dragons breaks down, humans begin working on ways to steal the dragons’ power for themselves using genetic modification. This results in a group of humans who have dragon-like powers —the excuse I needed to give my characters “magic” but keep it plausible in the realm of science fiction.

What informs secular culture in your world?

J.F.R. Coates

This largely depends on what genre I’m writing, as that can play a big part into my vision for the world. My fantasy setting of Farenar tends to be one that I would like to live in – there is still conflict there, with wars between the gods and different interpretations of magic providing plenty to keep interesting, but I don’t tend to include a lot of the bigotry present in our world.

My sci-fi series, on the other hand, was a look towards the future of this world. I considered what might happen a few hundred years into the future if a few certain key events played out – largely revolving around the rise of the Catholic Church returning to a place of utmost power, like it had wielded in the Medieval Ages. This resulted in a pretty grim fascist empire controlling two of the three star systems humanity had reached. This also gave me a chance to explore the third system through the story, with all the issues and problems they face.

Mindi Briar

Quite honestly, I’m writing a world I would want to live in. I got into solarpunk back in 2015, and that’s been a huge inspiration for the planet Halcyon. I came at it with the mindset of, “If I got dropped on a new planet to build a society from the ground up, how would I structure it?” So I made it a socialist utopia where everyone works together for the common good, with the dragons as telepathic enforcers to keep everyone honest. It took a lot of drafts to fully flesh out my ideas, and half of it doesn’t even hit the page until book 3 in the series.

The other planets in the Halcyon universe are the late-stage capitalism foil to Halcyon’s socialism. There’s environmental damage, prison slavery, wealthy people taking too many resources…the Imperial government is kind of my take on where society could go if nothing ever changes.

How did you decide who would occupy positions of power?

J.F.R Coates

Characters in positions of power come in various forms in my stories – I definitely have a few with noble goals and intentions, but probably an equal number who abuse that power. Some even sway from one side to the other. The type of character they are can depend a lot on what my intentions for that power structure are. It is no coincidence that those in power in the fascist empire of the Reborn setting are older white men.

Monarchy and hereditary rule isn’t always portrayed as evil in my worlds, but it does lean that way more often than not. I like to display it as a flawed system, even when the characters in power have the best of intentions. This is certainly shown through the Destiny of Dragons fantasy series, where two of the main characters get their opportunity to rule, with varying levels of success.

Joyce Reynolds-Ward

Positions of power are tied to both leadership roles and the favour of the Seven Crowned Gods in the Goddess’s Honour world.

In Becoming Solo, leadership roles are earned by proof of magical strength and becoming a Solo-qualified magician, either by Academy graduation or else winning Fair Crowns. Otherwise, the witch either loses their power or must join a family spell matrix, where their power joins with others to produce magical goods. Solo magicians get to take credit for their creation. Family spell matrix participants are not identified in the products that the family creates for the use of those who are magical and non-magical.

Mindi Briar

In early drafts, Halcyon was ruled by a queen. It was my fantasy-world default, because who doesn’t love a good royalty story? However, the deeper I dove into worldbuilding, the more obvious it became that a monarchy was fundamentally incompatible with the idea of a socialist community. It had to become a democracy. But I still left the dragons in charge because their control of human culture had interesting implications that I wanted to explore.

In contrast, all the other planets in the Halcyon Universe are controlled by an emperor—one man with absolute power. This is portrayed as problematic in a number of ways that are, again, based on my frustrations with real-world systems of government.

What inspired religions?

J.F.R Coates

Religion takes a massive role in both of my settings. In the Reborn series, the entire conflict revolves around the position of the Catholic Church as the primary antagonist. I took a deliberate look at the church in the modern day and extrapolated out what I believed to be a logical conclusion, should the church be guided by the will of corrupt and power-hungry minds. These are people who do not care about the heart of the religion (which I intentionally did not criticise throughout the story), but are instead guided only by their own ambition. This is a religion that has been weaponised into something truly monstrous. Looking at how the world has developed since I first started writing the series, sometimes I wonder if I did not go far enough.

By contrast, the Farenar setting portrays religion much more positively. If anything, the religion spawned the world in my mind – it all started with the gods. They live, breathe, and walk through the world and are a big part of the many conflicts. Most of them seek to better the world, but some of their number seek instead to rule it.

Mindi Briar

Writing a made-up religion based on the dragons turned out to be an interesting way to deconstruct my personal IRL beliefs. Writing characters who were discovering big, life-changing truths about the universe was a way for me to dive deep into what I thought those truths were for myself. (And that’s the short version of how writing magical sci-fi helped me leave a cult…lol.) Anyway, I wouldn’t say the Halcyon Universe’s religion is an exact representation of my spiritual beliefs, but there are scenes, settings, and situations very heavily based on my religious past, with something of a rose-tinted filter over them.

What other sources of inspiration does your world draw on?

J.F.R Coates

So many of my inspirations come from the great authors who wrote rich and vivid worlds before me. I may not take directly from their work, but their writing has always inspired me to improve me own. My favourite authors will always include Neil Gaiman, Robin Hobb, and Philip Pullman. Our stories may be very different, but they are certainly my inspirations.

Other inspirations can come from strange places. One WiP series has been inspired by my childhood in Somerset, my fascination with an island in the Bristol Channel, and local myths.

The Reborn series was spawned because a friend told me to “turn him [main character] into a stoat.” So I did. And I wrote four books to explain why.

Mindi Briar

Reading fantasy and sci-fi inspires me all the time! I love to read books with lush, creative, wild descriptions that transport me somewhere new. It kickstarts my own imagination and forces me to think about different aspects of my own worldbuilding. A fantasy about road construction? Yeah, hmm, who builds the roads in my world? Or I’ll pick up a book that’s created a totally unique social culture and it’ll force me to think about how my world’s culture would be different.

J.F.R. kneeling beside an emu to pet it, wearing grey tshirt, jeans and sunnies over his short brown hair. — J.F.R. Coates

website

Reborn Book Cover: one fox person lifts another off rocky ground by the hand, storm cloud cloud background. — (The book with the Catholic Church as antagonist)

Mindi in a bright pink top and green, floral, elbow length cardigan belted at the waist and purple framed glasses. Smiling whimsically to one side, her long blonde hair half tied back. — Mindi Briar

website

Adrift in Starlight Cover: title displayed over purpled planet background, blonde (white) woman character hanging from top of cover reaching to hold mixed race, dense dark curled woman character hanging in the sky. — (The book with dragons)

Blonde Joyce smiling in black brimmed hat and glasses. — Joyce Renalds-Ward

Joyce’s website

Queer-Normative SciFi & Fantasy Direct from Authors

Urban Fantasy +

A. E. Bross

Stephanie Caye

Barry Ryerson

Cozy Fantasy+

May Barros

Veo Corva

Kit Muse

Epic Fantasy+

C. R. Collins

Niranjan

Elise Carlson

Dark Fantasy+

Burgundy Athena Pendragon

Nicole Hidalgo

Rien Gray

Horror (and SciFi)+

Sadhbh Frost

Kay F. Atkinson

Fantasy & SciFi+

JD Rivers

Janina Franck

G. M. Nair

Contemporary Fantasy/ MagePunk+

R. A. Meenan

P. J. C. Cahill

Patrick Charlton-O’Shea

Want More Books Direct from Authors?

Cozy/ Comedy Fantasy

Dragonbirth

Dexter & Sinister : Detecting Agents

Duckett & Dyer: Dicks for Hire

YA Fantasy

Manipulator’s War

The Call of the Rift: Flight

Adult Dark SFF

My Lord (first in series)

Everything Is Wonderful Now

Dead Lake (Dark Adult SFF)

Adult Fantasy /- SciFi

Gathering of Four

Kotov Syndrome

The Flying Tiger: Mortal Engine

A Swift Kick to the Thorax

Related Reading

Tell us a bit about you. Where’s home and what’s your life like outside writing?

What drew you to your genre/audience age?

What are some big themes your writing explores?

What drives your point of view characters?

How much do your point of view characters resemble or differ from you?

What influenced the settings they inhabit?

What do you gain from writing your books and what do you hope your readers will gain from them?

Where can we find your books?

Where Fantasy Worlds Come From

How did you develop your magic system(s)?

J.F.R Coates

Joyce Reynolds-Ward

Mindi Briar

What informs secular culture in your world?

J.F.R. Coates

Mindi Briar

How did you decide who would occupy positions of power?

J.F.R Coates

Joyce Reynolds-Ward

Mindi Briar

What inspired religions?

J.F.R Coates

Mindi Briar

What other sources of inspiration does your world draw on?

J.F.R Coates

Mindi Briar

Related Reading

My Recent Posts

My Books

Pages

My Newsletter

Follow Me

Recent Posts