Posted by Carrie S

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2026/03/kickass-women-in-history-queen-himiko/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=167146

For this month’s kickass woman, we turn our attention to Japan and the legendary life of Queen Himiko, the first recorded ruler of ancient Japan – not only the first female ruler, but the first ruler, period. I’m going to do a little summarizing here, but I’m also going to be very link-heavy. So much legend surrounds Queen Himiko that I am waaay over my head in terms of describing her life, but I do want to give you some links to explore so that you can learn about this fascinating woman.

Once upon a time, before Japan was a country, in the Yayoi (300BC-300AD) and Kofun (250-538AD) periods, there were all these island city-states. Rulers were also religious figures, and female shamans were highly regarded.

The written records of this period come from Chinese historians, who referred to this region as “The Land of Wa”, home of the “Eastern Barbarians.” We also have writings from Korean historians. As summed up in the article “Queen Himiko: Badass Women in Japanese History” by Chelsea Bernard:

During the second half of the 2nd century (ca. 147-190 AD), the lack of a capable leader plunged the Land of Wa into political turmoil and violent upheaval. Finally, in 190 AD the unmarried shamaness was chosen by the people to rule. Installed in a palace with armed guards and watch towers, she was served by “1,000” female attendants while her “brother” acted as a medium of communication, transmitting her instructions and pronouncements to the outside world. After ascending to the throne, she went on to restore order and maintain peace like a boss for the next 50 or 60 years.

Queen Himiko pulled about 100 kingdoms and confederacies and clans together. She sent diplomatic missions to China, which formally recognized her rule. This video explains her role as a verifiable person in written record and archeology. It’s pretty dry but also very detailed.

Watch on YouTube

This video gives a nice quick summary and is entertaining because it a) ties into the game Civilization and b) is narrated by a woman who is being eaten alive by deer – no really!

@civilization
Hide your deer snacks @SophieQuests heads to Nara, Japan to discover the history of Queen Himiko! civ7 strategygames gamingontiktok japan himiko

♬ original sound – Sid Meier’s Civilization

If you like the video game connection, you’ll enjoy this article from Medium which includes a discussion of her portrayal in Tomb Raider as well as a scholarly look at where exactly she might have lived.

The author, Frankie Webb, concludes:

The real Himiko’s legacy is a reminder of how historical women figures are often forgotten. She doesn’t feature prominently in the history of Japan, and recognition as a ruler didn’t come till the Edo period in the 1600s. It is likely that the Japanese adoption of Buddhism and Confucianism didn’t do much to elevate the status of women. Fortunately, she wasn’t permanently erased. Himiko represents the first notable ancestor of a strong tradition of female religious leaders and political leaders in Japan and serves as a representation of the unnamed women forgotten to history.

Perhaps the coolest thing about Himiko is that she was not unique as a powerful woman in Ancient Japan. Returning to the article by Chelsea Bernard:

In other words, Himiko was not an anomaly. She was merely the first notable ancestor of a strong tradition of female religious leaders (a la miko priestesses in Shinto) and political leaders (a la empresses) in Japanese history. Over time women’s roles may have devolved from active initiators to assistants in both spiritual and secular realms. But Himiko serves as a shining example that symbolically reflects the many other (now anonymous) women who were also leaders in their communities.

Currently, Himiko thrives in pop culture and celebration in Japan, where multiple cities claim to have been her home and celebrate her in festivals. Bernard notes that she pops up in novels, manga, movies, and yes, of course porn. Possibly the oddest use of her name is this:

As a role model the shamaness queen can symbolize female power, innate occult abilities, national origins, and even good eating habits. No kidding, she’s the poster girl for a school campaign that urges students “to chew your food as thoroughly Queen Himiko did” in order to improve digestion and tooth health.

I can’t speak to how historically accurate the claim is that Himiko was good at masticating, but she is a fascinating figure who teaches us about the history of women in power as well as how the written record can lift a figure up or erase it. Please check out Bernard’s article in its entirety, as it is fascinating and entertaining! Here’s one more video that has a bit of an overview and a photo of a statute of the Queen:

Watch on YouTube

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2026/03/kickass-women-in-history-queen-himiko/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=167146

conuly

I'm worried I lost my kindle when I misplaced my red bag in which everything is. Well, not everything, but perhaps my kindle. Or maybe not. My kindle might be under my bed. If it's not under my bed, I'll have to replace it sooner or later. I'm a bit wary of looking and finding out one way or another.

******************

( Read more... )

tcpip

Whilst the terrible and illegal war in the Middle East expands with increasing loss of life, it seems almost avoidant to concentrate on climatology matters as I have done for a lot of the past week. Still, one should be concerned with ongoing, creeping long-term issues as well as the literally explosive, immediate ones. Further, as the ever astute critic of political power and its abuse, Clinton Fernandes points out part of the reason that the United States is at war with Israel is to control China's access to high-sulphur Iranian oil, which accounts for over 14 per cent of its supply. National security is yet another reason why the rapid transition away from fossil fuels is so critically important for any country that desires to be truly independent, and why any country with internationally significant supplies of oil that is not part of USian imperialist control (e.g., Venezuela, Iran) are being targeted and why Canada is still on Trump's list for annexation.

Earlier this week was Adam Ford's "Future Day", a three-day online conference featuring various futurologists primarily discussing artificial intelligence and longevity. My own contribution was a presentation on "Critical Issues for the Global Climate" which I have produced a slidedeck, something approximating a transcript, and with the video available on YouTube. At over 4000 words, the presentation covers the core science of climatology (Earth's energy budget, carbon cycle, physics of GHGs), the industrial age and observed changes, environmental changes, the Anthropocene Extinction Event, and energy trajectories and future global policy directions. Concluding remarks identify climate change as a critical issue and one subject to "race conditions", and note that the policy route, whilst necessary, is currently falling short of requirements.

The other major climatology study completed this week was a 4500-word paper for my Euclid University studies in "Global Energy and Climate Policy", namely "Energy Production Under The Paris Agreement: Options for Developing Pacific Island Countries". Energy production is the major source of GHG emissions and, despite rapid changes toward renewables - especially solar and wind energy - fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and gas dominate global energy production. "L'Accord de Paris", requires all signatories (which excludes Iran, which never ratified, and the United States, which withdrew) to increasingly reduce emissions for each report of their own Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) in an effort to keep global temperature increases below 2 degrees C. For developing Pacific Island Countries, this is an issue: they are micro-contributors to GHG emissions, both absolutely and relatively, are especially sensitive to the effects of climate change, and, with underdeveloped infrastructure, are vulnerable. They require adaptation more than mitigation, and that's not required by the Paris Agreement. The conclusion I have reached is that the Paris Agreement requires an extension that includes requirements for both adaptation and mitigation.

With over 8000 words written on climatology in the past week, you would be forgiven for thinking that I've probably had enough on the subject for a while. On the contrary, my interest has actually increased. Whilst often a grim study (depression and anxiety are occupational risks among climatologists), the science provides multiple interesting avenues of investigation, the technologies provide a slim glimmer of hope, and the politics illustrate the dangers and difficulties of managing global matters within the limitations of sovereign nation-states. It is a life's work, a life's interest, and it is in the advocacy for life itself that makes this the most important scientific and moral challenge of our time.

Current Mood: determined
Current Location: The Rookery
Current Music: Baement Jaxx compilation

loganberrybunny

Public

Blade Runner (1982)

Since I know all you Blade Runner fans need to know this, I was watching the Final Cut. Anyway, this was a good experience for the most part, if not "BEST FILM EVAR" level. The city was really interesting since I love world-building in films, and you could imagine spending time there if you could hack the weather and the general dystopia. Harrison Ford was very solid as Deckard, and I really grew to enjoy the 1980s notion of what future tech would be. No smartphones or LCD screens in 2019, folks, you heard it here first! I dunno, maybe they'd just have all seized up in the rain.

I mean, I do kind of get the feeling that Ridley Scott thought up this incredible setting and then asked himself, "So, what about a plot?" because what I get from it is not massively original even for 44 years ago. Replicants, designed with a built-in expiry date, going rogue, your friendly neighbourhood blade runner (who amusingly cannot fight for toffee) has to sort them out. Aged less well in a few points, not least a thankfully short scene with Rachael that sits uncomfortably with today's views of consent. I get that it's playing on noir films that did similar, but still.

Okay, to the "Tears in Rain" speech. It was... okay, I guess. I suspect having seen it everywhere for decades has robbed it of the power it probably had in 1982, since the underlying concept is still worthwhile. The movie's slow pace is nice for the most part, especially in the city driving shots. That bloody ESPER image enhancer scene went on and on and on, though. Vangelis's music works well, and seeing big ads for Pan Am is amusing more than distracting. Oh, and there's a unicorn, so yay for that. ★★★½

Current Mood: thirsty

austin_dern

The big Six Flags/Cedar Fair merger has finally reached the point it's causing us personally to lose something. We've had some effects before, but most of them were neutral-to-good, like getting into Six Flags America cheap.

So the problem with the merger is that the much bigger Six Flags is still losing, like, all the money in the world, and things like closing Six Flags America and announcing when they're closing California's Great America won't change that. They're at the point where they're trying to raise money by selling off things, so they're probably at most two years away from going bankrupt yet again.

So this brings us to Michigan's Adventure, which for years has been the quiet, good little child of the Cedar Fair operation. Doesn't get much attention (it's not literally true that its big upgrade for 2024 was ``a new bathroom'' but it's very close), doesn't need much attention: families love it as is and more of them come, and spend a lot of money, every year. If every park in the chain were like this the chain would have no rational complaints. But this also means it's one of the parks that they could put up for sale and find a buyer for.

So that's what happened. Six Flags sold Michigan's Adventure and six other parks to EPR Properties, a real estate investment trust, which has got hastily set up --- bunnyhugger noted their initial logo was clearly AI slop and now it's cleaned-up AI slop --- Enchanted Parks. For this year that won't change anything, since season passes were already sold, but for 2027 and beyond? Who knows?

And the scary thing? Beyond having to change what's our home park for our long-standing season passes, and having to buy a season pass for a second chain? EPR Properties has mostly run water parks in the past, and there's a reasonable fear that they're looking to shut down the dry parks and just keep the wet. Besides losing the amusement park in an easy day-trip drive, losing Michigan's Adventure would also cost three wooden roller coasters.

Globally, the sale is probably a good thing in that an industry is usually healthier when it has a lot of comparably-sized companies rather than a handful of big ones. And to get that means things like Six Flags with an estimated 2,038 parks in the United States and Canada should be shedding places. It's just always sad when the thing you think would be good for the community is bad for you personally.

Also it's going to be really sad if we lose Shivering Timbers and Six Flags goes bankrupt anyway.

Speaking of shuttered parks, here's stuff from Glen Echo Park.

The Cuddle-Up pavilion now gets some use as a performing stage and there's bleacher seating for extra audience space.

Way off past the end of the old midway is this fountain; I don't know if it ever had water or was always a garden.

Here's the view back from that fountain along the midway.

Small and surprisingly haunted-looking building next to what had been the bumper cars building.

The bumper cars building has this section hazard-taped off, I guess for the trap door?

I suppose it's now an event space; you can imagine dances and wedding receptions and all fitting in here well.

Trivia: Bell Aircraft's X-16 was not a legitimate research aircraft but an attempt to hide the development of a spy plane. Though 28 of the craft were ordered, none were completed before the Lockheed U-2 demonstrated it could serve the spy flight missions. Source: American X-Vehicles: An Inventory - X-1 to X-50, Dennis R Jenkins, Tony Landis, Jay Miller.

Currently Reading: The Bright Ages: A New History of Medieval Europe, Matthew Gabriele, David M Perry.

smartbitches_feed

Posted by Amanda

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2026/03/a-graphic-memoir-urban-fantasy-more/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=167287

Breakout Year

Breakout Year by KD Casey is $2.49! This is a Kindle Daily Deal. It’s available elsewhere, but I’m not seeing it at the sale price. This is a m/m sports romance with fake dating.

A newly traded, newly out third baseman on the cusp of his first major contract hires a fake boyfriend—not expecting him to be the former player who ghosted him years before. But as their star ascends in public, their feelings burn hot in private…threatening to expose what’s for the cameras—and what’s for real.

Eitan Rivkin is used to being first. First generation born to Russian immigrant parents, first overall pick in the draft, now the first ballplayer to come out… before his first big contract. It’s lonely being the first, and it’s especially lonely in the inescapable eye of New York sports media.

So when he wants to practice dating openly for the first time, he hires a boyfriend—only for the cameras of course. But he never expected that boyfriend to be Akiva Goldfarb, a once-promising player who disappeared after he and Eitan played together way back when.

Akiva is used to being first too. The first—and only—Orthodox Jewish player drafted to play professional ball. The first to quit when things got rough. The first named in the acknowledgements of the books he freelance edits, because, hey, the rent’s due on the first of the month. Being hired as someone’s (fake) boyfriend is just another gig, right? Even if Akiva left baseball—and baseball players—behind for a reason.

What starts out as a brief arrangement gradually transforms into something more. But being the first openly gay active player in professional baseball comes with a heavy personal cost, one Eitan is less and less certain he’s willing to pay. And when an on-field incident threatens to disrupt Eitan’s free agency plans, they’ll have to figure out if the truth is better than fiction.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

Next to You

Next to You by Hannah Bonam-Young is $1.99! This is a contemporary friends to lovers romance where the main characters are turning a bus into a cozy, movable tiny home.

Two friends battle feelings for each other as they work together to renovate a school bus into a home in this charming romance novel from the viral TikTok author of Next of Kin and Out on a Limb.

“Warm, sexy, and vulnerable . . . Hannah Bonam-Young needs to be on your romance radar.”—Hannah Grace, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Icebreaker

Lane is in the middle of an identity crisis. Her friends are all partnered up, her career is heading nowhere, and simply put, she’s not happy. So, after a night out celebrating her birthday, she makes one hell of an impulsive a giant yellow forty-eight-passenger school bus that she intends to make her home.

With little-to-no renovation experience but a large sum of inheritance money, Lane enlists the help of her friend Matt—a mechanic by trade, handyman by practice, and hottie by nature.

While their mutual attraction is undeniable, Matt and Lane have silently agreed that a friendship is the only thing that can ever exist between them. Matt’s a total family guy with “settle down with me” tattooed across his forehead, whereas Lane is entirely commitment averse. It could never work . . . right?

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

Dirty Magic

Dirty Magic by Jaye Wells is $1.99! This is book one in the Propero’s War urban fantasy series. Some readers warn that they couldn’t put this book down, while others felt the action was bogged down by world building.

The last thing patrol cop Kate Prospero expected to find on her nightly rounds was a werewolf covered in the blood of his latest victim. But then, she also didn’t expect that shooting him would land her in the crosshairs of a Magic Enforcement Agency task force, who wants to know why she killed their lead snitch.

The more Prospero learns about the dangerous new potion the MEA is investigating, the more she’s convinced that earning a spot on their task force is the career break she’s been wanting. But getting the assignment proves much easier than solving the case. Especially once the investigation reveals their lead suspect is the man she walked away from ten years earlier—on the same day she swore she’d never use dirty magic again.

Kate Prospero’s about to learn the hard way that crossing a wizard will always get you burned, and that when it comes to magic, you should be never say never.

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

Hyperbole and a Half

Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh is $1.99! I’ve been a fan of Brosh’s work for a long time and gave this a B grade:

Everything is told with Brosh’s trademark self-deprecation and accentuated by her oftentimes hilarious art style. I love how mischievous and expressive cartoon Allie is. I can’t help but laugh at “the simple dog” and how the animal looks positively boneless and made of jello in every frame. It’s a book with personality in every aspect of its pages and I enjoyed taking my time with it.

This is a book I wrote. Because I wrote it, I had to figure out what to put on the back cover to explain what it is. I tried to write a long, third-person summary that would imply how great the book is and also sound vaguely authoritative–like maybe someone who isn’t me wrote it–but I soon discovered that I’m not sneaky enough to pull it off convincingly. So I decided to just make a list of things that are in the book:

Pictures
Words
Stories about things that happened to me
Stories about things that happened to other people because of me
Eight billion dollars*
Stories about dogs
The secret to eternal happiness*

*These are lies. Perhaps I have underestimated my sneakiness!

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You can find ordering info for this book here.

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2026/03/a-graphic-memoir-urban-fantasy-more/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=167287

cakewrecks_feed

Posted by Jen

https://www.cakewrecks.com/home/a-failure-to-communicate-part-48-2026

There's something really beautiful about one person looking into another's eyes and saying, "I understand you."

And then the other person being all, "Then why did you write 'Au Caps' on my cake when I asked for it in all caps??"

As you can see, that was not the case.

[sound of pin dropping]

Ahem.

Granted, 99.99% of the time it's "Happy Birthday," but no no, bakers, I'm SURE that's right:

So Hill Birthday, Jill. HILL BIRTHDAY.

For an office retirement party Davis asked the baker to write all the retiree names around the cake randomly:

"No, YOU'RE out of order!!"

Fortunately Davis tells me they were still able to "enjou" the cake.

And lastly, my new favorite cake puzzle! Let's see if you can decipher what it was supposed to say:

What, haven't had your coffee yet?

Ok, I'll give you a hint: After all these years, this baker's days are numbered.

Answer way at the bottom!

Thanks to Leigh B., Jill H., Davis, & Cindy J. for the brain teaser.

*****

P.S. Here's a (hilarious) reminder that English is almost as confusing as these cakes:

P Is for Pterodactyl: The Worst Alphabet Book Ever
*****

And from my other blog, Epbot:

Give up? “Zoly” was supposed to say 2014. Ha!

https://www.cakewrecks.com/home/a-failure-to-communicate-part-48-2026

xkcd_feed

https://xkcd.com/3216/

In contrast to the deep booming sound associated with the cannon in pop culture depictions, recent studies show it actually made more of a 'toot toot!' noise.

https://xkcd.com/3216/

james_davis_nicoll

A friendly session of D&D for a worthy cause reminds former friends why they parted.

Rerolled (The Last Session, volume 2) by Jasmine Walls & Dozerdraws

malada

Excuse me, but did anyone have "Puppy-Killer Gets Fired for Sex Jet" on their bingo card?

Next!

Current Mood: cheerful

smartbitches_feed

Posted by Dahlia Adler

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2026/03/march-2026-queer-romances/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=167155

For whatever reason, March is one of the most packed months this year with regard to queer releases, and it’s got some of the best queer romances I’ve read in a while! Treat yourself to the kickoff of spring with one (or five!) of these delightful books!

Anderson in Bloom

Author: Jennifer Dugan
Released: March 3, 2026 by Avon
Genre: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA, Romance

From the author of Love at First Set, a hilariously sexy enemies-to-lovers, second-chance rom-com about a reclusive former child star turned florist whose quiet life is turned upside down when her annoyingly hot ex (and former costar) shows up in town, with plans to write a tell-all memoir.

Former child star Anderson “Andy” Ducharme is hiding—has been for a long time, if she’s honest with herself, which she isn’t.

When she suddenly cut off all ties and left LA six years earlier to work in a flower shop in coastal New England, she wasn’t just running away from toxic relationships, embezzling agents, and all the rest of her Hollywood life; she was running to something… sort of, if you squinted, and if you accepted that what she was running toward was little more than a vacation daydream she had made up with her (in)famous ex, and former costar, Nicole “Nikki” Price.

Then Nikki announces her plan to write a tell-all book about growing up in Hollywood and their tumultuous time on the Nik and Andy show, and Andy’s feelings of hurt and betrayal come rushing back. Emboldened by anger (and maybe one too many drinks), Andy does something very stupid: she texts her ex for the first time in years. No one’s more shocked than Andy when Nikki actually shows up to her small florist shop, looking for answers.

Andy is fully prepared to send Nikki away, but it seems Nikki has some unfinished business as well. Now that she finally knows where Andy’s been hiding, she’s not letting her go so easy. And with each passing encounter, Andy can’t deny the simmering physical attraction that threatens to boil over every time they get close.

But can the two of them really reunite without wrecking Andy’s carefully rebuilt life? Or is she setting herself up for a fresh heartbreak?

I am a die-hard Dugan fan, both YA and Adult, so hear me when I say this second-chance romance is her best one yet. Like, I took out a bookmark and didn’t even use it. The celebrity backstory element combines a fun, juicy gossip feel with one of my favorite things in a romance, which is “Let’s reconcile how you saw this thing going down vs. how I saw this thing going down,” and the way it works through toxicity in a romance is a lovely thing to behold.

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Want this book? Here are helpful buy links..

Star Shipped

Author: Cat Sebastian
Released: March 3, 2026 by Avon
Genre: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA, Romance

Cat Sebastian’s long-awaited foray into contemporary romance! A witty, emotional, and deliciously slow burn enemies-to-lovers romance between two costars on a popular sci-fi television series.

Simon and Charlie, actors on a long-running sci-fi show, can’t stand one another. Charlie is impetuous, outgoing, and basically feral, and Simon thinks he should have stayed in reality television where he belongs. They’ve spent the better part of a decade quarreling over the spotlight and pretty much everything else, and everybody in the industry knows it. Now that Simon’s contract is finally done, he can move to New York, start fresh with work he actually likes, and get away from Charlie.

Simon’s only problem is that people might assume he’s been pushed off the show due to being impossible to work with. And he is kind of difficult to work with. He doesn’t get along with people—unlike Charlie, who somehow tricked everyone on the show into adoring him despite some outrageously bad on-set behavior during the show’s first season. Simon would rather never have to see Charlie again, but reluctantly agrees to stage a very public friendship during the short time before he moves. When Charlie has to leave town to deal with a family emergency, this means Simon comes along. Their road trip brings Simon to places he would never have willingly chosen to visit—and he finds he’s actually not having a terrible time.

The more he gets to know Charlie, the more Simon suspects he’s underestimated his former coworker. Simon also realizes that after seven years, Charlie might know him better than anyone ever has. Even stranger, Charlie seems to be starting to actually like him, despite knowing him so well. Still, Simon is about to move three thousand miles away, so whatever’s starting between him and Charlie can’t really amount to anything… right?

I don’t really think anyone has any doubts as to whether Cat Sebastian, mistress of historical m/m romance, can pull off her first contemporary, but if you did, lemme go ahead and put ’em to bed. All the fun, wit, and chemistry of her historicals is perfectly present, and this one’s got mental health and neurodivergence at the forefront of its Hollywood story too. It reminded me a bit of a grown-up version of one of my all-time favorite m/m YA Romances, How to Repair a Mechanical Heart by JC Lillis, and if that means anything to you, you’re gonna wanna nab this one ASAP.

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Find buy links for this book here..

Thirty Love

Author: Tom Vellner
Released: March 10, 2026 by Alcove Press
Genre: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA, Romance

Things heat up on and off the court for two tennis rivals in this steamy debut gay sports rom-com, perfect for fans of TJ Alexander and Casey McQuiston.

American tennis star Leo Chambers is determined to win the US Open by thirty, the age when many players feel retirement looming. He’s just a year away from that dreaded birthday, but he can’t find his focus—considering he hasn’t told anyone he’s gay, he’s clashing with his strict coach (who also happens to be his dad), and he still can’t figure out how to beat his longtime nemesis on tour, Gabe Montoya, who, well, hits different. Gabe is playing better than ever, and Leo can’t seem to escape him—and maybe he doesn’t want to escape him.

Leo’s other obstacle is Sascha Volkov, a Russian legend who has such a powerful influence on the tennis world, he would destroy Leo’s career if he found out that he’s gay.

No distractions, Leo reminds himself. But when Gabe makes a shocking announcement, Leo is thrown off his game—in more ways than one. Ready? Play.

Thirty Love is a must-read for fans of queer sports romances.

Tennis is having a spectacular moment in queer romance right now for whatever reason (you’ll see at least two more featured in this very column in the next few months, and last year saw one of traditional publishing’s biggest deals ever for a debut Sapphic romance in Katie Chandler’s Backhanded Compliments), but in a sub-subgenre dominated by f/f pairings, I’m particularly excited to see what Vellner’s debut brings to the court.

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Want this book? We can help: buy links ahoy!.

A Lady for All Seasons

Author: TJ Alexander
Released: March 10, 2026 by Vintage
Genre: Historical: European, LGBTQIA, Romance

From the acclaimed author of Chef’s Kiss and A Gentleman’s Gentleman comes a riotous Regency romp, featuring a charming and unforgettable genderfluid lead.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a woman who has lost her fortune must be in need (not want) of a husband. Beautiful, cunning Verbena Montrose must marry to save herself and her odious family from abject poverty. Fortunately, what she lacks in a dowry, she makes up for in the currency of gossip.

When she hears an alarming rumor about her very dear, very queer friend Étienne that could ruin him, she comes to his aid with a proposal—for a marriage of convenience, that is. But when Verbena discovers that a mysterious and celebrated poet by the name of Flora Witcombe has been publishing verses that hint she is onto their scheme, Verbena has no choice but to pretend to be a poet herself to confront her in a local salon. And—unexpectedly—be charmed by her.

Flora, in turn, is terrified by and smitten with Verbena in equal measure. But she holds a secret of her he is also William Forsyth, a struggling novelist and fifth son of a minor noble family. And if circumstances don’t allow Flora to woo Verbena, perhaps William can. Faced with two suitors and a fiancé, Verbena, who has always had to be clever to survive in society, starts to realize she may need to think outside of society’s constraints to find true happiness.

Are you tired of hearing me gush about TJ Alexander yet? Don’t care! I’m obsessed with the delight they’re bringing to trans historical romance these days, and both the spirit and wit of their characters and the fact that there’s always a sweet found family aspect to it. This one’s got queer discovery, genderfluidity, yearning, and a plot fit for Shakespeare that’ll have you kicking your feet in the best kind of frustrated glee.

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Want this book? We can help: buy links ahoy!.

Shake Out the Ghosts

Author: Al Hess
Released: March 17, 2026 by Angry Robot
Genre: LGBTQIA, Paranormal, Romance

Left with PTSD and facial scars after an attack 9 months ago, eccentric portrait artist Micah finds the sanctuary of his home disrupted by signs of a haunting. Between 80’s synth pop and motivational messages scrawled on his bathroom mirror, Micah is more charmed than frightened by Cosmo, the deceased previous resident of his apartment. But when Cosmo’s ghost suddenly disappears, Micah’s determined to lure him back.

Dramatic, unconventional and very much alive, sculpture artist Cosmo mourns his old self. His boyfriend’s a serial cheater, he’s continually passed over for a promotion at work, and he’s lost his best friend. To make matters worse, his apartment’s being haunted by a bespectacled man with an eye socket of scars. Seeking a new start, Cosmo moves out.

In a chance meeting, Cosmo and Micah’s paths cross again, and tentative sparks fly. But the phantoms of their pasts still linger. To find a future where they can be happy together, they must confront their trauma once and for all.

Hess has made his name is weird (complimentary) queer and trans speculative fiction of the Dystopian/Sci-Fi type, so it’s very cool to see him swing into Romance while balancing similarly unique and unconventional plot with very real human trauma and growth. Very curious to see what Hess will do next!

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Find buy links for this book here..

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2026/03/march-2026-queer-romances/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=167155

smartbitches_feed

Posted by SB Sarah

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2026/03/friday-videos-are-uber-l33t/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=167184

Every now and again, I remember this video.

Well, sort of. Specifically I remember to sing and dance to it across the kitchen at inopportune moments.

I also love silly videos featuring game characters and screen recordings. It’s one of my favorite subgenres, even if I have NO idea which game it is (I know which game this is).

Watch on YouTube

Do you have any fave video game clips or parodies? Please do share in the comments – these threads are freaking delightful because we all have similar senses of humor. Which makes sense.

Happy Friday! PWN Your Weekend!

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2026/03/friday-videos-are-uber-l33t/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=167184

smartbitches_feed

Posted by SB Sarah

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/podcast/708-from-the-vault-sociology-romance-and-community-with-drs-jen-lois-and-joanna-gregson/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?post_type=podcast&p=167060

Thank you for joining me for a “from the vault” episode! This is episode 147, originally aired June 26, 2015, so almost 11 years ago.

Drs. Jen Lois and Joanna Gregson did a multi-year study on the community of romance authors and I have never stopped thinking about it. In this conversation, we’re talking about that study, what they learned about romance as a community, especially about gender dynamics.

Listen to the podcast →

Read the transcript →

Here are the books we discuss in this podcast:

You can find their published work based on this study in the following articles – these link to the abstract because I don’t have a membership to this academic database.

The music in the original episode was provided by Sassy Outwater. This is the Peatbog Faeries album Blackhouse. This track is called “The Dragons Apprentice.” Dragons!

If you like the podcast, you can subscribe to our feed, or find us at iTunes. You can also find us on Stitcher, and Spotify, too. We also have a cool page for the podcast on iTunes.

More ways to sponsor:

Sponsor us through Patreon! (What is Patreon?)

What did you think of today's episode? Got ideas? Suggestions? You can talk to us on the blog entries for the podcast or talk to us on Facebook if that's where you hang out online. You can email us at sbjpodcast@gmail.com or you can call and leave us a message at our Google voice number: 201-371-3272. Please don't forget to give us a name and where you're calling from so we can work your message into an upcoming podcast.

Thanks for listening!

Remember to subscribe to our podcast feed, find us on iTunes or on Stitcher.

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/podcast/708-from-the-vault-sociology-romance-and-community-with-drs-jen-lois-and-joanna-gregson/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?post_type=podcast&p=167060

austin_dern

On my humor blog there's some bonus comic strip content, some complaining about LLMs stealing my writing, one of my favorite Robert Benchley pieces, and a bit of nonsense about CHiPs because I was thinking about them for some reason. Enjoy!

And now let's continue with pictures from early July and the photographic beauties of Glen Echo Park.

Here's a view of the park's carousel, looking up a bit so you can see the arch of the carousel building, and also the slightly artistic touch of the outside reflected in the rounding board mirrors.

Better view of the tiger and two rabbits behind. So, how much does it remind you of Cedar Point's Kiddie Kingdom Carousel?

Some more of the horses on the carousel; you see what having National Park money behind the restoration will get you.

Also look at that jester's head; seen one anywhere near that on, like, my Kiddie Kingdom pictures?

Of course they have a band organ off to the side and it looks precious too.

bunnyhugger looking eagerly for tickets and it turns out you get them nowhere near the carousel because ??? ?? ?????. Anyway look at that great old rock-wall cladding at the base of the carousel building.

So we had to go past the Pop Corn stand, which is now in use for some artistic inspiration thing ...

And which is connected to the Arcade (no longer an arcade) and The Puppet Company (which is where we get tickets). Also, gads, what a beautiful building.

And past The Puppet Company are a bunch of fronts that were probably once midway game stalls but now host things like placards explaining the history of the place.

Here's one explaining the old arcade, from before the one you see here. Yes, I too am interested what was in the Lot O Fun.

bunnyhugger explores what had been the ride building for the Cuddle Up (a small teacups-type ride).

We couldn't be there at night, in case they still ever turn the neon on, but at least we can look at what had been the ticket booth beneath the lights.

Trivia: Between 1750 and 1786, Toulouse's spending on public roads increased from 1,200 livres per year to 198,000. Source: The Discovery of France: A Historical Geography, By the end of this era Toulouse had postal services operating for up to 90 miles from the city.

Currently Reading: Prehysterical Pogo (In Pandemonia), Walt Kelly.

loganberrybunny

Public

Crocuses, Jubilee Gardens, Bewdley
Click for a larger, sharper image
Another fine day today, and I had enough time to get the bus out to Ludlow. Usually a pleasant experience, and so it was today. I just pottered around the town, had a sausage sandwich in Aragon's and a pot of tea in Costa, and didn't really do a lot else. There are three separate traffic lights on the A4117, which seems a bit much and is not doing good things to the bus timetable, but fortunately time wasn't of the essence. The photo is actually from Bewdley a few days ago, because I kept forgetting to post it and I wanted to get it done before the idea of crocuses being out became completely ridiculous!

A discussion in the comments of an older and only tangentially related post from a bit ago has really got me thinking. I don't want to say any more here at this stage, because I hope to make a post about the underlying topic of that discussion. Suffice to say for now that it's the kind of thing I would not even try to post on social media these days, especially not US-dominated social media (which it is), because it absolutely requires me to say things that are true but also massively open to misinterpretation about my motives. That's all you're getting for now!

I managed to find some Zero brand sugar-free dark choc digestives, which I was very pleased about. It's not that easy to find sugar-free treats now, what with the shift in thinking against the idea of "diabetic food" over the last few years. While that in itself is understandable, it has led to quite a few treats that I liked on their own merits disappearing. I still mourn for Thorntons sugar-free mint chocolate truffles and Boots sugar-free chocolate seashells. Ah well. At least I have my biccies!

Current Mood: refreshed

james_davis_nicoll

smartbitches_feed

Posted by Amanda

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2026/03/cowboys-dark-romance-more/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=167234

Dom-Com

Dom-Com by Adriana Anders is $2.99! It’s a Kindle Daily Deal, so today only! Lara gave this one a B grade:

While I was frustrated by the third act and by the plot line that didn’t make sense, I was delighted by everything else. I really enjoyed reading Dom-Com and am very happy to recommend it to the Bitchery!

An experienced Dom and a baby sub must keep their kink-lives a secret after discovering they’ve just become office mates and professional rivals in this super-steamy contemporary romcom, perfect for fans of Lana Ferguson and Tessa Bailey.

An irresistible collision of dominance, deadlines, and an extremely inconvenient desire.

All Rae Jensen has to do is walk through the door. Inside the club is everything she’s wanted but was afraid to ask a ridiculously hot, brooding Dom with a sharp jawline, sexy forearms, and a low voice that sends goosebumps along her skin when he says “People here call me the General.” For one night, she can forget the stress and her endless responsibilities . . . and just be a saucy little sub, no questions asked.

It’s been a while since Grant Bowman met someone like Rae. Although he’s an experienced Dom, he doesn’t do newbies, especially ones who are such a sweet distraction. But one night couldn’t possibly hurt—until the General discovers they’ll be working together IRL at his new consulting job. Now what started as control is turning into the kind of chaos that destroys careers. But there’s no safe word for falling in love…

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

I Hope This Finds You Well

I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue is $1.99! This was mentioned on Hide Your Wallet, and both Sarah and I were excited for it.

As far as Jolene is concerned, her interactions with her colleagues should start and end with her official duties as an admin for Supershops, Inc. Unfortunately, her irritating, incompetent coworkers don’t seem to understand the importance of boundaries. Her secret to survival? She vents her grievances in petty email postscripts, then changes the text colour to white so no one can see. That is, until one of her secret messages is exposed. Her punishment: sensitivity training (led by the suspiciously friendly HR guy, Cliff) and rigorous email restrictions.

When an IT mix-up grants her access to her entire department’s private emails and DMs, Jolene knows she should report it, but who could resist reading what their coworkers are really saying? And when she discovers layoffs are coming, she realizes this might just be the key to saving her job. The plan is simple: gain her boss’s favour, convince HR she’s Supershops material and beat out the competition.

But as Jolene is drawn further into her coworker’s private worlds and secrets, her carefully constructed walls begin to crumble—especially around Cliff, who she definitely cannot have feelings for. Soon she will need to decide if she’s ready to leave the comfort of her cubicle, even if it means coming clean to her colleagues.

Crackling with laugh-out-loud dialogue and relatable observations, I Hope This Finds You Well is a fresh and surprisingly tender comedy about loneliness and love beyond our computer screens. This sparkling debut novel will open your heart to the everyday eccentricities of work culture and the undeniable human connection that comes with it.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

At Whit’s End

At Whit’s End by Bailey Hannah is $1.99! This is book four in the Wells Ranch series. It features a single mom and a friends to lovers romance in a small town.

A single mom struggling to raise her rebellious son finds unexpected support in a kind-hearted cowboy in this spicy romance from the author of Seeing Red and Change of Hart.

She’s afraid she’s not enough. He’ll make damn sure she knows she is.

Single mom Whitney Hart is, quite simply, overwhelmed. She’s struggling to raise her ten-year-old son, Jonas. Her ex-boyfriend only seems to come around and help take care of his son when he’s single and hoping to get back together. With Jonas acting out more than ever, Whit realizes she needs help keeping an eye on him over summer vacation.

Enter Colt, a fun-loving cowboy who is tasked with giving Jonas work to do around Wells Ranch to keep him busy. In Colt, Jonas finds a mentor and male role model for the first time in his life. And in Jonas, Colt discovers a friendship that brings a new kind of joy into his life.

Colt and Whit slowly develop a friendship of their own through a shared concern for Jonas, and over the course of the summer, it begins to spark into something more. The attraction and chemistry between them are hard to ignore, but Whit’s insecurities and hesitancy to trust men cause her to pull away.

As miscommunications give way to understanding, the two will discover that sometimes you have to first be broken before you can become whole, and that there’s no one way to create a family.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

Love Me Stalk Me

Love Me Stalk Me by Laura Bishop is $2.99! This is a dark cotemporary romance. The premise made me buy this one while I was shopping at Lovestruck Bookstore a couple months ago. Haven’t gotten around to it yet!

For fans of Lights Out and You comes a dark rom-com debut about a woman who confides her fantasies to an AI boyfriend app—unaware she’s really talking to her hot, tattooed coworker who hacked her phone.

When overworked department store manager Izzy Russo downloads an AI boyfriend app to fill the emotional void left by her inattentive real one, she thinks she’s just venting to a harmless chatbot named “Caleb.” In reality, she’s been pouring her deepest, dirtiest fantasies into the ears of Callahan Knight—her store’s brooding new head of security.

Because Cal? He’s been listening. The moment he saw Izzy, he knew she was his. Did he hack her phone? Absolutely. But who could blame him? A woman like Izzy deserves to be cherished by someone who truly knows her worth—and he’ll do anything to be that man.

So when Izzy finally sees her boyfriend for who he really is, and the danger she’s unknowingly been caught up in, Cal is ready to protect her, no matter the cost. Even if it means revealing the truth.

She might not have meant to build the perfect man. But he’s here now. And he’s never letting her go.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

Good Girl

Good Girl by Piper Lawson is FREE! This is a forced proximity, rockstar romance. It’s also the first book in the Wicked series.

Haley’s job is to keep rockstar Jax Jamieson out of trouble…

Not to fall for him.

I was hired to work for a legend. Instead, I’m being seduced by a man.

When I took an internship on rock god Jax Jamieson’s tour, I never thought he’d look twice at me. He’s older, cocky, jaded and nothing like the college guys I’m used to.

He’s gorgeous, rich, talented, and the biggest rockstar in the world.

Too bad I rubbed him the wrong way on day one.

Now he takes divine pleasure in making my life hell. During soundcheck. On the road. At the hotel after shows.

I need this job for reasons he can never know. That’s why I have to be cool under that smoldering gaze and arrogant grin.

The bigger problem is when the cynicism slips away, exposing the cracks beneath. When he lets his guard down to tell me things he hasn’t told a soul.

Because a million women might scream his name…

But he whispers mine.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2026/03/cowboys-dark-romance-more/

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/?p=167234

malada

...well, actually Mr. MAHA seems upset about all that sugar.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is gearing up for on iced coffee. The Big Huge ones with lots of sugar.

Look, we all know shoveling a lot of sugar is bad but seriously? Iced coffee? Aren't there more important things to worry about like MEASLES and WHOOPING COUGH?

Yeah, screw you, Kennedy. I will not give up my sweet sweet coffee. Come and take if, asshole.

Even though I don't care for iced coffee. Coffee should be strong as iron, dark as death and as sweet as love.

Current Mood: restless

cakewrecks_feed

Posted by Jen

https://www.cakewrecks.com/home/grammar-geeks-unite-2026

K, people, confession time:

Do unnecessary quotation marks make your eye twitch?

Have you ever left a comment on a friend's Facebook status explaining why it's "couldn't care less," not "could care less?"

Do you fix the spelling mistakes in other people's tweets before retweeting them?

Are you required by forces beyond your control to whip out a pen and correct misspelled store signage?

Must...cross out...apostrophe...

(And then...fix...capitals...)

(And then...add...exclamation marks...)

And finally, do you not only know what the Oxford comma is, but have a passionate stance on its usage?

If the answer to any of those is yes then you, my friend, are a fellow grammar geek. And today is our day. That's right; it's National Grammar Day! WAHOO!

Finally - FINALLY - we can pick apart spelling and grammar errors without fear of judgment from the text-speak-writing language butchers who keep "loosing" their minds! Today we are NOT the nit-picking jerks of the comment section; today we are HEROES. HEROES, I SAY!!

AHAHAHAHAAA!!

So let's get right to it:

Ah, yes. [pushing up glasses] You see, "whose" is an interrogative possessive pronoun, while "who's" is the contraction for "who is." In this context, someone is apparently asking for the identity of the owner of something euphemistically known as "40."

Haha! Isn't that a SCREAM?!

I honestly don't know why I'm not invited to more parties, you guys.

Maybe I should have started with something a little more common, though:

Now, see, there's an easy way to avoid this situation in the future:

Condoms.

And remember, it's "I before E except after C and when you're trying to write the word 'having.'"

Also those little dots are called an ellipsis, and there should only be three of them.

YES I REALLY AM THAT PERSON.

Not to mention the way that's written makes it look like someone is "haveing" a weird scrolly symbol. (Maybe the artist formerly known as Prince invented a new species?)

Hey, do you guys watch Sherlock?

What am I saying? You read this blog and therefore have EXCELLENT taste in entertainment, so of course you watch Sherlock.

Anyway, remember the beginning of that episode where Holmes is interviewing a murderer, and he keeps correcting the thug's grammar?

That was awesome.

Now where was I?

Ah yes, the importance of punctuation and discerning between "will" and "we'll."

It also appears this person isn't entirely certain that Dee Dee will miss me, which is hard to believe. I mean, in case you haven't noticed, I AM DELIGHTFUL.

And finally, allow me to share a quick word on foreign punctuation marks:

Gesundheit.

Thanks to Mary F., Mab R., Catherine B., David S., Bella P., Todd, and Zoë P., who have always known I'm a pro-Oxford-comma kinda gal.

*****

P.S. I found you some cute pens for correcting random signage in the break room. (I know that's oddly specific, but I stand by it, because I know you people.)

Mushroom Ballpoint Pen Pack (30 ct)

'Schrooms! And you get 30 for only $14!

*****

And from my other blog, Epbot:

https://www.cakewrecks.com/home/grammar-geeks-unite-2026

halloranelder

If you're a fan of science fiction, fantasy, and/or horror, this post is for you...

Worldcon is the annual convention of the World Science Fiction Society (aka WSFS).

(Terminology note: When Worldcon first ran in 1939, "Science Fiction" was a general catch-all term for all of the "fantastical" stories that nowadays are split between Science Fiction and Fantasy. One of the earliest examples of Science Fiction is Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, which can fall into either category, or both. In addition, it's almost impossible to have Horror, without some element of science fiction or the fantastical in the story. As a result, the WSFS encompasses Speculative Fiction in general, which includes Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror.)

Worldcon has run every year since 1946, at various locations around the world. Australia has hosted it four times so far: 1975, 1985, 1999, and 2010, all in Melbourne. Wellington, New Zealand, was supposed to host the Worldcon in 2020, but then 2020 happened, and they managed to pivot to a fully virtual convention in under three months.

There have been some wonderful Worldcons, and there have been... some problems. When some problems were revealed in early 2024 about most recent Worldcon, 2023 in Chengdu, China, I got really really angry, and discovered I cared about it.

As a result, I chose to put my money where my mouth was, and got involved in trying to run a good Worldcon, without the problems, here in Australia.

The Brisbane in 28 bid has built up since then, and site selection for 2028 happens this year in Los Angeles. As a result, we've gotten our bid documentation collected and submitted: https://www.brisbane28.org/the-brisbane-in-28-worldcon-bid-is-now-official/

(Please go and read the bid documentation we've put together. We've tried to pre-emptively answer every question that an interested party would be likely to ask, and we are really proud of what we've put together. I know that I definitely want to go to that Worldcon.)

We are not the only bid on the ballot, there is also a bid from Nuremberg, in Germany. There are a bunch of issues we have with that bid, but that's a whole other post. The main thing is: we have put a lot of effort into getting this far, and we want to win site selection and get to run our Worldcon.

What can you do to help?

Firstly, social media. The more people in the fandoms that know about this, the better (for the entire fandom, really.)

So, you can find us in the following places:

BlueSky

Facebook Page

Facebook Community Group

Instagram

You can also join the mailing list, to keep up to date. I will try and update, but there's a reason the bid has people who's responsibility it is to update social media with relevant information, and I'm not one of them. :)

Secondly, you can vote for us for Site Selection.

Unfortunately, voting does cost money, which is how they make sure that only people with an actual interest are going to vote.

To be eligible to vote, you must be a member of the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS). To do that, you need to buy a WSFS Membership for the current Worldcon (LA Con, in August). This will cost US$50 (approx AU$70 to AU$80 depending on exchange rates at the current time) and can be done from here: https://www.lacon.org/register/.

In addition to being eligible to vote in Site Selection, you also gain the right to vote in the 2026 Hugo Awards, and get the voting packet for the awards. Last year's voting packets was two zipped files totalling over 25gig, which included the full Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Amongst Thieves movie; samples from two of the other movies up for Best Dramatic Presentation Long Form; full ebooks of five of the books up for Best Novel and an excerpt of the sixth; copies of most of the novella, novelette and short story contenders; excerpts from parts of the six series' up for Best Series; samples of the works up for Best Graphic Story; and more.

The voting packet is worth it all on it's own.

To actually vote for us in the Site Selection, at some point later you will need to buy a voting token. Cost for this is still to be confirmed (it is something that the two sites up for selection will discuss and agree on) but it will most likely be equal to the cost of the WSFS Membership (US$50). Money collected for voting tokens goes to whichever Site wins Site Selection, and for the voter turns into a WSFS Membership for that convention.

So, voting in Site selection does cost money, but it's not wasted money.

When Site Selection actually happens, there will be five options on the ballot:
* Brisbane in 28
* Nuremberg 2028
* None of the Above
* No Preference
* Write In

Write in votes are only valid if the site in question manages to submit their bid documents before the close of voting. Otherwise they are used for joke votes by people who don't care who wins.

No Preference is considered a vote for both Brisbane and Nuremberg. These voters are happy with whichever one wins, they just want to get in early.

If None of the Above gets the most votes, then neither bid is successful, and the WSFS Business Meeting on the fourth morning of the convention would get very interesting. It's never happened in the history of the convention, but it's there in case it's needed.

Third thing you can do, is support us by giving us money. Running a bid is expensive, especially a non-American bid, as the majority of the people you need to persuade for you are living in the United States.

(A small aside on memberships: there are two main membership types for a Worldcon. The WSFS Membership I've already mentioned gives you access to nominate for the Hugo Awards, vote for the Hugo Awards, attend any virtual components of the Business Meeting, and means you are eligible to buy a Site Selection token and vote in that. It also gives you the right to nominate for the Hugo awards for the following year. It does not, however, allow to you attend the convention itself. To do that you need an Attending Membership, which you can buy after you have a WSFS Membership. There are usually multiple types of Attending Memberships, but they all allow you to actually (either physically or virtually) attend the convention.)

At the moment you can choose to give us a donation, or buy a presupport.

A donation simply goes into our kitty to be used to advertise our bid and drum up support.

A presupport does the same, but also gives you something out of it, should we win.

The presupports we have are:

Virtual Mate (AU$50) - turns into a Virtual Membership should we win.

Young Mate (AU$125) - turns into a YA (18 to 25) Membership.

Mate! (AU$250)- turns into a full adult Membership.

Best Mate! (AU$550) - also turns into a full adult members, but also includes a bunch of swag and merchandise.

The fourth thing you can do is get involved directly. We need volunteers for the bid, and will need volunteers for the actual convention itself. We also need more committee members, division heads, area head, and all the rest. You name it, we probably need it.

Current Mood: accomplished

Profile

reynardo

November 2025

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Page Summary

smartbitches_feed - Kickass Women in History: Queen Himiko
conuly - As one of life's petty problems goes
tcpip - Climatology Matters
loganberrybunny - Film post: Blade Runner (1982)
austin_dern - Still We Saw the Magic Was Fading Every Year
smartbitches_feed - A Graphic Memoir, Urban Fantasy, & More
cakewrecks_feed - A Failure To Communicate, Part 48
xkcd_feed - Bazookasaurus
james_davis_nicoll - Rerolled (The Last Session, volume 2) by Jasmine Walls & Dozerdraws
malada - Bingo card?
smartbitches_feed - March 2026 Queer Romances
smartbitches_feed - Friday Videos are Uber L33t
smartbitches_feed - 708. From the Vault: Sociology, Romance, and Community with Drs. Jen Lois and Joanna Gregson
austin_dern - What Will You Do When the Chips Start to Fly?
loganberrybunny - A few hours in Ludlow
james_davis_nicoll - Happy Threads Day
smartbitches_feed - Cowboys, Dark Romance, & More
malada - They're coming after the coffee now...
cakewrecks_feed - Grammar Geeks, UNITE!
halloranelder - Brisbane in 28...

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Once upon a redhead's dream

Reading

Breakout Year

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Next to You

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Dirty Magic

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Hyperbole and a Half

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Anderson in Bloom

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Star Shipped

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Thirty Love

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A Lady for All Seasons

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Shake Out the Ghosts

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Here are the books we discuss in this podcast:

More ways to sponsor:

Remember to subscribe to our podcast feed, find us on iTunes or on Stitcher.

Dom-Com

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I Hope This Finds You Well

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At Whit’s End

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Love Me Stalk Me

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Good Girl

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