#queer-adult-sff — Public Fediverse posts

Author Spotlight: Queer Sci-Fi Author Astrid Abell

Astrid E. Abell (they/she/zhe/fae) is an autistic and ADHD author with a passion for storytelling, drawing, and languages. They have a bachelor’s degree in Asian Studies with a minor in Japanese—almost double minored in political science as well. They live at home with their parents, their younger brother, and their four cats. When they’re not writing and drawing, they can be found either practicing Spanish, Japanese, and Arabic, playing FFXIV, or looking for more books to add to their book hoard.

Author Links:

Website: astridabellauthor.com

Order Inarora’s Excursion: books2read.com/InarorasExcursion

Bluesky: @astridabellauthor.com
IG & Threads: @astridabellauthor
yGen, Tumblr, Pillowfort: seraphrdm

Read a Free Sample on BookFunnel: bookhip.com/KXRLSDK

Book Pitch for Readers/Book Clubs:
Inarora is sent into the past by an unknown group where she meets her great-grandpas and stays with them. While she waits for the Council of Sorcerers to get her home, she finds herself on a journey of self-discovery. Meanwhile, her father is left in the present, desperately searching for her.

We’re spotlighting your novel,  Inarora’s Excursion, a queer SFF novel in which the main character  Inarora is kidnapped and sent 50 years into the past. It deals with family, self-discovery, and useless bureacratic institiutions. How did all this come together in your mind for the story, and what were the frustrations, aims, and inspiration that went into this novel?

I don’t even know where to start on this. I mean, Inarora originally started years and years ago as a Naruto fanfic with the serial numbers filed off, but back when I was 16 and writing this, it didn’t have as much nuance and political aspects in it. It took a 5 year hiatus, where I came back with more education and experience in my back pocket, and realizing, I want to tell a story that comments on real issues and also reflects the world I see and the one I want to see. The original inspiration was Dungeons & Dragons, although it’s drastically changed from that, and now is more heavily inspired by Final Fantasy XIV and Naruto rather than D&D.

Inarora actually was my character when I started playing, and she was a half-elf sorcerer. And, well, that definitely changed!

Some of the frustrations I ran across, was trying to get feedback that helped. And I did get some! But one of the first instances, at least with the new version, was I once had Inarora’s Excursion on a critique site called “Scribophile” (I think), and… oh gods. That was a nightmare. Firstly, it’s not all that useful for novels especially because people never really go back and read earlier chapters. Just whatever’s in the spotlight. So a lot of people reading her was getting zero context, and they were confused (I can’t imagine why). Others were mean about their criticisms, including some who were like “Oh, Kaedan’s crying? How melodramatic!” (But his child is missing, I don’t know why it’s a problem for him to cry). After getting a harassing message in my DMs because I had to set up guidelines for critiques, I left and deleted my account.

Then, a year later, I’m getting my first edits. Now, I can’t really discuss the whole thing, but… I selected an editor I later found out I did not mesh with. And my book suffered for it. I didn’t know at all until it was too late and I had to pull Inarora’s Excursion down because of it. I felt pretty humiliated that I went through that. But I had great friends help me get back up, so shout out to Gigi Kiersten and S. A. Pavlik, and my partner Laika L. Gagarin! (Admittedly, Gigi wouldn’t let me stay down, they straight up dragged me back to my feet haha).

I selected a new editor, one I clearly mesh with, and S. A. Pavlik helped me rework my book with her alpha reading skills. And that’s the story of the blood, sweat, and (literal) tears that went into this one little book.

Where does your love of SFF come from, and what are your favourite pieces of media in this genre?

I think just how I grew up. I grew up watching everything from Angel to Star Trek, to Naruto and Natsume’s Book of Friends. Reading Warriors and well, basically anything I could get my hands on. Playing games like Ratchet and Clank, and when I was old enough, The Witcher 3 and Final Fantasy XIV.

Basically, SFF has been my whole life lol. In this genre, Final Fantasy XIV is my favorite in terms of gaming.

For books, I ADORE The Ashfire King by Chelsea Abdullah, Perception Check by Astrid Knight, We Free the Stars by Hafsah Faizal, and more!

As a queer, disabled author, what rep do you want to see more of in SFF, and what rep can readers expect in Inarora’s Excursion?

I think over all, I want to see more characters who are aspec (aromantic and/or asexual, and any other identities that falls under the umbrella) and people with chronic pain and chronic illness. I grew up watching and reading media where I didn’t see my dad represented—except in House, which I think was the only time I saw a cane user.

As an adult I’ve realized, I don’t see people in media like my friends—most of them disabled in one way or another. So I took it upon myself to research the different chronic illnesses my loved ones and friends experience, and I started incorporating them into my writing. After all, why wouldn’t I want to see my friends and loved ones represented? They’re part of the world I see, so naturally I have to represent them.

With queer characters in general, well like chronic illnesses and chronic pain, I have friends of many flavors of queer—and me, myself haha. I had almost no rep for aroaces growing up, but my dad knew I was ace when he heard about it for the first time. I was 17, and my dad said, “Astrid, you know, I heard the word ‘asexual’ and it being defined in this one show. I think you might be ace.” And that was when I realized, representation matters.

And as I got older, I learned more and more about myself as well like that I’m aromantic and non-binary, agender I think is what I am. And that was important to represent as well. So in all, I have as many queer characters as possible, though the main family all are aspec. Except Aymeria. She is the oddball but, I love her for it. She’s a lesbian though. I have aros, aces, non-binary peeps, some intersex, some trans, some gender queers. Gay grandpas, of course.

For disabilities, I’ve got auDHD characters, characters with hEDS (Which I also needed representation of!), fibromyalgia, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and back injury. And there are more to come!

The theme of family is really central in this novel, but it’s got a lot of positivity and gay elders. How did you develop this family and its dynamics, and why was this important to you to include in this novel?

Well the family dynamics stem from my real family. Mostly. The loving home, loving parents, that’s from my family. And I know not everyone has a good, loving family—I lucked out with mine—but I like the idea of showing that it is, in fact, possible to have loving parents. But the way I developed like Ina, Kaedan, Byron, Lysander and Seri? I don’t even really know how it came out that way. Ina, Kaedan, Byron were originally inspired by my Naruto fanfic, where it was Tsukiya (my OC), Kakashi, and Sakumo. Almost nothing of Kakashi and Sakumo remain in their counterparts, though haha.

Lysander was originally inspired by a former friend’s character who was Sakumo’s father in her fanfic.

Seri was inspired by her character who was not even in love with Sakumo’s father LOL. That’s a super long story though.

The way Lysander and Seri’s relationship came to be stemmed from multiple drafts and me trying to figure out who these two were. At first, they were friends. Then, they were polyam and had their own biological families. Eventually, this became too confusing for me to keep track of, and I decided Lysander and Seri were together from the start and for their children, Lysander had met someone who was willing to be a surrogate for them and also willing to stay in the kids’ lives. And the kids would spend time with both their biological mother but spent a majority of the time with their fathers.

Inarora does, in fact have a mom. But we don’t like her, and we don’t talk about her. For Kaedan’s sake lol. I don’t even know how I got Inarora’s mom to be a horrible person, because my mom is amazing. But somehow… that happened. Oh well.

What draws you to cat people as characters, and for your own author avatar?

Because I’m jealous of cats for their tails, haha. I wish I had a cat tail! Honestly, playing too much FFXIV did it. And as I wrote the cat people, I realized how much fun it is to incorporate ear and tail language into the toolbox of showing emotions. Nothing like a lashing tail to let you know the character is *not* happy. Also my author avatar, that’s actually my Naruto character, Tsukiya. They aren’t a cat person, although they wish they were too. I just loved the drawing, and also Tsukiya has always been a major part of me. Like I said, Ina was inspired by Tsukiya.

Lastly, what would you love readers to get from this book?

I gotta sit with this a bit. Because I want readers to get to see themselves, their loved ones, and see how useless bureaucracy can be. As well as a good laugh and a good cry. But also encourage people to think critically of the institutions in place, and question whether its set up is necessary. Why is there unnecessary red tape in areas, and unnecessary laws and law enforcement? There has to be a better way, that kind of thing. I want my readers to question this with me.

Like This? Try These:

Author Spotlight: Queer Sci-Fi Author Astrid Abell

Astrid E. Abell (they/she/zhe/fae) is an autistic and ADHD author with a passion for storytelling, drawing, and languages. They have a bachelor’s degree in Asian Studies with a minor in Japanese—almost double minored in political science as well. They live at home with their parents, their younger brother, and their four cats. When they’re not writing and drawing, they can be found either practicing Spanish, Japanese, and Arabic, playing FFXIV, or looking for more books to add to their book hoard.

Author Links:

Website: astridabellauthor.com

Order Inarora’s Excursion: books2read.com/InarorasExcursion

Bluesky: @astridabellauthor.com
IG & Threads: @astridabellauthor
yGen, Tumblr, Pillowfort: seraphrdm

Read a Free Sample on BookFunnel: bookhip.com/KXRLSDK

Book Pitch for Readers/Book Clubs:
Inarora is sent into the past by an unknown group where she meets her great-grandpas and stays with them. While she waits for the Council of Sorcerers to get her home, she finds herself on a journey of self-discovery. Meanwhile, her father is left in the present, desperately searching for her.

We’re spotlighting your novel,  Inarora’s Excursion, a queer SFF novel in which the main character  Inarora is kidnapped and sent 50 years into the past. It deals with family, self-discovery, and useless bureacratic institiutions. How did all this come together in your mind for the story, and what were the frustrations, aims, and inspiration that went into this novel?

I don’t even know where to start on this. I mean, Inarora originally started years and years ago as a Naruto fanfic with the serial numbers filed off, but back when I was 16 and writing this, it didn’t have as much nuance and political aspects in it. It took a 5 year hiatus, where I came back with more education and experience in my back pocket, and realizing, I want to tell a story that comments on real issues and also reflects the world I see and the one I want to see. The original inspiration was Dungeons & Dragons, although it’s drastically changed from that, and now is more heavily inspired by Final Fantasy XIV and Naruto rather than D&D.

Inarora actually was my character when I started playing, and she was a half-elf sorcerer. And, well, that definitely changed!

Some of the frustrations I ran across, was trying to get feedback that helped. And I did get some! But one of the first instances, at least with the new version, was I once had Inarora’s Excursion on a critique site called “Scribophile” (I think), and… oh gods. That was a nightmare. Firstly, it’s not all that useful for novels especially because people never really go back and read earlier chapters. Just whatever’s in the spotlight. So a lot of people reading her was getting zero context, and they were confused (I can’t imagine why). Others were mean about their criticisms, including some who were like “Oh, Kaedan’s crying? How melodramatic!” (But his child is missing, I don’t know why it’s a problem for him to cry). After getting a harassing message in my DMs because I had to set up guidelines for critiques, I left and deleted my account.

Then, a year later, I’m getting my first edits. Now, I can’t really discuss the whole thing, but… I selected an editor I later found out I did not mesh with. And my book suffered for it. I didn’t know at all until it was too late and I had to pull Inarora’s Excursion down because of it. I felt pretty humiliated that I went through that. But I had great friends help me get back up, so shout out to Gigi Kiersten and S. A. Pavlik, and my partner Laika L. Gagarin! (Admittedly, Gigi wouldn’t let me stay down, they straight up dragged me back to my feet haha).

I selected a new editor, one I clearly mesh with, and S. A. Pavlik helped me rework my book with her alpha reading skills. And that’s the story of the blood, sweat, and (literal) tears that went into this one little book.

Where does your love of SFF come from, and what are your favourite pieces of media in this genre?

I think just how I grew up. I grew up watching everything from Angel to Star Trek, to Naruto and Natsume’s Book of Friends. Reading Warriors and well, basically anything I could get my hands on. Playing games like Ratchet and Clank, and when I was old enough, The Witcher 3 and Final Fantasy XIV.

Basically, SFF has been my whole life lol. In this genre, Final Fantasy XIV is my favorite in terms of gaming.

For books, I ADORE The Ashfire King by Chelsea Abdullah, Perception Check by Astrid Knight, We Free the Stars by Hafsah Faizal, and more!

As a queer, disabled author, what rep do you want to see more of in SFF, and what rep can readers expect in Inarora’s Excursion?

I think over all, I want to see more characters who are aspec (aromantic and/or asexual, and any other identities that falls under the umbrella) and people with chronic pain and chronic illness. I grew up watching and reading media where I didn’t see my dad represented—except in House, which I think was the only time I saw a cane user.

As an adult I’ve realized, I don’t see people in media like my friends—most of them disabled in one way or another. So I took it upon myself to research the different chronic illnesses my loved ones and friends experience, and I started incorporating them into my writing. After all, why wouldn’t I want to see my friends and loved ones represented? They’re part of the world I see, so naturally I have to represent them.

With queer characters in general, well like chronic illnesses and chronic pain, I have friends of many flavors of queer—and me, myself haha. I had almost no rep for aroaces growing up, but my dad knew I was ace when he heard about it for the first time. I was 17, and my dad said, “Astrid, you know, I heard the word ‘asexual’ and it being defined in this one show. I think you might be ace.” And that was when I realized, representation matters.

And as I got older, I learned more and more about myself as well like that I’m aromantic and non-binary, agender I think is what I am. And that was important to represent as well. So in all, I have as many queer characters as possible, though the main family all are aspec. Except Aymeria. She is the oddball but, I love her for it. She’s a lesbian though. I have aros, aces, non-binary peeps, some intersex, some trans, some gender queers. Gay grandpas, of course.

For disabilities, I’ve got auDHD characters, characters with hEDS (Which I also needed representation of!), fibromyalgia, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and back injury. And there are more to come!

The theme of family is really central in this novel, but it’s got a lot of positivity and gay elders. How did you develop this family and its dynamics, and why was this important to you to include in this novel?

Well the family dynamics stem from my real family. Mostly. The loving home, loving parents, that’s from my family. And I know not everyone has a good, loving family—I lucked out with mine—but I like the idea of showing that it is, in fact, possible to have loving parents. But the way I developed like Ina, Kaedan, Byron, Lysander and Seri? I don’t even really know how it came out that way. Ina, Kaedan, Byron were originally inspired by my Naruto fanfic, where it was Tsukiya (my OC), Kakashi, and Sakumo. Almost nothing of Kakashi and Sakumo remain in their counterparts, though haha.

Lysander was originally inspired by a former friend’s character who was Sakumo’s father in her fanfic.

Seri was inspired by her character who was not even in love with Sakumo’s father LOL. That’s a super long story though.

The way Lysander and Seri’s relationship came to be stemmed from multiple drafts and me trying to figure out who these two were. At first, they were friends. Then, they were polyam and had their own biological families. Eventually, this became too confusing for me to keep track of, and I decided Lysander and Seri were together from the start and for their children, Lysander had met someone who was willing to be a surrogate for them and also willing to stay in the kids’ lives. And the kids would spend time with both their biological mother but spent a majority of the time with their fathers.

Inarora does, in fact have a mom. But we don’t like her, and we don’t talk about her. For Kaedan’s sake lol. I don’t even know how I got Inarora’s mom to be a horrible person, because my mom is amazing. But somehow… that happened. Oh well.

What draws you to cat people as characters, and for your own author avatar?

Because I’m jealous of cats for their tails, haha. I wish I had a cat tail! Honestly, playing too much FFXIV did it. And as I wrote the cat people, I realized how much fun it is to incorporate ear and tail language into the toolbox of showing emotions. Nothing like a lashing tail to let you know the character is *not* happy. Also my author avatar, that’s actually my Naruto character, Tsukiya. They aren’t a cat person, although they wish they were too. I just loved the drawing, and also Tsukiya has always been a major part of me. Like I said, Ina was inspired by Tsukiya.

Lastly, what would you love readers to get from this book?

I gotta sit with this a bit. Because I want readers to get to see themselves, their loved ones, and see how useless bureaucracy can be. As well as a good laugh and a good cry. But also encourage people to think critically of the institutions in place, and question whether its set up is necessary. Why is there unnecessary red tape in areas, and unnecessary laws and law enforcement? There has to be a better way, that kind of thing. I want my readers to question this with me.

Like This? Try These:

This is the most wildly abundant month for queer SF/F/H book releases since I started tracking them. SEVENTY-SIX new books on my October list, and I’m sure I missed some (I always do!) #QueerBooks #QueerAdultSFF

https://kilagreene.dreamwidth.org/3859.html

This is the most wildly abundant month for queer SF/F/H book releases since I started tracking them. SEVENTY-SIX new books on my October list, and I’m sure I missed some (I always do!) #QueerBooks #QueerAdultSFF

https://kilagreene.dreamwidth.org/3859.html

Crown of Roses has released today! If you love fantasy books with complex characters, hard choices, beyond control circumstances and characters fighting against fate, you will love this novella!

💙📚 🌈🚀💫 📚🌎 📢📚 🩷🧙‍♂️⚔️ 🪐📚 #BookSky #Books #queeradultsff #queerwriters

https://buy.bookfunnel.com/g07hsm4ru2

Did you know I have a standalone novel bundle on itch-io at just $15.99? For 7 novels? Most are queer as fuck! (Who am I kidding, all except one are queer!)

💙📚 🌈🚀💫 📚🌎 📢📚 🩷🧙‍♂️⚔️ 🪐📚 #BookSky #Books #queeradultsff #Queerwriters

https://itch.io/s/151141/standalone-fantasy-novel-bundle

If you want to support some marginalised authors on Itch-io, this is the perfect chance!

💙📚 #queeradultsff 🌈🚀💫 📚🌎 📢📚 🩷🧙‍♂️⚔️ 🪐📚 #BookSky #Books

https://books.bookfunnel.com/authors-on-itch/m8r08qaf45

Every book that you buy is money that goes to the following charity, y'know?

Look at that face! Don't you want to drop money for her?

BUY MY BOOKS!

💙📚 #queeradultsff 🌈🚀💫 📚🌎 📢📚 🩷🧙‍♂️⚔️ 🪐📚 #BookSky #Books

I have one on pre-order right now!

https://buy.bookfunnel.com/ch9xsidkh5

Are you looking for queer fantasy or sci-fi romances for St-Valentine's? Or, really, ever, because why limit yourself? 🥰

You can find all of ours at the link below, but this 🧵 has a small selection!

https://www.krakencollectivebooks.com/genre/romance/

#queerbookstodon #queerromance #QueerAdultSFF @lgbtqbookstodon

Are you looking for queer fantasy or sci-fi romances for St-Valentine's? Or, really, ever, because why limit yourself? 🥰

You can find all of ours at the link below, but this 🧵 has a small selection!

https://www.krakencollectivebooks.com/genre/romance/

#queerbookstodon #queerromance #QueerAdultSFF @lgbtqbookstodon

We are live!!!

My AWAKENINGS Kickstarter has officially launched. Please take a moment to check out the rewards, this is your chance to get these or other books from me for really cheap!

And spread the word, I really deeply appreciate every little help! 🥰

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/claudiearseneault/awakenings-the-chronicles-of-nerezia-1

@lgbtqbookstodon

#QueerAdultSFF #queerbookstodon #AsexualBooks

We are live!!!

My AWAKENINGS Kickstarter has officially launched. Please take a moment to check out the rewards, this is your chance to get these or other books from me for really cheap!

And spread the word, I really deeply appreciate every little help! 🥰

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/claudiearseneault/awakenings-the-chronicles-of-nerezia-1

@lgbtqbookstodon

#QueerAdultSFF #queerbookstodon #AsexualBooks