Awesome News Is Awesome

Digital art featuring four people, three of them in aviator jackets and one in a sci-fi type body suit. The one in the body suit is tall and pale, with four arms. Beside them is a tall blonde girl with curly hair. On her right is a smaller dark haired young man with a tiny black dinosaur on his shoulder. They are both wearing the same style of jacket. On the far left is a tall black young man wearing a duster.

Marten got signed by a literary agent!!!!!!

Our very own Marten Norr, Night Beats Artist-in-Residence and illustrator of The Sad Bastard Cookbook: Food You Can Make So You Don’t Die, is also an author. A really, really good author. He’s just been recognized as a creative triple-threat—his novel Oath and Entropy was signed to literary agent Maeve MacLysaght at Copps Literary Services

Stay tuned for future updates, so you can find out how to get your very own copy of a novel described as “What if the movie 1917, but with magic and dinosaurs and the queer isn’t subtext?” Til then, follow Marten on Twitter or Instagram.

Weird and wonderful stories on sale

Whimsical and dolorous, ironic and absurd, this slippery assortment of stories and fragments masks existential dysphoria with deceptive simplicity and hangdog comedy—all the while asking you to read what is not there, what is also there, what is parabolic.

Whimsical and dolorous, ironic and absurd, this slippery assortment of stories and fragments masks existential dysphoria with deceptive simplicity and hangdog comedy—all the while asking you to read what is not there, what is also there, what is parabolic.

During the 14th annual Smashwords Read an Ebook Week sale (March 5–11, 2023), get half off MELANCHOLIC PARABLES automatically by adding it to your shopping cart. Be sure to check out other titles too—thousands of authors and publishers will be giving deep discounts on tens of thousands of ebooks.

A Micropress Brain Melt …

tRaum Books’ weird, queer, agenre books are half price for the Winter’s Death-Rattle sale.

covers of some trauma books that you need to read

Darknesses

by Lachelle Seville || Dracula’s back and she’s not happy with Bram Stoker…

Most Famous Short Film of All Time

By Tucker Lieberman || Get ready!!!

Noema

By Dael Akkerman || Twelve thousand years ago, She chose two girls to save humanity…

It Helps with the Blues

By Bryan Cebulski || Jules leaves. Gabriel rages. Estelle changes. Joshua hides….

Airy Nothing

By Clarissa Pattern || Two boys find danger, love, adventure–and Shakespeare!

a + e

By Rysz Merey || My God, help me survive this deadly love…

The Pink and The Blue

By R Merey || aka ‘You can’t get fucked by the same river twice.’

Find love and confusion between the covers.

Weird, Touching, Agenre Queer Books … on Sale???!!! 

Til Feb 1 (well midnight Jan 31), name your own price (suggested $20) and grab tRaum Books’ entire 2022 catalogue!

That’s seven books, ranging from novella to art book to long novel, from a group of various trans/queer indie authors from all over the world. 

covers of some trauma books that you need to read

Darknesses by Lachelle Seville (neogothic homage) Recovering and broken, Oasis falls right into the arms of Bram Stoker’s original inspiration, currently inhabiting the form of Laura. ||  Most Famous Short Film of All Time by Tucker Lieberman (postmodern philosophical) Life takes a sharp turn for the Kafkaesque when Lev gets an anonyominous email at work. ||  Noema by Dael Akkerman (Mesolithic thoughtful) She’s a girl, she’s a bird, she’s a god; a re-imagining of our original cooperation and betrayal story. ||  It Helps with the Blues by Bryan Cebulski (subtle Midwestern) An introspective modern story about five Midwestern teens feeling their way through an unexpected tragedy. ||  Airy Nothing by Clarissa Pattern (Elizabethan daymare) A gentle, touched boy who longs to become a Shakespearean player gets his heart stolen by a pickpocket in seething London. ||  a/e by Ryszard Merey (novella, art uncomfortable) It’s an early 00s friendship mess. || The Pink and the Blue (art book PDF) by R Merey (neonvomit confessional) Created when the author had the worst extended insomnia of HIS LIFE and was possibly legally insane.

Have all our published books at your fingertips! Purchase this to get everything we put out in 2022 (and our one book from the end of 2021), in instantly downloadable digital form. What a mix of short and long, novella and art book; a range of storytelling styles from indie authors Lachelle Seville, Tucker Lieberman, Dael Akkerman, Bryan Cebulski, Clarissa Pattern, and Ryszard Merey. We want our books to be available to all, so for a limited time, there is the option to pay what you want for the entire bundle (suggested reduced price is 20 USD).

Gay Disaster Wizard Promos & Giveaways 

The Sleep of Reason is about gay disaster wizards trying to save the world. And start a revolution. And not break the future any more than it’s already broken.

So Human As I Am cover with shirtless Ian and Jonah

So Human As I Am: There are infinite possibilities, and not a single one where they don’t destroy each other.

Sometimes saving the world looks like smashing the system. At an anti-pipeline protest in Northern Alberta, the foul-mouthed, soon-to-be-famous wizard Ian Mallory meets the man who will be his friend, comrade, and obsession for the rest of his life. Which would be great if he couldn’t predict the future and if didn’t know exactly how this story would end. Unfortunately, Ian can, and he does. The prequel story to The Sleep of Reason trilogy, setting up twenty years of slow-burn pining and guilty repression.

The print edition of this story is a limited edition release, but we’re giving away the e-book for free to newsletter subscribers, so sign up and enjoy! Content notes are here.

P.S. It’s the same top-secret link as we always use, so if you already signed up, just follow the link in the newsletter!

Cover of Cascade with blurbs by famous and infamous authors who might make you want to read it?

Cascade: It was an orderly, very Canadian kind of apocalypse.

Sometimes saving the world looks like a painful compromise with the system, meetings and endless paperwork. Unfortunately, no one sent the fascists the memo that you’re supposed to stop the world from ending. The future’s looking as grim as it ever has, but maybe Sujay, the underpaid, emoji-spell wielding intern, can magic up something better.

Book 1 of the Sleep of Reason trilogy is available at all the usual online places, or direct from the publisher. There’s a free deleted chapter for newsletter subscribers. Content notes are here.

Sleep of Reason swag featuring postcards, pin, and sticker

Plus we have a special giveaway running through Jan 2022! Newsletter subscribers will be entered into a draw to win a free e-book copy of Cascade, plus postcards from your favourite destinations in magic-ruined, post-apocalyptic Canada, a “Re-elect Patrice Abel” election pin, and your very own Jonah-transformed-into-an-uncanny-valley-bear sticker! We’ll ship these anywhere. All you need to do is be a confirmed newsletter subscriber on Feb 1, when we select the winner. If you’re already on our mailing list, you’re already in the running. If not, don’t miss your shot!

What is This, More Free Books? 

Jan 2 brings us … another free romance e-book!

Cover of Trip The Light Fantastic

Trip The Light Fantastic Giveaway: 

Nothing heals a broken heart like an enticing new dance partner.

Eighteen-year-old freshman Chelsea DesRosiers is ready to reinvent herself. After an abysmal breakup with her cheating ex, Chelsea vows to step out of her comfort zone. The answer? Swing dance classes. Maybe not the best idea for someone with two left feet, but the overwhelmed Chelsea soon finds herself in the arms of swoon-worthy campus dance president, Lux Colford. The attraction rises as the two spend their extra evenings practicing their moves until an old flame of Lux’s shows up. Can Chelsea risk her heart again? Will Lux prove worthy of her trust, or will finding her inner strength mean walking away?

Have a sweet January with this Nicole Bea romance. The e-book is free on Amazon from Jan 1-5! 

Happy New Year & Happy New Free Books! 

Start your year off right with some January romance!

Unsteady cover with people cuddling on the front

Unsteady Giveaway: 

There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.

When Lincoln’s ex-girlfriend attacks him outside of the bar where he works, he doesn’t expect the confrontation to be thwarted by a baseball bat-wielding nursing student from the Collège de Saint Laurent. As Molly Catherine takes Lincoln to her apartment and treats his injuries, a surprise New Year’s Eve storm sets in and turns the city of Duchamp into a blanket of snow and ice. Downed tree branches and power lines cut off electricity, and in the dark of the long night, MC and Lincoln quickly connect both emotionally and physically. When the power finally comes back on and the plows begin to dig out the city, MC and Lincoln are left to decide what will melt first: the snow, or their instant connection.

Start your January this sexy New Year’s Eve romance. Free on Amazon from Jan 1-5!