We spread them out so that no inbox (for those who subscribe to the blog) gets inundated with all the interviews.
Promoting them all at once would be detrimental to the awards as well as the authors because we rely heavily on social media. We promote on things such as LinkedIn, BlueSky, X (formerly Twitter), and Facebook. Facebook alone has over 50 groups we publish the blog in. If we promoted all the authors interviews all at once we’d have inundated the groups, angered a few admins, and probably lost our privileges in those groups.
There are a few groups we do not promote in for various reasons. Either the admins don’t want our type of promotions, there is a conflict with the admins, or Facebook itself has skewed our ability to promote in them. We’re just grateful Facebook doesn’t put us in a time-out for posting in over 50 groups when we do have something to promote. They used to and I suffered the consequences of being put in Facebook ‘jail.’
Having too much information does overwhelm people. This way, it gets the word out about the individual authors, their win, and their book, in a manner that doesn’t make people scroll on by the information. We want the authors to sell more books, promote them and their award, as well as get word out there about our award. We want them to find new readers and the readers to find new authors.
Our awards are unique. Not only does the winner get a physical award for entering, but the judging is triple, almost quadruple blind. What does this mean to those who enter? Your award is judged by anonymous judges, they don’t know who the other judges are, authors and readers don’t know who the judges are, and the judges don’t know whose book they are judging. The books entered do not have the title of the book, the name of the author, or the name of the publishing company on them. All of this is funneled through the Lesfic Bard Awards site and administered by me, K’Anne Meinel. I’m the focal point for all this information. And, believe me, I’m not telling! Also, to be honest, I may have forgotten, good thing I take great notes!
The books entered are given a unique number for the book itself, and the category they are in. The judges refer to this number as they judge the award and add their own unique judges’ number. All references to the books are with these numbers. I don’t even know who it is, or who has won, until the end of the season, when all judges sheets have been submitted, and all the numbers are tallied. Even then, I have to look up who was assigned that number to see who has won.
What we are doing is not rocket science but it does involve a few steps to keep it fair, anonymous, and flowing. It might take a little longer to get to the results, but we can’t think of a fairer way to provide an award for the author’s hard work. Our awards are crystal, the paint on them is hand-painted, and they are heavy! I know, I dropped one taking pictures for the awards one year and nearly lost my little toe. No kidding!
If you have suggestions on what we could do better, I’m all ears. I’m not so arrogant that I wouldn’t listen to reasonable suggestions on how to improve our outstanding awards for the authors and their books.
Where were you when you heard you had won the Lesfic Bard Award?
I was sitting in the car with two women I’d met for the first time just the day before. We had carpooled from the airport to our meditation retreat in Sedona, Arizona. We were making a grocery trip for the group when I, sitting in the passenger seat, checked my email…
What was your reaction?
I scrolled down, trying not to get my hopes up… When I saw my book cover I cried out, “Yes! I won!” and pulled my fist in.
My new friend asked, “What did you win? A million dollars?”
“I won the book award that I really wanted to win!” I said. “The double blinded, triple blinded one! The most important one!” I started dancing in the car.
Where were you born?
Pakistan. Worked hard to immigrate and integrate into the USA! J
What were your parent’s professions?
Dad was in the government, so I know how things work from the inside, and how they break down…
Mom was a yoga teacher, so I grew up with that body-mind-breath connection.
Pen name vs no pen name? What was your rationale?
Zaayin Salam is my pen name, for safety while I see how things go, and for a little more freedom than I would have with my official doctor name, and also because it’s easier than my real name. In fact, I like it more. J
Why do you write?
To self-connect. To get it out. I’m also hoping ‘my people’ will recognize me and find me. J Who am I?
What do you think makes good writing?
When the story is bigger than the writer, and the writer delivers it well.
How do you choose the names for your characters?
Names are so hard…. I started writing what was then called “The Legends of Free OWN” years ago in a private blog in 2009. Then I started residency and left it. I made up Zara’s name back then from a derivative of my real name, and Leisha was a derivate of the name of my ex back then…
When I realized a book was coming out of me in 2018, I picked up that old blog and changed it around. “The Legends of Free OWN” became “Planet B”, but when that name got taken by another book and a bigger author, I had 2 days to change it (because my designer was working on the cover and I had a deadline for an ad).
After going crazy for two nights I listened to my heart center while at the gym, and my heart center said: “With Love, and leave the rest up to them.” (Them meaning those above on the higher levels who had been helping me write the book). Yes, I really just said that. Yes, I was also surprised that I had even thought that thought. But it was a moment of truth. So the name became “From Planet B, With Love”, which then became the more palatable “With Love, From Planet B”
Thought I’d tell you about the name of the book as well, lol J
The names of the teams – I googled and chose the easiest names and then I stuck to it. For Zachavy I chose a name with ambiguous religious roots. For Keystone, I took “Lock-Heed” and made it “Key” and Keystone just came up.
If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?
Maybe more emotional drama, cause people apparently like that? Maybe more explaining?
But honestly, I couldn’t. I did the best I could. I’ve gone on to the next level and the ideas coming through now are just… something else.
What is the hardest part of writing a book?
Wondering if the message is coming across.
Realizing you’re dating someone who doesn’t like to read L (that didn’t last).
Not having anyone to ask questions and get feedback from L
What is the easiest part of writing a book?
Sitting down and typing! J
Do you think a book can have too much detail in it? Do you think it can detract from the story?
Oh yes, and yes. Writers have been taught to ‘show, don’t tell’ and ‘use all five senses’ and this has caused an era of over-descriptive books trying to copy TV. If it were not also for the over-prescription of Adderall, I suspect we’d have a lot less readers! Lol J just kidding! J
I might be too biased about this. Because I cut my book short by a lot. Instead of a series, I decided on a stand-alone novel. From 160k words I cut it down to 116k then opened the words up to 120k. It is very, very condensed… Each line had to survive elimination. So I hope people read it slowly…
I don’t want my readers spending their valuable energy visualizing an object or character. I want them to see ideas and concepts in their minds that only they can describe. My words are just a pathway. I want to take my readers deeper, and to take them there in one unbroken journey, without wasting their time.
I sometimes wonder if I should have explained some parts more… But it’s done now, and I did my best. I hope people will read or listen (or watch?) my book more than once, because it’s designed to take you further with each visit.
Do you have any writing rituals? And can you tell us about your writing discipline.
Yes, there was so much…
I had made an unspoken promise to myself (and all my readers) that beneath the surface story, there would be nourishing nuggets of Truth and Meaning, layered and patterned. I did not want to abuse the reader’s intelligence or trust.
I’m a medical doctor, writing about the real predicted extinction of our species, and diagnosing humanity with the Three Spiritual Diseases, and mapping out pathways to regain our ‘lost’ senses. I didn’t hide my metaphors. I was walking the border of fact and fiction, and then… several of my predictions started coming true!
This meant I had to go back and change the line about the Amazon fire (2019), and the mass animal death (Australian fire, 2019), and the part about the abortion ban (2022), and the mandatory gender registration part, and the Pakistan flood part (2022). Zion and genocide (2023). Migration caravans (2019). The Attention Economy.
I started taking this book more seriously. Sometimes I woke up and knew I had to change a single word.
Ritual: The right song, from my list, on repeat… It opens doors… Soft techno, Euro trance, or modern dramatic musical. I’m very picky – genuine, clean vibes only. Music is a powerful tool. Clean air. Clean intentions. I don’t visit the realms of smoke. There are no ideas in my book that originated from the realms of smoke. I am for clarity, and for health. This is my responsibility, my diagnosis, and my spiritual prescription.
I wrote all day, every day, as I wanted. This was a labor of love and fun, of realizations. There were moments of AWE when energy literally flowed through my body and goosebumps spread. This energy, this strength… is passed on to the reader.
The Discipline: My book became a spiral-ritual. My discipline was how to insert only the most divine truths in this book for you. During the last year of writing, I removed some of my ‘creative’ ideas and left it all up to the divine inspirations I had started to receive.
There is a method I followed which I detailed in my website, but basically, I had to see it and feel it, and understand it. Imagine sacred geometry, telling you a story. Let these gems take you into the dark so you can see your own light. You can trust the positives in my book. They take you to nondual realms. The negatives are all less real anyway, even in the dual realms.
What is your greatest fear as an author?
That after I die my book will disappear from the market. I wrote it for Gen C so it must stick around! J
That the book will be cancelled like so many feminist books.
Who do you have fans compare you to (other authors)?
I’m humbled and honored to copy-paste the following from on Amazon:
“It is classic “hard” sci-fi–taking on big, profound ideas in the tradition of Asimov, Clarke and LeGuin”
“Add Salaam to Huxley, Le Guin, Butler, and Sinclair.”
What are you working on now?
Nothing. I’m giving attention to my human self… do I want a relationship? Is there anyone out there for me? I’m also forever working on my abs… but eating chocolate and snacks so… Lol. J
How do you keep your different characters separate in your mind?
I used fewer characters J
Do you write full-time or part-time?
Part-time. In my real job I’m a hospital doctor, Internal Medicine.
Do you aim for a set amount of words/pages per day?
No, I have the opposite problem. I can’t stop writing, and rewriting, and rewriting. J
Where do your ideas come from?
Our creative imagination is very, very powerful. Having said that, strange things did happen. There were real levels, that were not of my imagination. That I reached for moments. I don’t believe things easily. Skepticism is healthy, but some of the messages and details, especially to do with the Three Spiritual Diseases and their Cures, came from … my Higher Self. From ‘up there’ somewhere. Not from this little head, or this personality. I was not ‘channeling’, I was tunnelling, digging through solid ground. Like a wall, or the Veil. The back cover of my book is the Veil nebula, btw.
Have you ever meditated? The back of your mind is like the back of your spine. Your cerebrospinal fluid. The secrets this fluid keeps are not for the conscious mind to know. The Kundalini rising. The subconscious mind.
The First disease, especially, was an unexpected gift. It was gift for speaking up about the 2nd disease, and for figuring out the 3rd.
Words are powerful. Language is magic. Darkness, for example, causes darkness. Darkness hides things. Darkness hid even its own defense from me. I used that word three times. Some things in the book are mentioned twice, (and the third time is in the reader). Some are mentioned thrice (and the fourth reverberation is inside the reader). These things were not planned. But they happened. Even when I listen to it now, I notice what my subconscious did, and I get goosebumps. Girl…! There is more magic in this “sci-fi” book than in most “fantasy” books that are all about magic. The book is a map, leading to where these ideas came from. The book is a manual. I worked five years and dug the way through, for you.
Do you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer just see where an idea takes you?
The ideas take me.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
An astronaut
What genres do you typically read?
I’ve read several lesbian sci fi books over the years, especially on kindle.
Are there any authors who have influenced your work?
When I was 7, I read a children’s book in my catholic school’s library where the kid is being bad so he’s sent off on a journey with other people who are also being bad. On their journey their bad behavior materializes as literal burdens on their backs that they have to carry. I forgot the rest but that idea, of the non-physical materializing stuck with me. I don’t know how but it probably influenced me, since I still remember it.
I googled it, apparently it’s famous! It was called “The land of far beyond, Enid Blyton.” Google says it was religious K, haah! J
What was the craziest thing you’ve ever done when it came to a storyline in your book?
I entirely removed and changed one sub storyline just months before publication.
Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say?
Yes! I love it. That it’s the most touching book they’ve ever read. That they felt seen. That it was great. J J J
What kind of hero/heroine isin your current book?
Zara is a survivor, a climate refugee with forced religious upbringing, who is slowly deconstructing religion. She loves learning, and climbed her way up, becoming a brain-programmer. She is very lucky to have become a Free OWN citizen and leader of the Teleporter’s Team.
She is insecure about exerting her authority over others, and about her job safety, but when shit hits the fan, she is a good leader of the team. She is a Master Lucid Dreamer! And this part of her job lets her believe in way too many things, straying away from science and reality.
Lex is athletic, and more intelligent than people might first assume. She took a job out at sea because life didn’t turn out the way she had hoped, but she isn’t fully aware of this. She is an atheist. She doesn’t believe in flighty things like Zara does, except the bare minimum. She was brought up by her dad and had a surrogate mother. She is a mathematician, happy to get lost in her equations. She is naturally confident and assertive, or perhaps its privilege. She is an American, and if she loses her Free OWN citizenship, it isn’t the end of the world, though it would suck…
What are your favorite character traits that you cannot resist?
Boss lady. Athletic stud. J
Some quickies (pardon the pun—pick twelve):
Satin or Lace?
Satin
Hot or Cold?
Hot
Denim or Leather?
Leather
Talking or Texting?
Talking in person.
Thunder or Lightning?
Thunder
Holding hands or Holding her attention?
Hold my Hands. Let my mind wander…
Mountains or Beach?
Mountains
Rain or Sunshine?
Rain
What were you like at school?
Shy and nerdy, over thinking. Slow to realize and respond when someone insulted or bullied me. L
What are your ambitions for your writing career?
To have as many people read my book as possible, to have thousands of 5-star reviews. To have it become a ‘classic’ for the future generations. J And to win awards, especially the LESFIC BARD AWARD!
If you could have anyone play the main character of one of your books, any actress/actor, who would you choose and why?
Hmmm
Kristen Stewart for Lex. A hot Persian/Indian/Pakistani actress for Zara. All the top actors. Will Smith for David. Oprah Winfrey for Spirit Dancer. Cate Blanchett as Sage. Let’s just keep an avatar for Muhammad J lol! J
How long on average does it take you to write a book?
With Love, From Planet B was my first novel and it took 5 years.
Do you ever get writer’s block?
No. I think that happens when someone is trying too hard to create a story.
Any tips on how to get through the dreaded writer’s block?
Ask yourself: What would you rather be doing? Is this really your greatest passion right now? Really? Really? J
How do you think you’ve evolved creatively?
I’ve evolved in more way than I can understand right now.
For your own reading, do you prefer eBooks or traditional paper/hard back books?
I like eBooks because I like the black background. In fact, I’m trying to get my book printed on black paper with colored images. Please subscribe on the website for that www.planetbthebook.com , because I won’t be able to sell that on amazon or other stores.
Do you let the book stew – leave it for a month and then come back to it to edit?
Only when I gave it to an editor, but even then I couldn’t stop adding new insights.
Tell us about the cover and how it came about.
I had it made in 2019 when I finished the draft. Not a good company. Then, years later I hired 100covers. I was open to fresh new ideas, but they came back with gloomy dark stuff, so I decided to stick to the original. They were very patient and always friendly as I went back n forth for a year. J
The images inside the book – mostly all me, except the chromosomes.
Do you think that the cover plays an important part in the buying process?
Yes
How do you market your books?
Amazon takes my ad-money but I don’t think it works.
Magazine ad – complete waste of money even in a lesbian event!
Tiktok – but that place is like a battleground mine-field of drama.
Facebook has a whole bunch of lesbian book groups – good place.
I speak to women at LGBT events – no idea if it works.
Now that I’ve won awards, it gives me the confidence to market my book better!
Would you or do you use a PR agency?
Yes I would… where are they?
Do you have any advice for other authors on how to market their books?
tiktok , facebook , Instagram.
What do you do to get book reviews?
I hope and I ask! J
Beware, there’s a lot of cheating. I joined the usual publishing voices and attended their zoom meetings… and guess what? They led me to fake review websites where authors give each other 5 stars. They scare you so much, I tried and in a few days I had three 5-star reviews but I shut it down immediately. Because it felt terribly wrong. What is the point? Empty fake reviews? I want human connection.
Certain people guarantee to make you an “Amazon bestseller” and even a “Barnes n Noble bestseller”, for $5000 and up. They cheat the algorithm.
It has lost its meaning.
Hence a triple blinded award is now more important than ever.
How successful has your quest for reviews been so far?
I have to try harder. It’s not easy to market yourself and ask for reviews.
Do you have a strategy for finding reviewers?
www.onlinebookclub.org gives genuine reviews and if you don’t like them, they don’t publish them. But the reviews will be on amazon India J hahaha
What are your thoughts on good/bad reviews?
First – I’m SO grateful for all the good reviews I get. Thank you readers. I love that you loved my book. Now please tell me, cause I’m dying inside!
As detailed above, there are many fake 5-star reviews nowadays. Is that book really that successful? Or were the stars bought n bartered? Our perceptions are being manipulated. We automatically think: ‘this must be good’. But we have to think: ‘this might be fake’.
Even book awards are heavily biased. Look at their friends, their circle, look at the donations, and then look at the list of finalists. Everyone has a bias.
So really, the triple blinded LESFIC BARD award is, in all seriousness, THE most important award for lesbian literature. And I am proud that such an award was created by lesbians. No body else has such high a standard. I think it speaks for the heart of the lesbian literary community. It is simply a brilliant idea. All lesbians should be proud that we have such an award.
1-star reviews are suspect… especially if a book is free or cheap. These are often hate-reviews. They have been used to cancel people, especially women. It happened to me and she hadn’t even read the book, yet made a video about me and everything, but I won’t go into detail here.
Any amusing story about marketing books that happened to you?
The amusing part is that I wrote a book about women’s issues and because I am fighting for women’s issues, I can no longer market my book about women’s issues, because I’ve been warned by several women who’ve been cancelled and fired for speaking about women’s issues, that if ‘they’ discover me, then ‘they’ will cancel me too, by a bombardment of 1-star reviews. J Amusing.
What’s your views on social media for marketing?
It works best when someone else does it for you! J
Nothing beats a Tiktok video someone else made praising your book. But everyone doesn’t want to make videos about books, so you cannot pressure them. They will DM me about how much they love it… but not even your biggest fans want to necessarily make a video about your book!
Which social network worked best for you?
Tiktok is good but Facebook lesbian book groups are better.
Any tips on what to do and what not to do?
If we heart-center, we’ll know what to do.
Did you do a press release, Goodreads book launch or anything else to promote your work and did it work?
I set up a pre-order and asked all my friends and family to get it for $0.99, so on launch day I automatically had 20 sales, and that was apparently enough to take me to #2 in LGBT fiction for one day. A male erotica was #1 by a far margin. Oh well. Lol J
Did you get interviewed by local press/radio for your book launch?
I did a bunch of podcasts. Now that I have won the LesFic Bard award and also the Indie Reader Discovery Award, I will try to find my local press and see if they are interested!
No free promo? Not enough marketing?
But also, most people want to read the same few famous books.
Do you think that giving books away free works and why?
Yes. I am giving my eBook away free indefinitely, because I want souls to read it all over the world, especially in poor countries. Growing up in Pakistan I know that cultures are very different, and it’s not typical for young women to have their own credit card. Sharing credit cards and amazon accounts means no privacy. It is my wish that my book be pirated on all the pirate book websites where women in poor countries can easily download it from google and read it without worrying about leaving any electronic trace. J J
Free is an important part of the coming Attention Economy.
This is why I wrote about Free OWN. In fact, this is the Free part of Free OWN.
Did you format your own book?
Eventually, yes, after initially having professional help.
In what formats is your book available?
1-Ebook.
2- Paperback/Hardcover from Ingram-Sparks (black and white).
3- Colored special printed on black paper: pls subscribe on website: www.planetbthebook.com
4- AUDIOBOOK! In the beautiful voice of multiple award-winning Gabra Zackman! J J
What is your favorite positive saying?
I cannot think of any. May I instead share two knowings that I have earned for myself?
“Love is that feeling, that when everything is lost, and you are in such a deep dark dense place that you cannot even generate a single positive emotion, and you cannot even generate a single good thought, LOVE, will come and touch you. Any love you ever felt for anyone. The love you felt will come back and touch you. It will save you. And when it touches you, attach to it.”
“Everything good is happening all the time, just below the surface.” Repeat this.
Where can you see yourself in 5 years time?
In the mountains, somewhere beautiful, preferably with a partner…
What advice would you give to your younger self?
Hello younger self – it’s you. You’re just different. All lesbians are not like you. Also, wh*res and sl*ts do exist, as much as you hate those words, and not all of those women are getting exploited. So don’t get too upset.
Also – Start doing planks sooner! It’s the only way you will get flat abs given your short torso L
Did you have a good childhood? Were you a wild child? Are you the ‘odd’ one out in your family?
Yes. Yes, and yes, the only gay one.
If you had to use THREE words to DESCRIBE yourself and you were looking from the outside, how would you describe yourself?
Fix your posture! J
20 years from now your books are assigned to a women’s studies class. What would you want them to say about your body of work?
Thinking about this should have been fun, but it made me sad, almost made me cry. Because my brain cannot ignore reality and facts. So…I hope this is okay, I had to fictionalize it, and turned it into a mini story. Imagine a young woman doing a book report on my book:
This book is perhaps more important today than it was 20 years ago when it was written. One after the other we have seen the author’s warnings come true. World leaders have been debating for the past 50 years, while cities got destroyed, and millions became homeless, which in some places turned them overnight into criminals. Women now have less rights around the world than they did only 20 years ago, due to both religious and non-religious ideologies, but to even speak about such things will get you cancelled by the AI, because the definition of woman it was programmed with was not based in biology. The AI thinks everything is just fine with women. It was programmed to not understand us.
(AI auto corrects the sentence and replaces it with the following suggestion) …but most women still report high levels of happiness and find their new roles very comfortable.
The 2020s was a time when books were being banned by extremist conservatives, and feminists were being cancelled by the extremist liberals. The author saw that there would be no equal and opposite reaction to correct these movements. No, Newton’s third law doesn’t seem to work the same for women, does it? What was being set in motion for women in the 2020s… by powers above the left or right, was a downward spiral. The author claims her book was a spiral-ritual, which is the root of the word “spiritual”, but what if she was trying to tell us something more? Something secret?
What if the pull of “pi”, that her character Lex felt on Planet B was something real? What if we could activate our right brains and regain our senses? What if the answer was inside us all along? She would say it doesn’t matter what she knew or didn’t, what matters is that the knowledge is there, forever, safe in our collective subconscious… waiting to materialize. And if there’s one natural resource that the female has more of, and better control over, it is the spiral… X marks the spot. Only the deserving will find the treasure.
Like Zara and Lex, we can dig our way into a better world. The Ten Tools are just the beginning. The author claims to have not known the power of the “Mm” sound until after she finished the book, but we now use the power of sounds and vibrations every day. Her job was to diagnose the root of the problem: the 2nd Spiritual disease – the most heinous infection – the male-god virus. Our job is to speak it out of existence.
We can no longer afford to be afraid of the darkness. We can no longer harbor the 1st disease. We must face the Unknown and walk right into it. The men will not leave what they have built, we women must lead the way. It is our time. It is literally us females who can and must do this. The Sanamay of Planet B said that our 3rd disease is the most difficult to cure, but it is time to face this animal. We women have been externalizing our power for far too long. It is time to internalize it.
Do you consider yourself successful at this thing called writing? What makes you think that?
Yes. You made me think that. Thank you, LESFIC BARD award!
Do you enjoy debates? Any particular subjects?
I like facts. Not everything is up for debate. And THAT is where the more interesting stories are being told. Would you like to hear them?
If you had a time machine would you go forward or back in time and why?
Forwards……!To see what happens….!
Is there one scene from your book that is the most memorable?
When Zara opens her dark-sight, and what she finally sees at the end of the second dark-sight chapter.
Bio: Dr Zaayin Salaam is the author’s pseudonym. She is an Internal Medicine MD and an energy worker. She lives in the US. You can learn more about her on her website: planetbthebook com
Lesfic Bard Awards is a participant in the Amazon Associates program. This costs you nothing additional if you use our links above. Every click on the buy links contributes a small % of the sale of the books to help us support our awards, advertising, and the promotion of the authors who are winners or runners-up.
On behalf of the 2023 Lesfic Bard Awards, I want to express my gratitude to the judges who gave selflessly of their valuable time to read the many entries we received this year. Not only did they read the entries, they graded them using a system we devised that we feel is particular to lesbian literature. While the judges’ names can’t be announced, I want them to know how much we appreciate their efforts on behalf of all the authors who entered our awards.
We are delighted that many of the judges who served in 2023 have already committed to return in 2024 for another year of the Lesfic Bard Awards.
If you have published since January or are planning to publish in 2024, you will want to enter your book in our awards as quickly as possible as outlined on our website because we anticipate our judges will be very busy as the year progresses.
To everyone who participated this last year, thank you, and we look forward to meeting and welcoming those who will participate in future awards.
Remember, only the Lesfic Bard Awards has the unique triple-blind judging. The judges do NOT know who the author is, who the publisher is, or what the book name is. This ensures that the book is judged solely on it’s merits!
Did you know we buy the books of each of the winners and runners-up from Amazon?
This is so that we can leave a review for them because reviews are so important to authors. Even a small review can help boost the algorithms so that an author’s book(s) can be seen.
~The Lesfic Bard Awards, making a difference, one book at a time.
Global terrorism, bioweapons, despots, and a deadly new virus all combine to make the world an unstable place, particularly for Samantha Michaels, an analyst with the Central Intelligence Agency, and for Cassandra Stanley, captain of a US Navy guided missile cruiser.
Fears mount as weapons of mass destruction are tested by North Korea’s Supreme Leader and a deadly pandemic sweeps through the world. When missiles capable of reaching the United States are tested, it’s clear North Korea must be stopped. Ripped from today’s news headlines, The Paris Contagion spans the globe.
Can the Supreme Leader of the Democratic Republic of Korea be stopped before Armageddon is launched on the world?
Fantasy
Elyon’s Ghost
by Alison Naomi Holt
Elyon’s Ghost is the second in the explosive new sapphic series, The Daughters of Elyon. This series introduces a world full of intrigue and adventure, one that pulls the reader deep into the lives of the characters and refuses to let go.
The story follows Sábria, the Arch Priestess, and her warriors, commonly known as Elyon’s Blades—strong female protagonists following the mandates of their Goddess, Elyon, who demands her warriors risk all to defend womankind.
Fiction
When It’s True
by Barbara Murphy
Happily married couple Beth and Kelly get a last-minute visitor for the holidays in the form of Beth’s womanizing ex-girlfriend Jackie, who boldly announces that she plans to walk away from this visit with more than just good memories.
When Kelly’s sister Paige arrives a day later, the sparks fly with Jackie. Kelly is determined to convince her sister that Jackie is not to be trusted. But Paige sees a different side of Jackie and puts her past heartache aside to give Jackie a chance.
Meanwhile, Beth and Kelly rely on the strength of their love to support each other through an unimaginable ordeal.
Historical
War and Solace
by Edale Lane
A battle-hardened shieldmaiden. A pacifist healer. Can the two find love amid the chaos of war? From Edale Lane, the award-winning, best-selling author of Sigrid & Elyn, comes a new Tale from Norgevr!
Tyrdis is a stalwart warrior raised to value honor, courage, and military prowess. When a traumatic injury renders the powerful protector helpless, she depends on the lovely, tender-hearted Adelle to restore her from the brink of death. Is it merely gratitude or true love that draws Tyrdis to the healer?
Defying cultural norms, Adelle despises violence and those who propagate it, but when her shieldmaiden patient saves the life of her beloved little girl, she must reexamine her values. Could Tyrdis be more than a stiff, efficient killer with an amazing body?
In a kingdom steeped in conflict with their neighbors and internal strife, shocking secrets are revealed, and both women strive to ensure justice prevails. Can they overcome their differences to safeguard their friends, end the war, and fall in love, or will fate prove to be a cruel sovereign?
This Sapphic Viking Historical nursed-back-to-health, opposites-attract Romance is packed with action, intrigue, and mythical references. If you enjoy rich storytelling that brings the past to life, vivid characters you won’t forget, and a surprise twist on the way to a HEA ending, then you’ll love War and Solace.
Mystery
Stormy Weather
by Iza Moreau & R. E. Conary
Book 6 of the Elodie Fontaine Mystery series finds the high school sleuth trying to solve her first murder. Trouble is, the murder happened 20 years ago and a strong hurricane has just devastated the ancient crime scene at Maudry Manor–an artists retreat owned by a beloved author of children’s stories. To top it off, her new friend Bell is being blackmailed by someone who has embarrassing selfies. Both the murderer and the blackmailer will try their hardest to make sure Elodie fails.
New Author
The Beginning of Goodbye
by Lark Sullivan
Would you follow your desires, no matter the consequences?
A friend, a lover, a stranger…follow the stories of ten women as they decide whether to risk everything to pursue the women they desire and discover the truth behind one woman’s journey to heal a broken heart.
Paranormal
Haunted by Myth
by Barbara Ann Wright
Chloe knew her future would be boring. Every job pales in comparison to the family legacy: hunting monsters and banishing ghosts. But that birthright belongs to her mother and sister, leaving Chloe forever outside looking in. Until her sister dies without warning. Chloe gets the family magic, a lack of self-confidence, a grieving mother, a sarcastic spirit guide, and room for nothing else, especially love. And lately, someone seems to be summoning ghosts and protecting monsters, and all clues point to one very famous face: Helen of Troy.
Helen has spent hundreds of years running a sanctuary and rehab for the last mythical creatures on earth. And she has a huge chip on her shoulder about that whole Trojan War thing. Neither she nor Chloe has time for the other’s philosophy or to see if their growing attraction is more than skin-deep, not when there are some monsters that won’t be sent to the Underworld without a fight.
Romance
Always Emilie
by Alyson Root
Charlie Baxter has it all. A beautiful house, successful company and a set of tattoos that light women on fire at the mere sight of them. Not to mention, she’s tall and gorgeous! Life is good… Well, that is until her old music teacher calls insisting she return to her old school to take part in their annual charity ball. Charlie left Pickerton Academy behind twenty years ago. She also left behind the heartache caused by the only girl she ever loved.
Emilie Martin is an international superstar. She’s had fame and fortune for the past two decades, but what she really wants now is a break. Maybe a couple of weeks in the English countryside and a visit to her old school is just what she needs. Sounds perfect, and it would be if it weren’t for the fact it meant seeing the one person Emilie has pined over for twenty years. The girl that got away. No, the girl Emilie threw away.
With both women on a collision course with their past, can they put all the hurt behind them and start again? Can they keep their hands off each other long enough to really figure out what they want?
Science Fiction
With Love From Planet B
By Zaayin Salaam
We ignored the climate deadlines. The bombs made it worse. Now it’s 2085, and the 6th extinction event is unfolding.
Zara is a master lucid dreamer, training her team in this rare skill, so that one day, if a suitable earth-like exoplanet is found, they can safely teleport there. It seems her dreams are coming true when Lex, her girlfriend and team mathematician discovers Planet B.
But Planet B won’t let anyone enter… Join Zara and Lex on their hero’s journey as they go within to find their real selves, and face new revelations about reality. Will they manage to cure themselves of the Three Spiritual Diseases that afflict all Earthlings? Will they get to survive on Planet B?
Cover
Say Their Names
by Karen Badger
Jo Benson is a political science professor. Tam Allen is a cardiac care nurse. Jo and Tam met several years previously, at a demonstration protesting police brutality against the black community.
After several years together, they relocate from South Carolina to upstate New York when Jo is offered a tenured position at the State University of New York.
Two years after relocating, Jo and Tam purchase an old mansion in the Adirondack region of New York. History collides when they discover secrets about their new home that will change their lives forever.
Join them as they strive to discover who had been living in their attic for sixty years.
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Each story is uniquely designed to intrigue and delight while inviting sensations of foreboding, terror, and surprise.
Terrorsylvania A Good Day Fer A Burnin’ A Grave Digger’s Revenge Diary from Hell’s Waiting Room The Incredible Ionizing Nano Aerosol Eliminator Dolly’s Place Witch Tit Mountain Promises Spider Island Say You’re Sorry I.M. Strange The STP Moths Handy Bob The Fog Flashlight Skull Castle
You’re invited to enter these worlds of the bizarre and unusual. Simply get comfortable in a dim candle-lit room and turn the first page.
Author’s Note – Some of these Sapphic adventure stories have been previously published as stand-alone offerings or included in group anthologies.
Fantasy
The Blood-Born Dragon Book One of the Everlands Cycle
by J.C. Rycraft
A bond she didn’t choose. A love she can’t escape. A creature so powerful it bends the limits of time…
Smart, sassy, and sanguine, Des Mildue is a traveling sellsword in Rescalin, a dry and dusty kingdom full of rogues, opportunists, and thieves. She keeps her nose clean, brazens it out with a blade when she can’t, and keeps others at arm’s length where they can’t mess up her plans.
That is, until a sword fight gone wrong leaves her tied by blood to the first dragon hatched in centuries. Suddenly, Des has to contend with a new voice in her head: haughty, willful Esquidamelion. Des wants to leave Squid by the roadside, but the blood bond has other ideas.
With half the world on their tail – including Liv, her beautiful, faithless ex who Des is definitely over – Des must search for answers for why so many are willing to kill, maim and torture to get their hands on Squid. But she’s beginning to suspect her blood bond has tied her not only to a dragon, but to a fight for Rescalin’s future…
…and no one else even knows it’s at risk.
Fiction
The Beginning of Goodbye
by Lark Sullivan
Would you follow your desires, no matter the consequences?
A friend, a lover, a stranger…follow the stories of ten women as they decide whether to risk everything to pursue the women they desire and discover the truth behind one woman’s journey to heal a broken heart.
Historical
Say Their Names
by Karen Badger
Jo Benson is a political science professor. Tam Allen is a cardiac care nurse. Jo and Tam met several years previously, at a demonstration protesting police brutality against the black community.
After several years together, they relocate from South Carolina to upstate New York when Jo is offered a tenured position at the State University of New York.
Two years after relocating, Jo and Tam purchase an old mansion in the Adirondack region of New York. History collides when they discover secrets about their new home that will change their lives forever.
Join them as they strive to discover who had been living in their attic for sixty years.
Red and Chris are the last lesbians living on the women’s land farm, oblivious to the secrets buried around them. If developers start digging before Tony finds the missing woman, Red and Chris are in trouble. When an old enemy returns to the village, will the rural community of Wooly Mill side with Oak Springs, or will homophobic history repeat itself?
And while Tony and Jade are rallying the women’s group, a devious plan is spinning around them. The supernatural detective needs to watch her step. The past has long fingernails, and they’re clawing at the ground beneath Tony’s feet.
I’ve been called Hero, Protector, even an Angel. But to act in this manner, there must be an act of brutal savagery. Sorrow, terror, pain is the Hero’s experience. To be a Hero means to live in a nightmare.
My name is Emma, and this is my life now. I remember tales about heroes as a kid; full of excitement and fantasy endings. But those are just stories. When I got my powers they seemed exciting and fun; but then reality hit. Cosmic war, invading alien fleets, and the Stone Keepers; these are my reality. Those, and other atrocities caused by our own species, overshadow the hero’s path. Atrocities I’m compelled to act upon, which leave everlasting scars – others can’t see. Myself, my partner, and my new friends, are the latest chosen as Gem Keepers. All of the Gem Keepers before us have fallen to a powerful evil. Now, Earth is thrust into a timeless war, against an unimaginable enemy. We must somehow unite our world, or it will all be lost. The ones I love, those who bring me a sense of happiness, will perish. I refuse to let this happen.
So call me a Hero, call me whatever you want. Just understand this was an Imposed Path, and it’s just the beginning.
The Imposed Path is the first book in the Gem Keepers Saga. It follows Emma through her eyes, as she and her new friends are forced into a cosmic war. Powerful enemies, invading alien fleets, and the dark side of human nature; is what she must face. Emma’s new found love, and friendships; will be her strongest tools in overcoming these challenges. This series will dive into the dark aftermath of Emma’s many experiences – the physical and emotional impact of being a hero. Pain, sorrow, and terror fill this journey; will love and friendship be enough. How much can a hero endure? Will she be able to keep her promise to the one she loves, and Never Let Go.
Consecrated Ground is a multiracial lesbian paranormal tour de force that will leave you wary of the shadows and absolutely breathless.
Like her father before her, Joan Matthews is a witch. For generations, their family of binder witches has protected Calvert, Oregon from vampires by strengthening the land with spellcraft. Pushing back against tradition, Joan defied her father and left town to become a war witch, one who fights the monsters hand-to-hand. But when her father dies, Joan returns to find her hometown assailed by a vampire lord’s endless attacks—and the answers lie with the one woman who chose a rival over Joan.
Leigh Phan once believed her heart was safe and her future was set. When Joan left town, Leigh’s choices led to ruin and unintended consequences. Now Leigh harbors a dark secret forcing her to live a moment-to-moment existence. Her only hope of survival lies in trusting the war witch who left her behind.
Now it’s up to Joan to fight for a town she left behind, while Leigh faces a destiny she never imagined was possible. With Calvert on the brink of total destruction, Joan and Leigh join forces and face inconvenient truths in order to save their town—and each other.
Romance
Baby Bank: A Lesbian Comedy
By Sarah Robinson
Mila Torres is a successful divorce lawyer by day, stand-up comedian by night and by all accounts—except her mother’s—living a bisexual elder millennial’s dream life in Washington, DC. That is, until she realizes she’s only a year away from hitting the ripe old age of thirty-five and her doctor suggests at her annual pap smear that maybe she should consider freezing her eggs if she wants kids in the future. Except, she doesn’t want a child in the far future…she wants a child right now.
This poses a bit of a problem since she’s ten swipes past single and living Golden Girls style with two of her best friends who work on Capitol Hill and one ornery old cat. That is, until she hears a story from a friend about a free sperm bank online app called Baby Bank. A few margaritas later and Mila has swiped on over fifty sperm donors until she finds the perfect match—handsome, successful, brilliant, everything you’d want your sperm to be.
Now she’s meeting him at a hotel—along with two of her friends for backup—to complete the process. All should have gone smoothly, except when she learns that her sperm donor is the brother of the reporter that Mila has been dodging for months, and that while she originally only wanted this man’s baby, she actually wants his sister, too.
In a comedic story of LGBTQIA+ romance and millennial-specific drama, Mila finds that motherhood and dating are not compatible when you keep it all in the family and that the modern millennial woman might not actually be able to have it all.
Science Fiction
Unity
by Gina A. Pond
Jack Kirby, haunted by the memories of a failed colonization mission and the loss of his lover, seeks solace in a new position as Religious Program Specialist on a remote PreCol station. Surprised to find a new family in his colleagues– his boss, the enigmatic Chaplain Marsha Brooks, cheerful Ensign Jenny, and determined Ensign Mark– he is able to finally start healing. However, after terrorists target a ship from the AI nation of Survey, Jack soon becomes embroiled in an espionage game that has galactic implications. As the stakes rise and dangers loom, can Jack keep his new family safe?
Cover
A Perfect Fit
by Kellan McKnight
Ella Gardner is a high school English teacher and former volleyball star who lost out on her chance to play in college when she became pregnant with her daughter in her senior year of high school. Fed up with the direction of her life, she acknowledges her sexuality at thirty-five and decides to try online dating. While her first and only foray into that world did not work out the way she had intended, happenstance brought her into the orbit of the woman who would change her life forever.
Parker Chase is everyone’s friend and every woman’s conquest. She’s always looking for her next one-night companion until a statuesque blonde strolls up to her bar one night. She never believed in love at first sight before now, but can she overcome a troublesome past which leaves her feeling unworthy of any lasting affection?
The twists and turns on the road to love are never easy to navigate. And with a cast of characters that will make you cry and keep you in stitches from one chapter to the next, this story visits old tropes and looks at them with new eyes. Happily ever after free with purchase.
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Hey there, hope you are having a terrific spring wherever you may be in the world!
We’re coming along on the last of the books, boy there were a lot this year, and the judges are wrapping it up. We are almost ready to announce the winners of the 2023 Lesfic Bard Awards. I know, you’re as anxious as I am!
Recently an author came to me and asked about our judges, were they college students I was using to read the books? We do not use college students and I don’t know why someone is spreading that particular rumor. The only thing I can think of was my own publishing experiences when I went back and had my early short stories and novellas read by students and polished, but that was years ago.
Our judges have been doctors, lawyers, teachers, and others who qualify to judge lesbian fiction. If any of them are back in college, students, they don’t make their personal life a part of our interactions. It really wouldn’t matter, at least in my opinion, because they are adults, judging books on their merits, the stories that make up our lesbian lives.
Occasionally, the website has gone down, I know that makes people (especially me) anxious as it makes it look like we disappeared. I’ve addressed that with our website provider, but hey, some of these things are just the joy of doing business in the world these days and we address the problems as they come. Like the rumor I mentioned above.
Should you have a question, please don’t hesitate to address it. Reach out to us and I’ll attempt to answer it as soon as possible. We want everyone to have faith in our awards, we’re attempting to make them the best there is, and I think after seven years of doing this, we’re succeeding.
Wow, another year is in the books (don’t pardon the pun). We will be judging all those last-minute entries for a while yet, but I’m so pleased with the things we put into place to make it more efficient. Things that you as authors and readers will never see, because that’s the way it should be. Seamless. Anonymous. No fuss, no muss.
Now, we wait. In the meantime, the website and the application has changed over for the 2024 season. We will begin accepting those applications immediately for any book(s) published in 2024.
We are also accepting applications for judges. Do you have what it takes? We have it outlined on the website for your convenience, but feel free to email your questions and concerns.
We always accept well-intentioned suggestions. After all, you might have ideas we haven’t even thought of as of yet. We appreciate your input. Email them to us, anytime.
On behalf of the Lesfic Bard Awards, I truly hope your 2023 was fantastic and that 2024 will be even better.
K’Anne Meinel, Author, Publisher, Promoter, and Lesfic Bard Awards Administrator
We have been on top of all the entries sent in this year (thank you for the wonderful response to our awards). If you haven’t seen an email (to the one you provided in your application) with your letter with your author number and entry number(s) for your book(s), please, please, PLEASE, check your Spam Folder. We are not responsible for these types of electronic problems. We do try to contact more than once if we don’t see a timely response, but if it’s going to spam, there is nothing we can do. We might try on social media, but as this is about anonymity, we can’t make an announcement that your entry is missing and inboxes can be ignored or unseen there too. So please, if you haven’t received your letter, check that ole spam folder!
Also, get your 2023 published book in soon! We are in the last quarter of this year and it’s amazing how fast it went. You have until December 31, 2023 at midnight, but don’t procrastinate until the last minute (for our judge’s sake, lol). Doesn’t your hard work, your baby, and your book deserve fair and honest judging? With our unique blind judging, we can’t think of a better way to judge your book.
Lesfic Bard Awards News 