“Love and Comets” and Other Stories is a collection of stories, poems, and journal/memoir that I published on my website in 2016.
The title story, “Love and Comets”, is a space adventure and slice of life story. Maria Flores has been sent on a mission to save the Earth from several comets heading for it. In the time leading up to her leaving, she meets Hailey Wen and they begin a relationship.
The other thirty-nine stories are a mix of scifi, fantasy, contemporary, and surreal.
Representation Includes
- Flash fiction collection; focuses on stories about trans women, lesbians, and trans lesbians
- Many protagonists are sapphic Latina trans women
- Title novelette “Love and Comets” features romantic relationship between Latina trans woman and East Asian (cis?) woman
Content Warnings
Medical procedure, car crash and death of loved one in “What’s the Last Thing You Remember?”; transphobia expressed and rejected in some of the “Contemporary” and “Memoir/Personal” pieces.Reviews
Where to Find
Details
- Published July 10th, 2017
Teenage baker Syd sends ripples of heartbreak through Austin’s queer community when a batch of post-being-dumped brownies turns out to be magical—and makes everyone who eats them break up.
“What’s done is done.”
Unless, of course, it was done by my brownies. Then it’s getting undone.
Syd (no pronouns, please) has always dealt with big, hard-to-talk-about things by baking. Being dumped is no different, except now Syd is baking at the Proud Muffin, a queer bakery and community space in Austin. And everyone who eats Syd’s breakup brownies . . . breaks up. Even Vin and Alec, who own the Proud Muffin. And their breakup might take the bakery down with it. Being dumped is one thing; causing ripples of queer heartbreak through the community is another. But the cute bike delivery person, Harley (he or they, check the pronoun pin, it’s probably on the messenger bag), believes Syd about the magic baking. And Harley believes Syd’s magical baking can fix things, too—one recipe at a time.
Representation Includes
- Agender bisexual protagonist who prefers no pronouns
- Transmasculine love interest who switches between “he” and “they” pronouns and who is demisexual
- Large queer supporting cast
Content Warnings
dysphoria, some misgendering (non-malicious), Break-up, therapy, coming out, divorce, surgery, sex,Reviews
- Alex Brown’s review
- Rainbow and Sunshine’s review
- Rampant Reading’s review
- Mimi’s review
- Utopia State of Mind’s review
- LGBT Representation’s review
Where to Find
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Haunted pasts, haunted houses, trans bodies haunted now and in the future by the controlling reach of society—the fiction of Gillian Ybabez breaks with reality and takes us into high-tech futures and fantasy worlds, brings us in touch with extraterrestrials, but it is always grounded by a profound emotional core.
Each strange tale evokes a series of questions which tear open our hearts. In the title story “Homeward Bound,” for instance, it might be: what if we can’t find home again, what if we remembered it wrong all along and that home never existed, what are we without a past to build the remainder of our lives upon, what remains possible now? While the final story, “Forget Me,” hints at perhaps not a resolution but a return: that even without a past, setting aside all that we’ve done and all that’s been done to us, that it is possible to start again.
The worlds Ybabez describes, like our own, are largely worlds that cry out to be utterly torn apart: heavily industrialized, based on exploitation, profoundly violent and alienating. But it’s heartening to see Ybabez point out the cracks in the walls holding up these worlds just as in ours. In the presence of these caring ghosts, hidden trees, and lesbians that gloriously live and live again we find the empathy and love that might save us all.
Representation Includes
- Flash fiction collection; has stories about trans women and lesbians
Content Warnings
Transmisogynistic comments (called out and apologized for) in “Body Renewal”; Danger to children in “Ghostly Defense”; Medical procedure, car crash and death of loved one in “What’s the Last Thing You Remember?”Reviews
Where to Find
Details
- Published May 18, 2018 by the Trans Women Writers Collective (now River Furnace)
- Trans Women Writers Collective booklet series #1
Set in a near-future world where the British Empire was preserved, not by the cost of blood and theft but by effort of repatriation and promises kept, That Inevitable Victorian Thing is a novel of love, duty, and the small moments that can change people and the world.
Victoria-Margaret is the crown princess of the empire, a direct descendant of Victoria I, the queen who changed the course of history two centuries earlier. The imperial practice of genetically arranged matchmaking will soon guide Margaret into a politically advantageous marriage like her mother before her, but before she does her duty, she’ll have one summer incognito in a far corner of empire. In Toronto, she meets Helena Marcus, daughter of one of the empire’s greatest placement geneticists, and August Callaghan, the heir apparent to a powerful shipping firm currently besieged by American pirates. In a summer of high-society debutante balls, politically charged tea parties, and romantic country dances, Margaret, Helena, and August discover they share an unusual bond and maybe a one in a million chance to have what they want and to change the world in the process —just like the first Queen Victoria.
Representation Includes
- WLW, mixed-race main character
- Bisexual, intersex main character
- Chinese-Canadian main character
Content Warnings
Clumsy handling of race and eugenics; major character who is initially shocked at learning she’s intersex; cheating in romantic relationshipEnding notes
Ending with f/f/m polyamoryReviews
- Lambda Literary’s review
- Acqua’s review
- Utopia State of Mind’s review
- Danika at the Lesbrary’s review
- Gretchen’s review
- Delucienne Maekerr’s review
- Elise’s review
- Kend’s review
- クリ’s review
- Reviews from intersex and First Nations reviewers needed
Where to Find
Details
- Published October 3rd 2017 by Dutton Books for Young Readers
- ISBN13: 9781101994979
Beatrice has always struggled with motion sickness in any form of travel. That’s why she made sure that she lived on the island of Maredudd, where she only rarely needs to get anywhere using anything other than her own two feet. However, it doesn’t make it easy for her to get anywhere in a hurry.
She gets called away for urgent help healing a friend who got bitten by an unknown creature and gets surprised by an unexpected invitation to a childhood friend’s wedding. She’s almost positive she won’t be able to get there in time, or in good shape enough to be able to attend the wedding.
However, with the help of two unusual friends and a little bit of magic, she’s going to try everything in her power to get there, even if it will be an unusual journey.
Representation Includes
- Aro-ace woman protagonist with a disability that gives her extreme motion sickness
- Bisexual supporting character
- Lesbian couple minor characters
Content Warnings
Animal bite and magical treatment for it.Reviews
Where to Find
Details
- Published January 31st 2019
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ASIN: B07MLMCPDC
Seersana University is worlds-renowned for its xenopsychology program, producing the Alliance’s finest therapists, psychiatric nurses and alien researchers. When Jahir, one of the rare and reclusive Eldritch espers, arrives on campus, he’s unprepared for the challenges of a vast and multicultural society… but fortunately, second-year student Vasiht’h is willing to take him under his wing. Will the two win past their troubles and doubts and see the potential for a once-in-a-lifetime partnership?
Representation Includes
- Two male alien/genetically-engineered characters with a very close queerplatonic-like relationship
- Jahir is, according to the author, bisexual
Content Warnings
Death of children; portrayal of asexuality experience that relies on tropes about lack of hormonesReviews
Where to Find
Details
- Publication Date: July 2, 2013
Derek is LitenVärld’s most loyal employee. He lives and breathes the job, from the moment he wakes up in a converted shipping container at the edge of the parking lot to the second he clocks out of work 18 hours later. But after taking his first ever sick day, his manager calls that loyalty into question. An excellent employee like Derek, an employee made to work at LitenVärld, shouldn’t need time off.
To test his commitment to the job, Derek is assigned to a special inventory shift, hunting through the store to find defective products. Toy chests with pincers and eye stalks, ambulatory sleeper sofas, killer mutant toilets, that kind of thing. Helping him is the inventory team — four strangers who look and sound almost exactly like him. Are five Dereks better than one?
Representation Includes
- Protagonist is one of five clones who make up the main cast; three of the clones are male, one is female, and one is non-binary/genderfluid
- Hints of M/NB romance
- Protagonist is strongly coded as autistic
Content Warnings
Gun violence; animal death; abusive workplace; detailed depiction of illness, including coughing up blood; minor body horror; some ableist and transphobic comments (pushed back against); hints of romance between two clonesReviews
Where to Find
Details
- Published April 20th 2021 by Tordotcom
- ISBN13: 9781250787491
A Dragon, a Phoenix, and an Opera House.
Bonds that transcend time, loyalties that defy hardship, and the magic of the places we call Home.
(Wherein a Dragon and a Phoenix make their living on earth in an Opera House.)
An Aromantic Chinese Fairytale.
Representation Includes
- Two aromantic Chinese protagonists
Content Warnings
Destruction of house in fireReviews
Where to Find
Details
- ISBN: 9781794632547
- ASIN: B07N2PCWT2
A magical island. A dangerous task. A burning secret.
Linus Baker leads a quiet, solitary life. At forty, he lives in a tiny house with a devious cat and his old records. As a Case Worker at the Department in Charge Of Magical Youth, he spends his days overseeing the well-being of children in government-sanctioned orphanages.
When Linus is unexpectedly summoned by Extremely Upper Management he’s given a curious and highly classified assignment: travel to Marsyas Island Orphanage, where six dangerous children reside: a gnome, a sprite, a wyvern, an unidentifiable green blob, a were-Pomeranian, and the Antichrist. Linus must set aside his fears and determine whether or not they’re likely to bring about the end of days.
But the children aren’t the only secret the island keeps. Their caretaker is the charming and enigmatic Arthur Parnassus, who will do anything to keep his wards safe. As Arthur and Linus grow closer, long-held secrets are exposed, and Linus must make a choice: destroy a home or watch the world burn.
An enchanting story, masterfully told, The House in the Cerulean Sea is about the profound experience of discovering an unlikely family in an unexpected place—and realizing that family is yours.
Representation Includes
- Gay protagonist (Linus)
Content Warnings
fatphobic dialogue and inner thoughts, ableism, discussions of child abuse/trauma, orphaned children, threats against childrenReviews
Where to Find
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Prince Kaveh, the youngest son of the king of the City of Red Clay, is bisexual, and completely besotted with Farzin, the engineer his father hired to oversee the improvements to the city’s roads and bridges. However, the king doesn’t share his positive feelings. After Farzin ends up at the head of the protest that ensues when the workers are only paid a third of their promised wages, he’s thrown in prison and is scheduled to be executed.
Queen Shulamit, who rules over the neighboring nation of Perach, is eager to assist the desperate prince. She, too, loves justice and has a same-sex partner. She’s also hoping Kaveh, with his royal blood, is willing to give her and her sweetheart a legitimate heir in exchange. But can she find a peaceful solution that will pacify the king next door, get his workers fairly paid, and free Farzin? Or will she and her dragon-riding bodyguard Rivka have to go to war?
Representation Includes
- Bisexual Jewish protagonist with anxiety and panic attacks (Kaveh)
- Lesbian Jewish protagonist (Shulamit)
Content Warnings
Homophobia in the settingAwards
- Nominated for the Bisexual Book Award