Skye Kilaen: If I were a Weapon

Let’s welcome Skye Kilaen today, with a whole lot of amazing short stories for you to investigate. I’ve read some of these… An Offering of Plums is particularly striking… but a load are new-to-me and I am having to have some fun investigating.

Welcome, Skye!

Sometimes I want to read something I can be done with in one evening… without staying up way past my bedtime. (Don’t judge. We’ve all done it.) And as a romance reader and lifelong geek girl, I always love finding a short romance that’s sci-fi or has magic.

Here are some of my favorite picks for novellas and short stories in three categories: contemporary paranormal, fantasy and science fiction.

Contemporary Paranormal

The Haunting of Killian McKay by Leigh M. Lorien pairs a paranormal investigator with a genderfluid witch for a meet-spooky (did I just coin a new term?) that balances ghostly stuff, past pain being confronted, and attraction.

“In an effort to reinvigorate the paranormal investigation genre — and his career — Killian McKay makes the decision to livestream a ghost hunt in the house where he had his first supernatural encounter as a kid. To make sure things get interesting, he hires a witch to stir up the spirits in the house.

When the witch, Lady Ivana, turns out to be a handsome, muscular, genderfluid man named Ivan, Killian quickly realizes he underestimated just how interesting things can get.”

Alone and Palely Loitering by Julian Stewart is a fairy-tale feeling romance/romance-adjacent novella with an un-gendered main character, by an agender author. There’s a lot of pain in it, but a lot of beauty as well. I was absolutely captivated.

“Late one night, at a bar, two people meet over a cigarette. One of them is a cab driver. The other may or may not be real.

A tale of assumptions, expectations, bad habits, and the importance of listening to your instincts. And most of all, about love and the strange places you find it.”

A Duet for Invisible Strings by Llinos Cathryn Thomas checks so many of my favorite boxes: sapphic romance, middle-aged main characters, and gay pining. SO much gay pining.

“Heledd, leader of the first violins, has been in love with her irrepressible conductor Rosemary for years.

She’s keeping a secret that means she can never be with Rosemary, but the time they spend working and performing together is enough for her – until a near miss with a speeding car forces her to reevaluate everything she thought she knew.

When the orchestra is mysteriously summoned to perform in the Welsh village where Heledd grew up – a village she hasn’t returned to in decades – the life she’s made for herself begins to unravel, and her secrets threaten to escape.

A Little Village Blend by ‘Nathan Burgoine is a sweet little M/M romance novella about a tea shop proprietor with magical powers and the soldier he’s crushing on who’s running himself ragged trying to balance work and taking care of his best friend’s gorgeous husky dog.

“According to Ivan’s sister Anya, Ivan’s tea leaves promise his perfect match is out there somewhere, just waiting to be swept off their feet. Ivan knows Anya’s always right—an annoying trait for a sister if ever there was one.

Ivan’s own knack with tea might not deal with the future, but it’s pretty good at helping with the here and now. When Walt, a tall, dark, and grumpy soldier shows up at his store, NiceTeas, in obvious need of a hand—and a dog-sitter—Ivan rises to the challenge and offers blends to make Walt’s life a little easier. There’s just no way he can help falling for the guy. But Anya says Walt’s not the one for Ivan, and the tea leaves don’t lie.”

Fantasy

An Offering of Plums by J. Emery is a romance between a man and a non-binary demon starts with attempted murder. It’s not the demon who’s at fault! Or the man, Tristan, who just wanted to have a nice picnic with his boyfriend. (Is that so wrong?!)

“When Tristan’s boyfriend invites him to the Guardian Hill for a date one night he doesn’t know what to expect. Certainly not the betrayal he ends up with as his boyfriend tries to use him to summon the guardian demon. But the demon has their own ideas about what makes a fitting offering and a terrified man is not it. The demon frees him instead.

Angry and hurt after the ordeal, Tristan returns to the hill again seeking not just answers but solace. Over time he and the demon develop a tentative friendship that may help him heal in more ways than one.”

Disclosure: Emery is an online friend, who became a friend because I loved this story so much that I reached out to say hi.

Through Fire by Parker Jaysen is a magic + tech post-apocalyptic short story that jumped onto my fave f/f romance list the minute I finished it. It’s a series starter but each book follows a different couple.

“Vick and Alice are powerful mages – and estranged lovers. Their mission, get the cargo intact through flame, acid, and evil magic. That’s supposed to be the easy part.

But for Alice, a scab has been ripped off an old wound. Does she steel herself against a torment of frustration, or does she dare to bare her heart? Being wrong would break her.

Then the mission decides to be not so easy after all.”

Lord Heliodor’s Retirement by Amy Rae Durreson is a fantasy romance with older characters, and one of my comfort re-reads despite some scary parts. I think it comforts me because the main character finds the courage to confront his trauma, but he doesn’t have to do it alone.

“Lord Adem Heliodor might have survived the Screaming, a magical attack which slaughtered his friends and colleagues in front of him, but his struggle to recover his nerves sees him forced into early retirement. Returning to his childhood home in the countryside, he isn’t expecting to find missing information about the plot which caused the Screaming or to find himself once more face-to-face with the man he loved and lost decades before.”

A Better Fate by D.N. Bryn is either a fantasy romance or romance-adjacent fantasy, but I’m not sure it maters which because it’s lovely. It’s about forgiveness, in the end. Highly recommended especially if you like folklore and fairy tale inspired stories.

“Hal remains undead for one purpose: to seek vengeance for her own demise. But with her body falling to pieces, her memories nearly gone, and a magical storm on the rise, that’s a tough job.

When a dryad offers to help Hal retrace her steps to find her killer, it seems fate might finally be on her side. Forgotten pasts are not always friendly, though.”

Disclosure: I fell in love with this story as I was beta reading it for the author.

A Chain of Beads by M. Arbon is a fantasy short with a romance subplot, and one of the best short stories I’ve ever read. Intense cultural worldbuilding and deep emotions. Amazing work, amazing kindness and care shown by the characters for each other.

“Goodman Stone fled tragedy at home to build a new life doing odd jobs at a school in Frael. When one of the students does something unthinkable, Stone comes to his aid. He is helped by schoolmaster Caerel, and as the relationship between the two men deepens, Stone contemplates a decision that will once again reshape the life he’s strung together.”

Disclosure: Arbon is an online friend, who became a friend because I loved their short stories so much that I reached out to say hi.

Science Fiction

The Cybernetic Tea Shop by Meredith Katz is a lovely, quiet novella about an asexual lesbian technician falling in love with the female robot proprietor of an old-timey tea shop. The domesticity they fall into is so warm and reassuring, and the mutual declaration of affection is so beautifully delicate.

“Clara Gutierrez is a highly-skilled technician specializing in the popular ‘Raise’ AI companions. Her childhood in a migrant worker family has left her uncomfortable with lingering in any one place, so she sticks around just long enough to replenish her funds before she moves on, her only constant companion Joanie, a fierce, energetic Raise hummingbird.

Sal is a fully autonomous robot, the creation of which was declared illegal ages earlier due to ethical concerns. She is older than the law, however, at best out of place in society and at worst hated. […]

When Clara stops by Sal’s shop for lunch, she doesn’t expect to find a real robot there, let alone one who might need her help. But as they begin to spend time together and learn more about each other, they both start to wrestle with the concept of moving on…”

Programming by M. Arbon is a fun little sci-fi M/M short story that pairs an ambitious television writer with a human-machine hybrid sex worker in a battle of wills in a charming spin on the fake dating trope.

“Introverted Lewis needs to increase his Social score for a shot at his dream job with his favorite serialized space opera. So he hires human-machine hybrid Cam to pose his boyfriend. But Lewis isn’t interested in a real relationship, and he takes steps to ensure that the liaison remains purely for show.

Cam dates people for a living. He enjoys his job, and he’s good at it. He’s not allowed to touch Lewis. But there’s nothing that prevents him from talking…”

Junk Mage by Elliott Cooper is a fun “meet cute with potential” story that does a great job with worldbuilding in a very short piece and bites off exactly the right amount of plot for the length.

“When technomancer Quillian Defote crash lands on remote planet Marutuk, he has limited time to repair his ship and get off world. If he fails, he’ll forfeit his position as professor of mechanical transmutation at the prestigious Ivy Arcanarium, and ruin his employment prospects in yet another sector.

Hunter, a cyborg guarding a junkyard that holds what Quill needs, is charmed by the wayward mage and wants to help him. But Hunter is bound by honor to dutifully guard his mistress and her possessions, no matter how cruelly she treats him.”

Necessary Repairs by Skye Kilaen… is by me, and it’s free when you sign up for newsletter, which is a hybrid of author news & queer romance and SFF recs. 

“Violet hasn’t seen her danger-loving business partner (and wife) Iona for months. They’re better off with at least two planets between them. But now a client’s offered them good money to retrieve an irreplaceable item from the man who stole it. Violet wants to say no, but their bank balance and ailing ship’s engine say yes.

It’s one day’s work and they’re both heavily armed. Surely they can get through one job together without breaking anything else?”