Aster Glenn Gray

An m/m World War II-era retelling of Beauty and the Beast .During a chance summer shower, an English country parson takes refuge in a country house. The house seems deserted, yet the table is laid with a sumptuous banquet such as the parson has not seen since before war rationing. Unnerved by the uncanny house, he flees, but stops to pluck a single perfect rose from the garden for his daughter - only for the master of the house to appear, breathing fire with rage. Literally. At first, the parson can't stand this dragon-man. But slowly, he begins to feel the injustice of the curse that holds the dragon captive. What can break this vengeful curse?

At the height of the Cold War, a Soviet and an American agent fall in love.Soviet agent Gennady Matskevich is thrilled when he's assigned to work with American FBI agent Daniel Hawthorne. There’s just one catch: Gennady’s abusive boss wants him to honeytrap his American partner. Gennady doesn't want to seduce his new American friend for blackmail purposes… but nonetheless, he can’t stop thinking about kissing Daniel.FBI agent Daniel Hawthorne is delighted to get to know an agent from the mysterious Soviet Union… and determined not to repeat his past mistake of becoming romantically involved with a coworker. But soon, Daniel finds himself falling for Gennady. Can their love survive their countries’ enmity?

After a century-long sleep, a Union soldier wakes up in 1965.Cavalry lieutenant Russell Krause is all at sea in this strange new century of electric lights and automobiles. But he soon acquires a guide: Caleb O’Connor, a kind-hearted, history-loving college student with secrets he’s desperate to hide. Caleb is gay, and he’s completely smitten with this lively, warm-hearted soldier, who has swiftly become his best friend.But Russell’s nineteenth century understanding of friendship is far more affectionate than any 1960s friendship is allowed to be. In between telling Russell about escalators, record players, and the Civil Rights movement, Caleb has to explain that men in 1965 are no longer allowed to hold hands or share beds or kiss… which is tough, because Caleb would love to be kissing Russell.Despite these chilling changes in social customs, Caleb and Russell’s loving friendship grows ever closer. But the cultural divide may prove wider than even love can bridge. Content warnings: period-typical attitudes in general, but especially toward homosexuality.

The Great War cost Robert his left leg and his first love.A shattering breakup leaves Robert convinced that he is a destructive force in romantic relationships. When he finds himself falling in love with David, an old friend from boarding school, he's sure that he shouldn’t confess his feelings. But as their meandering conversations drift from books and poetry to more intimate topics, Robert’s love deepens - and so do his fears of hurting David.Since he was wounded, David has been batted from hospital to hospital like a shuttlecock, leaving him adrift and anxious. His renewed friendship with Robert gives him a much-needed sense of peace and stability. Slowly, David opens up to Robert about the nervous fears that plague him, and when Robert responds with sympathy and support, David finds himself feeling much more than friendship. But he’s afraid that he’s already a burden on Robert, and that asking for more will only strain their developing bond.Can these two wounded soldiers heal each other?Content warning: period-typical homophobia and ableism (probably less than is strictly period typical, but this is a romance novel, not a historical essay), implied/referenced suicide

Everything was fine till Jack fell in love with his former lover’s wife.Shy Civil War veteran Jack never expected to be involved in an affair du coeur. It seemed like a minor miracle when he and his comrade-in-arms Everett became lovers - and a painful return to reality when Everett married his sweetheart, Sophie. And the situation is only more complicated now that Jack has fallen in love with Sophie, too.When Everett found himself in love with Sophie, the proper thing for him to do was to end his dalliance with Jack and marry her. But even though everyone says it’s impossible to be in love with two people at once, Everett has never really gotten over Jack.Sophie’s unconventional family has shown her that love is not always simple. But she’s still startled to find herself responding to Jack’s very obvious crush - and to realize that Everett, too, still has feelings for Jack. How can they navigate nineteenth century romantic conventions and still find a satisfying arrangement?

“We’re in this together, share and share alike, you said, and you got to let me share the bad too.”Bold, streetwise James has been riding the rails in the midst of the Great Depression ever since he ran away from his uncle’s house two years ago. When he pauses to catch his breath with a stint in the Civilian Conservation Corps, he meets Timothy, who has never spent a day on the road but sure would like to give it a try.James figures sweet angel-faced Timothy will last a few weeks at most. They’ll jump a train or two, see some of the country, maybe fool around a little: on the road no one minds much about two boys canoodling. Then Timothy will get tired of slumming it, and head on home.In the meantime, Timothy’s just as much fun as James hoped and then some, and tougher than he looks, too. Soon James and Timothy share everything, splitting whatever food and money and good times they can scrounge, and leaning on each other when they run into trouble.But summer fades into autumn, and James knows that Timothy ought to go home before the deadly winter arrives. James can’t stand to keep Timothy in danger, but can he bear to lose him?Content notes for days. Police brutality, general fisticuffs, rampant petty thievery, pervasive low-key peril, transactional sex, sexual menace, references to child abuse, references to sexual assault, period-typical attitudes in general but especially toward homosexuality (by which I mean not only homophobia but “Which parties in this sexual interaction are actually considered queer?”). One of my beta-readers said she read half the book peeking through her fingers because it was so emotionally intense. Make of that what you will.

Christmas Eve, 1991. The Soviet Union is on the rocks, and so is George Douglass's career in espionage. Nonetheless, the American agent is wading through a blizzard on one last mission.But when George emerges from the snow at a supposedly abandoned chateau, it's lit up like a Christmas tree. And among the oblivious revelers, his Soviet counterpart Nikolai Meleshenko is sipping eggnog by the blazing Yule log.For twenty years, George and Nikolai have played cat and mouse, both in bed and out. But now the professional enmity that shaped their lives is dissolving. What can they build in its place?A short holiday spy romance full of Christmas cheer!

A World War II mmf retelling of Gawain and the Green KnightGawain Orkney, an impetuous flight lieutenant in the RAF, can’t say no to a bet. That’s how he finds himself spending his precious Christmas leave searching for a mysterious Green Chapel, where he’s supposed to finish the shooting contest that was interrupted when Gawain shot his opponent in the face. (His opponent, an uncanny man clad all in green, was not noticeably discommoded by the injury.)And when Gawain puts up for the night at a peculiar old tower, well, he can hardly refuse when the bluff, hearty lord of the manor suggests a wager. He’ll give Gawain all he catches on his hunting in the next three days, if Gawain will give him in return anything he is given in the tower.The wager seems simple enough until Gawain receives his first gift: a kiss from his host’s flirtatious redheaded wife…

A Little Red Riding Hood retelling set in pre-Revolutionary Russia.When a wounded wolf collapses on Masha's doorstep, Masha nearly kills it before her grandmother convinces her that this wolf is a transformed human. Once transformed back, the wolf turned out to be Masha's old friend Raisa, who has fallen afoul of a sorceress determined to use her magic to bring revolution to Russia. After a brutal confrontation with the sorceress, Masha and Raisa flee to France. They develop an act that catches the eye of a film director, who casts them in a silent film adaptation of Little Red Riding Hood… which alerts the sorceress to their whereabouts in France. Now the sorceress and her pack are coming for Raisa and Masha again. How can Raisa and Masha defeat their dark magic?

Handcuffed together. Only one bed. Which will win: Megan and Sarah's sizzling sexual attraction, or their compulsion to correct each other’s atrocious fandom opinions?Shy library science student by day, fanfic writer by night, Megan is thrilled when she discovers her new crush Sarah shares her favorite fandom. Smart, gorgeous, and brashly confident in her thoughts on fandom, Sarah is Megan’s dream girl… until Megan realizes that Sarah is also her Tumblr nemesis, who called Megan’s popular ongoing fic “the cancer that is killing fandom.” Clearly, they must never speak again.But when a writing club exercise leaves them handcuffed together, they have no choice but to duke out their differences, until they reach an agreement on the most important question of all: is hatesex as insanely hot in real life as it is in fic? (Yes. Yes, it is, at least in this steamy f/f novelette.)

ASIN B07SBFSHJ5 moved to the more recent editionAn f/f second chance romance about two young artists in love. When young artist Olivia accompanied her Renaissance 101 class on a weeklong trip to Florence, she expected to encounter art history, not her own past. But on the night she arrives, Olivia runs into her old friend Ashlin in the shadow of Florence’s famous Duomo. Olivia and Ashlin's intense junior high friendship left equally intense emotional scars when it collapsed years ago. But despite those painful memories, the two nonetheless begin to tentatively rebuild their friendship through discussions of art. Olivia slowly realizes that Ashlin has also changed a great deal over the years - and how much the pain of their final rupture had distorted her own memories of their passionate friendship. Most of all, she realizes that she’s in love with Ashlin. But does the elusive Ashlin love her back? And if she does, have they both grown up enough that they can avoid repeating the mistakes that destroyed their relationship in the past?

An m/m short story. In high school, Gabriel and Dmitri were friends (and maybe more than friends), until Dmitri’s family abruptly disappeared. Years later, they reconnect, but they can’t figure out how to move from friendship to romance until Gabriel’s pet winged dog lends a paw.Previously published in His Magical Pet: Benefit M/M Story Collection; now updated and expanded (with a sex scene!).

Eleven-year-old Piper’s been having a rough 2013. But when Piper chases a popcorn ball fifty years back in time, she meets Rosie, who greets Piper as an old friend. Although this is Piper’s first visit to the past, it’s far from the first time that Rosie has seen Piper. As Rosie explains to Piper, “It’s time travel! Do you expect things to happen in order?”The two girls swiftly become best friends. Together they eat cake, make snow angels, talk about books, slip back in time to witness a bootleggers’ shootout, and learn how to fly during a lengthy trick-or-treating session on Halloween.But Piper’s sister Angela doesn’t believe that Rosie exists - and soon Piper herself is worried that she won’t be able to visit Rosie much longer. Piper, Rosie says, is always eleven during their visits… and soon Piper will turn twelve.

An f/f epistolary short story. When Rosemary’s research on the elusive teleporting warbler takes her out of cell service, established middle-aged couple Eleanor and Rosemary keep in touch by sending letters via their winged pet cat Ursula.Previously published in Her Magical Pet: Benefit F/F Story Collection.