WPS 2026 Day 18: Derek Wilks

  

Wonderland Pride Spotlight Day 18: Derek Wilks

Welcome to day 18 of the 2026 Wonderland Pride Spotlight! This is my way to help champion LGBTQ+ books and authors this Pride month! Today I am interviewing Derek Wilks. Be sure to check out my Instagram for even more excitement with this event!

Derek Wilks's LGBTQ+ Release

• On Deck

The Interview

1. Are you LGBTQ+? If so, how?

"Trangender, bisexual, and asexual"

2. What rep do your books have?

"Trans for Trans rep (FtM x MtF)"

3. If you were to write in a different genre, what would it be?

"Fantasy or sci-fi, whether it be YA or adult fiction, which ultimately is my goal for future projects. As much as I love a good, grounded, human character, I want a little whimsy in my work."

4. What is your biggest writing inspiration?

"Some of my biggest inspirations come from lived experiences and real places that I’ve been in life. The people I talk to, the moments I’ve witnessed, all of those are crucial parts to my world building or character development. It really helps me create a real, human feeling character in the end."

5. Anything exciting for you on the horizon?

"So many things! I have three projects slated for completion before 2030. All Paths, a short story which will be included in The Beauty of Us, a trans centered anthology. An Oath of the Stars, the first book of a YA fantasy duology. And Ten Tine Hollow, an adult horror/thriller novel."

6. Who is a queer figure you look up to?

"Maybe it’s odd to say, but my great uncles on my mother’s side. People that I’ve never met, but they were the only other queer people in my family. Two gay farmers who lived and loved during a time where you got lynched for shit like that. It gives me a sense of strength and gratuity to exist and be able to live the way I do."

Outro

I adore this excuse to conduct little author interviews! Happy Pride everyone! Stay tuned tomorrow for another amazing indie author and their LGBTQ+ releases!

WPS 2026 Day 18: Xan van Rooyen

  

Wonderland Pride Spotlight Day 18: Xan van Rooyen

Welcome to day 18 of the 2026 Wonderland Pride Spotlight! This is my way to help champion LGBTQ+ books and authors this Pride month! Today I am interviewing Xan van Rooyen. Be sure to check out my Instagram for even more excitement with this event!

Xan van Rooyen's LGBTQ+ Releases

• My Name is Magic
• By the Blood of Rowans
• The Other Me
• Obscura Burning

The Interview

1. Are you LGBTQ+? If so, how?

" Nonbinary, demi ace bisexual"

2. What rep do your books have?

"My Name is Magic: queer

By the Blood of Rowans: queer

The Other Me: queer

Obscura Burning: queer"

3. If you were to write in a different genre, what would it be?

"Mystery. My work is already dark and I have already included 'murder mystery' style subplots in my books before. I also love all things noir and crime drama. I love shows like True Detective, Mare of Easttown, The Killing, The Chestnut Man, Blind Spot, Dead Winds, and I especially Nordic noir so it wouldn't be too much of a departure for me to write something in this vein with hints of something a little uncanny or otherworldly."

4. What is your biggest writing inspiration?

"Music for sure. So many of my stories or characters have grown from a what if spawned by song lyrics or imagery used in a music video for one of my favourite songs. I also love to travel and try to take note of a place's idiosyncrasies or oddities, which have also provided inspiration for story settings and world-building details."

5. Anything exciting for you on the horizon?

"Oh yes! On October 2nd my adult dark fantasy novel, Born of Malice, comes out from Ruadan Books and I am so excited for readers to meets my neuroqueer cast of fractious demigod siblings forced to set aside past grievances in order to save the city, and people, they love from annihilation. And then, in December, my YA cyberpunk retelling of Dorian Gray, called Exquisite Decay, comes out from Tiny Ghost Press, and I am beyond excited for readers to get their hands on my ultra-queer, anti-capitalist, tear-it-all-down take on Wilde's classic."

6. Who is a queer figure you look up to?

"So many, especially in the creative world! Marsha P. Johnson immediately comes to mind, as does Harvey Milk, and more modern figures like Dean Atta, Hong Seon-cheok, Alok V Menon, Awkwaeke Emezi, Hunter Schafer, Emma D'arcy, Elliot Page--there are truly so many queer creators who are using their platforms to create positive change, inspiring others within and without the LGBT+ community to live their truth loudly and proudly. I also have to mention the lesser known Swedish author Karin Boye who was vehemently anti-fascist and defied convention in the 1930s by divorcing her husband to live with a woman. She battled the rise of Nazism, the patriarchy, and the bigotry of religion, to embrace her sexuality as well as feminism, all while being an incredible poet, novelist, and fighting her own inner battles with depression. One of my all time films, and one that inspired me to start writing, is the dystopian, tech-noir movie Equilibrium. This film is largely inspired by Boye's similarly dystopian and thought-provoking novel, Kallocain, which deserves to be as well known as A Brave New World or 1984. "

Outro

I adore this excuse to conduct little author interviews! Happy Pride everyone! Stay tuned tomorrow for another amazing indie author and their LGBTQ+ releases!

WPS 2026 Day 17: Olivia Tildon

 

Wonderland Pride Spotlight Day 17: Olivia Tildon

Welcome to day 17 of the 2026 Wonderland Pride Spotlight! This is my way to help champion LGBTQ+ books and authors this Pride month! Today I am interviewing Olivia Tildon. Be sure to check out my Instagram for even more excitement with this event!

Olivia Tildon's LGBTQ+ Releases

• Iris of the Crowned Flame
• Toll of the Crowned Flame

The Interview

1. Are you LGBTQ+? If so, how?

"Agender and pansexual"

2. What rep do your books have?

"Bisexual and interracial relationships (Black man with white woman)"

3. If you were to write in a different genre, what would it be?

"I have published in fantasy romance already, and have so many stories waiting to be written as well. But, I also have some contemporary romance stories, including one that’s about 15% written, itching to come out. And I think that, in the more distant future, I may explore some YA coming of age stories, especially as my children reach that reading level. "

4. What is your biggest writing inspiration?

"Lately I’ve been studying my indie peers. They have so many amazing stories and ways to create that it’s hard to not want to learn from them! Some of my favorite ideas come from discussions with them where we talk about the experiences we have had."

5. Anything exciting for you on the horizon?

"Yes! My fantasy romance series has a new book coming. This one will follow Nymbria, a pirate captain introduced in the last book, and feature a nonbinary romance plus a dragon daddy that can manipulate time. That series will have two more books after, and I have been working on the overall story arc for that."

6. Who is a queer figure you look up to?

"Katee Robert, Harley Laroux, C M Nacosta, and Clio Evans have all written stories I love to return to again and again. I hope to write stories that others feel similarly. Though, I will say my stories are much more about mythic destiny story arcs and character-driven epic fantasy."

Outro

I adore this excuse to conduct little author interviews! Happy Pride everyone! Stay tuned tomorrow for another amazing indie author and their LGBTQ+ releases!

WPS 2026 Day 17:Asher D. Payne

 

Wonderland Pride Spotlight Day 17: Asher D. Payne

Welcome to day 17 of the 2026 Wonderland Pride Spotlight! This is my way to help champion LGBTQ+ books and authors this Pride month! Today I am interviewing Asher D. Payne. Be sure to check out my Instagram for even more excitement with this event!

Asher D. Payne's LGBTQ+ Releases

• The Illumination
• The Abyss
• The Backlight
• The Unveiled
• The New World
• Cast From the Dark
• Vanishing Point (co-write)

The Interview

1. Are you LGBTQ+? If so, how?

"Polyamorous and bisexual"

2. What rep do your books have?

"New World series: Mental health rep (cPTSD, depression, SI, anxiety, multiple characters have autism, though it is not directly stated), BIPOC, polyamorous, bisexual, gay, and demisexual"

3. If you were to write in a different genre, what would it be?

"In having explored dark dystopian, dark romance, and dark fantasy, I think the next genre I may try could be horror… 🤭 "

4. Anything exciting for you on the horizon?

"he dark pirate fantasy I’m releasing/have released (depending on when this is posted) is part of a multiverse, which will then bleed into a dark fantasy realm with a broody Commander and a feisty Assassin."

5. Who is a queer figure you look up to?

"I’d have to say RuPaul. I grew up watching him and just fell in love with how he was so openly… him."

Outro

I adore this excuse to conduct little author interviews! Happy Pride everyone! Stay tuned tomorrow for another amazing indie author and their LGBTQ+ releases! 

WPS 2026 Day 16: Willie Carver

  

Wonderland Pride Spotlight Day 16: Willie Carver

Welcome to day 16 of the 2026 Wonderland Pride Spotlight! This is my way to help champion LGBTQ+ books and authors this Pride month! Today I am interviewing Willie Carver. Be sure to check out my Instagram for even more excitement with this event!

Willie Carver's LGBTQ+ Releases

• Tore All to Pieces
• Gay Poems for Red States

The Interview

1. Are you LGBTQ+? If so, how?

"Queer, gay, and no gender label"

2. What rep do your books have?

"LGBTQIA, rural, poor and working class, Appalachian"

3. If you were to write in a different genre, what would it be?

"I have, at this point, written and published mostly poetry, but my newest book, Tore All to Pieces, is poetry and fiction, and I have a fiction novel I hope to have out soon! I am working on a poetry/creative non-fiction collection. I am interested in screenwriting; I love films, and I think it is an exciting place for characterization.

4. What is your biggest writing inspiration?

"People. I adore people, especially people whose stories get flattened. As a queer hillbilly from Appalachia, I know all too well how we're asked to choose a lane and drive in it. But my heart is with off-road people."

5. Anything exciting for you on the horizon?

"I have a Mothman poetry collection called The Red Ahead coming out in the next few months, and I couldn't be more excited!"

6. Who is a queer figure you look up to?

"There are so many that I will inevitably not say someone obvious! Oscar Wilde. Laverne Cox. Walt Whitman. I love brazen figures, people who flaunt and refuse to let the hetero gaze soften their choices or impact. People whose very existence feels like fire."

Outro

I adore this excuse to conduct little author interviews! Happy Pride everyone! Stay tuned tomorrow for another amazing indie author and their LGBTQ+ releases!

WPS 2026 Day 16: Ash Spring

 

Wonderland Pride Spotlight Day 16: Ash Spring

Welcome to day 16 of the 2026 Wonderland Pride Spotlight! This is my way to help champion LGBTQ+ books and authors this Pride month! Today I am interviewing Ash Spring. Be sure to check out my Instagram for even more excitement with this event!

Ash Spring's LGBTQ+ Release

• Spitfire

• Smoke and Mirrors

• Yield the Ghost (out in July)

The Interview

1. Are you LGBTQ+? If so, how?

"Polyamorous, asexual, panromantic, and nonbinary"

2. What rep do your books have?

"All 3 books have multiple instances of polyamory, gay and lesbian relationships and characters, and nonbinary characters"

3. If you were to write in a different genre, what would it be?

"I tend to write a range of genres as is - I'm currently working on a found family portal fantasy with an aromantic FMC, and my published/soon-to-be-published works are superhero sci-fi, and I have projects started which fall into more space opera sci-fi and (vaguely) historical fantasy genres - but I'd write erotica if I was brave enough to publish it."

4. What is your biggest writing inspiration?

"Anne McCaffrey, Tamora Pierce, J.R.R. Tolkien, and China Miéville are all authors I really enjoy reading and who kept my love of reading alive.

But music in general tends to be my main inspiration, whether it's a vibe or a lyric or a mood or whatever. I don't write without music! At the moment I'm listening to a lot of Lydia the Bard, Rabbitology, The Crane Wives, Lilith Max, Yaelokre, and The Amazing Devil while I work on my current WIP."

5. Anything exciting for you on the horizon?

"I'm finally launching book 3 of my superhero sci-fi trilogy in July! 'Yield the Ghost' is the final installment of The Villainess Trilogy and I'm so keen.

6. Who is a queer figure you look up to?

"Oh this is hard for me to answer! Uh... I don't know if it's considered 'looking up to' them, but I really like and admire Sir Ian McKellen, Janelle Monáe, Freddie Mercury, and Hayley Kiyoko. Is it a bit telling that my answers are mostly musicians?"

Outro

I adore this excuse to conduct little author interviews! Happy Pride everyone! Stay tuned tomorrow for another amazing indie author and their LGBTQ+ releases!

WPS 2026 Day 15: Vida Rose

  

Wonderland Pride Spotlight Day 15: Vida Rose

Welcome to day 15 of the 2026 Wonderland Pride Spotlight! This is my way to help champion LGBTQ+ books and authors this Pride month! Today I am interviewing Vida Rose. Be sure to check out my Instagram for even more excitement with this event!

Vida Rose's LGBTQ+ Release

• Things We Tried to Bury

The Interview

1. Are you LGBTQ+? If so, how?

"Trans masculine and bisexual"

2. What rep do your books have?

"Gay and bisexual"

3. If you were to write in a different genre, what would it be?

"If I were to write in a different genre, I think it would be sci-fi. I played around in the medium when I was much younger, but the world building always stumped me. I'm good at horror because I can use a degree of unbelievability in an otherwise completely realistic world."

4. Anything exciting for you on the horizon?

"I have a novel in the beta reader stage as we speak! I've had a photoshoot for marketing and the cover, and I'm planning to take some of it across time and reality, taking the audience along for the ride. You'll feel a part of the world, which feels appropriate for a work that holds queer community as a central theme."

5. Who is a queer figure you look up to?

"I look up to Andrea Gibson, rest in peace. Their work was a true guiding light when I was still exploring my own identity and resonates to this day. "

Outro

I adore this excuse to conduct little author interviews! Happy Pride everyone! Stay tuned tomorrow for another amazing indie author and their LGBTQ+ releases!

WWPS 2026 Day 15: Addison Lane

 

Wonderland Pride Spotlight Day 15: Addison Lane

Welcome to day 15 of the 2026 Wonderland Pride Spotlight! This is my way to help champion LGBTQ+ books and authors this Pride month! Today I am interviewing Addison Lane. Be sure to check out my Instagram for even more excitement with this event!

Addison Lane's LGBTQ+ Releases

• The Ones Who Couldn't Let Go
• The Light in Her Dreams
• The Black Tree Chaise
• The Girl Who Grew Antlers
• The Overcrowded Heart, The Witch's Judgment
• The North Star in Eclipse
• The Shadow Taller Than the Man
• The Lungs Underwater
• The Junction of Marrow

The Interview

1. Are you LGBTQ+? If so, how?

"Nonbinary, sapphic, and gray ace"

2. What rep do your books have?

"Yes, mental health is a major element of these books, all POV characters are queer (sapphic, gay, bisexual, trans)

Blackpines: BIPOC"

3. If you were to write in a different genre, what would it be?

"I love HorrorTube and horror audiobooks and horror podcasts; artsy movies like Midsommar and The Wailing; and if I'm on WebToon, it's horror I'm scrolling (zombies and dinosaurs get top billing)...but I write fantasy (dark fantasy, but solidly fantasy), so it'd be cool to write a true horror story. I have doubts about my ability to nail the timing and tension, but if I was writing in a different genre... I love monsters, I love survivors, and I really love onryou and other revenants. I would write horror."

4. What is your biggest writing inspiration?

"Patricia A. McKillip, World Fantasy Award–winning author and never hyped half as much as she deserves! First, I fell in love with the vividness and lyricism of her prose...then she revealed Nyx Ro, who has lived rent-free in my head ever since. I remember reading The Sorceress and the Cygnet in late summer, when the leaves were already starting to turn in the South, and feeling completely transported. A match lit inside me: the yearning to gift someone else a moment like that through my writing. I've been chasing the dream ever since."

5. Anything exciting for you on the horizon?

"I'm actually in edits on a collab with my wife and one of my best friends: a Space Fantasy trilogy we have dubbed 'The Aremiad.' This story is loosely inspired by The Iliad, with mafia families in Space, eldritch horrors, mecha, and burlesquers—just a lot of things the three of us love—centering on a motley quartet of unlikely survivors who are trying to evade the wrath of an axe-wielding queen gone off the rails with her quest for vengeance. We have high hopes for this one!"

6. Who is a queer figure you look up to?

"Just one!? Okay... Ocean Vuong. Both his poetry and his prose pluck something deep in my lizard brain. He opened up this profound realization of how words can be when we relinquish the mores and assumptions of writing. It's no joke when I say he permanently altered my intellectual makeup. Every person—doesn't matter who they are—should read his work."

Outro

I adore this excuse to conduct little author interviews! Happy Pride everyone! Stay tuned tomorrow for another amazing indie author and their LGBTQ+ releases!

WPS 12026 Day 14: Alethea Lyons

 

Wonderland Pride Spotlight Day 14: Alethea Lyons

Welcome to day 14 of the 2026 Wonderland Pride Spotlight! This is my way to help champion LGBTQ+ books and authors this Pride month! Today I am interviewing Alethea Lyons. Be sure to check out my Instagram for even more excitement with this event!

Alethea Lyons's LGBTQ+ Releases

• The Hiding
• The Somnia
• The Dreamwalker

The Interview

1. Are you LGBTQ+? If so, how?

"Bisexual+ and genderfluid"

2. What rep do your books have?

"The Dreamwalker: Bi+, non-binary, anxiety, adhd, multi-faith, black, latine, and arab 

The Hiding: non-binary, bi+, latine, arab, multi-faith

 The Somnia: non-binary, anxiety, latine, arab, multi-faith, self-harm"

3. If you were to write in a different genre, what would it be?

"I currently write cross-genre so that's tricky. If I had the patience for it, I'd find it fascinating to try my hand at historical fiction. I think it would take me forever, though. I'd get obsessed with getting everything right and never stop researching."

4. What is your biggest writing inspiration?

"Folklore and faith. I'm endlessly curious about the hidden things that people believe in."

5. Anything exciting for you on the horizon?

"The fourth and final book in my supernatural Seer of York series is nearly finished. I've also got some in-person events on the horizon that I'm really excited about. If anyone in Manchester, Shrewsbury, or Nottingham wants to say hi, that'd be great. The Nottingham event is specifically queer as well."

6. Who is a queer figure you look up to?

"A lot of queer writers who are friends and helped me discover myself. To name but a few: P. S. C. Willis, Sarah Fletcher, Amanda Casile, Tanya Pell, and Rae Wilde. For a recent historical figure, I'm going to say Alan Turing. He was an amazing scientist and saved so many lives. A real hero. I've used some of his work in fiction."

Outro

I adore this excuse to conduct little author interviews! Happy Pride everyone! Stay tuned tomorrow for another amazing indie author and their LGBTQ+ releases!

WPS 2026 Day 14: Heather Leighson

  

Wonderland Pride Spotlight Day 14: Heather Leighson

Welcome to day 14 of the 2026 Wonderland Pride Spotlight! This is my way to help champion LGBTQ+ books and authors this Pride month! Today I am interviewing Heather Leighson. Be sure to check out my Instagram for even more excitement with this event!

Heather Leighson's LGBTQ+ Release[s]

• The Truth of Loving You
• The Truth of Our Past
• The Truth of Our Secrets
• Misconduct Zone
• Penalty Zone
• Scoring Zone
• Enemy Zone

The Interview

1. Are you LGBTQ+? If so, how?

"Ally"

2. What rep do your books have?

"All have LGBTQIA+ rep and mental health rep

Enemy Zone: BIPOC rep, neurodivergent rep"

3. If you were to write in a different genre, what would it be?

"At this point I can't imagine writing anything but MM romance, but I am tempted to veer into the paranormal or omegaverse genres."

4. What is your biggest writing inspiration?

"I want to write stories to lift people up and provide an escape from the real world. I'm creating the world I wish we live in."

5. Anything exciting for you on the horizon?

"I'm doing my first big signing on the Rainbow Reader Cruise in August. I'm equal parts thrilled and terrified. I'm also hoping in 2027 to produce audiobooks."

6. Who is a queer figure you look up to?

"My mom. She was an out lebian in the 70s and she wasn't afraid to live her truth. She also got her MSW in her late 40s and inspired me to publish my first book at age 53. She taught me to not be afraid to chase my dreams and my opinion of myself is the most important one."

Outro

I adore this excuse to conduct little author interviews! Happy Pride everyone! Stay tuned tomorrow for another amazing indie author and their LGBTQ+ releases!

WPS 2026 Day 13: Archer Grid

 

Wonderland Pride Spotlight Day 13: Archer Grid

Welcome to day 13 of the 2026 Wonderland Pride Spotlight! This is my way to help champion LGBTQ+ books and authors this Pride month! Today I am interviewing Archer Grid. Be sure to check out my Instagram for even more excitement with this event!

Archer Grid's LGBTQ+ Release

• Girl With No Name

The Interview

1. Are you LGBTQ+? If so, how?

"Lesbian"

2. What rep do your books have?

"Cuban-American, anxiety, autistic-coded"

3. If you were to write in a different genre, what would it be?

"Lit Fic always calls me, because I'm a little pretentious 😜 I love exploring complex topics and characters, and writing is first and foremost a way for me to process my own Big Feelings. The best books, or my favorites at least, are these crystalizations of an emotion that's almost impossible to describe. They swallow you whole. They make you feel your own feelings through a teenage girl witnessing 1950s class disparity or a middle-aged mother trying to fill the hole her husband left with objects or a housewife who helps her neighbor dismember her husband because she's the ultimate girl's girl, That's lit-fic land. It's rare to find outside literary fiction and classics. Now and then you get some upmarket stuff that nails it, but the genre that's killing(teehee) in this department rn is horror. The trans community is especially putting out body-horror bangers left and right. They Bloom At Night was the best book I read last year. Tenebrous Press is putting out a gender-horror anthology of trans authors."

4. What is your biggest writing inspiration?

"Outing myself as a basic bitch... William Shakespeare. The way he writes language to be spoken--delivered to you. Even when you don't know what tf they're saying you can almost hear how it would be said and the gravity of it. Shakespeare united monarchs and peasants by telling stories about deep, human experiences: the power of youth, the follies of courtship, the rippling effect of tragedy, and the corruption inherent in power. The main character of GWNN is inspired in-part by Cordelia from King Lear, and there's many nods to the play in the text."

5. Anything exciting for you on the horizon?

"Right now I'm writing a sequel about Keiko's life before and after the events of GWNN. I got into the RGG/Yakuza games to research for her, and the series totally took over my life lmao. I ended up writing a bunch of fanfiction instead of the book 😅 I can't complain though, because it made me a better writer and inspired this sequel. I made a lot of mistakes launching my debut, so I want to take what I learned and do a better job the next go around."

6. Who is a queer figure you look up to?

"James Baldwin. Go Tell It on the Mountain destroyed me. Another book that transports you into this poor kid's soul. Coming of age in the Jim Crow era, when community is critical to survival, but at that time community means church. And surrounded by a bunch of toxic male role models, he realizes he's gay. So, like, THE community that is critical to his survival as a black kid considers his existence a sin. And he just... has to come to terms with it. Like it's way deeper than that ofc, but just devastating. And Baldwin also devastating in every interview?? Somehow both passionate and unbothered?? 'I do not dream of labor' the baddest line of all time??"

Outro

I adore this excuse to conduct little author interviews! Happy Pride everyone! Stay tuned tomorrow for another amazing indie author and their LGBTQ+ releases!

WPS 2026 Day 13: Jane Ravenscroft

 

Wonderland Pride Spotlight Day 13: Jane Ravenscroft

Welcome to day 13 of the 2026 Wonderland Pride Spotlight! This is my way to help champion LGBTQ+ books and authors this Pride month! Today I am interviewing Jane Ravenscroft. Be sure to check out my Instagram for even more excitement with this event!

Jane Ravenscroft's LGBTQ+ Release

• Modern Vampires

The Interview

1. Are you LGBTQ+? If so, how?

"Demisexual and lesbian"

2. What rep do your books have?

"Bisexual, gay, and ADHD"

3. If you were to write in a different genre, what would it be?

"I would love to write a mystery novel. I grew up with detective shows and used to read any Sherlock book I could get my hands on. There's just something so satisfying about watching that spider web of clues come together at the end. It would definitely be out of my writing comfort zone, but I would love to give it a go someday!"

4. What is your biggest writing inspiration?

"I am a chronic daydreamer with hundreds of characters living in my head. I draw my inspiration from the world around me and it just snowballs through what-ifs until I have a plot. I really can't explain where it comes from, I've been making up stories my whole life and when I decided that they weren't half bad, I started writing them down. 

My inspiration to actually publish came from Nora Sakavic. She's an indie author whose series is so well-known now that I've seen people cosplaying her characters! I guess a part of me thought, 'if she can do it, maybe I can too.'" 

5. Anything exciting for you on the horizon?

"I'm really looking forward to some local conversations coming up! I can't wait to connect with readers and showcase my book. I'm also working on a prequel to my first novel which I'm really excited about."

6. Who is a queer figure you look up to?

"This is a really tough one because I don't think I could name a specific person. Being queer is something that to this day still makes me nervous in certain situations. I'm not a very confident person and unfortunately there are still people out there who have given me a hard time for being queer. So the people I look up to are the ones out there being loud and proud because they're the ones who showed me it was okay to be who I am. That includes the people who bring queer characters to media, the public figures who talk openly about their sexualities and above all the people I see everyday in real life, embracing who they are. I look up to each and every one of them and thank them for making the world a more colourful place, one act of visibility at a time."

Outro

I adore this excuse to conduct little author interviews! Happy Pride everyone! Stay tuned tomorrow for another amazing indie author and their LGBTQ+ releases!

WPS 2026 Day 13: Jack Rose

 

Wonderland Pride Spotlight Day 13: Jack Rose

Welcome to day 13 of the 2026 Wonderland Pride Spotlight! This is my way to help champion LGBTQ+ books and authors this Pride month! Today I am interviewing Jack Rose. Be sure to check out my Instagram for even more excitement with this event!

Jack Rose's LGBTQ+ Releases

• Drowning in Him
• Curse of the Call
• Druid in the Door

The Interview

1. Are you LGBTQ+? If so, how?

"Bisexual and demisexual"

2. What rep do your books have?

"Curse of the Call: mild body dysmorphia as he seeks help from a witch to be desirable. MMF trio, bisexual, pansexual"

3. If you were to write in a different genre, what would it be?

"I have slightly started to dabble in horroresque style story which explores what would happen if Death dies and a human takes over."

4. What is your biggest writing inspiration?

"Besides the cliché answer of my favorite authors or films. My dreams or mind when trying to switch off will latch onto something I've unconsciously experienced or noticed in day to day life. And most of the time the brain won't stop until I start it!"

5. Anything exciting for you on the horizon?

"The finale to my Deals for Desires is coming soon and I hope it will satisfy and cause a bit of anger and what happens. None of my characters are ever safe!"

6. Who is a queer figure you look up to?

"I can't pick one, so in the realm of music, Bentley Robles and Zee Machine are just the most authentic queer people I've had the pleasure to meet after their concert a few years back. They both write awesome music and just love the relationship with their fans. This is something I want to emulate, a safe place for all people and to be myself, a bisexual male who just wants to tell stories and live happily."

Outro

I adore this excuse to conduct little author interviews! Happy Pride everyone! Stay tuned tomorrow for another amazing indie author and their LGBTQ+ releases!

WPS 2026 Day 7: Ivy Glaze

  

Wonderland Pride Spotlight Day 7: Ivy Glaze

Welcome to day 7 of the 2026 Wonderland Pride Spotlight! This is my way to help champion LGBTQ+ books and authors this Pride month! Today I am interviewing Ivy Glaze. Be sure to check out my Instagram for even more excitement with this event!

Ivy's LGBTQ+ Release

• Beginner's Luck

The Interview

1. Are you LGBTQ+? If so, how?

"Bi & genderqueer"

2. What rep do your books have?

"MM romance with a Persian MC"

3. If you were to write in a different genre, what would it be?

"I write historical fiction, though that's been put on pause ever since I got serious about self-publishing romance. I don't see myself switching back any time soon, but maybe I'll branch out into historical romance one day :)"

4. What is your biggest writing inspiration?

"Not exactly sure what you are looking for here - a writer who's an inspiration or, like, vibes and random things that inspire me. If writers - I'm inspired by indie authors in my genre and the sense of community they foster. If vibes - I'm inspired by the idea of queer stories having happy endings. As I was growing up, and even after that, for a long time, queer stories in mainstream media had to be these awful tragedies with terrible, tragic endings, and there was no way to escape reality and find queer joy. But now that's changing, and I couldn't love it more. I want more happy endings. I want more MM and FF and poly couples shown in a positive light and being normalized. That's what inspires me."

5. Anything exciting for you on the horizon?

"Zero Confusion, Book 2 of the kink talk series, will be out within the next few months. Book 3 and 4 are in the works as well."

6. Who is a queer figure you look up to?

"Maybe a silly answer, but I was obsessed with Sappho as a teenager. I had a book of her poetry in original Greek and the translations, and I basically memorized the whole thing. Our life circumstances couldn't be more different, but her ancient words gave me the courage to be myself."

Outro

I adore this excuse to conduct little author interviews! Happy Pride everyone! Stay tuned tomorrow for another amazing indie author and their LGBTQ+ releases!

WPS 2026 Day 12: Laney Arden

  

Wonderland Pride Spotlight Day 12: Laney Arden

Welcome to day 12 of the 2026 Wonderland Pride Spotlight! This is my way to help champion LGBTQ+ books and authors this Pride month! Today I am interviewing Laney Arden. Be sure to check out my Instagram for even more excitement with this event!

Laney's LGBTQ+ Release

• Carry Me Sweetly

The Interview

1. Are you LGBTQ+? If so, how?

"I am queer, and generally not gender conforming. I like to call myself 'woman-ish'"

2. What rep do your books have?

"In Carry Me Sweetly, one of the MCs Tumbrel, is generally implied to have anxiety and have similar behavior patterns for autism/ASD. It is not ever explicitly stated, and is not the focus of the book. 

It is an M/M romance novel. Tumbrel is confirmed gay, not interested in women. Soren, the chaos bisexual, is attracted to anything that walks (or flies since they're faeries 😉)"

3. If you were to write in a different genre, what would it be?

"MM Sports Romance ;)"

4. What is your biggest writing inspiration?

"The younger version of myself who filled notebooks with silly self-insert Percy Jackson fanfiction, and dreamed of cool it would be to share her stories with others some day."

5. Anything exciting for you on the horizon?

"A spicy, poly, holiday novella coming this winter!"

6. Who is a queer figure you look up to?

"Keith Haring! I have the Dancing Heart tattooed on my arm. His story has always resonated so deeply with me. His vision to tell powerful stories and inspire positive change through art that made people smile has always been meaningful to me. As much as my book is a whimsical gay romance with faeries in the forest, the importance of queer representation in media is the pulse that drives it forward."

Outro

I adore this excuse to conduct little author interviews! Happy Pride everyone! Stay tuned tomorrow for another amazing indie author and their LGBTQ+ releases!

WPS 2026 Day 12: Via Luino

  

Wonderland Pride Spotlight Day 12: Via Luino

Welcome to day 12 of the 2026 Wonderland Pride Spotlight! This is my way to help champion LGBTQ+ books and authors this Pride month! Today I am interviewing Via Luino. Be sure to check out my Instagram for even more excitement with this event!

Via Luino's LGBTQ+ Release

• All the Scattered Stars

The Interview

1. Are you LGBTQ+? If so, how?

"Demisexual and bisexual"

2. What rep do your books have?

"Aromantic, asexual, lesbian, nonbinary, BIPOC: invented ethnic minority that experiences severe racial persecution; many important side characters are Romani"

3. If you were to write in a different genre, what would it be?

"My usual genre is YA fantasy, but I'd like to write an adult or new adult fantasy soon, and I've also been tinkering around with a retelling of the Medusa myth. My books are always queer, so if I were to step totally outside the realm of sci-fi and fantasy, I would probably write a queer rom-com. I love reading them, so I think I might like writing them, too!"

4. What is your biggest writing inspiration?

"I've always been a nerd for mythology and folklore from all over the world, and I absolutely love both reading and writing retellings and reimaginings of these stories. Lately I've been branching out into remixes of classics as well--my current WIP is a Romeo and Juliet retelling but with witches and assassins (and everybody's gay!). Beyond that, I'm rather obsessed with trees and the natural world in general."

5. Anything exciting for you on the horizon?

"My debut novel, All the Scattered Stars, is about a girl with forbidden Earth magic trying to survive the sinking of Venice in the year 2063. It just came out from a small press this past April, so I have a summer full to bursting with author events and festivals! Besides that, Pride is my favorite holiday, and I'm planning to march in Boston's parade again this year." 

6. Who is a queer figure you look up to?

"Emily Dickinson! I know we don't know for sure that she was lesbian, but I'm about as sure as I can be without having the ability to travel back in time and ask her. She, like me, is from Massachusetts, and her poetry has always deeply resonated with me, even before I figured out that I'm queer, too. I also really admire the works of Sappho and Oscar Wilde." 

Outro

I adore this excuse to conduct little author interviews! Happy Pride everyone! Stay tuned tomorrow for another amazing indie author and their LGBTQ+ releases!

WPS 2026 Day 12: Kiki Fehling

 

Wonderland Pride Spotlight Day 12: Kiki Fehling

Welcome to day 12 of the 2026 Wonderland Pride Spotlight! This is my way to help champion LGBTQ+ books and authors this Pride month! Today I am interviewing Kiki Fehling. Be sure to check out my Instagram for even more excitement with this event!

Kiki Fehling's LGBTQ+ Release

• The LGBTQ+ Mental Health Workbook: Find Emotional Resilience, Self-Love, and Queer Joy with Dialectical Behavior Therapy

The Interview

1. Are you LGBTQ+? If so, how?

"Bi and queer nonbinary"

2. What rep do your books have?

"BIPOC, neurodivergent people, and various LGBTQIA+ identities"

3. If you were to write in a different genre, what would it be?

"When I'm not reading nonfiction, I most enjoy reading science fiction so I think I'd have to say that! My brain doesn't seem to work that way (in terms of its creativity), however, so realistically I'd say memoir would be the different nonfiction genre I'd be most likely to write."

4. What is your biggest writing inspiration?

"I have directly witnessed the way that people's lives are drastically changed, improved, or even saved by finding the right psychotherapy for them. But, I also know that many people—especially LGBTQ+ and other marginalized folks—often can't access therapy. So, I'm inspired to write affirming and evidence-based mental health books so that more people can receive the emotional support and information they want. As an emotionally sensitive person, I've read books that have deeply improved my relationship with myself by helping me feel seen and OK exactly as I am. I try to write self-help books that will do the same for my readers."

5. Anything exciting for you on the horizon?

"I'm a heart attack survivor, and I recently started working more closely with a few organizations focused on cardiac health equity. I'm really excited about helping them integrate both mental health and LGBTQ+ topics into their education and advocacy efforts in the future!"

6. Who is a queer figure you look up to?

"I'm continually moved and inspired by the way that the poet ALOK communicates their ideas, interacts with the world, and expresses themselves with compassion and unabashed authenticity. I similarly look up to a few queer content creators whose authenticity, writing, and advocacy work I admire: KB Brookins, Cody Daigle-Orians, and Bailey Merlin and Jace Rios Rivera (hosts of the podcast Bisexual Killjoy). (To name just a few. It's so hard to choose!)"

Outro

I adore this excuse to conduct little author interviews! Happy Pride everyone! Stay tuned tomorrow for another amazing indie author and their LGBTQ+ releases!

WPS 2026 Day 11: Taylor Hubbard

 

Wonderland Pride Spotlight Day 11: Taylor Hubbard

Welcome to day 11 of the 2026 Wonderland Pride Spotlight! This is my way to help champion LGBTQ+ books and authors this Pride month! Today I am interviewing Taylor Hubbard. Be sure to check out my Instagram for even more excitement with this event!

Taylor Hubbard's LGBTQ+ Releases

• The Flowered Blade
• A Corruption of Souls

The Interview

1. Are you LGBTQ+? If so, how?

"Queer and trans man"

2. What rep do your books have?

"Autism"

3. If you were to write in a different genre, what would it be?

"Definitely sports romances. Every time I try, nothing comes out. But I love the genre and I'm always looking for my next queer sports romance."

4. What is your biggest writing inspiration?

"My biggest inspiration is just the ability to touch more people. Seeing the incredible response that my books have had on people, specifically in helping people along their gender journey, has been exactly what I need on the days where I question what I'm doing."

5. Anything exciting for you on the horizon?

"Plenty! I have several drafts ready for revisions, and a book nearly done being edited for release this year!"

6. Who is a queer figure you look up to?

"At this point, I try not to look up to one single figure. Don't meet your idols and whatnot. Instead, I admire the queer people in my life. The people I grew up with, grew apart from, and reconnected with. The people I've met along my own journey. The people who raised me, taught me, and loved me. While I may not look up to them like an idol, I do look to them to inspire me to be my best self."

Outro

I adore this excuse to conduct little author interviews! Happy Pride everyone! Stay tuned tomorrow for another amazing indie author and their LGBTQ+ releases!