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ITCHIO BUNDLE - 9 books for $9 USD
REP: WHO IS QUEER?
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The Killing Song by Felix Graves
$1.99 USD + included in itchio bundle
Fierce pirate captain Romada is about to retire from her high-stakes life when her siren girlfriend, Neiara, is abducted right in front of her. Together with Injago—her brother and quartermaster—and the rest of her crew, Romada sets out on what should have been a simple rescue mission, but as they begin raiding the siren holding camps and witness horrors there, they have to make a choice: fully commit to a burgeoning resistance against these atrocities, or stop for nothing and no one to find Neiara before she’s lost to them forever
queer author - queer pirates - queer main character(s) - queer secondary character(s) - queer side character(s)
Content Warnings (contains spoilers):
Depictions of symptoms of depression, anxiety, and panic disorders, including thoughts of despair, major depressive episodes, suicidal ideation, panic attacks, nightmares, disordered eating, dissociation, hallucinations, and intrusive thoughts. References to past emotional, mental, and physical abuse of a child by a parental figure. Depictions of fantasy species-based racism toward adults and children, including hate crimes, use of slurs, rioting, slavery, mass incarceration, genocide, medical experimentation, and internment camps. Depictions of extreme violence and gore. Depictions of vomit, urination, and defecation. Mass murders, including the murder of children. Multiple depictions of coerced suicide. Use of child soldiers. Multiple uses of a fantasy weapon of mass destruction. On-page consensual sex scene. On-page masturbation. Use of the word "cunt" to self-refer to a trans man's genitals. Death of a main character.
Color Unknown by Felix Graves
FREE + included in itchio bundle
Venture into the oceans of Faerth and meet Soot, a nonbinary merfae cursed with turning all who look into their eyes into stone. The one constant in their life–total and absolute loneliness–is upended after a chance encounter with a color-blind pirate. What starts out as a friendly meeting turns into a kidnapping and Soot soon learns that where they see their affliction as a curse, the pirates see it as a biological weapon to wield against their enemies. Amidst the killing and the anguish and guilt, Soot is confronted with something entirely new: friendship.
queer author - queer pirates - queer main character(s) - queer secondary character(s)
Content Warnings (contains spoilers):
Graphic body horror and self-mutilation. Dehumanization and fantasy species-based racism. Use of a person as a biological weapon. Kidnapping. Death and mass murders.
Tempest, Take Me Home by Charlie Knight
included in itchio bundle
A treasure hunter with big dreams and their magical cartographer boyfriend set sail in this cozy romantasy. Eli and Max have the chance for an adventure of a lifetime...but it's going to challenge them and their love like nothing ever has.
queer author - queer pirates - queer main character(s) - queer secondary character(s) - queer side character(s)
Content Warnings (does not contain spoilers):
Kidnapping, Violence, Assault of a Disabled Person, Child abuse and neglect (mentioned, not shown), Transphobia, Ableism.
Kill Me Quick (QuickSilver Book 1) by Josie Jaffrey
included in itchio bundle
A sapphic dark fantasy novel featuring vampires, zombies, pirate history and romance.
Content Warnings (contains spoilers):
General warning for violence/murder. General warning for graphic blood/gore, including consensual and non-consensual blood drinking, description of injuries, dead bodies. Sexual content (mostly consensual, some dubiously consensual due to coercive control). Some swearing (up to and including ‘fuck’). Cannibalism and ritual murder/dismemberment. Cult-like community with coercive control. Mentions of slavery and killing of enslaved people, both in real/historical context and fantastical/modern context, including keeping humans imprisoned for use as a blood bank. Discussion of historical piratical crimes. Emotionally abusive/coercive relationships, including family. Uncomfortably sexual behaviour from a quasi-father figure.
The Lady's Favour by A.J. Roberts
$1.99 USD + included in itchio bundle
A collection of three novelettes featuring the wandering rogues Kestrel and Scar as they embark on adventures with Rosanna Barclay, who is searching for her missing father.
Content Warnings (contains spoilers):
Alcohol, colonisation, cursing, death (including parent), infidelity, mild homophobia, references to slavery, violence.
A Kiss of the Siren's Song by E.A.M. Trofimenkoff
$0.99 USD
Two women disguised as men collide on the Vindicta, a pirate ship captained by a man of legends in search of the Kraken's Fang, a mythological weapon rumored to hold power of epic proportions. Will Sybine and Elora learn to trust each other to save the world? Or will their budding feelings for each other result in their demise?Perfect for readers who are looking for a character-driven, queer-normative sapphic romantasy with fresh takes of fan-favorite tropes such as one bed, revenge, and hidden identities.
queer author - queer pirates - queer main character(s) - queer secondary character(s) - queer side character(s)
Content Warnings (does not contain spoilers):
Violence, body mutilation, human burning, murder, death, blood & gore, alcohol, gambling, sex.
The Red Star Society by Sirius
included in itchio bundle
An epistolary collection of letters and journals from a court astronomer documenting the individuals of a race of merfolk who have been captured by a tyrannical queen and forced to serve in her court as musicians, sorcerers, and assassins; whereas the liberator who is not shackled by her laws is a pirate.
queer author - queer pirates - queer main character(s) - queer secondary character(s) - queer side character(s)
Content Warnings (does not contain spoilers):
Gore, homophobia / transphobia towards the characters.
Into the Deep by Amara Lynn
$0.99 USD + included in itchio bundle
A clumsy pirate gets stranded and is saved by a merman.
queer author - queer pirates - queer main character(s) - queer secondary character(s) - queer side character(s)
Content Warnings (contains spoilers):
Parental death, grief, excessive injury as a comedic device, kidnapping.
$0.99 USD + included in itchio bundle
A short fantasy adventure about twin pirates who have some bad luck.
Content Warnings (does not contains spoilers):
No applicable warnings.
$0.99 USD
Plagued by despair, Davy Jones is a pirate who has been driven to the brink by the weight of his past. With nothing left to lose, he resolves to end his torment.But fate has other plans, the lines between Man and Monster are more blurred than one might think, and the sea will always come to claim her dues.
Content Warnings (contains spoilers):
Alcoholism, child abuse, death, emotional abuse, homophobia, suicide.
$0.99 USD
The tables are turned—a siren is lured in by the beautiful song of a human, and falls in love...
queer author - queer pirates - queer main character(s) - queer secondary character(s) - queer side character(s)
Content Warnings (contains spoilers):
Explicit language, consensual explicit sexual content, inhuman genitalia, alcohol consumption, mentioned parental child abuse, violence, blood, drowning, on-page attempted sexual assault (MC and side character).
$1.99 USD + included in itchio bundle
The Spider's Friend is a thrilling, twist-filled adventure, a palace intrigue with less palace and more battling-giant-jellyfish. A must-read for anyone interested in novel second worlds, it has mole-people and a city made of waterfalls; one of the narrative characters is a plant.
queer author - queer pirates - queer side character(s) - queer secondary character(s)
Content Warnings (contains spoilers):
Animal death, violence, blood, kidnapping, drugging, classicism, murder, torture, institutionalized mutilation, mind control, imperialism.
Here be but a modest collection of inquiries and corresponding responses for yer perusal.(Translation: You’ve found the FAQ page.)
What is "Talk Like a Pirate Day"?
Talk Like a Pirate Day is an annual international holiday on September 19th. It was started as a joke by John Baur and Mark Summers in 1995. Now three decades later, people around the world celebrate by speaking in a "pirate accent" (open to interpretation) and sporting pirate-inspired fashion, costumes, and cosplay.
What's the point of the "Talk Like a [Queer] Pirate Day Book Sale"?
To honor the vast and colorful history of queer pirates and to showcase indie authors of queer pirate and pirate-adjacent stories.
Why is this book event on Talk Like a Pirate Day?
I love pirates! I've been enamored with them since I was a child. One of my prized possessions during middle school was this elaborate book about pirates, with all of these little flaps and envelopes and different tactile elements to make learning interactive and fun. I actually still have the book! It's on the "pirate" shelf in my office, along with a dozen other fiction and non-fiction books about pirates.The movie I watched during my first ever sleepover was The Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. After my friend and I finished the movie, we went online and downloaded so many POTC animated screensavers.My first ever published piece of fiction, Color Unknown, features a mermaid-like creature being kidnapped by pirates. My second published novel, The Killing Song, is set in the same world and follows a crew of pirates on a rescue mission.Suffice it to say that I might have a slight obsession with pirates.
Why is [Queer] in brackets?
In writing and specifically in quotes, brackets are most often used to clarify context, fix ambiguity, and correct mistakes. The original name of the holiday does not include the word queer, but queer pirates existed because queerness has always existed in every culture and every time period. I chose to add queer in brackets as a cheeky way of adding "missing" context to make it clear that, for this book event, we are celebrating fictional and historical queer pirates.
Is there a future for the Talk Like a [Queer] Pirate Day Book Sale?
I sure hope so! This is the first ever sale event and itchio bundle I’ve hosted, and if all goes well, I’d love to continue hosting it. I hope interest in pirate stories flourishes in both reader and author spaces, and that next year’s event is even bigger than this year!