Putting the moon in moonletter

The Guid Goss

NOVEMBER NEWS!!

Happy November! The time of the Darkest Depths Moon… or Blotmonath! (yep, that really does mean Bloodmonth, thanks, Anglo-Saxons 🖤)

TRANSITION UPDATE

Well, so… what an update. As you probably know, I’ve had my surgery! It was really challenging, anxiety wise, but I managed it all, got myself there, kept going (Tal i ti) and eventually woke up again, as hoped lol 🥳🥳🥳

The problem was I was in masses of pain and kinda have been ever since - my nerves (my actual nerves, not my anxiety nerves for a change) have gone into hyperdrive, basically giving FAR too much feedback. I’m doing desensitisation therapy & CBT for pain manageent, and hoping the nerves will settle & adjust soon (they do in just over 50% of post-op neuropathy for this type of surgery). It hasn’t been easy though. Every movement is a challenge and honestly I’m pretty exhausted by this point.

So I’m not writing or doing anything really. I’m journalling changes, frustrations & milestones, scrolling mindlessly, trying to keep moving despite pain and also just trying to show myself plenty of love & patience. It will pass eventually, one way or another, and it helps that I feel so glad to have done it & so happy with how I can see it will look when healed. I’m really proud I made it through & really proud of my body for everything it’s doing to get me better again, even if it’s a bit freaked out at the moment lol.

As to the rest, I had to come off testosterone for about 2 weeks, which seems to have disrupted things, but it will all begin settling again soon. Beard slowly coming on, and my body fat seems to have begun redistribution. I won’t be able to work out for a while, but when I do, it’s going to be quite a different experience.

Have to say, this side of surgery feels like a very different place to be with it all. The slowness of other things is bothering me a LOT less right now. I feel like I just took a really huge step forwards.

🏳️‍⚧️

Time for the moonletter!

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What to expect in this one:

1. The Neverloving Dead

2. Blood Moon & the Darkest Depths 🩸

3. Awesome new releases featuring everything from hot dryads to pandas, heartache & murder - from CD Rachels, Kelvin Young, David S Pederson, Alex Silver & R.J. Peterson!

4. Control download (free novella)

5. The Sam Gillespie Expansion Pack (NSFW!!!!!!) pretty arty this month, featuring ‘having a waggle’, Sam’s hips, Queer Artist of the Month, Skelemask, vampires and a lovely moon 😉

The Neverloving Dead: thank you!

https://mybook.to/TheNeverlovingDead

Thank you SO much to everyone who’s taken the time to read & put up reviews on Amazon & Goodreads (& BookBub) or recced The Neverloving Dead in book groups.

Honestly, I was a bit worried about how such an oddball story would go down lol. I was like WHAT are you releasing, Tal?

So I’ve been totally made up that so many of you have loved Patrick and Gethin and their tale of second chances, even beyond the grave in the most unlikely of circumstances. The reviews have been really heartening. I love all of you and am incredibly fortunate to have such awesome readers - thank you 🙏

FB group: Tal Frost’s Werebears & Wyrdlings

BLOTMONATH & The Darkest Depths Moon:

Ok, so it’s all a bit dark: the month of slaughter in Welsh, The Darkest Depths Moon in Celtic tradition (though Reed Moon in their tree-appreciation calendar). On the US side of the Atlantic, Native Americans also called it Frost Moon and Freezing Moon, reflecting the rolling in of colder times.

All of this was in fact about preparation. Old month names tended to be based on what to expect in a given month (anything from the appearance of a particular animal or plant) to jobs that needed doing to keep a community strong. In the north, as winter drew in and edible plants diminished, that meant pickling, preserving & slaughtering. Draining blood was/is part of the process of ‘drying’ and curing meat so it would sustain people through the hungry months.

As to the Reed Moon part - in many cultures, reeds are associated with death & mourning. The Celts likened the sad sound of wind instruments (made from reeds) to the haunting sounds of the dead as they travelled to the Underworld.

As such, magically, this is a good time for divination, scrying and seances, and also for a deep letting go of the old (from the darkest depths). Anything that involves honouring cycles of life and death. The other name for this moon is the Mourning Moon.

It is a time for remembrance of where we’ve been, what we’ve gained and lost, what we need to go forwards, leaving behind all that no longer serves us so we can make our way together, as a community, through darker times.

CD RACHELS: Dryad, Try Again (Book 2, Creepin U):

(Out Oct 3rd 2024)

https://a.co/d/08HUdHns

You’re formally admitted to Creelin University, known locally as “Creepin U.” The only things wilder than the monsters prowling around campus are the spicy male-male love stories unfolding between classes. “Dryad, Try Again” is Book 2, starring a hard-working human, and the tree spirit shifter who never stopped caring about him.

I didn’t think I’d ever see my first crush―a human―again after humiliating myself as a sapling of a kid. But now we’ve both bloomed, and we’re going to college together. What’s a tree spirit to do? Between the shared laughs and stolen glances, it’s entirely possible the sprouts of attraction between us were never uprooted. Spending time with him could be the second chance I need. But now that we’re not saplings anymore, can I convince him I’ve turned over a new leaf?

With two hearts on the line, it’s time for this dryad to try to be the perfect monster for this human.

Dryad, Try Again is a second chance MM monster romance comedy. It features first kisses, sunset picnics, and yes, freaky tree spice scenes. At Creepin U, a HEA is always guaranteed.

KELVIN YOUNG: Campus Life - T-Term

Out November 14th

https://mybook.to/CampusLife-TT

College is a time of acceptance—but what happens when you’re tired of explaining who you are?

Kiel, a young trans man, moved back to the Midwest to attend college with his closest friend, Shelly. Over the last few years, he’s lived his adventure, but now his heart yearns for something normal.

Raziel, a straight college student, works at the college rec where Kiel exercises. During a night out, Raziel finds an unexpected attraction for Kiel. Confused by these unforeseen feelings, Raziel needs time to identify and understand his new desires.

Both Kiel and Raziel suffer from navigating the world of acceptance and discovery. The yearning desire for normalcy without advertisement or hidden agendas, and the fear of exposing one’s heart only to find rejection.

Someone must take the first step, but who will it be? And what will it teach them both about themselves, each other, and about love?

DAVID S. PEDERSON: Fatal Foul Play

Out November 12th

https://mybook.to/fatalfoulplay

When Milo agreed to accompany his friend Mark for a weekend getaway with six other men in northern Arizona, he did not anticipate a snowstorm stranding them all in their lodge. But they make the best of it. Their biggest concern is how they're going to entertain themselves until the snowstorm ends.

Complicating things for Milo is his secret attraction to Mark, not to mention Mark's renewed attraction to his handsome ex-boyfriend, Brick, who seems like he wants to rekindle the relationship.

But all is not as it seems in their cozy snow-covered lodge. When one of them is found brutally murdered, tension between the friends escalates. It seems that everyone has their secrets, and some of those secrets are proving deadly. Suspicion mounts as each person wonders who is behind the killing, and why.

With no way to contact the authorities, it's up to Milo and Mark to discover which of their friends is the murderer and stop him before they become the next target…

ALEX SILVER: Trash Panda (Shift Work: 3)

On release October 10th

https://mybook.to/TrashPanda

For all that I've told my best friend, Rollie, that his past doesn't define him, it's hard to believe it about myself.

I'd give Rollie anything he needs. After all, he gave me a place to live when I needed space from my family. It doesn't seem like a big deal to share my prescription with him too. We share practically everything else these days, so why not help him? Not like anyone else is willing to help shifters like us, the broken ones who don't quite fit in.

Except my condition is getting worse and I can't seem to hide it anymore. That's not the only thing I can't hide; somewhere along the line, I fell for Rollie, but how could he feel the same about me when I feel like garbage?

Trash Panda is an M/M omegaverse romance between a raven shifter omega and a raccoon shifter omega. It includes hurt/comfort, gender dysphoria, infertility, adoption, found family, mental health struggles, past trauma, and all the shiny things.

Christmas Releases Ahoy…

There’ll be a whole spate of Christmas releases coming shortly so I thought I’d get in early with this one by R.J. Peterson, Once Upon a Yuletide Romance…

Calculus is kicking Will Hargrove’s butt. When fellow student Tom Dawson suggests they study together, both hope it will improve their grades in the college class. Spending time together leads to more than just a passing grade, and a tentative romance blooms. However, Tom’s negative feelings about relationships—thanks to his mom’s attitude about her failed marriage—keeps most of his feelings at bay.

One thing leads to another and soon the men are willing to admit their true feelings, but can Tom get past his mother’s influence and open himself up to a full relationship? The annual YuleFest is the perfect occasion to spend time together, connect and enjoy everything the holiday festival has to offer.

This holiday story is set in the small town of Hawthorne Bluff and features strangers to lovers, commitment fears, and a happily ever after.

Once Upon a Yuletide Romance is a part of the multi-author series Once Upon a Holiday Story. Each book can be read as a standalone. What links them is The Hook’s Book Nook Traveling Library, a library on wheels owned by two old ladies in love.

Out December 6th

https://mybook.to/OUAYR

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Control: A Hammer Falls Novella - DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE 36K BOOK!

Control is a 2.5, to be read AFTER Sons of Heaven & Hell (Hammer Falls: 2) & preferably before the Tree of Life. I never realised it would end up so important to the series but it is and it’s FREE!

Grappling with a terrible truth only he knows, Leo Crow is doing all he can to prove his loyalty to the shadowy, controlling Seminary whilst keeping his siblings safe. Three things are working against him: his guilt about things he couldn't stop, a brother who won't stop researching things he shouldn't and sexy, carefree Zeke, who seems to be bringing everything up that Leo wants to keep crushed down. As Zeke tries to get closer and Leo tries to keep his distance, who will prevail? And what will the consequences be?

Download Control

NSFW EXPANSION PACK BELOW…

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NSFW EXPANSION PACK LINE - DO NOT CROSS UNLESS YOU WANT TO SEE NSFW STUFF…

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I MEAN IT

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The Sam Gillespie Centre for Inappropriateness is dedicated to my book boyfriend & spirit animal ;)

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November brings Alex who (I’m not sure how well you can zoom in) isn’t just naked in the bathroom - he’s naked and dripping wet in the bathroom. Together with the faintly watersports vibe, the drop on the tip is just 😙👌- he looks like he’s contemplating having a waggle to help the drop fall.

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Queer Artist of the Month: Louis Fratino

Louis Fratino is a 31-year-old gay American artist, born in Maryland. His paintings, drawings and sculptures are light-hearted, tender and warm and are meant to let the viewer ‘in’. They mix more abstract Cubism, kaleidoscopes and symbolism with presenting the male body very openly in queer, sensual scenes some galleries have preferred not to exhibit. In terms of the srt world, the ‘domestic’ settings he uses (beds, kitchens etc) are also more often reserved for female subjects, which he says he doesn’t do deliberately. He jsut paints what he wants to show. He lives in Brooklyn, New York and is building up a pretty huge following, exhibiting around the world and winning acclaim for his loving portrayals of male-male intimacy.

The three below are called ‘Kiss’, ‘Four Poster Bed’ and ‘Me and Ray’.

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GIF of the Month:

So I’m a bit of a sucker for hot hips and these are hot hips. I can’t look at them without thinking of Sam lol. I mean, I know I go on a bit about Sam’s hips but you know… 🔥🔥🔥

The next one is here because it’s a total plot bunny lol. From the maybe-cards and the pile of discarded kink gear, it looks like a game of strip poker. He-Man’s obviously winning, and very happy about that, Skeletor’s butt naked… and the skull…

Well, the skull has turned out to be just a mask…

Now, we do know Skeletor is King Randor’s brother, but is he, really? Could Skeletor be like the Dread Pirate Roberts, cycling through identities? Who is He-Man alone with? What does he look like? And more importantly, where are they, what are the circumstances that have led to them playing strip poker and what, oh what, comes next?

Whatever’s going on, I’m not sure who the artist is (I can’t read the signature) but you can find it here:

https://www.cartoonbrew.com/events/the-most-homoerotic-he-man-art-youll-see-today-39843.html

Aaaand just because it’s the Blood Moon, I couldn’t not give you a vampire one (surprisingly difficult to find)

And it’s pretty much all art today instead of photos! In a newsletter that’s themed to blood and light in darker times, I thought this one should also have a home. No cocks for a change, but a gorgeously pinked arse and a smattering of… uh… hot wax gives just enough implication ;)

Art by Alifranco on www.deviantart.com .

Anyway, that’s all for now. Wishing you all love, laughter and… well… ‘a lovely moon’ is all I can think of now.

Tal X

TAL FROST