Welcome to this week’s installment of Rainbowsnippets*! This one is uniquely mine, but there are lots of other great snippets to read, so after you finish here click the FB link at the bottom of the post to discover other great LGBTQIA authors and their works.

This was release week for Surrogate: Hunted, and how did I spend some of it? In the hospital. Dangit. I can’t say I’m all better, but I am physically stable, at least relatively so. That said, Surrogate: Hunted was indeed released on March 1^st, and I was discharged from the hospital that evening in time to do a bit of online promo. Yesterday, I notified the winners of the Surrogate: Hunted, so I think I’m all caught up for the moment. I’m hoping to get some reviews in the next couple of weeks, but there is a serious dearth of epic Bi Sci-Fi readers out there. LOL. And I thought I’d cornered myself when I wrote FF Sci-Fi.

So goes it. I am not letting this get me down. I am trudging on, and I know this conundrum has nothing to do with the quality of my writing. The Bi audience is a niche market, and Bi Sc-Fi is even more so.

That said, I will continue sharing from Surrogate: Hunted for a few more weeks before I move on to another of my works. Cleaning House, a queer Appalachian Contemporary Fantasy, is home to lots of LGBTQIA, especially non-binary, characters, is chocked full of magic, recounts a very old love story (though it’s not really a romance novel), and is everything Appalachian minus the awful stereotypes. My betas have been raving about it, so I’m taking that as a sign of potential wider appeal.

Now back to our regular programming. 😊

The Setup: Etain and Brigit are still in the company of Stra and Yalntry, a pair of married Cycalk women who are showing interest in Etain (or at least Stra is openly doing so at this point). For your convenience here, I’ve added a translation in parentheses that doesn’t appear in the novel. That’s what the glossary is for, after all. In the same guise, here are two terms to help you along.

Znyrs – a Cycalk goddess-based, militaristic religion

Ttrnklan – gaming torture acceptable to non-Znyrs Cycalks

Note: Yes, this one’s longer than usual, but this is Surrogate: Hunted’s release week, so I am taking a little license.

     Yalntry spread a thick, pungent salve over Etain’s insect bites and handed her the jar. “You and your child treat each other then we’ll show you where you’ll sleep.”

     Stra snatched the jar from Etain’s hand. “You do for the girl, Yalntry. I’ll help ‘Tan.”

     “What’s wrong with you?” She slapped Stra’s shoulder and pushed her back. “They’ll do fine for themselves.” She said something else in Cycalk Etain couldn’t understand but she did hear the word Ttrnklan.

    “Znyrs satk tnnaw sa.” (Znyrs prayers to you.) Stra returned the jar to the table, made the sign of Znyrs toward Etain, and walked off.

     “Forgive her,” said Yalntry. “She smells your beast. That’s all.”

     “I don’t understand a word you’re saying.” Brigit spoke in Terran Common. “But I heard Ttrnklan clear as day.” She furrowed her brows.

     “You need to practice your Alyward.” Etain turned to Yalntry. “My beast’s been giving me trouble.”

     “I’m certain she has.” Yalntry smiled as she held out the jar again.

Read other Rainbowsnippets from Surrogate: Hunted HERE.

*Rainbow Snippets is a safe and welcoming space for LGBTQIA+ authors, readers, and bloggers to share 6 sentences each week from a work of fiction—published or in-progress—or a book recommendation. Feel free to join in!