It’s Release Day for FOSSIL BEDS BED & BREAKFAST, a sapphic dinosaur shifter romance. I had a great time writing this story, especially with the added bonus of flipping off some internet prudes.
Last year, I was invited to be part of an LGBTQIA+ romance charity anthology because someone went on the internet and said there was no place for dino shifters in adult romance. Here’s an old pic of how we romance authors responded to that sentiment.
The anthology is no longer available, BUT you can get my tale, FOSSIL BEDS BED & BREAKFAST today. It has been expanded a little and given a new cover, which was put together by the amazing Kris Norris. It’s a fun story and celebrates not only Sapphic love, but standing up to big money. Happy reading!
Here’s the blurb:
Maya Sorino loves her life in Deadman, Wyoming. She has two great kids, a successful bed & breakfast, and enough room to freely roam as her dino self. Everything is perfect. Until a rich developer comes to town, trying to undermine her business and seize the town’s open land. Not on her watch.
Persia Walker has been guarding the fossil rich lands since she almost became one, but she won’t let a billionaire destroy sacred paleo sites for vanity. She organizes a group to take on the developer at the public meeting in hopes of preserving her territory. Then she sees Maya.
Finding another dinosaur shifter in Deadman is a dream for both Maya and Persia, but the developer has something up his sleeve. What’s a better first date than going Mesozoic on a bunch of drunk vandals-for-hire? It’s a match made in Prehistory!
This story was previously published in the Cretaceous Crushes LGBTQ+ Romance Charity Anthology. It has been expanded and given a new cover.
SHORT EXCERPT OF FOSSIL BEDS BED & BREAFAST
“You gotta be fucking kidding me!”
Persia Walker stared at the online announcement of the public planning commission meeting. It wouldn’t be bad if it was in somewhere like wine country in California or near Aspen, Colorado.
But no, the uber wealthy newspaper tycoon wanted to build it in Wyoming, at the foot of Deadman Mountain in Sublette County. The town had a population of five hundred, making it one of the larger settlements in the state, but still not populous enough to support the staff needs of a snooty rich people’s resort. It would drive up the property taxes and push out the locals, making it impossible for ordinary people to live there.
As if they haven’t already done that to Jackson Hole.
Persia scowled at the announcement, which included a map of the proposed location of the expansion. She traced the West Washakie River until she reached Little Blind Bear Creek and froze. The proposed site would cover not only both sides of the river, but it would encompass all of Blind Bear and Little Blind Bear creeks, decimating the fossil site she’d been guarding for millennia.
“No. No fucking way.” She brought out her phone and took a photo, then headed down the sidewalk toward the little café that had the best peppermint tea this side of the Cretaceous.
Once she had her tea, she headed out to the little sitting area in the front and claimed a bench that could take her full, but muted weight. She set her tea down beside her and pulled out her phone. She hadn’t spoken to Professor Nozomi Shimizu in a couple of months since the end of last year’s field season, but she’d kept the professor appraised of anything going on near the site. She dialed the university and waited to be connected.
Persia sipped her tea and watched the community awaken around her. Fortunately, she had time to organize people to speak up for both the community and the fossils under her care. There was no way they could let this development go forward, despite what the mayor wanted. She was well aware that Mayor Blatherton was best buds with Krassobaki—everyone was. Blatherton had made it a point to show their connection—so the townspeople would be facing a huge advocate of Krassobaki’s development.
But there are more of us than there are of them.
The phoneline clicked over and started ringing. Persia waited until someone picked up. “Hello?”
“Hey, Nozomi, it’s Persia. Do you have a moment to talk?”
“Persia! Good to hear from you. Yes, I’m in my off hour. What’s going on?”
“Have you seen the announcement of a public meeting here in Deadman over a resort expansion? I’ll send you a pic.” Persia put the call on speaker and opened the text app. “It’s scheduled for this Thursday at six thirty pm. Do you think you could make some time to gather a few of the grad students and come down to Deadman for the meeting?”
There was a short silence as Nozomi absorbed the image. “Yeah, I could do that. Why do you need me there? This seems like a Deadman town issue.”
“Did you see the map of the proposed expansion? It straddles the West Washakie River to mile marker seventy-seven on Highway 91.”
“Mile marker seventy-seven?” Nozomi was silent a bit longer. “The expansion includes all three of our sites as well as one of the Anthropology department’s sites.”
“Yup. And if they put that awful resort in there, all those sites will be destroyed for a rich man’s vanity and friends.”
“Oh hell no. That’s not happening. I’ll gather who I can, especially Professor Campbell, and we’ll be there. Six-thirty on Thursday, you said?”