Respectable by Kate Beaumont Review

I've been on a kick of reading a lot of LGBTQ+ books and graphic novels, some for enjoyment and others for my YouTube writing channel, and it's wonderful to reintroduce myself to some of the superb talent in the LGBTQ+ community.

Respectable by Kate Beaumont is another title in a long list and very crowded genre of books that take a look at life in the LGBTQ+ community as a whole. What Beaumont has managed to do here is create a story that really makes you care about the characters themselves and also offers a really interesting take on feeling trapped in the mundanity of life. We can all feel trapped sometimes with the routines that we get stuck in. It's no different for the character of Toby. On paper, he has it all, including the beautiful girlfriend, the job, and even an eye to the future. That's also part of the problem. The world, his life, feels like it's closing in around him, leaving Toby feeling claustrophobic.

To some, such a story might feel a little self-indulgent on the character's part, but that's not the case here. It's written with such honesty, sometimes to a rather blunt level, that you can't help but feel involved with it all. My only complaint, character-wise, is that I would have liked a little more of some of the side characters, but that's a personal taste, not a knock on the graphic novel itself.

Speaking of characters, one of the things I liked best about 'Respectable' was that not everything was neatly tied up in the end and that not everyone had the "happy ever after" that can sometimes be found in graphic novels. The only part of that that bugged me slightly was it was a little too abrupt with the ending. I think that, personally, that only bugged me because I wanted more of the story and to see more of the characters.

If you like books like 'Heartstopper," then I think that you will like this one. It almost felt like a look at their lives once they were older, and I really liked that. It came out three or so years before Osman's wonderful collection, but it really feels like it would be a good companion in that genre.

You can check out Kate's other work at the Cosmicminds Comics Page

NPC Tea: Volume One by Sarah Millman Review

After picking up issue one of the series at a comic con, I was extremely eager to read the entire series again.

NPC Tea is a superb comic collection. One of the things I like the most about it is how uniquely it tells the story and makes you care about the characters. Unlike some other fantasy stories, each character has a reason to act the way that they do, and they each have a voice that is unique to them, even the side characters. It's a wonderfully fleshed-out world of captivating characters and places that makes you really feel, at times, that you're part of their world and watching everything unfold.

One of the ways Sarah Millman does this is by changing the background colours. I’d never seen it done that way before, and it works beautifully here with the art on display. The changes denote the different places, points of view, and even emotions of the characters.

There are also some wonderfully heartfelt moments in the story that really stay with you after you’ve finished the story, and some very well-written LGBTQ representation as well, something that has been sorely missing from the fantasy genre, especially in the comic book world.

With its description being that it's a love letter to the Final Fantasy games and Lord of the Rings, it wears its influences on its sleeves, but in a way that really piques the reader's interest. It's not one of those overly long or overly self-indulgent fantasy stories. Instead, it really does read as a love letter to the genre and to the joy of going to a local teashop.

NPC TEA is one of those types of books that you can read again and again, noticing something new each and every time.

Buy It Here!

Now, as always, remember one thing for me. Just one.

Mother, Dearest: Chapter Six - Read by Tony Carpenter, Now on YouTube.

Hi everyone,

Me again, your friendly, neighbourhood pansexual/nonbinary author.

Over on my YouTube page, you will find a new video of the wonderful Tony Carpenter reading what may be one of my favourite chapters in the whole of the first Mother, Dearest novel.

Chapter six is is where the character of Trent shows his true self and it was one of my favourite ones to write. I tried to give it the vibe of a 1980's horror movie without going too over the top with it. Hopefully that was successful.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention how amazed I am at the job that Tony Carpenter did at bringing my characters to life. He's perhaps best known for his turn as Stan Laurel in the stage shows by Lucky Dog Productions and other such stage shows. He's an actor, and voice artist, with a great calibre and level of talent so I honestly feel so lucky to have had him read the book itself.

The audiobook itself is available now from My Gumroad Shop Now!

Now, as always, remember one thing.

"My Favourite LGBTQ+ Recommendations: Episode Two" is now live on my YouTube channel!

Hi everyone,

As the title above suggests, the second episode of "My Favourite LGBTQ+ Recommendations" series is now live on my YouTube channel.

For this episode we talk about the wonderful book "Labours of Stone" by EM Harding, a romantic story with a comedic twist.

The book is available from Amazon now, so get yourself a copy.

Now, remember one thing for me, just one.

The Case of the Morbid Detection

I've always enjoyed stories starring the iconic Sherlock Holmes. I don't mind if they're set in the same time period or in the modern day; I just like reading as many different takes on the character as possible.

Now, obviously, none can come close to the classics by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; after all, they're timeless for a reason, but some superb authors, such as George Mann, have taken up the mantle and written their own.

After years of reading Sherlock Holmes novels and short story collections, there had always been that voice at the back of my mind wondering whether or not I could write one myself.

I'd written Time to Burn, alongside my partner, Golda Evans, which was a time travel and sci-fi adventure, and I'd written Mother, Dearest, the series that combined psychological thriller with the world of dark urban fantasy, but I'd never had the confidence to write something involving such a well-known and well-loved character.

The Case of the Morbid Detection was inspired by that little voice that told me to write one.

It is the story of a serial killer stalking the streets of London, leaving bodies cut with strange symbols next to a handmade Jack-in-the-Box toy.

While Inspector Lestrade and Doctor John Watson investigate the murders, Sherlock Holmes has retreated to London. His previous cases have worn him ragged, leaving him doubting his own abilities and even second-guessing whether or not he can keep those closest to him safe, but when Lestrade and Watson bring him back to London, the murders grow more vicious.

It's a simple story, in the grand scheme of things, but it's one that I found interesting. I didn't want to just copy what other authors had done while still keeping the things readers enjoyed about the character.

With that in mind, I wanted to present a version of the character who was struggling with the world around him, the toll the cases had taken on him, and even the heavy weight of expectation that his abilities had placed on him.

On the one hand, people seem to have enjoyed the fact that I took a new slant on the characters, giving them a bit more of a voice in my own style. On the other hand, the purists out there didn't like that I'd made changes like that, and that's okay. Each reader is different, and they all have different tastes. I, personally, am proud of the fact that I didn't go down the same route as the other Sherlock Holmes writers. But, as the hardest critic of my own work, I know it's not my strongest novel, but I am proud of the story that I put out into the world.

All in all, The Case of the Morbid Detection is a novel of which I am proud. I'd always wanted to write a Sherlock Holmes novel, and I did. Will I write another one? Perhaps not, but if I do, I hope I enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing this one.

The Case of the Morbid Detection is available from

Amazon (in both Kindle and Paperback form)

Etsy (in E-Book form)

Before I go, remember one thing for me.

New Video Series on my YouTube Channel

Hello, everyone.

It's me again.

Over on my YouTube channel is a new video which, I hope, will be the first in a series. I'm going to be talking about some of my favourite LGBTQ recommendations. This one is rather short, as I'm both testing the idea out and also trying to get over my lack of confidence, but I'm hoping it's at least enjoyable.

I really feel that there is a serious lack of promotion for LGBTQ novels, novellas, short stories, anthologies, and things like that, and I want to do my part, as an LGBTQ author myself, to help others promote their work.

I might even have a go at having guests in to do videos of their own LGBTQ recommendations.

If you like the video, then please like and subscribe, or even share if you should wish to.

Now, before I go, I have one request and it's a simple one. It's to remember one thing.

Time to Burn Trailer Reveal!

I had a great time co-writing Time to Burn with Golda Evans. It's a time hopping, science fiction adventure that deals with grief, loss, revenge, and regret.

The thing I loved the most about writing it was the simple fact that, before Golda asked me to be a part of it, I'd only written the first Mother, Dearest novel. Obviously that was a completely different genre but, as we are both huge science fiction nerds, I jumped at the chance.

What most people don't know though is that it was originally going to be a comic book/graphic novel but we couldn't land on an art style that we both liked.

Since it was released, we were given a wonderful compliment about the book. It was compared to the 1997 movie Event Horizon, directed by Paul W.S. Anderson and starring Laurence Fishburne. It's actually one of my favourite science fiction movies because of how it deals with insanity, horror, and the vast, terrifyingly large expanse that is space. If you've never checked it out, then watch the trailer below for a taster then go find it on a streaming channel, on DVD, on Blu Ray, hell, go to the drive through, I don't know. Just watch it. It's superb.

With that in mind, despite not knowing what I'm doing, I decided to make a snazzy* book trailer for what is, one of my favourite books I've been a part of, and then post it over on my YouTube channel.

*snazzy = cheesy, 80's style trailer that I love.

It was fun to make and I hope you like it.

Time to Burn is available now from Amazon, Gumroad, and Etsy.

Always remember one thing for me.