Blaine Arden

ALLi Author Member

Location: Europe

Genres: LGBTQ+, Fantasy/SciFi/Speculative, Mystery, Other Poetry, Short/Flash Fiction Collection, Romance

Blaine D. Arden is an EPIC Award-winning author of Queer Romantic SFF who sings eir way through life in platform boots.

For most of eir sheltered youth, Blaine read, daydreamed, and made up stories. As ey grew up, ey slowly moved from telling them to eir favourite doll and acting them out with eir Barbies, to putting pen to paper. Eir motto is Our Difference is our Strength, and eir stories are often set in worlds where gender fluidity and sexual diversity are woven into the bare bones of society.

When not writing or reading, Blaine has singing lessons and hopes to be in a band someday.

Blaine also writes poetry as A.B. Dapperens

Blaine Arden's books

Tales of the Forest 1: The Forester (forester triad act one)

"Your Path is muddy, Kelnaht, but don't think avoiding the puddles will make it easier to travel."

Kelnaht, a cloud elf, is a truth seeker caught between love and faith when a murder committed ten days before Solstice reveals an illicit affair between two tree elves he desires more than he can admit. Kelnaht's former lover Ianys once betrayed him, and the shunned forester Taruif is not allowed to talk to anyone but the guide, their spiritual pathfinder.

When Taruif turns out to be the only witness to the crime, Kelnaht must suppress his forbidden feelings or face the ire of the elders. Ianys is terrified the tribe will blame Taruif for the crime, and despite their painful history, Kelnaht tries to keep his impulsive ex-lover from sacrificing his freedom for an impossible love. If Taruif and Ianys’ affair becomes known, Ianys will lose his daughter.

Kelnaht finds himself yearning to claim both Taruif and Ianys at the coming Solstice and turns to the guide, who gives him only cryptic advice. It is up to Kelnaht to prove Taruif’s innocence and find a path free of puddles and mud for all three of them.

Tales of the Forest 2: Lost and Found (forester triad act two)

The guide mentioned puddles, but I envisioned lakes, deep treacherous lakes, and I was drowning.

One turn has passed, another Solstice is just around the corner, and having an illicit affair with not one but two lovers—smith Ianys and shunned forester Taruif—is taking its toll on truth seeker Kelnaht.

A stripling has gone missing from the tribe, and heavy rainfall hides all traces of his whereabouts. With days creeping by without a lead, it's hard to keep the tribe's spirits up, more so when Kelnaht's own future depends on the elders. Taruif has been shunned for almost twenty turns, but now that a possible forester's apprentice is coming of age, the elders consider reducing his sentence. Taruif could be set free.

In gaining one lover, Kelnaht may lose another. Ianys seems to be pulling away from them both. He doesn't want to hinder Taruif's happiness while an old promise keeps Ianys from loving Kelnaht openly. But Taruif needs Kelnaht and Ianys' support more than ever. If they lose faith in each other, the puddles in their paths will swallow them all.

Tales of the Forest 3: Full Circle (forester triad act three)

“I have great responsibilities, but my path ahead is as foggy and blurred as the path behind me.”

With forester Taruif freed, Kelnaht has claimed him openly at Solstice before tribe and Ma’terra as his partner, but with their third, Ianys, bound by an old promise, their triad is still incomplete. Sneaking around puts the most strain on Ianys. He and Kelnaht must keep their relationship a secret or he will lose his daughter, Atèn.

When several children fall ill with more than a summer bug, truth seeker Kelnaht is assigned once more to investigate. What he finds is deadly and threatens the life of every underage child in the tribe, including Atèn. Then a wounded traveller is found in the forest, left to die after a vicious attack.

With Taruif and his apprentice on the hunt for a cure, Kelnaht focusses on the attacks, but the clues are few and more children are infected. Nothing seems to connect until both the traveller and Atèn dream of the same grey-haired elf. Driven by fear for his daughter, Ianys pulls away from his lovers. Kelnaht can only pray Ma’terra will guide him to a solution that brings them all together and keeps Atèn safe from harm.

Tales of the Forest 1-3: A Triad in Three Acts (the complete forester trilogy)

“There is always a way.”
Kelnaht, Taruif, and Ianys are meant to be together, but old promises and the decree of the elders prevent them from claiming each other openly at Solstice. Kelnaht can investigate murder and foul play, but he can’t see how he can keep both his lovers without breaking the rules. But if he believes in the guide’s words and trusts his faith in Ma’terra, they will find a way to clear the fog and puddles from their paths.

The Forester
Kelnaht, a cloud elf, is a truth seeker caught between love and faith, when a murder reveals an illicit affair between two tree elves he desires more than he can admit. Kelnaht’s former lover Ianys once betrayed him, and the shunned forester Taruif is not allowed to talk to anyone but the guide, their spiritual pathfinder.

Lost and Found
A stripling goes missing from the tribe, and heavy rainfall hides all traces of his whereabouts. With days creeping by without a lead, it’s hard to keep the tribe’s spirits up, more so when Kelnaht’s own future depends on the elders. Taruif has been shunned for almost twenty turns, but now that a possible forester’s apprentice is coming of age, the elders consider reducing his sentence. Taruif could be set free.

Full Circle
When several children fall ill with more than a summer bug, truth seeker Kelnaht is assigned to investigate. What he finds is deadly and threatens the life of every underage child in the tribe, including Ianys’ daughter Atèn. Then a wounded traveller is found in the forest, left to die after a vicious attack.

Tales of the Forest 4: Oren's Right

Following his principles will break two hearts.

Forester Veld loses a piece of himself to mute baker Oren when they first meet, but Oren is vowed to Haram. When Haram is killed, Veld denies his heart to respect the mourning period. It's the right thing to do.

During Haram's funeral, Oren proudly bares the brands that show the nature of their love; Haram owned him, heart and body. The elves pity Oren and think he's broken.

Veld has no intention of dishonouring Haram's memory, but his death may not have been an accident. Only a forester can learn what the trees have seen. However, Oren's independence is threatened, and if Veld does not offer what Oren needs, Oren may never be his to claim.

The Fifth Son

A prince without power

In a land where magic is commonplace, Prince Llyskel has none. He can’t command spells, he has never been taught to fight, and as the fifth son of the King, he will never rule. Everyone believes he’s a weakling, most of all himself.

Powerlessness is Llyskel’s problem—and his pleasure. In his secret fantasies, the prince dreams of nothing more than finding himself helpless at another man's hands… particularly the hands of Captain Ariv of the Guards.

Then Ariv makes Llyskel’s dream a reality, and as the powerless prince surrenders to the soldier’s desire, he finds his own true strength at last. But a web of royal politics is closing around Llyskel, threatening to tear him from his lover, and it will take all his newfound courage to escape...

Aliens, Smith and Jones

In a world of secrets and aliens, who can you trust with your heart?

Working for a secret organisation specialising in alien cover-ups, Connor Smith has seen it all. His love life is as boring as his work life is thrilling… until a blind date introduces him to a man who seems to tick all the right boxes. Connor’s happiness is short-lived, however, when he becomes the target of an alien stalker.

Noah Jones has been stuck on Earth since 1648, leading an unremarkable, solitary existence as a bookshop owner. He has only experienced a profound connection with a human once… until he encounters Connor. Driven by an irresistible pull, he finds himself drawn into Connor’s orbit, despite his employer and that he’s involved with someone else.

Among vanishing alien artefacts and lurking shadowy collectors, Noah’s constant presence stirs a swirl of emotions Connor struggles to decipher. But when Noah goes missing, and doubts arise around his perfect boyfriend, Connor’s orderly world shatters.

As the lines between the personal and the extra-terrestrial blur, Connor and Noah must navigate a maze of betrayal and hidden identities in this thrilling sci-fi romance.

Click Your Heels

A lion sleeps in the hearts of brave men.

When Prince Theodorin refuses to wed the general's youngest son because he loves another, he is trapped on a cursed island. He spends his days trying to escape, his nights listening to his lover’s soothing voice echoing through the forest. His attempts to escape only lead back to where he started… until an encounter with a lion reveals a crack in the illusion. Theo has to believe, or he may never find his way home.

A Time Traveler's Valentine

In love, time is relative, until they run out…

Regulations limit time digger Ish and time cop Kabal, born years and worlds apart, to two dates a year, making every date precious. But when Kabal announces his retirement at their tenth anniversary, what should have been a happy occasion might be their last night together.

Midwinter Bears

Tahl promised Enfys ice bears for Midwinter, but ey neglected to tell him that ey and eir kin were the ice bears.

An Invitation To Love

When Dominick has to attend a six-day dragon mating ceremony, he wants to avoid speaking to anyone for fear his severe stutter will send possible suitors running.

However, Lysander and Zachary, both from different cultures with a thing for redheads, refuse to let him hide. Worse, they actively pursue him, even after Dominick mucks up their first encounter.

Against the backdrop of a ceremony that takes testing endurance, strength, and acoustics to new heights, differences between languages, customs, and expectations create an obstacle course where any misstep could send the men home… alone.

Matters of the Heart

Loving - it is the sea

Love can be sweet and bright as the sun sparkling on the waves, but under its surface lurk betrayal and despair in bottomless darkness.

From innocent crush to losing a loved one, Matters of the Heart follows the ebb and flow of love and relationships through sweet and sour, and light and dark.

Blaine D. Arden w/a A.B. Dapperens

Tales of the Forest 5: Twenty-Five Turns

Can love last when one won’t leave, and the other can’t stay?

Fear of moving farther away from his family had cost Eer the love of his life, but now, after twenty-five turns, Kat has returned… with a son, and Eer’s feelings resurface as if it had been only yesterday since they’d first kissed.

But any hope Eer has of rekindling their love seems doomed to fail when a murderer’s taste for revenge forces Kat to choose between endangering their family or running… and leaving Eer behind, again.

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