Blaine D. Arden

@blainedarden.com

enby/ace | Mx/she/ey/em Author of Queer Romantic SFF who sings eir way through life in platform boots. Tech Prince Troubles OUT NOW!! 👽☕ https://go.blainedarden.com/tech-troubles

$Quote from The Songs We Owe by Blaine D. Arden: Lessup and Firlenk had taste. Expensive, luxurious taste. From the sturdy, handcrafted furniture to the fractal holo art. The dappled orange and muted purple walls made the room feel like eternal sunset. Yet, something seemed off. With every step, every turn of my head, I wanted to reach for something to hold on to, wanted to press myself against the wall. Only when I braced myself on the ornate dinner table—solid craftsmanship, but pitched a key too low—did it dawn on me that everything in this room had been built with gnomes and dwarves in mind. Low furniture plus a standard-height ceiling equalled mind-fuck... and an iffy stomach.$

Quote from The Songs We Owe by Blaine D. Arden:

I grabbed my phone and searched for the coordinates. It didn’t take long to find them. Onster in Tennek County. Less than an hour from Lurwick.

I didn’t like how everything seemed to lead to Lurwick.

Quote from The Songs We Owe by Blaine D. Arden:

Rough Rock in their early years.

Emma, radiant in a bright sundress, her long, wild waves dancing across her glistening suntanned skin. The same image her wards called up. The way I’d always remember her. Endless sunshine and so full of life.

Beside her, Lily in platform boots with tight trousers and a layered purple tunic hanging off one shoulder. Her dress-style hadn’t changed much, but the contrast with the woman standing next to me couldn’t be bigger. More than the lack of horns or the messy, layered curly shag she sported back then.

Quote from The Songs We Owe by Blaine D. Arden:

Emma’s phone lay on the island, next to her lehrab plant in its milky blue pot—the only plant in the flat. I pressed my palm against the scratched screen, but it remained dark and unresponsive, and didn’t even show a holo-message.

That explained why she hadn’t answered.

Promotional graphic for Smashwords' July Summer/Winter Sale. The image features summer elements like a lifebuoy and starfish on the left and winter elements like snow and pine trees on the right.

Quote from The Songs We Owe by Blaine D. Arden:

“We talked about the attraction and the dangers of that place, since he started school.” He uttered a pained laugh. “We compared it to his sprite-dust allergy, and asked him how he’d feel if he infected someone else just by smiling at them. He insisted on wearing an anti-infection filter for weeks.”

Must have been Emma’s idea. She’d spent half a month’s worth of earnings on dodgy undetectable anti-infection mods that didn’t even stop a simple cold, hoping it would shield against our voices.

Quote from The Songs We Owe by Blaine D. Arden:

I tossed and turned all night, drifting into sleep only to jolt awake with a panicked urge to call both numbers. It took me longer each time to count popping posies until my mind finally calmed enough to doze off again, only for the next surge of panic to wake me.

Morning came too soon. I stumbled down the stairs with a massive headache, thumb hovering over the call button of my phone. I wasn’t sure what scared me more: that they’d pick up as if nothing had happened, or that they wouldn’t respond at all.

A quote from The Songs We Owe by Blaine D. Arden:

Crouching next to Michael, I leaned into the blanket he held and inhaled Emma’s scent. The balcony doors slid open, and the outside world rushed in. Folks chatted below us, the breeze swept between us, and carts rumbled in the distance.

I fought the urge to hide myself in her pillows and crept along the balustrade, catching Michael’s brittle expression in the glass. I sneaked from balcony to balcony while he shook out the blanket to distract nosy neighbours until I reached the stairs.

Promotional image for Tech Prince Troubles by Blaine D. Arden features a collage with a purple-skinned person with circuit-like face markings, a flying goose at sunset, a man rowing a boat, and a barista operating an espresso machine. A quote at the bottom reads: "The sun hit Sam’s face just right as he slowed his boat. His beaming smile. The twinkle in his eyes. I had to capture the happiness he exuded."

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A collage of illustrated book covers featuring people in fantasy and sci-fi settings, with a quote in the center mentioning "Thumper" and "Buttercup, security officer.

Quote from The Songs We Owe by Blaine D. Arden:

“You want to talk about it?”

*Oh, fuck no!* I took a breath and calmed myself by imagining Emma pulling her arm back, ready to swing at Michael.

Ally’s grin widened. “Yeah. I thought as much.” She patted my knee and checked her watch. “You okay to walk home? I’d drive you, but I need to find a replacement musician for this afternoon.”

“I’ll be fine.”

Quote from The Songs We Owe by Blaine D. Arden:

If I hadn’t walked into the local Safety Office all those years ago, if I hadn’t given myself up, Jesper would have grown up without his mother. She’d have gone back to the band—to Vex—to keep him safe. It had been in her eyes, in her voice, in the way she cradled Jesper, even if she didn’t say it out loud.

Quote from The Songs We Owe by Blaine D. Arden

I brushed my fingers along the lehrab’s stem. Guilt gnawed at me every time I made her the vocal inhibitor potion—for taking away her singing voice. Even if the alternatives were worse.

The soil was damp, but the poor thing was down to a handful of leaves. Emma rarely cut it back this much.

Quote from The Songs We Owe by Blaine D. Arden:

Emma’s coordinates sat on the southwest edge of the city. I’d expected a short-term rental or a lock-up, but what I’d found was a sleek cottage in an upscale district. The property registry listed the owners as Lynn Lessup and Gale Firlenk. A search turned up a ward engineering firm with the same name—the country’s largest. The couple were out west, overseeing a major re-warding in Barrel.

How had Emma ended up in their empty house?

Four book covers by Blaine D. Arden are displayed above a Rakuten Kobo ad promoting MM books on Kobo Plus, with a link to go.blainedarden.com/mm-kobo-plus.

Quote from The Songs We Owe by Blaine D. Arden:

Spread out across the small venue, our audience waited with clenched hands, bouncing knees, and restless expressions. A few leaned forward as if bracing themselves while the musicians prepped their instruments.

I stepped up to the mic, the cool metal soothing against my sweaty palm, counting breaths until the lights dimmed. My first notes rumbled across the floor, vibrated up the walls, and washed over the patients in gentle, healing waves, bolstered by the wards. The acoustics were a sound-engineer’s dream, wrapped in sterile shades of neutral.

A quote from "The Songs We Owe" by Blaine D. Arden:

The door whooshed open into a lavish hallway with a low, intricately carved bench on the left, beneath a high-tech, shimmering mirror, and a floating step on the right.

Promotional collage for Tech Prince Troubles by Blaine D. Arden features a golden title over a silhouette of two men at sunset. Other panels show a purple-skinned figure with circuit-like markings, a barista using an espresso machine, slices of burnt toast, and a blue circuit board. Overlaid dialogue reads: “You burned toast? Is that an American expression?” “No. I actually burned toast.” “Oh. That’s bad.”

A quote from "The Songs We Owe" by Blaine D. Arden:

It gave me time to gather my thoughts and reconcile Lillian with the Lily I knew, the Lily I hated. The reckless rocker who’d hidden her heritage with mods I could always see through.

Same face—older, rounder—same braided faux hawk modded with trans colours, same flowy tunics. Same deadly voice. But she’d stopped hiding, had let her horns grow out—long, black, and ribbed—and her energy seemed more settled, calmer. The Lily who’d sacrificed her freedom to save Emma.

Promotional graphic for LGBTQ+ books on Kobo, featuring covers of "How Six Saved the Frogs" and "Tech Prince Troubles" by Blaine D. Arden.

A quote from "The Songs We Owe" by Blaine D. Arden:

Lillian placed two packs on plates, pressed the buttons to activate them, and within minutes they opened and revealed our steaming meals. Simple, nutritious, and not as bland as I remembered.

I wasn’t used to eating in silence. Our family was loud, chatty, and refused to let me eat alone.

“You’d only end up fretting,” Fenna would say when I complained.

I would never admit it to her face, but she was right. Of course she was. I had so many thoughts swirling around in my head, trying to make sense of why Vex was threatening Emma.

Lillian only glanced up from her plate to gaze out the window with a thoughtful expression. She was an only child, and with Emma around, she’d probably never had to speak during meals at all.

$A quote from the Speed Hoop Relay Rule book, created for "The Songs We Owe" by Blaine D. Arden: A point is awarded for a clean hoop only. A clean hoop requires all of the following: • The Receiver catches the ball. • Neither the ball nor any player touches or clips the hoop during the attempt. Ball clip: An infraction in which the ball makes contact with a hoop during a throw or catch attempt. Accumulates toward a penalty circuit threshold.$