Books By D. A. Holley

19 Aug

In a high control society with homophobic beliefs, isolation is the baseline for queer men, but it doesn't have to mean being alone forever. In this moment, Luke feels seen for the first time, and hope cuts through terror, as he realizes this stranger is just like him. #darkfantasy #LGBTQ #booksky

19 Aug

Protection being so needed for so long, queer people developed systems for identifying each other that relied on coded language, eye contact, even nonverbal signaling with certain props like handkerchiefs. But those systems would not have been necessary if love for queer people was unconditional.

18 Aug

Iron Fundamentalism teaches that being gay is a spiritual sickness. The parents of Adrien, Luke and Oliver all accept their children on the basis of their ability to conform to an impossible standard. Surrender to faith, and they receive love. But live their truths? What happens then?

17 Aug

Can you love someone if you only know a version of them? You hear talk about manufactured authenticity in online spaces all the time, but it applies to marginalized people, too. Love for a performance is conditional on you maintaining the costume. When the performance ends, does that love remain?

14 Aug

Anger rests on the other side of the closet, together with joy and grief. For some of us, a tangled web of feelings needs to be unpacked and let go of before we can become who we are. www.daholley.com/blog/the-que... #LGBTQ #comingofage #darkfantasy #gayfiction #mmromance

14 Aug

13 Aug

Part of the coming out journey is discovering who you are when nothing is holding you away from that person anymore. #gay #lgbtq #lgbt

12 Aug

Things were going so right. For once, everything had seemed so easy for Oliver. Sure, he hadn't planned on swapping head with Tyler this evening, but that look in Tyler's eyes...it was like he had never wanted anything more in his life. So why did he leave so abruptly? #Gay #fantasy #mmromance

11 Aug

#darkfantasy #mmromance #LGBTQ #familydrama #cults #gayfiction

10 Aug

When you learn, at a young age, to identify your attractions with sin, it reshapes your identity into something quietly monstrous, something that must be overcome in order to be accepted. Being queer all but requires a rejection of this narrative.

8 Aug

This is the moment everything fell apart for Andrea. Fire raged through her home, and she was left unable to do anything except watch as her brother struggled to get out, before himself being taken by the flames. Her parents already dead, she was left with her uncle, and the grief of her loss.

7 Aug

Today’s article brings everything we’ve been discussing this week to a head. We’ll explore how Andrea Whiteheart processes grief over the loss of her immediate family, and her view of the uncle who took her in. www.daholley.com/blog/the-bla... #darkfantasy #grief #indie #familysaga

6 Aug

#darkfantasy #conceptart #booksky #grimdark #FantasyBooksSky More about the world: www.daholley.com/blog/categor...

6 Aug

When we are left to our own devices in the wake of grief, who do we become? Given over to a new system that may be supportive or may leave us fending for ourselves, how does our new environment shape us? 1/2 #darkfantasy #psychology #grief #booksy

6 Aug

Pressure comes from outside as much as from internal sources in these scenarios. I think it makes a world of difference whether we find support waiting for us on the other side of grief, or loneliness. 2/2 #darkfantasy #psychology #grief #booksy

5 Aug

From a #WIP I'm writing. The project is called The Agenda, and it'll probably end up being an entry in the Holden Cummings catalog. The premise: What if the conspiracy theories about the LGBTQ community were true? #darkhumor #LGBTQ #booksky #amwriting #politicalsatire

5 Aug

What must it be like for a psychopath to lose his only friend? #darkfantasy #booksky #grief #friendship #excerpt #fantasybooksky #writersky

4 Aug

An excerpt about Andrea's grief from Broken Bonds. #darkfantasy #epicfantasy #grief #writersky #booksky

4 Aug

Andrea and Hugo don't have a great relationship, but on the anniversary of the tragedy that took her family, she grapples with an inconvenient fact. Their relationship may be strained, but the people she lost were his family, too. #darkfantasy #grief #excerpt

3 Aug

Loss always comes with a period of grief, but that grief can take on many forms. Its nature and duration can depend on so many things, from how long the person we’ve lost was in our lives to how much of an impact they had on us when they were alive.

1 Aug

How deep are the scars left behind by those who shape us? Andrea would tell you they cut to the core of who she is. That refusing to become her uncle is a conscious choice she makes daily. I explore that connection her: www.daholley.com/blog/the-bla... #darkfantasy #psychology

What causes someone to stay with an abuser? How do these attachments form, and why is letting them go so difficult? For some, familiar discomfort is less intimidating than wading into the unknown. For others it might be that they're subconsciously replacing one negative influence with another. 1/

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When psychological warfare has been normalized throughout your entire life, you may miss red flags others see plainly. This is something I explored in Broken Bonds, as Malthus substitutes his crime lord boss for a father who chose his mother over him when she had gone beyond his reach. 3/

But what do you think? Why is it so hard to break a bond with an abuser? Why do people end up with them in the first place?

Take a manipulative parent as an example. When control has been the defining feature of your most intimate relationships going deep into childhood, the decision to enter into a high control relationship (whether conscious or not) becomes comprehensible. 2/

@amandawtwong.bsky.social

30 July

The people who shape us leave the deepest wounds. Today is release day for Broken Bonds. Dust off your blades, and begin your descent into madness with #KindleUnlimited. www.amazon.com/dp/B0GZX1XM8S #darkfantasy #psychologicalhorror #LGBTQ #necromancy

Books By D. A. Holley reposted

Amanda Wong

25 July

This is a small thing but the embarrassing truth is that I've been a poor reader for most of my adult life and I've read a new book nearly every week this year so hoorah for me :D

23 July

Find a brief preview of the article in the alt. Read here: www.daholley.com/blog/anatomy... #erotica #mmromance #gay #booksky #darkfantasy #fantasyromance #writersky

daholley.comWhy Are Watchers Banned in Empire?

21 July

Today's Post: Why Are Watchers Banned In Empire? A detailed look at how authors give their gods weaknesses, and why memory sits at the heart of a blanket ban against a gifted few. #darkfantasy #booksky #LGBTQ #KindleUnlimited #psychology www.daholley.com/blog/why-are...

Books By D. A. Holley reposted

TizzyWoman

@tizzywoman.bsky.social

11 July

#MorningVibe Ever feel like "someone should do something"? That someone is YOU, & our small acts add up! From boycotts to calls to Congress, collective action works & holds institutions accountable. Individual efforts build massive impact when we stand together. 💙 @optimisticsoap.bsky.social!

18 July

Just another day wishing Pepsi would bring these absolute bangers back...

16 July

I tend to do studies of the main characters for the books I write. Often, I'll do a few different versions based on what I've written about their appearances, and then use those as touchstones for future descriptions. More info @ daholley.com #mmromance #erotica #cult #darkfantasy #booksky

15 July

Over on the blog, today's post unpacks the central hypocrisies in the love faith offers, and why so many of us gays reject faith's promises in favor of living our truth. Read it here: www.daholley.com/blog/gods-of... #lgbtq #booksky #darkfantasy #mmromance #exchristian #gay #KindleUnlimited

15 July

An excerpt from the post is in the alt of the image above.

Books By D. A. Holley reposted

Sean Marshall

@seanyyz.bsky.social

14 July

Why I’m a fan of the Oxford comma.

11 July

Today's article, 'The Seahorse of Doom', explores a god deemed evil for having the audacity to draw queer men away from the women folk, onto the fabled Far Shore. Excerpt in the alt. Read it here: www.daholley.com/blog/the-sea... #darkfantasy #gayfiction #lgbtq #spiritualawakening #KindleUnlimited

9 July

What was the catalyst that allowed you to find acceptance for your sexuality? As I write about gay sex and intimacy set against the backdrop of a hardline faith, I find myself wondering if there's an anchoring memory for you guys, or if it was a combination of different things. #LGBT #gay

9 July

The subject of today's article over on the blog, how intimacy forms a bridge between two men growing up in a homophobic cult. (excerpt in the alt.) Read it here: www.daholley.com/blog/glimmer... #gayfiction #darkromance #literaryfiction #lgbtq #fantasy #cult

8 July

Read the article here: www.daholley.com/blog/anatomy... #darkfantasy #grimdark #booksky #reader #writersky #lgbtq+ #gayfiction #foundfamily #forcedproximity

One thing I can say about dealing with severe storms in the midwest and on the gild coast is I'm pretty comfortable waiting out a storm. Currently waiting for one to pass so I can see Christina Aguilera and Meek Mill perform (hopefully)

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Roach, who has all the control Malthus lacks but is ruled by anger at the way nature of his life.

And Don, who rides waves of thunder and lightning like a surfer rides currents, but whose addiction informs his next moves every time. Broken Bonds comes out on July 30th. Pre-order here: buy.bookfunnel.com/clz2lnbxyx

co.esco.es

@fantasyfaction.bsky.social

But being in proximity to severe storms also influenced the development of thrre characters. Malthus, whose psychological state is as unpredictable as the storms he conjures.

Books By D. A. Holley reposted

Fantasy-Faction

5 June

Today Stuart Cripps-Schnoor reviews @marklawrenceauthor.bsky.social's Daughter of Crows! - JI 🐉 "Grimdark fantasy with a pulse. Bloody, intimate, and emotionally ruthless. My only real criticism is simple: I finished it, and now I have to wait." fantasy-faction.com/2026/daughte... #booksky 💙🪐📚