Gems and Star Flowers is an upcoming sci-fi queer romance by Amara Lynn and co-written with their best friend. The book will feature a mix of Amara's signature coziness, a helping of angst, and a happy ending.
Amara’s work has been praised for relatable queer experiences and heartwarming storytelling. Their upcoming gay sci-fi romance is a story for the ages. Gems and Star Flowers has it all: love, aliens, space travel, and a whole lot of heart!
I fell in love almost immediately! I can’t tell you how much I think readers are going to love this.
-Charlie Knight
Gems and Star Flowers is expected for publication on December 17th, but it needs your help to take it to audiobook format! Back it now to help fund production of this heartwarming sci-fi romance and be the first to secure your audiobook copy!
A lonely ex-lab subject on the run...
Half-human, half-Perlian Zerrick has been on the run for years, from his past, and from the scientist who held him prisoner for experimentation all his life. Even worse, he’s been wrongly branded an outlaw by the organization that held him captive. Staying in one place very long is dangerous with bounty hunters never far behind. His days are spent as a cargo transporter, but it’s a lonely existence.
A sweet failed mercenary trying to move on...
Fleur is running from his past, too. Abandoning his planet and his duty of mandatory mercenary service because he didn’t wish to fight, he now spends his time selling astrae flowers to passersby. It may be lonely, though at least he gets to see new and interesting people who come and go.
An exploration of each other through space...
When Zerrick happens upon Fleur’s flower stand, there’s an immediate and undeniable connection between the two of them. They become fast friends, and the first bloom of romance begins between them. Despite the desperately needed solace they might find in each other, Zerrick can’t stay anywhere too long. Then, Fleur surprises him by deciding to come along with him on his travels.
Together, they might finally find peace of mind and happiness they seek. But not before grappling with the skeletons they both have in their closets, which are more intertwined than they realize.
There are a couple of reasons why securing funding for an audiobook would be beneficial for the book's success.
Gems and Star Flowers is a novel length work at 55,000 words, which would be around 5-6 hours as an audiobook. Paying a narrator upfront would allow timely and fair compensation for all their hard work as they deserve, and for the audiobook be available at a variety of retailers outside of Audible.
Being able to make this happen would be so beneficial, so I hope you'll help me make it a reality!
The audiobook will be narrated by Rose Svetich! I'm so excited to work with this up and coming narrator to bring this book to life!
$1 Tier - Lyri For just one lyri, show your support for the cause!
$5 Tier - Stargazer You want to be a part of the adventure, but you're not necessarily interested in an audiobook! This tier will get you the e-book delivered straight to your inbox on release day, December 17th!
$10 Tier - Pearl For those wanting an extra little pearl (or two), in the form of exclusive art! You'll receive the e-book and the digital art rewards!
$15 - Gems You're fully on board for the audiobook! You'll receive the e-book on release day, plus the audiobook as soon as it's available!
$20 - Star Flowers For those wanting a little extra glitter. Includes e-book, audiobook, a digital bonus short story, and digital art!
$25 - Favored This tier is in your favor if you believe in it and you want something even more special! Includes all digital rewards plus a physical paperback!
$35 - Astrae You really, really, REALLY love this project. You think it's beautiful and sparkly. All digital rewards, and a hardcover copy of the book.
$50 Tier - Supernova Supernova! AKA TBR overload. You're above and beyond! Amara's ENTIRE catalogue in e-book form along with Gems and Star Flowers e-book and audiobook, and all the art rewards and the bonus short story!
$100 Tier - Supermassive You're a SUPERMASSIVE help to the campaign! You'll get the Gems e-book, Amara's entire back catalogue in e-book, digital art rewards, bonus short story, audiobook, and a PERSONAL art commission by Amara.
Welcome to The Book Bazaar, a celebration of all things indie and small press! We're collaborating to help make each creator's dreams come true with their publishing project. The more you back, the more goodies you earn. Here's how you can earn more:
🌟 Back five projects, get an exclusive reward. We're offering an exclusive The Book Bazaar reward to anyone who goes all out and backs five or more projects. The Book Bazaar 2025 participants are putting together a one-of-a-kind anthology full of unique and never-before-seen stories. Claim your anthology by showing your support now! Your anthology reward will ship separate from other rewards.
If you're new around here, I'm Amara Lynn, and I'm a queer indie author. My focus is on queer stories with coziness, good food, and happy endings. I've been publishing books since 2017.
Amara Lynn author photo.
I've been writing much longer than that, though! Before I ever published a story, I was coming up with characters to roleplay with others, and creating deep backstories for those characters. One of those backstories became Into the Deep, my pirate fantasy adventure novel. It was through this story I met my best friend, who I co-wrote Gems and Star Flowers with! My friend is also the reason why a large number of my characters, like those of my series Masks, exist!
I'm so excited to finally publish something co-written with her, and I hope everyone loves these characters just as much as we have all these years.
What is the project timeline? The book will release in e-book and physical on December 17th. E-books and any digital bonus material will be delivered at this time.
Any pledges containing physical merchandise will need additional time for printing and fulfillment. Expected fulfillment is by the end of quarter one 2026.
All audiobook rewards will be delivered once production is complete on the audiobook. Expected fulfillment is by the end of quarter one 2026.
What are the risks of this project? The book has been through edits and will be releasing in ebook and paperback regardless on December 17th, two weeks after the campaign ends. All that's left following the campaign is the time it takes the narrator to record the audiobook version.
Will there be a physical release? Yes! Though the purpose of this campaign is to fund an audiobook, there are physical reward tiers. It will also be available to purchase beginning December 17th.
What is the refund policy? Digital rewards are non-refundable. Any physical rewards are non-refundable if they have already shipped. If there is an issue with any physical merchandise, a replacement may be provided.
Shipping Shipping will be charged separately of the pledges after the campaign is complete. Books will be drop shipped if international to keep shipping costs to a minimum.
