Left alone after a tsunami destroyed eir village, Lefeng would have walked into the mountains and not looked back. But a child lost on the trails redirected eir course and another survivor planted the seed of an idea – a new family. Lefeng's commitment to those ey comes to love will take em to the hated city and a new way of life. But in a slowly dying city, Lefeng's determination can only carry them so far. Set in a genderless world of polyamorous marriage, communal care work and multi-generational families, this queernormative tale abounds with details ranging from trauma recovery and neurodivergence to winter romance and city politics. Lovers of cozy narratives can soak in the story of long, steady, unsung work in these pages, the effort and joys of building lives together and building each other up. It's an experience that will stay with you for a while.If you can't get enough of found family and queer fiction in fantasy, you'll love Planting Life in a Dying City. Jess' weird fish-out-of-water life has left them with an enduring love/hate affair with common tropes. The relationship counselor recommended they break it off, but they just keep coming back to play with tropes (and fuck them up) some more.In between their tropic indulgences, they write queer fantasy with queer, aromantic, neurodivergent, and generally 'weird' characters, take care of their family, argue halakha, and try to do a bit of educational activism on the side.Tumblr: grounded-gryphonMastodon: @jessmahler@indiepocalypse.social
