Bøger af Sam Starbuck

Caleb Canto moved to Askazer-Shivadlakia to live a quiet life, teaching music at a local school and writing pop songs on the side. The Shivadh are friendly to trans people, and the school is understanding of his desire to be kinder to the "different" kids than his own teachers were to him. What Caleb did not expect was that a song he sold to a prospective pop star would be entered into the Shivadh National Final for Eurovision, or that he'd be tapped to replace the original singer on short notice during the competition. When Caleb wins the National Final, he's put on a new and perhaps overly-exciting path to fame, and drawn into the orbit of the Shivadh royal family -- a collection of earnest politicians, oddballs, and charming rogues. Caleb would like to walk away from Eurovision, but he never seems to manage it. Part of the draw might be the UK's Eurovision representative, Buck Haverd, a teal-haired rocker who makes questionable life choices. When Buck arrives in Askazer-Shivadlakia, planning to hide out and work on his latest album, he and Caleb form a friendship based equally on a love of music and on trolling each other ruthlessly. Caleb wouldn't mind more than friendship with Buck, but he isn't interested in something casual, and Buck specializes in flings. Soon both are headed to Turin, immersing themselves in the glamor of Eurovision. With a lot at stake for Buck's career, they're going to have to decide what they want, and face what might happen if either one of them wins: Caleb, the accidental cool kid from the small country with the funny name, or Buck, the insecure bad-boy who could beat the long odds.

King Emeritus Michaelis thought he was looking forward to retirement. His son Gregory is thriving as the new king, and Michaelis has no deadlines or meetings -- he can fish and hike to his heart's content. Still, after a lifetime governing a country, it's turning out to be difficult to fill his days. He's boring both himself and the royal librarian with his memoirs, and looking for a new challenge, when he happens on the Reverb Podcast Network and its executive producer, Jes Deimos. Jes is home after living as an expat for most of their life, and wasn't expecting a friendship with the former king any more than he expected one with them. Jes is wary, even after Michaelis offers them recording space in the royal fishing lodge where he's living. Still, Jes and their son Noah are willing to teach a few lessons in podcasting, and their presence makes Michaelis's quiet life a little easier to cope with. He can even flirt with Jes in perfect safety, knowing nothing's ever going to happen -- until suddenly it does...The total wordcount for Infinite Jes is roughly 50K words.

Alanna Daskaz, daughter of the duchy of Askaz, is perfectly happy to ignore her noble heritage. She prefers to serve as administrator to Gregory III, current king of Askazer-Shivadlakia and her brother in everything but name. It's just another day on the job when she hears that Duke Tomas, ruler of neighboring Galia and generally appalling person, has died. The same day, however, siblings Ofelia and Milo Ansevali arrive as diplomatic emissaries from Galia, with historian Bruno Sheff in tow, to inform Alanna that she is the daughter of the duke's only cousin, and thus heir to his title and his throne. Alanna doesn't even want the duchy she already has, let alone another one.She's going to have to straighten this out, and that means going in person to visit her new kingdom. Traveling to Galia with her best friend Jerry, Duke of Shivadlakia, Alanna discovers that the Palazzo is full of intrigue and in desperate need of strong governance, and that's before they even talk about the issues with Athena, the local pet tiger. Surrounded by people she isn't sure she can trust, Alanna finds Jerry's ability to ferret out information useful - until she discovers Jerry has a few secrets of his own. There's a lot to fix in Galia, but politics was always Gregory's job. Alanna doesn't want to become ruler, especially not with a precious new romance blossoming in the shadow of Galia's impending power struggle. Her best option might be the persistent rumor that the duke had a secret child - if she can figure out who it is, and how to get them on the throne instead of her.The Lady And The Tiger has a total wordcount of roughly 70K words.