ALT: a cartoon of a girl says i want to read all the books

I did not mean to write a decade-long love letter to my own survival. It happened poem by poem, notebook by notebook, word by word. When I began these poems ten years ago, I was not trying to make a book. I was trying to make sense of myself. The world felt louder then, or maybe I was quieter. I wrote in margins and text threads, on napkins and the backs of receipts, as if language itself could hold the chaos that being queer sometimes meant.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEContact: Ryder TombsEmail: rydertombs@gmail.comWebsite: rydertombs.comAmazon Author Page: Author of Amazon-Bestselling Queer Poetry Collection Returns with a Powerful New Work Celebrating Love, Resilience, and Queer Joy Monterey, CA – March 24, 2025 — Following the breakout success of Monsters in the Closet, which debuted at #4 on Amazon’s LGBTQ+ Poetry chart, queer poet returns with…

Every year on March 31, something powerful happens across the globe. People come together to celebrate International Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV)—a day dedicated to uplifting transgender and nonbinary people, honoring their lives, and making sure the world sees them clearly and respectfully. And let’s be honest: in a world that too often tries to erase or misunderstand trans identities, visibility isn’t just important—it’s transformative.

The Haunted Bouncy Castle

VS Note: Portions of this post first appeared in the Roswell Daily Record. I think almost every author has a book of the heart (or two) that never got the reader love and attention to truly launch …

A Hard SF anthology of stories involving tea or coffee, stars, and gravity.

Every year on December 10, the world recognizes Human Rights Day, commemorating the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in 1948. Drafted in the aftermath of World War II, the UDHR is one of the most influential documents in modern history, establishing the idea that every human being — regardless of origin, identity, faith, or circumstance — deserves dignity, freedom, and protection.

Pansexual Pride Day, observed every year on December 8, is one of the most essential — and too often overlooked — celebrations on the LGBTQIA+ calendar. This day is dedicated to honoring pansexual identity, uplifting the pan community, dispelling myths, and creating visibility for a sexual orientation that many people still misunderstand. In a world where labels can both liberate and confound, Pansexual Pride Day provides clarity, connection, and a space for pan folks to be seen fully, without apology.

World AIDS Day arrives every year on December 1st, and while the date may stay the same, the world it lands in continues to change. What hasn’t changed, darling, is its importance. Recognizing World AIDS Day is not just a ritual, not a commemorative habit, and certainly not an optional social-justice accessory you pull out once a year like a holiday sweater.

Every year on November 20, communities across the world gather to mark Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR)—a day to honor the lives of transgender and gender-diverse people who have been lost to acts of anti-trans violence. The day is solemn, quiet, and deeply necessary. It reminds us of the ongoing cost of prejudice and the urgent need for empathy and change.

As November rolls around and families across the country prepare for the rituals of Thanksgiving, many LGBTQIA+ people begin preparing for something equally sacred, though often less understood: Chosen Family gatherings, often affectionately called Friendsgiving. For queer communities, chosen family isn’t just a social tradition — it’s survival, celebration, and love made tangible. It’s the meal that feeds the soul when blood ties can’t or won’t.

Every November, a radiant wave of courage and truth ripples across the world as we step into Transgender Awareness Week — observed from November 13th to 19th. It’s a sacred stretch of days set aside to celebrate the diversity and strength of transgender and nonbinary communities, to educate others, and to build empathy and understanding. It leads up to one of the most powerful days in the LGBTQIA+ calendar — …

Every year on November 8, the world pauses—if only briefly—to recognize Intersex Day of Remembrance, also known as Intersex Day of Solidarity. It is a day to honor intersex people: those born with sex characteristics that do not fit typical definitions of “male” or “female.” It is a day to remember the injustices they have endured and continue to face—from unwanted surgeries to social erasure—and to demand a future built on bodily autonomy, truth, and respect.

Transgender Parent Day Every first Sunday in November, a quiet but powerful observance takes place—Trans Parent Day. Falling this year on November 2, 2025, it’s a day to honor transgender and nonbinary parents, as well as parents of transgender and gender-diverse children. It’s a day rooted in love and resilience, created to expand the way the world understands family.

Every November, the world has the beautiful opportunity to turn its focus toward a community that has always existed but hasn’t always been celebrated the way it should be: our transgender and nonbinary siblings. 🌈✨ Transgender Awareness Month is a time to honor the resilience, creativity, and courage of trans and gender-diverse people. It’s a time to recognize their immense contributions to culture, art, politics, science, and activism.

On October 26th, the LGBTQIA+ community and allies worldwide mark Intersex Awareness Day — a vital observance dedicated to raising visibility for intersex people, challenging harmful stereotypes, a…