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Happy Friday!
It's almost the weekend, which means it's time for the sun and blue skies to disappear, making room for it to rain ALL weekend. Oh wait, it might not rain on Sunday. Now TB's trying to do her don't rain dance. It looks like if Herman Munster and Lurch (from The Addams Family) had a very stiff-looking child with zero rhythm.
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Now for Today's IHS News
In today's post you'll find out the top 3 sapphic books with the most clicks this week.
There are 8 freebies! Please note, some of the freebies are only free today, June 6, 2025.
Janet Lee Smith is our 5 Random Things author and the facts are fantastic. Fact #3 shows dedication.
Reader Kori shares a photo of a dog and cat who were besties until a tragic accident. Our hearts go out to them. Please send healing thoughts into the universe for Kori and their family.
Don't forget to scroll all the way to the end of the post for good news about Pride flags.
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Author Name Scramble
For this game, we'll scramble a sapphic author's name, allowing you to work it out. In Saturday's newsletter, we'll share the answer along with a new author name scramble.
All of the letters for the author's first and last name are below, but we don't guarantee that the letters are in the correct part of the name or that the first and last names have the same number of letters as the scramble.
Thursday's scramble was: Dora Cheaf--the answer is Char Dafoe
Here's today's scramble:
Daren Cormorwa
Remember, the answer will be revealed in Saturday's newsletter. Hint: the author is in today's post.
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Queer Trivia
She was a Chinese poet.
Born in 1799 in the town of Renhe (modern-day Hangzhou) in Zhejiang province, she was the daughter of a merchant. She later married a merchant named Huang. Renowned for her lyrical (ci) compositions, she was considered one of the finest writers of the Qing dynasty in that form. In addition to ci, she also composed poetry in the sanqu style.
She holds an important place in the history of Chinese literature and, increasingly, in the evolving narrative of China’s LGBTQ+ cultural heritage.
Born at the dawn of the 19th century, she emerged as a distinctive voice in a literary tradition largely dominated by men. She carved out a space in intellectual and artistic circles that seldom embraced women, especially those who challenged prevailing gender and sexual norms. Although much about her life remains uncertain, her surviving works resonate with subtle erotic ambiguity and reflect the deep emotional connections she formed with other women throughout her life.
Historians note that neither her father nor her husband, both influential figures in her early life, showed any interest in literature, suggesting that she received little support from her family for her literary pursuits. How she learned to read, write, play music, and paint remains uncertain, especially given that women of the merchant class at the time were rarely taught these skills.
Her writings often convey a longing to move beyond the restrictive roles assigned to women, while offering subtle yet powerful glimpses of desire, companionship, and artistic kinship with other women, particularly female courtesans, fellow poets, and like-minded figures in the literary community.
Today, her creative legacy not only adds depth to the canon of classical Chinese literature but also broadens the scope of Chinese queer history, offering a rare insight into the complexities of queer desire and expression in a time and place where such experiences were rarely documented.
Do you know her name? The answer is at the bottom of the email.
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Great Pride eBook Giveaway
It's Day 6 of the Great Pride Giveaway!
Today there are 51 books involved and check out the outfit Miranda made TB wear.
Click here to enter the giveaway and to find out what TB kept complaining about.
The last day to enter the June 6 giveaway is tomorrow. The winner will be randomly selected and notified by email on June 8.
Tomorrow (June 7), there'll be another fab giveaway to enter!
Please note, entering just once doesn't enter you for all 30 giveaways. Each one is separate with different prizes.
Just in case you didn't toss your name into the June 5 hat yesterday, you can right here. It closes later today, June 6, so don't wait.
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Patreon Author of the Week
The IHS Patreon Author of the Week is the wonderful Pip Landers-Letts.
On Monday, Pip shared 3 truths and a lie. Hop on over to guess the lie.
On Tuesday, Pip shared photos you don't want to miss.
Pip Landers-Letts is back today with her favorite scene from Pyg.
Leave a comment on all the posts to enter to win Pyg. We'll pick the winner tomorrow, June 7.
You can follow us for free in order to leave a comment to enter the giveaway. To join for free, click on the conversation emoji at the bottom of the post and it'll ask you to join for free to comment.
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All About the Books
Edale Lane chats about Alibi for Murder, her latest release. Learn some fascinating behind the scenes details about the story, characters and the author, including a fun fact most might not know.
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Please Support Our Sponsors
Creating and maintaining the I Heart SapphFic website and BookFinder (which has more than 9,250 books!) takes a massive investment of time and monetary resources. Put simply, we wouldn’t be able to continue what we do without the fabulous authors in our community who sponsor the site by purchasing advertising.
Click here to see all the authors who sponsored the site last week, including Sabrina Blaum, Stephanie Shea, Eule Grey, Aldrea Alien, and many others.
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Have a rainbow-filled day!
TB & Miranda
Queer Trivia Answer:
Wu Zao
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Have any friends interested in hearing about lesbian fiction new releases. Please forward them this email or tell them to subscribe at iheartsapphfic.com.
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I Heart SapphFic
PO Box 547, Bolton Massachusetts, United States of America
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You received this email because you signed up on our website or made a purchase from us.
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