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21 Friday Freebies, Top Sapphic Books, Alex La Bruyere, and More!

I Heart SapphFic <iheart@iheartsapphfic.com>

June 20, 2:16 pm

21 Friday Freebies, Top Sapphic Books, Alex La Bruyere, and More!
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Thank you to our sponsor Jamey Moody for featuring More Than a Wish.

More Than a Wish ad

Happy Friday!

This is the first weekend for months when rain isn't predicted. Naturally, TB and Miranda have to work through the weekend to get a book ready to send to the editor. This is just one more data point for TB that proves the universe hates her. 

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 21 freebies! Please note, some of the freebies are only free today, June 20, 2025.

Alex La Bruyere is our 5 Random Things author and the facts are fantastic. We're jealous of Fact #3.

Reader CK shares a photo of an adorable dog who needs special care.

Don't forget to scroll all the way to the end of the post for good news about US passports.

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: Celia Agila--the answer is Alicia Gael

Here's today's scramble:

Sandy Guilecas

Remember, the answer will be revealed in Saturday's newsletter. Hint: the author is in today's post. 

Queer Trivia

She is an American musician. 

Born in 1982 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, she grew up in a blended family. Her parents divorced when she was 3. When she was 7, she moved to Dallas with her mom and 2 sisters. She has 4 brothers and 4 sisters. 

When she was a kid, she liked the movie La Bamba and her mother gave her a plastic guitar for Christmas when she was 5. At the age of 12, she was playing a real guitar and during her teen years, she helped her aunt and uncle with their guitar-vocal jazz group.

She attended the prestigious Berklee College of Music leaving after 3 years because she felt they focused too much on the aesthetics of music. When asked why she left, she said, “I think that with music school and art school, or school in any form, there has to be some system of grading and measurement. The things they can teach you is quantifiable. While all that is good and has its place, at some point you have to learn all you can and then forget everything that you learned in order to actually start making music.”

Her eclectic musical influences range from David Bowie, Kate Bush, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Jimi Hendrix to jazz and classical music, all of which have contributed to her distinct and genre-defying sound. She’s also said to have been influenced by authors Cormac McCarthy, Philip Roth, and Bukowski.

Since the release of her debut album Marry Me (2007), she has captivated audiences with her innovative music and captivating stage presence. Her critically acclaimed albums, including Actor (2009), Strange Mercy (2011), and the Grammy-winning [redacted] (2014), have solidified her status as a musical visionary.

When asked if she identified as gay, she said, “I believe in gender fluidity and sexual fluidity. I don’t really identify as anything.” Adding, “I think you can fall in love with anybody.”

She has dated Cara Delevingne and Kristen Stewart.

Do you know her name? The answer is at the bottom of the email.

Thank you to our sponsor Claire Highton-Stevenson for featuring The Last to Know.

The Last to Know ad

Great Pride eBook Giveaway

It's Day 20 of the Great Pride Giveaway!

Today there are 57 books involved and check out Miranda's 1920's superhero outfit.

Click here to enter the giveaway and to find out why Miranda might lose superhero points. 

The last day to enter the June 20 giveaway is tomorrow. The winner will be randomly selected and notified by email on June 22.

Tomorrow (June 21), 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 19 hat yesterday, you can right here. It closes later today, June 20, so don't wait.

Patreon Author of the Week

The IHS Patreon Author of the Week is the amazing Lisa Elliot.

On Monday, Lisa shared 3 truths and a lie. Hop on over to guess the lie

On Tuesday, Lisa shared some photos you don't want to miss.

Lisa Elliot is back today with her favorite scene from The Architecture of Us.

Leave a comment on all the posts to enter to win The Architecture of Us. We'll pick the winner tomorrow, June 21. 

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.

Nominate Your Favorite Natural Disaster

Time is running out to nominate sapphic natural disasterWe're collecting noms for an upcoming Best of the Best poll. TB will be creating the poll soon, so don't miss out on nominating your favorite. 

Thank you to our sponsor Stephanie Shea for featuring Take Two.

Take Two Ad

Guess the Author

Visit today's post for the fifth and final clue. No pressure, but this is your last chance to get it right before we reveal the author's identity tomorrow, June 21, 2025. 

All About the Books

A. C. Jolly chats about Death & Maia, their latest release. Learn some fascinating behind the scenes details about the story, characters and the author, including how it feels to release this book.

Jae's Pride Month Book Calendar

Have you looked behind Door #20 yet?

Open it right here.

Have you commented on Lisa Elliot's post to enter The Architecture of Us giveaway?

Lisa Elliot Author of the Week graphic

Please Support Our Sponsors

Creating and maintaining the I Heart SapphFic website and BookFinder (which has more than 9,350 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 Brenda Murphy, Tegan Kane, Candi Tab, Patricia Spencer, and many others.

Have a rainbow-filled day!

TB & Miranda

Queer Trivia Answer:

St. Vincent

Quick Links:

Preorder Page / IHS Reading Challenge / New Releases / Best of the Best Poll / Book of the Month Poll / Facebook Reader Group / Quizzes

Our supporters keep the lights on at IHS! Here's how you can help.

Click here to advertise with us or click here to Buy Us a Coffee.

You can also join our Patreon, including as a free member, which helps us immensely. 

Have any friends interested in hearing about lesbian fiction new releases. Please forward them this email or tell them to subscribe at iheartsapphfic.com.

I Heart SapphFic

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Massachusetts, United States of America

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