Small Press Pages October 2025
Small Press Pages October 2025
October is a favorite month for our family. The kids and I are firmly grounded in the school groove, a crisp breeze sneaks in through the slightly open window, and the smell of burning leaves lingers in the air. And I can’t forget Halloween! Our neighborhood has always loved decorating houses, playing spooky music, and passing out treats to children of all ages. This month, I’ve curated a list of books that come to mind when I think of October.
Needle and Bone by Tonya Mitchell (Bloodhound Books)
Historical fiction in which main character Annis Hargrave witnesses a murder and must outwit the killer before she becomes the next victim.
Vampires at Sea by Lindsay Merbaum (Creature Publishing)
Vampire fiction featuring immortal lovers who embark on a queer Black Sea cruise but an obsession with a mysterious influencer unleashes one of the lover’s darkest selves .
Crime Ink: Iconic (An Anthology of Crime Fiction Inspired by Queer Icons) edited by John Copenhaver and Salem West (Bywater Books)
Stories that celebrate queer icons and voices through an array of crime fiction, from cozy mysteries and classic whodunits to dark noir and psychological thrillers. Each story showcases the depth, creativity, and bold originality queer writers bring to the genre.
Myopic Duplicity: Do the Ends Ever Justify the Means? edited by Jeff Circle (Leonardo Audio)
A gripping anthology that plunges readers into the moral gray zones of crime and justice. Featuring top contemporary crime thriller writers, each story explores the perilous choices people make when loyalty, revenge, and survival blur the line between right and wrong.
The Haunting of Whitehall Manor by L.V. Pires (Pangram Publishing)
A woman is called back to Whitehall Manor to search for her missing mother and is drawn into the haunting beauty of the Marigold Garden—and the bone-chilling secrets buried there.
It Was Her House First by Cherie Priest (Poisoned Pen Press)
A grieving woman inherits a cliffside mansion haunted by the malevolent spirit of a silent film star and soon learns that in the house, survival is only an illusion.
Now Comes the Mist: A Tale of Romantic Gothic Horror by Julie C. Dao (Podium Publishing)
A Dracula retelling from the point of view of Lucy Westenra, who is obsessed with death and must choose between surrendering her humanity or claiming her own terrifying power.
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Christina Consolino is the author of REWRITE THE STARS, THE WEIGHT WE CARRY, and THE MARRIAGE DEBT, all contemporary fiction. Her work revolves mainly around family, marriage, relationships, and physical or mental health issues. She also writes romance under the pen name Keely Stephens. She can be found most days running, reading, writing, teaching, or sitting with a warm cup of coffee.
THE MARRIAGE DEBT
Sex is never just about sex.
From the outside, Nika Stewart’s life looks perfect: two loving kids, a fulfilling job as an elementary-school librarian, and a wonderful second marriage to Ethan, her sexy husband. The only problem? She doesn’t want to have sex with him.
Maybe it’s the harrowing hot flashes and formidable fatigue, or maybe it’s trying to juggle a weed-junkie dad, an onerous stepsister, and the avalanche of responsibilities that have left sex just another chore to cross off the to-do list.
When an honest conversation with her best friend leaves Nika worried her aversion to sex might drive Ethan away, she begrudgingly agrees to see a sex therapist. But as the sessions go on, Nika discovers that talking about sex with a therapist isn’t the same as facing the problem with her husband and that sex with Ethan might not be the only problem after all.
Filled with humor, candor, and at least one pair of role-playing chaps, The Marriage Debt examines the hard truths about sex that overbooked women face in their forties, as well as the joys still to come once a woman knows who she is and how to ask for what she wants.
Category: On Writing
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