A.J. Demas
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ajdemas.bsky.social
A.J. Demas
@ajdemas.bsky.social
630 followers 600 following 460 posts
Romance novelist, bringing you imaginary history and queer joy. Also known as Alice Degan. (She/her) AI hater.

Buy my books at sextonscottage.com for the cozy yet spicy treat you have been craving! 😉
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ajdemas.bsky.social
PSA for writers: This emoji is described (accurately imo) as “smirking.” Is this what your romance hero is doing? IS it???
A smirking emoji face. It looks sly and untrustworthy. It knows something you don’t know and thinks that’s funny.
November 10, 2025 at 5:36 PM
ajdemas.bsky.social
Or have you not read Book 1? You should fix that! You can buy the ebook on my site (sextonscottage.com/products/the...), or you can read the first two chapters free on Ream, then subscribe to read the rest. Subscriptions start at $5/month. reamstories.com/ajdemas
November 4, 2025 at 3:04 PM
ajdemas.bsky.social
Chapters of Lion & Snake Book 2, The Summer Pass, will go live on Ream, Monday mornings starting November 10! Need to reread Book 1? Follow along in the forum on Ream, where I’ll be posting new notes and extras daily. reamstories.com/ajdemas
Lion & Snake, volumes 1 & 2, represented as cereal boxes because it's a serial and the author is a goofball
November 4, 2025 at 3:04 PM
ajdemas.bsky.social
My serial Lion & Snake starts up again on Nov. 10, next Monday! reamstories.com/ajdemas
Lill went up the mountain to marry Vanu and make himself a widow in the name of vengeance. But when he came down from the Spring Pass, he left Vanu alive. Now he is trying to piece together a life without the man he loves—because of course he has no intention of ever seeing Vanu again. Absolutely not. What would be the point, when Vanu knows the truth and must hate the thought of him now? The Summer Pass, Lion & Snake Book Two, starting Nov. 10 only on Ream
November 4, 2025 at 12:27 PM
ajdemas.bsky.social
I'm excited to start subjecting my merry band of readers to the continuing adventures of Lill and Vanu, starting next Monday, November 10! You can sign up now to get in on the fun: reamstories.com/ajdemas
Lill went up the mountain to marry Vanu and make himself a widow in the name of vengeance. But when he came down from the Spring Pass, he left Vanu alive. Now he is trying to piece together a life without the man he loves—because of course he has no intention of ever seeing Vanu again. Absolutely not. What would be the point, when Vanu knows the truth and must hate the thought of him now? The Summer Pass, Lion & Snake Book Two, starting Nov. 10 only on Ream
November 4, 2025 at 5:09 AM
ajdemas.bsky.social
Starting soon, only on Ream …

Stay tuned for details!

(no I'm not tired of that pun yet)
Book Cover: The Summer Pass, Lion & Snake Book Two, by A.J. Demas, depicted as a cereal box because it's a serialized novel and the author is very silly.
October 23, 2025 at 4:34 AM
ajdemas.bsky.social
If you see me doing anything other than writing in the next 90 minutes, please come and loom over my chair and clear your throat menacingly.
Notebooks, pens and index cards on a café table with cute fall centrepiece. Productivity ahoy!
September 26, 2025 at 2:46 PM
ajdemas.bsky.social
Half decent name for a vampire franchise
A bag of oranges with a label that reads “Beloved Blood.”
September 24, 2025 at 1:00 PM
ajdemas.bsky.social
Not a cellphone in sight. Just people enjoying their lives.
“The Roses of Heliogabalus” by Lawrence Alma-Tadema, depicting a group of Roman revellers being buried under piles of rose petals (allegedly fatally).
July 7, 2025 at 3:20 PM
ajdemas.bsky.social
A photo you’d use as an album cover
An action shot of my daughter throwing a snowball in my face.
March 9, 2025 at 2:58 PM
ajdemas.bsky.social
I have two sales going on:

1) Get $5 off your first month of my serialized romance, Lion & Snake, with the code DEMASFEB2025 at reamstories.com/ajdemas

2) Buy all three books in the Sword Dance trilogy for 50% off from itch.io: itch.io/s/148923/new...
ad image for Lion & Snake serial (with overused visual pun on breakfast cereal), and a coupon for $5 off + 3 books covers of the Sword Dance trilogy: Sword Dance, Saffron Alley, and Strong Wine, all half price at itch.io
March 5, 2025 at 4:53 AM
ajdemas.bsky.social
In fact, until March 14, you can use the code DEMASFEB2025 to get $5 off any tier and join the ranks readers leaving comments like, "WHY DO YOU HATE US, @ajdemas" and "that is a hell of a place to leave us!" and …
Picture of a cereal box, for the sake of a silly pun on "serial fiction" which I'm somehow really committed to now. It says "25 tasty chapters out now!" but actually by this point it's more, it's twenty-eight! And there's a coupon for $5 with the code DEMASFEB2025.
February 28, 2025 at 10:45 PM
ajdemas.bsky.social
I really like this hymn. https://buff.ly/42Uq0UN "The Summons" by John L. Bell.
My favourite lines:
"Will you leave yourself behind
if I but call your name?
Will you care for cruel and kind
and never be the same?
Will you risk the hostile stare
should your life attract or scare?"
February 10, 2025 at 3:04 PM
ajdemas.bsky.social
I just discovered #QueerPrompts this evening and wanted to share a moment of gender-related joy that one of the main characters in my serial Lion & Snake experiences! 😊

reamstories.com/page/liyn2gm...
“Is this how you dressed in the lowlands?” Lill shook his head. “This is women’s clothing, and I was strictly a boy in the lowlands.” He wondered for a moment whether that statement made any sense as he’d phrased it. He was sure she would give him a puzzled look or ask for an explanation. But she didn’t. She gave him a smile of such warmth and understanding that it took his breath away. “Then welcome home,” she signed.
February 8, 2025 at 4:12 AM
ajdemas.bsky.social
Netflix, sprawled on a gilded throne in track pants, studying its fingernails: “Not that it matters, but what DID you think of that unfinished masterpiece that we just canceled after one season?”
Email from Netflix, subject: “What did you think of KAOS? Either way let us know.”
December 11, 2024 at 3:48 AM
ajdemas.bsky.social
LION & SNAKE Chapter 14, "The Bride Hunt," is live now over at Ream! Subscribe and you can read all 14 available chapters and get a new one every week!

LION & SNAKE is an enemies-to-lovers queer romance starring a hot assassin and a secret cinnamon roll bandit lord.

https://buff.ly/3ZqPXt1
November 25, 2024 at 3:04 PM
ajdemas.bsky.social
LION & SNAKE Chapter 13, "A New Order," is live now over at Ream! Subscribe and you can read all 13 available chapters and get a new one every week!

LION & SNAKE is an enemies-to-lovers queer romance starring a hot assassin and a secret cinnamon roll bandit lord.

https://buff.ly/4cYFd8H
“You don’t have to understand the mission,” Master Hadda used to say. “You just have to carry it out.” There were parts of this mission that Lill didn’t understand, certainly. It didn’t matter, because he had been well trained. He could carry out more difficult missions than this. And the heart of the mission, the necessity of plunging a knife into Vanu Urartu’s heart, that he understood very well.
November 20, 2024 at 12:27 PM
ajdemas.bsky.social
If you see this, I invite you to post a picture from your device with no context.
A hand holding open a surprisingly small dishwasher
November 17, 2024 at 3:23 AM
ajdemas.bsky.social
I refuse to join Bluesky—I don’t want to become part of a neko chamber
Maneki-neko statue
November 17, 2024 at 3:07 AM
ajdemas.bsky.social
I'll be participating in the Adult Author Showcase at SCPL LitFest on Saturday, November 16th from 1pm-4pm. Visit my booth at the Central Library to meet me and pick up a signed copy of one of my books!

Learn more at https://buff.ly/3Z3Nrs6
Meet me at SCPL Litfest!
November 14, 2024 at 12:27 PM
ajdemas.bsky.social
#FridayKiss "earthy"

From LION & SNAKE, Chapter 6, "The Prayer of a Spider."
Earthy "A cup of strong, earthy red, the kind of wine that was sitting on the table in front of him, and a night in bed with a beautiful boy from one of the hostels in Torakand—the kind of boy that his old friend Davanu, who knew him so well, had sent him. That was exactly what he wanted." #fridaykiss
November 8, 2024 at 12:27 PM
ajdemas.bsky.social
Adares comes from a civilization of democracy and indoor plumbing. Rus belongs to a tribe of tattooed, semi-nomadic horse-breeders. They meet in the aftermath of battle, when Rus saves Adares’s life, and Adares returns the favour. Find SOMETHING HUMAN at https://buff.ly/3N7yBKC
“It was strange, and it wasn’t. They had fallen into an easy friendliness, as if they had known each other for years. It would have been something remarkable if they had been soldiers serving together or two people introduced by a mutual acquaintance at a party. But they had been on opposing sides of a battle a few hours earlier. This felt far more natural than that.” SOMETHING HUMAN is on sale for US$2.99 at sextonscottage.com
October 4, 2024 at 11:27 AM
ajdemas.bsky.social
A new chapter of my mm serial, Lion & Snake, just went live this morning! You can read the first chapter for free and get hooked—er, I mean, see if you like it. 😄 https://buff.ly/3ZqPXt1
September 16, 2024 at 2:35 PM
ajdemas.bsky.social
Expect enemies-to-lovers, queer arranged marriage, age gap, found family, slow burn, descriptions of food, and oaths involving made-up gods.

Find it on Ream at https://buff.ly/4cYFd8H
September 9, 2024 at 1:00 PM
ajdemas.bsky.social
TODAY IS THE DAY!

Lion & Snake is a new mm romance serial, starting today on Ream! Read the first two posts for free, then subscribe to get weekly updates.

https://buff.ly/4cYFd8H
September 9, 2024 at 1:00 PM