Losing Hit Points
by Kristopher Mielke
After Rumour came out as trans, Journey—her best friend—dropped her. When a D&D game brings them face-to-face, Journey must confront their shame and their suppressed romantic feelings
Losing Hit Points is a nerdy queer romance book set against the backdrop of a tabletop Dungeons & Dragons game. A romantic story filled with goblins, adventure, and the healing power of admitting our mistakes.
Equal parts touching and laugh-out-loud funny, trans teen Journey has the chance to play an epic game of Dungeons & Dragons. Surprise encounters are common in D&D but what they don’t expect is to reconnect with an ex-friend who they still love and have wronged in the past.
Kristopher Mielke’s newest novel melds the fun of the popular fantasy role-playing game with a touching plot about admitting one’s mistakes and making up for the past, while looking ahead towards a brighter future — together.
Losing Hit Points is published by Lorimer Press, and was released in print February 13th, 2024, and in EPub February 20th, 2024. It is available online from Lorimer in hardcover, paperback, or digital copy here, but also from local bookstores, Indigo, or Amazon.
Cover art by Kate Phillips. Character sheet art by Vivi Partridge.
Victory Lap
by K.A. Mielke and Riley Alexis Wood
Josh doesn’t know what he wants to do with his life, which is exactly why he’s taking a fifth year of high school while his girlfriend goes to university. (Well, that and the fact that his best friend basically forced him into it.) The only thing he’s sure about is the love of his life—who promptly breaks up with him.
High school senior, Kiki, quietly presented as her true gender over the summer to an audience of herself, her best friend, and her vaguely unsupportive parents. Now she has to deal with coming to her school as a new person, and when she’s partnered with Josh in Writer’s Craft, she finds herself developing maybe a little bit of an enormous crush.
Everyone just wants to make it out of high school in one piece, but Josh and Kiki’s last year might not be so simple.
Victory Lap is an own voices novel about taking the time to find yourself, even when the rest of the world screams for you to get a move on.
This debut novel for both authors was announced on Kickstarter in February 2020, one month before worldwide pandemic shutdowns, which was possibly the worst timing for a Kickstarter in the history of Kickstarting. It was eventually self-published in December 2020, is available in print copy on Lulu, and also for FREE or PWYC (Pay what you can) on Itch. The book is also available on Amazon or Indigo, but the authors will not receive any royalties from purchases made there.
Cover art and design by Ursula Gray.
Lonely in Happy Town
by Kristopher Mielke
Virtually or IRL, love can be a confusing game.
Quentin’s year sucked. Parents? Divorced. Friends? Ditched him after coming out. Work? Unless you find a convenience store thrilling… hopeless.
At least he can always escape real life when he plays Happy Town. Quests to complete, a world to explore, quirky characters to befriend, and an online crush called Mabel the Axolotl.
Suddenly the real world gets a lot better when he gets to know his bubbly coworker, Celeste. Now torn between two girls, can he learn how to navigate the changes in his life and show up in his relationships, both online and off?
Released May 20th, 2025, Lonely in Happy Town is a queer young adult romance novella about anxiety, cozy video games, and finding community online and IRL. It is available in paperback, hardcover, and digitally on Amazon, Indigo, Kobo, and can be requested at local bookstores and libraries.
Cover art and design by Tyler Cleroux.
Goblin Girl
by K.A. Mielke
For twelve years, Gertrude has been the only goblin in Pinnec Hill.
The adopted daughter of the Captain of the Guard, she tries her hardest to live a normal life, ignoring the looks of disgust—and the rocks—thrown her way. But when an invading fleet of airships brings a goblin army crashing through the city gates, she understands why everyone fears her. The leader of this army is Wrendell, a powerful goblin sorceress, who burns the city to the ground in pursuit of one thing: the human princess, Beatrix.
Gertrude’s father tasks her with rescuing Princess Beatrix. With the aid of a cursed knight and a talking tree, Gertrude will encounter trolls and dragons, discover the true history of her banished people, and—as if that weren’t enough—struggle with her own blossoming crush on a princess who doesn’t trust her.
No one expects much of a measly goblin girl, but Gertrude may be the only person who can save the kingdom.
Released May 15th, 2025, Goblin Girl is a queer middle grade epic fantasy novel about kids having to save a world broken by their parents. It is available digitally for free or pay-what-you-can, and the paperback is available on the Lulu bookstore.
Cover art by underpalewater. Typography and interior design by Ursula Gray.
