Mangoverse (5 books) - the fluffy fantasy series that celebrates queer Jewish joy
Follow young Queen Shulamit from the beginning of her reign as a chronically ill, newly orphaned "poor little rich girl" with no experience leading, through her transformation to a driven, intellectual, passionately moral symbolic mother of her people (and with all the assistance she needs to manage her food allergies.) Shulamit is a femme lesbian who ends up happily partnered by the end of the first book, and the series features other f/f relationships plus m/m and m/f, including with trans characters, as well as asexual rep. Jewish holidays are featured in all of the books, and you'll also get your fill of dragons, witches, potions, worker justice, and gender equality.
THE SECOND MANGO (the origin story!)
Queen Shulamit never expected to inherit the throne of the tropical land of Perach so young. At twenty, grief-stricken and fatherless, she's also coping with being the only lesbian she knows after her sweetheart ran off for an unknown reason. Not to mention, she's the victim of severe digestive problems that everybody thinks she's faking. When she meets Rivka, an athletic and assertive warrior from the north who wears a mask and pretends to be a man, she finds the source of strength she needs so desperately.
Unfortunately for her, Rivka is straight, but that's okay -- Shulamit needs a surrogate big sister just as much as she needs a girlfriend. Especially if the warrior's willing to take her around the kingdom on the back of her dragon in search of other women who might be open to same-sex romance. The real world outside the palace is full of adventure, however, and the search for a royal girlfriend quickly turns into a rescue mission when they discover a temple full of women turned to stone by an evil sorcerer.
CLIMBING THE DATE PALM (the labor rights one! or, the one with men-loving men!)
Prince Kaveh, the youngest son of the king of the City of Red Clay, is bisexual, and completely besotted with Farzin, the engineer his father hired to oversee the improvements to the city's roads and bridges. However, the king doesn't share his positive feelings. After Farzin ends up at the head of the protest that ensues when the workers are only paid a third of their promised wages, he's thrown in prison and is scheduled to be executed.
Queen Shulamit, who rules over the neighboring nation of Perach, is eager to assist the desperate prince. She, too, loves justice and has a same-sex partner. She's also hoping Kaveh, with his royal blood, is willing to give her and her sweetheart a legitimate heir in exchange. But can she find a peaceful solution that will pacify the king next door, get his workers fairly paid, and free Farzin? Or will she and her dragon-riding bodyguard Rivka have to go to war?
A HARVEST OF RIPE FIGS (the musician one!)
Esther of the Singing Hands is Perach's Sweetheart, a young and beautiful musician with a Girl Next Door image. When her violin is stolen after a concert in the capital city, she doesn't expect the queen herself to show up, intent upon solving the mystery.
But Queen Shulamit—lesbian, intellectual, and mother of the six-month-old crown princess—loves to play detective. With the help of her legendary bodyguard Rivka and her dragon, and with the support of her partner Aviva the Chef, Shulamit turns her mind toward the solution—which she quickly begins to suspect involves the use of illegal magic that could threaten the safety of her citizens.
THE OLIVE CONSPIRACY (the author's favorite!)
A love story between women, between queen and country, and between farmers and their crops.
When Ezra tries to blackmail Chef Yael about her being trans, she throws him out of her restaurant and immediately reports him to the queen. But when police find Ezra stabbed to death, Queen Shulamit realizes he may have also tried to extort someone more dangerous than a feisty old lady.
The royal investigation leads straight to an international terrorist plot to destroy her country's economy—and worse, her first love, Crown Princess Carolina of Imbrio, may be involved. Since she's got a dragon-shifting wizard at her disposal, contacts with friendly foreign witches, and the support of her partner Aviva, Shulamit has hope. What she doesn't have is time.
TALES FROM PERACH (you have time for a little nosh,)
Seven queer fantasy shorts set in the tropical Jewish world of the Mangoverse novels.
“Your Name is Love”
An energetic royal guard takes her artist wife on a scavenger hunt around the city so she can stop having artist’s block about the lesbian graphic novel she’s supposed to make for the queen.
“No Whining”
Trans woman Chef Yael dithers over whether to switch wine sellers, at the urging of her husband Aaron, when her regular vendor is incompetent but the delivery girl is a trusted ally.
“Every Us”
A prince with anxiety is comforted in the arms of his partner when he wakes up from a nightmare.
“Take Time to Stop and Eat the Roses”
A trans teenager and his girlfriend go on a midnight quest for flowers for her sister’s wedding.
“The Generous Princess”
A royal family with two moms and two dads puts their own special twist on celebrating Purim.
And now, bundled with Tales from Outer Lands, two contrasting stories of heroic Jewish womanhood:
“Rivka in Port Saltspray”
Trapped in a seedy port town because an innkeeper is holding her shapeshifting dragon-horse hostage until she can pay all the charges he invented, nomadic warrior Rivka finally has a chance at some decent money when a wealthy but weak man hires her to rescue his fiancée. But she has to think on her feet when she learns there may be more at stake.
“Aviva and the Aliens”
On the night before the royal Passover seder, Aviva has to outsmart the aliens who abducted her to cook for them because they had grown sick of their spaceship's food replicators. Will she get home before Queen Shulamit wakes up and panics from her absence?
Credit for the artwork on this page: Rebecca Schauer
THE SECOND MANGO (the origin story!)
Queen Shulamit never expected to inherit the throne of the tropical land of Perach so young. At twenty, grief-stricken and fatherless, she's also coping with being the only lesbian she knows after her sweetheart ran off for an unknown reason. Not to mention, she's the victim of severe digestive problems that everybody thinks she's faking. When she meets Rivka, an athletic and assertive warrior from the north who wears a mask and pretends to be a man, she finds the source of strength she needs so desperately.
Unfortunately for her, Rivka is straight, but that's okay -- Shulamit needs a surrogate big sister just as much as she needs a girlfriend. Especially if the warrior's willing to take her around the kingdom on the back of her dragon in search of other women who might be open to same-sex romance. The real world outside the palace is full of adventure, however, and the search for a royal girlfriend quickly turns into a rescue mission when they discover a temple full of women turned to stone by an evil sorcerer.
CLIMBING THE DATE PALM (the labor rights one! or, the one with men-loving men!)
Prince Kaveh, the youngest son of the king of the City of Red Clay, is bisexual, and completely besotted with Farzin, the engineer his father hired to oversee the improvements to the city's roads and bridges. However, the king doesn't share his positive feelings. After Farzin ends up at the head of the protest that ensues when the workers are only paid a third of their promised wages, he's thrown in prison and is scheduled to be executed.
Queen Shulamit, who rules over the neighboring nation of Perach, is eager to assist the desperate prince. She, too, loves justice and has a same-sex partner. She's also hoping Kaveh, with his royal blood, is willing to give her and her sweetheart a legitimate heir in exchange. But can she find a peaceful solution that will pacify the king next door, get his workers fairly paid, and free Farzin? Or will she and her dragon-riding bodyguard Rivka have to go to war?
A HARVEST OF RIPE FIGS (the musician one!)
Esther of the Singing Hands is Perach's Sweetheart, a young and beautiful musician with a Girl Next Door image. When her violin is stolen after a concert in the capital city, she doesn't expect the queen herself to show up, intent upon solving the mystery.
But Queen Shulamit—lesbian, intellectual, and mother of the six-month-old crown princess—loves to play detective. With the help of her legendary bodyguard Rivka and her dragon, and with the support of her partner Aviva the Chef, Shulamit turns her mind toward the solution—which she quickly begins to suspect involves the use of illegal magic that could threaten the safety of her citizens.
THE OLIVE CONSPIRACY (the author's favorite!)
A love story between women, between queen and country, and between farmers and their crops.
When Ezra tries to blackmail Chef Yael about her being trans, she throws him out of her restaurant and immediately reports him to the queen. But when police find Ezra stabbed to death, Queen Shulamit realizes he may have also tried to extort someone more dangerous than a feisty old lady.
The royal investigation leads straight to an international terrorist plot to destroy her country's economy—and worse, her first love, Crown Princess Carolina of Imbrio, may be involved. Since she's got a dragon-shifting wizard at her disposal, contacts with friendly foreign witches, and the support of her partner Aviva, Shulamit has hope. What she doesn't have is time.
TALES FROM PERACH (you have time for a little nosh,)
Seven queer fantasy shorts set in the tropical Jewish world of the Mangoverse novels.
“Your Name is Love”
An energetic royal guard takes her artist wife on a scavenger hunt around the city so she can stop having artist’s block about the lesbian graphic novel she’s supposed to make for the queen.
“No Whining”
Trans woman Chef Yael dithers over whether to switch wine sellers, at the urging of her husband Aaron, when her regular vendor is incompetent but the delivery girl is a trusted ally.
“Every Us”
A prince with anxiety is comforted in the arms of his partner when he wakes up from a nightmare.
“Take Time to Stop and Eat the Roses”
A trans teenager and his girlfriend go on a midnight quest for flowers for her sister’s wedding.
“The Generous Princess”
A royal family with two moms and two dads puts their own special twist on celebrating Purim.
And now, bundled with Tales from Outer Lands, two contrasting stories of heroic Jewish womanhood:
“Rivka in Port Saltspray”
Trapped in a seedy port town because an innkeeper is holding her shapeshifting dragon-horse hostage until she can pay all the charges he invented, nomadic warrior Rivka finally has a chance at some decent money when a wealthy but weak man hires her to rescue his fiancée. But she has to think on her feet when she learns there may be more at stake.
“Aviva and the Aliens”
On the night before the royal Passover seder, Aviva has to outsmart the aliens who abducted her to cook for them because they had grown sick of their spaceship's food replicators. Will she get home before Queen Shulamit wakes up and panics from her absence?
Credit for the artwork on this page: Rebecca Schauer
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