Biography

Official bio: Dusk Peterson writes historical speculative fiction: mythic historical fantasy inspired by classical literature and Arthurian novels, gaslamp alternate history set in the late 19th and early 20th century, and retrofuture science fiction set in the 1960s. Amidst dangerous events, love often occurs in the stories: family affection, friendship, platonic life-companionships, and romance (f/m and m/m). Peterson's characters just love to get themselves caught in ethical dilemmas. Visit duskpeterson.com for serials, series resources, e-book previews, and notices of new releases.

Work life: A writer since age eight, I began releasing my fiction in 2002, in the form of serializations at slash fiction e-mail lists. I founded my e-book press, Love in Dark Settings Press, in 2007. In 2018, I extended the press's mission to subscription fiction. In the past, I've worked as a history writer, a newspaper reporter and copy editor, an e-zine publisher and editor, a historical researcher for other authors, an editorial assistant to history editors, a library assistant, a college archive assistant, a bookstore clerk, an office supplies store clerk, and a 5&10 clerk who lusted after the contents of the stationery section.

Personal life: Born in 1963, I was initially raised in a university community just outside the rural village of Berrien Springs, Michigan. I mainly lived from ages eight to fifty-one in the New Deal planned community of Greenbelt, Maryland (a suburb of Washington, D.C.). A graduate of St. John's College in Annapolis (which has a Great Books curriculum), I lived in Annapolis for five years, in Baltimore for five years, and in England – primarily Oxford – for an accumulated total of two years. Since 2014, I have lived in northern Maryland with my platonic life-companion. A homebody (even before the pandemic!), I divide most of my time between writing, housework, family life, and other aspects of simple living.

Pronouns: they/their/them.

Honorific: Mx.

Memberships: SFWA and fandom.

Award-winning stories

Click on each title below for more information about the story and the honor it received.

Rainbow Awards

An awards contest for LGBTA literature.

• 2020–2021: The Awakening (Turn-of-the-Century Toughs: Dungeon Guards).
• 2018–2019: Danger (Turn-of-the-Century Toughs: Dark Light).
• 2017: Sweet Blood (Turn-of-the-Century Toughs: The Eternal Dungeon).
• 2016: Risk (Turn-of-the-Century Toughs: Dark Light).
• 2014: Mercy's Prisoner (Turn-of-the-Century Toughs: Life Prison).
• 2013: Master and Servant #1: The Abolitionist (Turn-of-the-Century Toughs: Waterman).
• 2012: Law of Vengeance (Chronicles of the Great Peninsula: The Three Lands).
• 2011: The Eternal Dungeon: a Turn-of-the-Century Toughs omnibus (Turn-of-the-Century Toughs: The Eternal Dungeon).

Story lists

Chronicles of the Great Peninsula timeline, with stories linked in chronological order.

Turn-of-the-Century Toughs timeline, with stories linked in chronological order.

List of published fiction.

Where to find my stories

My subscription fiction service:

• Patreon. Nearly all of my fiction appears here first.

Bookstores:

• Smashwords (preferred store).
• Amazon.
• Angus & Robertson.
• Apple.
• Barnes & Noble.
• Bol.de.
• Indigo.
• Kobo.
• Mondadori.
• Scribd.
• Thalia.
• Vivlio.

Sites carrying reviews of my work:

• Goodreads.
• LibraryThing.
• The StoryGraph.

Boilerplate warning for my stories

Most of my stories are speculative fiction set in worlds inspired by historical settings. Many forms of bigotry and oppression are fought against by characters in my stories. Other societal evils await reform at a future date and may be countenanced by sympathetic characters. In addition, bigotry that occurs in our world may not be present in these worlds.

If there are any specific topics you're seeking, or are seeking to avoid, feel free to e-mail me with your questions.

Every now and then, I'm in a venue where I must offer ratings for my stories. When that happens, these are the ratings I use:

T = References to sexuality, brief onscreen violence, and/or sensitive topics.

M = Onscreen sex, extended onscreen violence, and/or extended treatment of sensitive topics.

Creative Commons licenses

Copyright, licenses, AI policy, and fanworks.

AI policy

Copyright, licenses, AI policy, and fanworks.

Fanworks and commissioned art of my writings

Shared Universes. Stories and art set in my worlds by other writers and artists.

See also this page: Copyright, licenses, AI policy,  and fanworks.

Links

Links. Authors I especially like, and websites I visit for historical research.

Where to find me & how to contact me

I can reached by e-mail or by comments posted at my online accounts.