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Month: September 2014

How Do Vampires Get it On?

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Today’s subject comes courtesy of QSF member Theo Fenraven: “How is it male vamps can get erections when they are short of blood?” I’ll broaden this out a bit (pun intended). With many supernatural creatures, we have to suspend disbelief a bit. This is especially true of vampires – as Theo says, if they have no blood, how do they get it up for sex? Can femail vampires get pregnant? Can male vampires make a non vampire woman pregnant? And garlic? Seriously? So my question today – how do vampires get it on? And what other things do vampires do … Read more

Feminist Moments in Sci Fi History

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While mainstream science fiction excels at imagining far-out futures, exploring the far reaches of the imagination, and scaring the bejesus out of us, it’s generally accepted that historically, the genre has been pretty terrible at populating its brave new worlds with anyone other than straight, cisgender white dudes. (Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, and many of the other “greats” wrote almost exclusively about their demographic, and onscreen science fiction, from Star Wars and Back to the Future to adaptations like War of the Worlds and Blade Runner, has long shared similar representation issues.) But sci-fi history actually has featured ahead-of-its-time, female-identifying … Read more

Announcement: Kissing the Golem, by Danielle Summers

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QSF Member Danielle Summers has a new book out: Jacob and Marcus, an interracial interfaith couple, are fighting about everything: coming out, monogamy and marriage. Then one dark night, they encounter the Golem who has protected Jacob’s family for generations. The giant but handsome man made of clay and dirt saves their lives, and his kiss just may save their relationship. Q&A: Q: What was your inspiration for Kissing the Golem? A: We had been writing about new couples, and we decided to try our hand at a romance story featuring a long-standing couple that was in conflict. We wanted … Read more

Buwahaaaahaaaahaaaa…

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Today’s topic was submitted by QSF Member RW Urbina: “Do villains deserve redemption? Or how evil is too evil when writing the big bad? It’s something I’ve been struggling with during the last month.” I have to admit, I’ve struggled with this little bit too. I have a hard time writing villains. I want all of my characters to be happy and friendly and nice. And I realize that this can make for very dull characters. But I think it comes from my near-pathological desire to have everyone like me. The other problem I often see is that many villains … Read more

Where Will Evolution Take Us?

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Today’s topic comes courtesy of Jim Comer – “evolution in sci fi”. I’m gonna take this one and run with it. Did you know that fully a third of adults in the US don’t believe in evolution? As an openly gay man, I feel that I was born this way – that it’s part of my genetics. I always figured that being gay or lesbian was nature’s release valve for population control – we don’t generally bear our own children (though we now can) but we do take care of others, and thus lower the overall birth rate. There’s even … Read more

Announcement: In Distress, by Caethes Faron

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QSF’s own Caethes Faron has a new MM sci fi book out: After the Great Destruction decimated the world, science is the new god. Geneticists rule, instituting a DNA-based caste system in their effort to restore the human genome. As a Zed, Will’s a virtual slave who isn’t allowed medical care. A tragic accident has left him crippled, awaiting death. Just before his time is up, Malcolm, an enigmatic Alpha with two differently colored eyes, sweeps in and buys him. Will becomes part of a family of freaks–other damaged Zeds who should be dead. Life seems ideal until Malcolm makes … Read more

Zombies Will Eat Your Brains (And Fall in Love With You)?

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Today’s topic is thanks to Erica Pike – “apocalyptic topics with or without zombies”. So here’s my take. Shifters seem to be all the rage, especially in MM paranormal romance. Zombies have had their moments lately in popular culture – see World War Z, Warm Bodies, and the Walking Dead. But there’s so much more potential in these rotting meat sacks. So my question today – how can we put a fresh spin on the whole zombie craze, either in romance or in paranormal or sci fi in general?

Reimagining Traditional Tales

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First off, thank you to everyone who participated in yesterday’s exercise on the Queer Sci-Fi discussion group – coming up with some great new topics for the blog and the group. I’ll start using these topics going forward, and will credit whoever submitted the topic originally. Today’s topic comes from Angel Martinez – “Re-purposing/ re-imagining/ reinventing oral traditions as LGBTQ stories”. Angel has a bit of practice with this – I’ll let her discuss this on the group. But it seems to me this could fall under either fantasy or paranormal (or even Sci Fi – See Vassily the Beautiful). … Read more

5 Reasons We Need Openly-Gay Speculative Fiction Writers

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Note: This article was originally posted on Council of Peacocks, M. Joseph Murphy’s blog, and was written by him. Reposted with permission. My second book, A Fallen Hero Rises (available on Amazon, B&N or Smashwords) features a main character who just so happens to be gay. People I trusted and respected advised me against it. They said it would ruin sales and alienate fantasy readers. I said screw it. I’m telling the story I want to tell because I know there’s an audience for it. I just had to find it. So I decided to research openly-gay speculative fiction writers … Read more

Announcement: Hunter’s Mark, by V.S. Morgan

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QSF’s own VS Morgan has a new shifter tale out: Artist Casey Smith lives a quiet life, under the radar of his enemies, until one fateful night he loses control and the astonishing image of a wolf racing down a suburban street splashes all over social media. Hunter’s bullet never misses its target. The assassin seeks out and kills his prey with a clear conscience by following two simple rules: 1) Don’t kill innocents 2) Don’t kill shifters. Realizing his latest assignment violates those rules, the hunter activates Princess Protocol and the assassin becomes the protector. Red hot attraction flares … Read more