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Announcement: Vespers, by Irene Preston & Liv Ranacourt

Vespers

QSFer Irene Preston and Liv Ranacourt have a new MM paranormal romance book out: Thaddeus Dupont has had over eighty years to forget… The vampire spends his nights chanting the Liturgy of the Hours and ruthlessly disciplines those unnatural urges he’s vowed never again to indulge. He is at the command of the White Monks, who summon him at will to destroy demons. In return, the monks provide for his sustenance and promise the return of his immortal soul. Sarasija Mishra’s most compelling job qualification might be his type O blood… The 22-year-old college grad just moved across the country … Read more

When We Knew Wonder Woman Was Queer

Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman might be now officially queer, but fans have known this for a very long time. DC Comics writer Greg Rucka confirmed Diana Prince has had relationships with men and women. He also revealed how her homeland, an island of only Amazon woman, is a ‘queer culture’. But if you look back from the decades, even in 1941, Diana was very clearly intended to be an LGBTI icon (and is arguably pretty kinky). By Joe Morgan – Full Story at Gay Star News

Angel’s Bits: The Generic Story

How many times has this happened to you? You read a book, watch a movie, catch something on the Hallmark channel and think, “I’ve read this before. I know this story.” You go off to search and find that, no, you really haven’t. Still, the feeling of story deja vu persists. You’ve just been sideswiped by a generic story. When we talk about tropes, we’re really talking about the essential building blocks of a story, the components a writer uses as construction materials. But there has to be more to the story, of course. Characterization, author voice, unique or surprising … Read more

Announcement: Circuits & Slippers Anthology

Circuits & Slippers

QSFer Jaylee James edited a new sci fi fairy tale anthology: A collection of retold fairy tales with a science fiction twist. Rapunzel is a soldier, the last remaining member of the human race, locked in a zoological tower on an alien planet. Doctor Belle must remain in quarantine with a powerful politician who has contracted a beastly disease. Jack sells his arm for a chance up the Stalk, the space elevator he hopes will take him to his fortune. These twenty stories will take you across the galaxy, exploring new technology alongside aliens and cyborgs, princes and evil stepmothers, … Read more

FOR READERS: Aces High

Asexual Ace Flag

FOR READERS Today’s reader topic comes from QSFer K.S. Madden: After reading a lot of the recent responses, I’d love to see you do a question post sometime about the surge in interest in seeing more asexual characters. I was at Readercon in Boston a few months ago and there was a panel there as well stating the need for more asexual protagonists in mainstream scifi/fantasy. I’m curious what people want to see. Asexual characters in romantic relationships? Or asexual characters just having adventures and being free of relationships? Or is this partly a desire to see more friendship fic, … Read more

Pride in Space!!!!

Rainbow Flag in Space

Now there’s a new reason to seriously start investigating the possibility of civilian space travel: one of our favorite non-profit organizations just declared the universe LGBT-friendly. Planting Peace’s latest display of solidarity with the queer community involves a Pride flag, a high altitude balloon and a GoPro camera. The group, which regularly launches social activism campaigns to raise awareness about issues like LGBT rights and deworming children in developing countries, used the balloon to elevate a rainbow flag up through the Earth’s atmosphere. It eventually reached its peak altitude approximately 21.1 miles above the planet. The flag remained airborne, floating … Read more

Announcement: The Tyro, by Carol Holland March

The Tyro

QSFer Carol Holland March has a new MM fantasy adventure romance out: The Dreamwalkers of Larreta are the key to the evolution of life on Earth, but only if they remember their destinies and each other. A contemporary adventure across worlds, a romance that spans centuries, The Tyro re-unites Leo, a cynical dreamwalker who failed to find his true partner on Larreta and fled back to Earth to lick his wounds and Jesse, a beautiful newcomer. Jesse has abilities surpassing most dreamwalkers. He is the key to finding the origin of the deadly time rifts attacking Larreta and threatening to … Read more

For Writers: Artificial Womb

Artificial Womb

FOR WRITERS Today’s writer topic comes from QSFer Alicia Nordwell: This might be an interesting video to feature in the group with questions on how it might change the ‘humanity’ of the babies grown this way, and what genetic manipulation might lead to in terms of more than purifying the DNA for characteristics, or what might be done with “abandoned” genetic materials that are used to create babies. Who would they belong to? What are their legal rights from conception or would they lack of human interaction during gestation make them more prone to be viewed as a product? https://www.facebook.com/ScienceNaturePage/videos/855183117947281/?__mref=message_bubble … Read more

Game of Thrones’ Gethin Anthony Championed Same Sex Relationships

Gethin Anthony

In the Games of Thrones, Gethin Anthony plays the role of a gay king (Renly Baratheon) in the continent of Westeros – where women, homosexuals and other groups are all put at a disadvantage. And to advocate for same-sex relationships in an environment like this, though purely fictional, certainly ain’t easy But do you know that Anthony made it a deliberate choice for such relationships in Westeros to flourish on screen? In a recent interview with Attitude Magazine, Anthony shared that he wanted to ensure that there were positive portrayals of relationships in the continent of Westeros – where marriages … Read more

For Readers: Speculative Fiction in Pictures

Young Protectors

FOR READERS Today’s reader topic comes from QSFer Hank T. Cannon: “Comic books, graphic novels, web comics: what kind of non-prose SF&F works are you into? Do any of them have a particular QUILTBAG focus? Share!” This topic is the perfect lead-in to our Graphic Novel Week, coming in October – we’ll be announcing our week-long line-up of interviewees soon! Writers: This is a reader chat – you are welcome to join it, but please do not reference your own works directly. Thanks! Join the chat