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SCIENCE: Vampire Girl Burial Discovered in Italy

Vampire Child - Live Science

A 1,550-year-old “vampire burial” of a child with a rock stuffed into his or her mouth has been discovered in an ancient cemetery in Lugnano, Italy. Those who buried the child, who possibly died of malaria, may have used the rock to prevent him or her (the child’s sex isn’t known) from rising from the grave and spreading disease to other people, said a team of researchers in a statement released Oct. 12 by the University of Arizona. “I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s extremely eerie and weird,” said David Soren, an anthropology professor at the University of Arizona, … Read more

Me Me Monday!

Me Me Monday

Welcome to M3: ME ME MONDAY at our FB discussion group – your chance to pop in and tell us about your latest success. Have a new book or short story coming out? Let us know. Just sell something? Let us know so we can cheer you on. HOW IT WORKS: I’ll pin this topic to the top of our FB discussion page for the day. –Please post your announcement as a separate post so we can comment on yours specifically –Check out the other posts and congratulate and share them too! And congratulations!!!

ANNOUNCEMENT/GIVEAWAY: Blood Lust, by Garrett Robinson

Blood Lust

QSFer Garrett Robinson has a new queer fantasy book out: Blood Lust AN UNSTOPPABLE WARRIOR. A FATAL QUEST FOR REVENGE. From #1 Amazon Bestseller Garrett Robinson In an unknown tavern in the kingdom of Dorsea, a young noble girl named Sun meets an old man: Albern, of the family Telfer, once the dearest friend of Mag. Mag. The Uncut Lady. The Wanderer. Stories of her skill are known throughout all the nine kingdoms. But few know how her tale ended—and even fewer know how it began. Albern begins his story. Stripped of everything she loved—her town, her home, and her … Read more

FOR READERS: You’re Living a Fantasy

heroic fantasy - pixabay

FOR READERS Today’s reader topic comes from QSFer Tam Ames: Which book have you had fantasies about inserting yourself as a character in that book? A world you wish you could experience for real because of characters you just adored or settings you would want to experience for yourself. 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

Puppy-Size Roaches (and Other Bizarre Creatures) From “Beyond the Sixth Extinction”

Beyond the Sixth Extinction

In a toxic urban landscape of the future, what strange (and still oddly familiar) animals might have evolved to survive there? A new book, “Beyond the Sixth Extinction: A Post-Apocalyptic Pop-Up” (Candlewick Press) by Shawn Sheehy, artfully imagines the grotesque creatures that could live in a possible future — one reshaped by disasters so destructive that 75 to 80 percent of life on Earth went extinct. How odd would this world’s inhabitants be? Imagine a giant, flightless pigeon that carries its young in pouches under its wings, a freshwater turtle with a shell fortified by heavy metals, and a cockroach … Read more

ANNOUNCEMENT/GIVEAWAY: Subside, by J. Hali Steele

Subside

QSFer J. Hali Steele has a new MM Paranormal vampire tale out: Subside. A soul hangs in the balance! The only one of his kind, Deacon recalls thousands of years existing yet he has no memory of why. He can’t profess to living in seclusion because he greedily pursues pleasure in arms of so many men, he never lacks companionship. All those arms, lips, and asses, none feed his true desire. Deacon yearns for someone to make in his own image by introducing them to a hunger so vile, they will detest him forever. Father Merck Hallowell stands at a … Read more

TV: Trans Supergirl actress Nicole Maines Bullied at School and Called ‘It’

Nicole Maines - Twitter

Supergirl actress Nicole Maines has opened up about her life growing up in an interview on the Ellen DeGeneres Show. The 21-year-old, who is the first trans superhero on TV, said she began to identify as female at a young age.  “I really started thinking something wasn’t right. My case was kind of unique because I have an identical twin brother and so growing up with him, he was identifying with all these male things and he was feeling very comfortable in his body,” she said. “As soon as I could, I tried to voice to my parents that … Read more

FOR READERS: My Favorite Werewolf

werewolf - pixabay

FOR READERS Today’s reader topic comes from QSFer Tam Ames: What’s your fave type of werewolf? Can only change on the full moon? Whenever they damn well please? Movie-types half-man/half wolf? Those that retain some animal traits while human? Not saying one is better than the other but what kind do you like to read about. Tell us one of your fave werewolf characters. Writers: This is a reader chat – you are welcome to join it, but please do not reference your own works directly. Thanks! This is a Legacy Chat. Join the chat

SPACE: Fast Radio Bursts Could Be Signs of Alien Life. Or Not.

radio telescope - pixabay

Earth is being bombarded with invisible light that nobody understands. Known as fast radio bursts (or FRBs), these ultrashort, ultrapowerful pulses of ancient energy are the universe’s brightest flashes you cannot see. They travel billions of light-years across time and space, shine with the intensity of nearly 100 suns and then blip out of existence mere milliseconds after reaching the range of Earthly telescopes. Because they are radio waves, they do all of this while remaining totally invisible to human eyes. Could these mystery pulses be the distant flashes of supermassive supernovas? The wild spin of the universe’s speediest neutron … Read more