As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

Columnists

Sources of Inspiration: Safe Spaces

by

As I grow more and more fragile, I feel increasingly unsafe.  Plot may thrive on conflict, but I need a place, a space, and a time to channel that conflict into words. I need a place of safety to write.  All my life, I’ve felt as if I had to go through daily life, surrounded by enemies. I’ve reached out, searching desperately for allies, for kindred spirits while being screamed at, kicked, and hurt for simply being who I am.  I’ve tried to disappear, blend in, not wanting those enemies to know it was me they were screaming at, kicking, … Read more

Jeff Baker; Boogieman in Lavender. Brown Grass.

by

Brown Grass By Jeff Baker A lot of things make me nostalgic this time of year, especially since I outlived my immediate family. I have some distant cousins I rarely see and some found family that I talked about in last December’s column. https://www.queerscifi.com/jeff-baker-boogieman-in-lavender-found-family/ All of them have been hugely supportive. But that’s not what I want to talk about. I live in Kansas. Driving from one town to the other involves covering a lot of ground, usually on the highway. Lots of farmland and a lot of grass by the roadside. In spring and summer that grass ought to … Read more

Sources of Inspiration: Eternal?

by

I call my blog the Cauldron of Eternal Inspiration.  Sometimes I wonder if the very title is a lie. It’s my blog and I’m not eternal. No one is.  Recently, a major source of inspiration dried up, was reclaimed as something I can no longer use.  It wasn’t eternal, any more than I am, but our words remain as long as people read and remember them.  Perhaps this is enough for a writer to be eternal. To be read and remembered.  Perhaps my Cauldron will bubble as long as there’s something to add, stirring the creative juices, sparking creativity in … Read more

“Now What?” —-Jeff Baker, Boogieman In Lavender.

by

Election Night I wrote a very angry, very scared, very depressed version of this column. Apparently a lot of voters voted against their own self-interest and against society’s. Events like confidential documents probably shared with our country’s enemies and the attempted overthrow of an election in January 2021 have sunk down the collective memory hole of the American people. I’m upset, I’m depressed and I’m angry. All at people who should know better. People who voted and will probably be surprised at a tide of vengeance coming from the White House next year. People who voted for a guy who … Read more

“We Mostly Come Out At Night.” On Beyond Cisgender IX. – Boogieman In Lavender

by

For this ninth (!!!) installment of the column’s occasional feature “On Beyond Cisgender,” we go into a recent YA anthology perfect for the Halloween Season. This feature is about books recommended for High School readers that go beyond the usual “white, male, cisgender paradigm,” an idea suggested by Amy Liebowitz, (thanks very much!) several years ago. “We Mostly Come Out At Night,” edited by Rob Costello, published by Running Press Teens, Hatchette Book Group in 2024 https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/rob-costello/we-mostly-come-out-at-night/9780762483198/ features “15 Queer Tales of Monsters, Angels and Other Creatures,” to quote the cover blurb. Stories range from variants on a classic fairy … Read more

Looking At A Few Books (Yes, Just Looking!) Jeff Baker, Boogieman In Lavender

by

Looking At A Few Books (Yes, Just Looking) by Jeff Baker Not much this month. Just a glance over and recommendation of a few LGBT themed books that have come my way. And full disclosure, I have not actually read all of them, mainly the anthologies I just got in the mail. (I will post links, although I have no affiliation with the books themselves.) First off I just received series editor Charles Payseur’s “We’re Here; the Best Queer Speculative Fiction 2022,” from Neon Hemlock Press. https://www.neonhemlock.com/books This edition edited by Naomi Kanakia and released in 2023. This is the … Read more

For Representation Dial Yukon 2-8209 – Boogieman In Lavender

by

This month, two examples of LGBT representation in forgotten places. And I must be intentionally vague about the first one. Fritz Leiber’s short-story “The Two Best Thieves In Lankhmar” (published in 1968) features his classic fantasy swordsmen Fafhrd and The Gray Mouser who are again their own worst enemies as well as best friends. They have acquired a stash of jewels they are trying to sell but things (of course) go awry. Set in Leiber’s fantasy world of Lankhmar the story does feature some LGBT characters but if I revealed more it would give away the story’s surprises, and the … Read more