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U=(N/T)M*G: Golem

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Chinese scientists broke the boundaries of human technology yet again in early July. With precision, determination and science prowess that just boggles the mind, these scientists managed to send a photon from Earth to an orbiting satellite, using quantum teleportation. Six times. It’s a feat scientists the world over have been aiming for a long time time now. A quantum scientist friend of mine is absolutely green with envy. I applaud this monumental discovery and look forward to more. Quantum teleportation, for those who have no idea what it is, is a process by which quantum information can be transmitted … Read more

Out of the Past – LGBTQ Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror in the 1970s

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Hello! Welcome to the second installment of my series of columns on the history of LGBTQ science fiction, fantasy and horror. As I noted in my previous post, things had begun to improve slightly for SF/F/H readers looking for more positive portrayals of LGBT characters and complex perspectives on sexuality and gender in the late 1950s and throughout the 1960s. That trend accelerated after the events of June of 1969 when the police raided a gay bar called the Stonewall Inn in New York City. The raid triggered several days of rioting by bar patrons and other LGBT people. These … Read more

U=(N/T)M*G: Print

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In this day and age, a whole, huge deal is made about cloning. Dolly the Sheep, lab rats, stems cells. The list goes on. And humanity is eagerly waiting for custom, lab grown organs that are tailored with our own genes and available to the mainstream. The reality is, and what an awesome reality, we’re probably going to get better mechanical models way before we achieve cloned organic replacements. Enter, 3D printing. Stories abound of the astounding way 3D printing is starting to revolutionize prosthetics. Robert Downey Jr, himself, went and delivered a newly printed Iron Man gauntlet prosthetic to … Read more

LGBT Slang – Discussion Point

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The LGBT community has gone through many changes over the years and one aspect of that is its evolving lexicon. I thought it would be interesting to discuss this both as an historical subject and regarding the extent to which current LGBT authors incorporate slang terms into their writing. It is hard to tell how far back LGBT slang goes. Certainly the eighteenth-century molly subculture had its own lexicon, with some terms borrowed from thieves cant. No doubt the nineteenth century then adapted this to suit its own purposes as the decades passed. However, it’s in the twentieth century and … Read more

Boogieman In Lavender: Working In The Slush Factory

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Jeff Baker

This is for writers and more importantly, for those people who want to be writers. There is an inescapable reality to anyone who writes and puts their work out into the market. That part is simply; it might not sell. A lot of times, on average, it will not sell. At least not at first. Every writer deals with rejection. Usually in a form letter or e-mail, sometimes with a more personal mention of your work; maybe even encouragement (“Please let us see more of your work.”) or criticism. (“Way too wordy.”) This is all part of the writer’s life, … Read more

U=(N/T)M*G: RA

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That picture, the one of the cat lounging on a desk, set as the featured picture? That’s the God!Cat Ra, who shares my home. And I say shares because it’s common knowledge that no one really owns a cat, unlike dogs. Although I don’t think I really own the God!Dog Anubis, who also shares my home. But this furry paperweight inspired me to figure out why humans originally came to associate, and worship, and then keep cats. Now back when we migrated from place to place with wooden spears and baskets looking for food along migration paths, dogs were our … Read more

U=(N/T)M*G: Compress

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In the grand scheme of world building, nothing is more difficult than details. How does that console work, what is that weapon made of, why does magic work that way? All the little bits an author needs to know, even if the reader doesn’t. Times like these, however, far removed from Heinlein’s guesses at what technology would even look like far in the future, we sci-fi authors kind of have a leg up from authors of old. Our tech and science jump exponentially every couple of years and new stuff is discovered almost daily. Take the newly made compressed glassy … Read more

Torso

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Above is a picture I’ve took at the Capitoline Museum. This statue seemed the embodiment of classical male beauty. It’s one of the reasons I’ve used it as substitute for cover art in any posts relating to ‘Aissa and Polyxena’. Never mind my Work In Progress is about cross driving. Like many a writer and reader in the MM genre, I’ve been captivated by the male torso. I’ve seen a lot of bare male torsos on your covers. Some are slimmer and more classical. Some are broader. Some have a softness to the ripped abs. Some are unabashedly hard. This … Read more

Boogieman In Lavender Review: Heiresses of Russ

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Jeff Baker

The story was that some people had learned to read again.—-line from “The Tip of the Tongue” by Felicia Davin. That most conventional of female archetypes, the bride, figures in several of the unconventional stories in “Heiresses of Russ,” the 2016 edition of the best Lesbian speculative fiction of the year, edited by A. M. Dellamonica and Steve Berman and published by Lethe Press. Leading off is the first of several award nominees, (Nebula nominee, shortlisted for the Hugo and Tiptree awards) “Grandmother-Nai-Leylit’s Cloth of Winds,” by Rose Lemberg. A story of gender fluidity, magic and deepnames where men and … Read more

Angel’s Bits Redux – Flash Fiction Roundup

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Renewal

Hey, QSF’ers! A special return of Angel’s Bits this week to recap and take a sift through what we saw in this year’s competition. When we started the Flash Fiction contest, it was on a lark. Oh, hey! This will be fun! We received 15 entries and gave out some prizes. Yay! The second year, we decided it would be cool to do a book. What were we thinking? But we received 115 entries that year, enough for a respectable book, and with the help of the MCB folks, there was indeed one. Discovery. The third year? We thought – … Read more