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History & Alternate History

ANNOUNCEMENT: Genetic Snare, by Laura Baumbach

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Genetic Snare

QSFer Laura Baumbach has a new MM sci fi book out: Betrayal, passion, adventure, primal sex, and a fight to the death. Mating a 26th century Oracan Bounty Hunter with a 18th century pirate has its little glitches. Bounty hunter Talos bows to pressure to bring his mate home for the completion of his strict warrior culture’s bonding ritual. Aidan, displaced 18th century Earth pirate – light-fingered, sly, charming and understandably naive about the new world he’s been thrust into — can’t wait. Even if it turns out someone wants him dead. The 26th century looks different, but it turns … Read more

ANNOUNCEMENT: Blessing and Light, by Kasia Bacon – FREE!

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Blessing and Light

QSFer Kasia Bacon has a new MM Fantasy/Historical book out: It’s the Night of Winter Lights. Heedless of the holiday, the Commander of the H’Aren fortress, Captain Torýn Torhdhar, seems to find his satisfaction in work. Such occurrence hardly surprises his Orderly, Sæbastyn Hyago, even though the young Lieutenant has spent a silent, aching decade wishing his superior officer would pursue pleasure elsewhere—specifically in his arms. But as the evening continues, nothing about it meets Sæbastyn’s expectations. Will the Lieutenant see his secret desires realised, or his heart shattered? This alternative winter holiday short, set in the Order Universe, will … Read more

Planned Children’s Book Has Lesbian Pirates!

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Maiden Voyage

What more could a book about setting sail on the open seas with pirates need? More queer representation, of course! That’s exactly what Maiden Voyage, a brand new illustrated children’s book, offers. From the authors of Promised Land, a gay romance fantasy children’s book released last year, this book features the same fun illustrations and diversity. Maiden Voyage is written by Jaimee Poipoi, Adam Reynolds, and Chaz Harris. It centers on a fisherman’s daughter who inherits a treasure map and joins the crew of a sea captain. However, a wicked queen sends a group of pirates after them to keep … Read more

ANNOUNCEMENT – Lancelot: Her Story, by Carol Anne Douglas

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Lancelot: Her Story

QSFer Carol Anne Douglas has a new Lesbian Historical Fantasy out: A young girl sees a man rape and murder her mother. She grabs a stick and puts out his eye. Her father raises her as a boy so she will be safe from men’s attacks. She practices and practices until she becomes a great fighter – Lancelot. She wants to protect women, and she does. Lancelot hears about King Arthur, a just king across the sea, and journeys to earn a place at Camelot. She vows to serve him, but fears that Arthur and his men will discover that … Read more

Egypt’s Secret Gay History

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Seth Horus gay Egypt

As Egypt prepares to criminalize homosexuality, it’s worth looking back at the country’s history: Ancient Egypt was a historic civilization, dating all the way back to 3100 BC. Sex was seen as a healthy part of existence, with even the likes of Gods getting down and dirty. There was no taboo around the act of sex. They even had Gods of sex, sexual pleasure and sexuality. The term ‘homosexuality’ is relatively modern and so that makes it harder for historians to look for examples of LGBT in Ancient Egypt. Historians explain: ‘Representational evidence for ancient sexualities is ambiguous.’ Regardless, there … Read more

ANNOUNCEMENT/GUEST POST: The Long Past & Other Tales, by Ginn Hale

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The Long Past & Other Stories

QSFer Ginn Hale has a new queer alt history/steampunk/weird west book out. Guest Post Hands on Research in Fantastical Worlds Often when the subject of research is brought up, fantasy authors will cite books and museums, or recount interviews and hours spent pouring over old newspapers, police records and magazines. You can almost hear the microfiche whirring around them and smell musty pages. To be honest I love that stuff myself. Original sources can be incredibly important to a book, particularly if it’s set in an alternate history or if the plot relies on real events or people. (The Long … Read more

GAY HISTORY: Portrait of King James’s Gay Lover Resurfaces

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George Villiers

A lost portrait of King James’s rumoured gay lover has been found after more than 400 years. The portrait, by Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens, was rediscovered hanging in a property in Glasgow, where it had been assumed it was a copy. However the painting, was verified to be real by antiquities expert Dr Bendor Grosvenor during BBC Four show Britain’s Lost Masterpieces. The painting shows George Villiers, widely believed to have been one of the male lovers of King James VI and I, who ruled from 1567 to 1625 and is best known for commissioning the King James Bible. … Read more

Out of the Past – LGBTQ Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror in the 1980s

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The Northern Girl

The 1970s, famed as an era of free love, political protests and hallucinogen-fueled utopias, gave way to the era of punk and New Wave, AIDS, and the politics of Reagan and Thatcher in the more conservative 1980s. And science fiction, fantasy and horror followed suit, with hard-edged military science fiction, dystopian visions, anti-hero sword and sorcery, vampires and of course, cyberpunk. None of these, on the face of it, seemed any more LGBT-friendly than the sfnal works of the previous decade, yet the number of portrayals of LGBT characters over the course of the decade more than quadrupled. This was … Read more

ANNOUNCEMENT: Faeted, by Shiloh Saddler

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Faeted

QSFer Shiloh Saddler has a new MM historical fantasy book out: Love is never easy and Blaze is faced with a difficult choice: Turn his back on his lover or the fairy realm. John Butler is a lonely chandler’s apprentice in colonial Williamsburg. He doesn’t think that he’ll ever be respected let alone be loved. Trying to forget his troubles, he buries himself in his work and focuses on making candles. Blaze Greymedow is a fire fairy. At first he was drawn to John’s candles, but is quickly smitten with the tall, muscular apprentice. He watches John from afar all … Read more

ANNOUNCEMENT: Carolina Daemonic 2nd Edition, by Brian Barr

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Carolina Demonic

QSFer Brian Barr has a new MM paranormal alternative history book out: It’s 2020. The South won the Civil War and achieved manifest destiny in the United States. Great Britain, known as Victoria, and China, have maintained their empires. American slavery was abolished in the late 20th century instead of the late 19th century. Steam powered machinery and electricity make up the bulk of modern technology. In the shadows of the Confederacy, there is magic. Esoteric sciences arcane and archaic survive from forgotten times, and strange demonic creatures wander through the slums of Charleston… Enter Carolina Daemonic. In an alternative … Read more