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Sci Fi

Discussion: When is it Sci Fi, and When is it LGBT?

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Today’s topic comes from QSFer Heather Rose Jones: How do people (authors and readers) view the relationship between “LGBTQI SFF” and “SFF with LGBTQI characters”? Do you read/write both? Do you consider them identical or distinct categories? Are the two angles in dialogue with each other, and if so how? Great questions. I was asked at Rainbow Con during a panel if a character was really gay if their sexuality wasn’t overtly expressed during the story. So what do y’all think? Join the chat!

Announcement: Choosing You, by Jaylee James

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Choosing You - Jaylee James

QSFer Jaylee James has a new sci fi book out: Collin is in high school when he is visited by a time traveler – a woman who claims to be his wife in a hypothetical future… only the timeline has been disrupted, and the two will never meet unless he makes four key choices in his life that will guide them together again. “Choosing You” is a short story in a conversational, first-person voice, about what happens when deciding to love someone becomes a literal choice. It’s 7300 words long and features a transgender protagonist. Excerpt The first time I … Read more

The Top 10 Gay Superhero Fantasies Fans Would Love To See Become Reality

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Following the news that a real-life Lex Luthor appears to have taken a knife to a mural showing Batman and Superman locking lips, PinkNews takes a look at the works of gay superhero fan fiction. Whether its Iron Man and Captain America getting up close and personal, or the aforementioned DC icons flying off into the Metropolis sunset, it seems that some fans are desperate for their favourite superheroes to become more than just team mates… Batman and Superman Rich Simmons piece shows the DC legends locked in a passionate embrace, much to the dismay of a possible damsel in … Read more

Discussion: Using Music in Speculative Fiction

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Yellow Dancer

Editor’s Note: Angel is hoarding her bits today, but hopes to share them with us again next week. Today’s topic comes from QSFer Hank T. Cannon: Music! What are the ins and outs of using song lyrics in a story, or novel as temporal or emotional touchstones. Is licensing involved, or only after a certain point? Does it detract from a story by anchoring it too much in a certain time and place? Great questions. I’ve used songs in stories, only to have the lyrics yanked out over publisher concerns of copyright issues. What’s your experience with music in stories? … Read more

“A Little Bit Langston” by Andrew Demcak

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Genre: Gay YA Science Fiction Length: Novel   James has a pretty boring life. Sure, his mom is nuts, and also sort of interesting, but that’s par for the course for adults, who all seem a bit off. He’s in high school, but he still has problems with reading, and his best friend, Paul, seems to have a few problems as well. But people pretty much leave them alone, and all in all, he has nothing to worry about—just the average life of an average teenager. Until one day when he blacks out, and wakes up to find he’s written … Read more

News: New Giant Telescope Aims to Answer the Question: Is There Anybody Out There?

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Lima telescope

On a remote hilltop 8,000 feet above sea level in Chile’s Atacama Desert, scientists hope to answer one of the most fundamental questions facing humankind: Is there life elsewhere in the universe? That’s one of various goals of the Giant Magellan Telescope, or GMT, now in the early stages of construction and scheduled to start scanning outer space in 2021. Once it does, it’s expected to offer views of the farthest depths of the universe ever achieved. With seven curved mirrors giving it a record optical surface 80 feet in diameter, the GMT will have the sharpest images of any … Read more

Announcement: A Little Bit Langston, by Andrew Demcak

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A Little Bit Langston

QSFer Andrew Demcak has a new paranormal book out: Being different can be dangerous, and discovery can be deadly. High school freshman James Kerr is finding out he’s not quite like his classmates. Around the time he realizes he’s attracted to his best friend, Paul Schmitz, James starts channeling a dead writer’s poetry and also discovers he has an ability to manipulate energy—a super power. Before James can figure out why this is happening to him, tragedy strikes in the form of Paul’s abusive father, and James is sent to a government-run school, The Paragon Academy, which specializes in juvenile … Read more

Discussion: Pop Culture After the Apocalypse

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Mr. Burns Play

Anyone see the play Mr. Burns? One of our local theaters put it on last season, and it was fascinating to me. Basically, there’s some kind of apocalypse, and some of the survivors gather and start recalling the details of an episode of the Simpsons. It’s a comforting bit of shared culture that literally helps them get through the night together. As the play moves forward in time, troupes form to perform remembered episodes, going so far as to pay people for remembered scenes or dialogue to complete each episode. And by the end, the Simpsons show has evolved and … Read more

Announcement: The Harvest: A Tah’Narian Christmas, by M.A. Church

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The Harvest: A Tah'Narian Christmas

QSFer M.A. Church has a new Sci Fi book out: So what’s an alien to do when his mate refuses to say what’s bothering him? Why, he sends a deep space message to his mate’s mother on earth, what else? Keyno not only learns the importance of Christmas to his chosen, he’s also shocked and confused as to why Dale hasn’t shared this with him. There is no such celebration on Tah’Nar, but that doesn’t stop Keyno from trying to bring happiness to Dale. He’s not only a starship captain, he’s also an excellent strategist. He gathers his closest friends—Doc … Read more