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Sci Fi

Superbugs

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Today’s topic is “ripped from the headlines” – specifically: The Scary Rise of the Latest Superbug This illustration released by the Centers for Disease Control depicts a three-dimensional (3D) computer-generated image of a group of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae bacteria. The artistic recreation was based upon scanning electron micrographic imagery. A potentially deadly “superbug” resistant to antibiotics infected seven patients, including two who died, and more than 100 others were exposed at a Southern California hospital through contaminated medical instruments, UCLA reported Wednesday. (AP Photo/Centers for Disease Control) The country’s latest health-care scare centers around a growing problem that’s keeping public health … Read more

Retcons

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Today’s topic comes from QSFer Hank T. Cannon: Question: “How do we feel about retcons? The Retcon or retroactive continuity is rampant in television and comic books, but I have not personally come across any incidents of obvious retroactive continuity in the books I’ve read. How do you feel about retcons in any medium? Have you considered writing a follow up to an existing work to explicitly alter or even negate the previously known information in the previous work?” When it comes to retcons, do you prefer a subtle reveal? How about an off hand revision; or a big ‘everything … Read more

Announcement: Encounter, by Perie Wolford

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QSFer Perie Wolford has a new MM sci fi novel out: In an attempt to prove it to the world that crop circles are man-made and aliens don’t really exist, Ricky and his team of young enthusiasts (including one particular enthusiast, Josh, who is hopelessly in love with Ricky) start falsifying the phenomenon by creating their own crop circles. Their endeavors prove successful, pretty much so, but only until the day when Ricky sees his unique circle design replicated throughout the country by the forces unknown. Excerpt Josh kept silent for a moment. He panned to Emily who was still … Read more

Your Next Cruise

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Who wouldn’t want to go on this cruise? Looks like the Force will be with Disney Cruise Line next year, when the heroes and villains of “Star Wars” board the Disney Fantasy. The new Star Wars Day at Sea experience will be staged during eight sailings to the Western Caribbean from Port Canaveral, Florida. Themed deck parties, fireworks, trivia games, meet-and-greets with the characters, and screenings will all be part of the fun. (The film line-up includes Disney’s new XD animated series, “Star Wars Rebels.”) By Donna Tunney – Full Story at Shermans Travel

Announcement: Grydscaen Tribute, by Natsuya Uesugi

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QSFer Natsuya Uesugi has a new book out in the Grydscaen series: The short stories that make up the science fiction anthology grydscaen: tribute focus on the hackers in the series. Intrusion, infiltration government overreach selling data, smuggling psi inducer drugs, and social engineering – it is all covered. When the young adult Faid is solicited by George, the rich and powerful member o the corporate board of the SenseNet, Faid’s life in the Echelons drastically changes. Besides being George’s host, Faid starts the Packrat hackers and embarks on his mission of taking down the government and stopping them from … Read more

Your First Speculative Fiction Influences

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When I was a child, I was a voracious reader, and sometime around second grade, my mother introduced me to a trilogy that would change my life, setting me on the path to become a writer. It was the Lord of the Rings, and I devoured the three books. I still remember when Boromir died after an orc attack on a hillside surrounded by his friends – I cried over that for days. I remember spending a fleeting few days in Lothlorien, my little heart beating happily with the thought that such a beautiful, forlorn, and doomed place could possibly … Read more

Your Favorite Flavor of Sci Fi

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Today’s sci fi day at Queer Sci Fi! Are you a sci fi reader? I have been since I was, like, seven or 8. I used to wander into the “spare bedroom” at my Mom’s house and peruse her three shelves of sci fi. My Mom was a member of the Science Fiction Book Club, and new books would arrive every month. I grew up on Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, and Anne McCaffrey. I bounced back and forth between hard sci fi, fantasy, and more fantasy-flavored sci fi – and still do to this day. So for our question … Read more

Mixing Genres

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For today’s topic, I thought we’d do a little cross-genre hopping. I love reading sci fi with a bit of a Fantasy flair – Anne McCaffrey’s Pern series, for instance, with a sci fi premise but a feudal world. Or some of Peter Hamilton’s books, that combine hard sci fi with a world that’s essentially magic. So how do y’all feel about mixed genres? A futuristic world with a fantasy feel to it? Or a paranormal with an historical bent? Urban Fantasy on another planet? Or are you a purist? And what are some of your favorite books that have … Read more

Children’s Food

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Hey all… we’re having some work done on the blog on a new feature, so it’s temporarily down. So today’s topic will be on the FB page only. The topic comes from QSFer Jim Comer: Jim noticed this article about what we feed kids these days: http://news.nationalpost.com/the-kids-menu/ and asked “I wonder how many writers realize how weird it is to have ‘special’ food for kids. Most Earth cultures feed weaned kids the same that adults eat. So I wonder: what attention have people given to these topics? Are we scared of kids, as LGBT people? I don’t know. I am … Read more

Strange Pairings

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All of us know a couple who seems a little mis-matched – maybe one is really tall and the other is short. Or one is a democrat and one’s a republican. Or one is male and the other is female. I know. Weird, right? But somehow they work. So to celebrate Valentine’s Day, we’re gonna talk about strange pairings. As a reader, what strange pairings have you read in LGBT fiction, and liked or hated? And as a writer, have you written any? Or do you want to? Werewolf plus Vampire? Elf plus Dwarf? Earthman plus Martian? Or something more … Read more