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Sci Fi

Hey! Where’s the Funny Stuff?

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Most people (especially non-SF fans) think of science fiction as deadly serious. Because of the often deadly serious topics SF tackles–oppression, climate destruction, discovery vs. ethics–they believe the stories don’t easily lean toward the humorous. However, comedy is the oldest form of social commentary and science fiction has a long, legitimate history with it. From Keith Laumer’s Retief books to the Stainless Steel Rat, from Red Dwarf to the Hitchhiker stories, science fiction humor may not always get the attention it deserves, but it’s always been with us. As a long time science fiction reader, (don’t ask how long, that’s … Read more

Writing the Future

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One of the most difficult things for me as a sci fi author is figuring out what I think the future will look like. Not just socially – that’s often the fun part, coming up with new social constructs to hang my story on. But also physically. What will the cities look like? What will gadgets look like? How will they work? How ill we eat? Communicate? Have sex? These can be fun things to figure out too, but they can also be writing minefields. Take, for example, computers. 50 years ago, they existed only as huge, room-sized things that … Read more

Starting a New Trilogy

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I’ve decided to take the advice of my friend Jackson Cordd and let one of my short stories become a novel. Well, actually, three novels. It started out as a story fragment I’d written years ago, and picked up again last year to work on. It decided at first that it wanted to be a novel, and then finally that it wanted to be a trilogy – the first time I;ve sat down to plan out a three book arc. I’d written about 12,000 words when I stopped work a couple months ago on it to focus on some other … Read more

Blending Sci Fi and Fantasy

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Growing up, I read my first Fantasy books – the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, starting in second grade. Not long after, I read Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series. They were two very different experiences, and I loved them both. Ever since, I’ve found myself reading a little hard sci fi, and then bouncing over to the other pole and reading a great epic fantasy novel. It’s a little like eating a salty dinner and washing it down with wild cherry pepsi. But I’ve also learned to love that middle ground – the fusion of sci fi and fantasy. It’s fairly … Read more

When Should You Have Sex (in Your Sci Fi Story)?

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Up until the last year, most of the stories I had written had been “straight” sci fi (pardon the pun) or fantasy – stories that relied on the sci fi or fantasy plot as the main driver of the story. Oh sure, they usually had a gay character or two, but not always as the main character, and even when they were, usually without a major “romance”. Then I discovered Dreamspinner Press and their upcoming anthology submissions page. I decided to try my hand at writing some short stories that were MM romance with a sci fi or supernatural twist. … Read more

Books That Influenced Me as a Gay Sci Fi/Fantasy Writer

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There have been a handful of books that I’ve read that have influenced me as I have strived to become an openly gay writer of sci fi and fantasy. I’m talking historically, not the great crop of gay-themed sci fi and fantasy currently on the market. The first of these was inarguably The Dancers of Arun, book two of the Chronicles of Tornor by Elizabeth A. Lynn. The book contains a pivotal sex scene between the differently abled protagonist and the man he has fallen for that sent me swooning as a gay teen. Never before had I read a … Read more

Live Interviews on Facebook With Gay Sci Fi / Fantasy Authors

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Our friend Ashlyn Forge, over at Gay Sci Fi (MM Romance) is hosting a series of author interviews: Angel Martinez Erotic Fiction for the Hungary Mind Friday, June 20th, 9 AM EDT https://www.facebook.com/events/284900568349307/ KC Burn Voodoo “n” Vice Frday, June 27th, 9 AM EDT https://www.facebook.com/events/1434106500191828/ Becky Black Patient Z Friday, July 4th, 9 AM EDT https://www.facebook.com/events/651921478227778/ Ashlyn Daube Ivory Prison Friday, July 11th 4 PM EDT https://www.facebook.com/events/1497054543861145/ Ashlyn Forge Erosions: The Careless I Friday, July 18th, 9 AM EDT https://www.facebook.com/events/599943996779607/ Ashlyn Forge Westbrooke Jameson Friday, July 25th, 5 PM EDT https://www.facebook.com/events/497895273644256/ If you have time, check them out!

“Devil Boys” From Beyond in San Francisco

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New Conservatory Theatre Center presents “Devil Boys From Beyond,” Buddy Thomas and Kenneth Elliott’s drag sci-fi play about an alien invasion in swampy Florida. [8 p.m., NCTC, 25 Van Ness Ave., S.F.] Full Story at the SF Examiner

Itching for A Little Fantasy

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Hey all, I’ve been getting back into writing this year after a long hiatus. I’m a fantasy-sci fi writer at heart, but as a gay man, I also enjoy writing gay characters. In the last few months, I’ve tried my hand at a little MM romance. Most of these stories still have a bit of a sci fi, fantasy, or supernatural twist. Although I did write one that was just romance. Funny thing – mu hubby, Mark, who doesn’t really care for sci fi or fantasy, felt like that story was missing something – the twist he’s come to expect … Read more