Space Fruit Press has a new queer sci-fi romance anthology out (bi, gay, gender fluid, lesbian, non-binary): Binary Stars: Constellations #1.
Binary Constellations #1 is the first sci-fi LGBTQ+ anthology from Space Fruit Press, featuring four stories of intergalactic romance. From a shady bar on the wrong side of the asteroid field, to a royal wedding that gets a rude interruption, to two rival lawyers going deep in the archives, to a formal treaty ceremony that heads in an unexpected direction — these tales of space-age hijinks prove that there is steam in outer space.
The title refers to the astrological phenomenon of binary stars (cool, awe-inspiring), not the idea of a gender binary (boring, played out). More at our blog post here: https://spacefruitpress.com/news/why-did-we-name-our-new-queer-sci-fi-anthology-binary-stars
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Excerpt
From “The Last Place They’d Look” by Catherine Fletcher:
The sign over the door says “Jaxon’s,” but Tal’s been coming here for nearly a decade and there’s never been any Jaxon that they know of. Inside, it’s dark, lit only by flickering lights that hum unpleasantly. The tables are old and stained with unmentionable things, the in-table menu kiosks are mostly on the fritz, and the facilities are, charitably, not fit for use by anyone who values their health.
The bar is mostly empty, so Tal has chosen to settle at a booth, facing the door, hood pulled up over their purple hair and eyes cast down onto the screen of their tablet. At their elbow is a metal cup filled with something that could strip paint off a ship’s hull. Tal frowns down at their tablet and taps open another menu, the holo display lifting off the tablet screen as they pull the code into three dimensions before collapsing it back onto the screen with a huff.
The error is not in the code, which Tal well knows. The error is in the fact that it’s been nearly four rotations since they’ve had a decent run of cargo.
Tal needs a contract before the end of this rotation, but with the Federated Planets Alliance cracking down on independent couriers, prospects are grim. Fuck the FPA, fuck their tariffs, fuck their inspections, and fuck their overreach, Tal thinks vehemently and dismisses the ship’s ledger from the screen.
A news alert pops up in the place of the ledger: a BOLO for a woman, wanted for skipping out on a debt owed to a station boss. There’s a reward, and the number of zeroes makes Tal’s eyes widen. There’s something more to this than just a debt, Tal reasons. But the bounty business, while lucrative, requires licences that Tal does not currently have the funds to pay for.
Tal sighs and sets their cup down. They need a job, or a patron, or both.
The bar door slides open. The pressure differential from the corridor of the station to the interior of the bar makes the ends of Tal’s hair shift, and they look up from their tablet to see who else has washed up here in this sad little place.
The newcomer is human, a little taller than Tal, long, dark hair in a cable of a braid that falls forward over their shoulder when they lean towards the Ashling tending the bar. The Ashling nods at whatever the newcomer requests, and one of its arms reaches back for a bottle while another grabs a glass, and yet another reaches for the tablet the human is handing it. This leaves the Ashling with three other arms to handle pouring a drink for another patron.
The human does not appear to be at all fazed by the extra limbs, nor do they seem at all put off by the dingy interior of the bar.
Tal is immediately curious. A human with so much exposure
to the far reaches that even an Ashling doesn’t give them pause is a human who might be worth knowing.
Author Bio
Catherine Fletcher is fond of dark red wine, leather-bound journals and the warmth of a crackling fire. She makes her home in amongst the suburban sprawl of Ontario and is forever searching for time to write in the off hours from her day job.
Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1613519.Catherine_Fletcher
Louisa Vidal left her heart in Paris (or was it Shanghai, Seoul, or San Francisco?) But for now, her laptop can be found in the South East of England, where she drinks unfathomable amounts of tea to fuel her writing, dancing, and daydreaming.
Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/29758781.Louisa_Vidal
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