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Announcement: True North, by C.E. Kilgore

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True North

QSFer C.E. Kilgore has a new sci fi-post apocalyptic book out: An apocalyptic M/M Romance. Electricity is gone. Society is on its knees. The heart’s compass becomes the light in the darkness. Joshua has had enough of people. Especially those desperate, starving bastards who he’s certain ate his dog. When people decide to leave the university town of Lincoln, Nebraska and head south before winter sets in, Joshua heads north instead. When he lands face-first in a snowbank, he welcomes death. What he finds instead is the handsome smile of Chris, a lone goat farmer who’s trying to make the … Read more

Angel’s Bits: Mainstream Publishers – Open Submissions

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Mainstream Publishing

The question came up on the group the other day – what mainstream publishers are accepting unsolicited submissions? We were talking about efforts to increase the presence of queer characters in mainstream spec fic, you see, so it was an inevitable question. For the purposes of this group, we’ll only be discussing publishers that are looking for spec fic. Romance is another animal entirely, existing in a parallel dimension (this is not to imply in any way that the enormous romance industry is somehow less in any way – it’s just a different topic with a certain amount of crossover … Read more

Review: “Gravitational Attraction” by Angel Martinez

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Genre: MM Science Fiction Romance Length: Novel   Issac Ozawa is slightly mentally damaged due to a cybernetic implant malfunction. As a result, Issac’s brain experiences the occasional inopportune glitch. For a pilot, this was almost a career breaker. Fortunately he found a carrier ship, Hermes, whose captain would have him, and whose crew is also a bunch of other delightful misfits—but they get the job done. The Hermes crew encounters a drifting troop vessel, and when they board they discover complete mayhem and bloodshed. Searching the vessel, they find one lone survivor, unscathed physically, except he’s clearly traumatized. They … Read more

QSF Contest Winners – First Runner Up

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Bronwyn Heeley art

Here are our First Runner Ups for the contest – “Zero G Corn Pier”, by Astrid Amara, and a lovely cover by Bronwyn Heeley. Enjoy! Zero G Corn Pie Astrid Amara With a loud thump, the Cressida’s gravitation system finally died. It didn’t surprise anyone. Last week the air conditioning broke, and now all one hundred twenty researchers onboard walked the hallways in their underwear. And while this was a sexually attractive side effect of the ship’s impending doom, the subsequent failing of the automatic chef system was less sexy. The autochef now only produced corn pies, which was particularly … Read more

Announcement: Gale Force, by Rory Ni Coileain

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Gale Force

QSFer Rory Ni Coileain has a new Fantasy book out: Conall Dary is the mightiest mage born to the Fae race in more than two thousand years, ever since the Sundering of the Fae and human worlds. But that power condemns him to an untouched, virginal life — sex calls to power, and his power is enough to drain the magick, the life, from his entire world. Exiled from the Realm for refusing to turn his talent to service a Noble’s petty revenge fantasies, his soul is torn in two and his magickal gifts blocked. Josh LaFontaine is a gifted … Read more

Discussion: Bending the Mainstream

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Gay LOTR

Another fun topic today. There are so many mainstream/straight stories out there. Growing up, most of us were immersed in a sea of heterosexuality. As we’ve discussed many times in this group, there has historically been a real lack of LGBT representation out in the world culturally – in film and in literature. That’s changing now, but there are still many iconic books, shows and films that have virtually no LGBT content. Here’s your change to change that. If you could take a current mainstream sci fi/fantasy/paranormal story (film, book, etc) and give it a real LGBTQI/QUILTBAG twist, which series … Read more

QSF Contest Winners – Third Place

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CE Kilgore Cover

Here are our third place winners – The Road Block, by Aidee Ladnier, and the cover (provided in draft version with stock art) from CE Kilgore: The Road Block Aidee Ladnier I remembered the little man from my childhood, a fairy manikin peeking at me through the branches of the backyard azalea bush. Here at the dirt crossroad, a mile from the new county highway, he stood again. The stink of tar smothered the air as several yards away my men paved over the gravel that had stung the engine blocks and spiderwebbed the windshields of my kin for a … Read more

Announcement: Damien’s Past Mates, by Cree Storm

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Damien's Past Mates

QSFer Cree Storm has a new MM paranormal book out: Damien thought he was crazy when he went to sleep in 2015 and awoke in 1915. As if that wasn’t enough, Damien has to grasp he is surrounded by wolf shifters and two of them are his mates. Not knowing, if they follow through, everyone could die. Alpha Asher, of East Capulet, has known that Alpha Asa, from West Capulet is his mate he could never have. Their packs have been at war for over 100 years. Banished to this realm, as a result of their war, or so they … Read more

Discussion: Too Many Fantasy Trilogies?

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LOTR

Today’s topic comes from QSFer Blaine D. Arden: “Why so many Fantasy Trilogies (and endless series). What is wrong with stand-alones?” OK, so I come down on the trilogy (or more) side of this fence myself. I love losing myself in an epic fantasy that I can return to again and again. But I also see the appeal of stand-alone books. It seems to me that this also connects to the debate we had last week about Epic Fantasy and story length… and the argument that High Fantasy, at least, might not lend itself to short stories. Does it lend … Read more

The Midweek Mingle: Safe Spaces

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The idea of ‘safe spaces’ for any minority group often sets people on edge faster than just about anything else to do with inclusion talk. I get it. I really, really get it. Making these safe spaces where only members of group X can be creates an automatic rift between the majority and the minority, and it’s that gap we’re trying to close. Doesn’t make any sense, right? On the surface, no it really doesn’t. But I ask you to take a look at it from another angle. I want you to meet Dana. Dana comes from a very small … Read more