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What’s Your Favorite Book, Author or Series in LGBT Speculative Fiction?

gay sci fi

Today’s topic comes from QSFer Tammy Jenkins: Who is your favorite MM Sci Fi / Fantasy / Paranormal author or series, and why? What would you like to see more of from them? Some ground rules: It can’t be you or your own book/series OK, well, really that’s about it. :P Let’s have some fun! In this chat, it’s fine to link to a buy page for the book. :)

The Midweek Mingle: Hollywood Tokenism

When it comes to diversity in fiction/cinema/whatever, we’ve come a long way. Like, a really, really long way, in a relatively short time. If the Supreme Court rules that same sex marriage is legal, pretty soon, we’ll have an entire generation who doesn’t remember a time when it was illegal. We already have a generation or two who won’t have to worry about getting their sexuality classed as a mental disorder. And already, QUILTBAG+ characters are hardly something to bat an eye at (Usually. I’ll touch on that further, promise.). Yay yay yay, more more more! However (there always seems … Read more

Announcement: Kiss of Death, by Cassie Sweet

Kiss of Death

QSFer Cassie Sweet (MK Mancos) has a new fantasy book out: Alchemists and Elementals: Book Three Before Headmaster Oberon Bertolini stands the lover he lost seventeen years ago: Hazrael, the most powerful etherealthant to ever live. Abducted and presumed dead, Hazrael has no memory of his time with the necromancers or the atrocities he was forced to inflict on humanity while under their control. Torn between his memories of the man Hazrael used to be and the one with blood on his hands, Oberon tries to offer the support Hazrael needs to heal and regain his life. The only evidence … Read more

Alternative Sexual Norms in Speculative Fiction

Alternative Sexual Norms

Today’s topic comes from QSFer Michael Barnette: In my fantasy setting – Pearls Like Rain over with Torquere is the only one out right now in this world – it’s considered abnormal to be totally gay or straight. Almost everyone in the setting, excepting in two of the more isolated cultures, is bisexual. So this would make for a great topic. Alternate sexual norms. I like this one – it’s not just “what if everyone were gay”. How would a society function if the man-woman thing weren’t the norm? Maybe it’s normal for people to wait until 30 to have … Read more

5 Tips for Lesbian Time Travelers

The Time Slip Girl small

by Elizabeth Andre Time travelling can be lots of fun, just ask H.G. Wells who wrote The Time Machine, but such journeys have special challenges for lesbians. Laws and attitudes have changed a lot over the decades. Being a lesbian can complicate a time traveller’s attempts to fit into a new time and place. Accidentally travelling through time can make the situation even more challenging. Just ask Dara Gillard. She’s an African-American lesbian from 21st century Chicago who accidentally travels to Edwardian London in my novel, The Time Slip Girl. This is what she says about how to prepare for … Read more

Announcement: Sacrati, by Kate Sherwood

Sacrati, by Kate Sherwood

Kate Sherwood has a new Fantasy book out: As an elite Sacrati fighter in the mighty Torian military, Theos is blessed with a city full of women who want to bear his children, and a barracks full of men proud to fight at his side and share his bed. He has everything he needs—until he captures Finnvid on a raid. Finnvid is on a secret mission to prevent the Torian invasion of his homeland Elkat. Being enslaved by Torian soldiers wasn’t in his plans. Neither is his horrified fascination with the casual promiscuity of the Sacrati warriors. Men should not … Read more

Me Me Monday!

Welcome to ME ME MONDAY at our FB discussion group – your chance to pop in and tell us about your latest success. Have a new book or short story coming out? Let us know. Just sell something? Let us know so we can cheer you on. HOW IT WORKS: I’ll pin this topic to the top of our FB discussion page for the day. –Please post your announcement as a separate post, so I can also share it over to our FB page (as opposed to this discussion group). –If you want, send me your book announcement info at … Read more

First Color Image of Pluto and Its Moon

Pluto and Moon

Someone’s using too many instagram filters… NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft is setting up to make an historic fly-by of Pluto on July 14. NASA today released this first-ever color photo from the probe of Pluto with its largest moon Charon. Writes NASA: This image of Pluto and its largest moon, Charon, was taken by the Ralph color imager aboard NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft on April 9 and downlinked to Earth the following day. It is the first color image ever made of the Pluto system by a spacecraft on approach. The image is a preliminary reconstruction, which will be refined … Read more

Announcement: MCB Quarterly, Volume One

MCB Quarterly

Today’s announcement comes from Angel Martinez, but it has a special place in my heart too, ’cause I’m in it – the MCB Quarterly Volume One! The Quarterly is an eMagazine of LGBTQ fiction – of all kinds. This volume features four short stories: Facsimile by Mina MacLeod, Leash on Love by Beany Sparks, Man of the House by Brigid Collins, and Avalon by J. Scott Coatsworth. It also includes an Author Interview with Lexi Ander, talking about writing gay science fiction, and a Featured Artist section about the multitalented Catherine Dair. And our very own Angel Martinez offers an … Read more

Free Work vs. Paid Work

Pencils

Today’s topic is for our authors out there. There are so many places to submit your work these days, from traditional publishers to journals (like the MCB Quarterly) to niche presses. Some pay very well. Some pay a little. And some pay nothing at all. And with sites like Amazon, Smashwords, etc, you can also give your work away yourself for free (forever, or for a period of time). But at some point, you gotta make some money to pay for your crack… I mean, writing addiction. So where do you come down on free work vs. paid work? Have … Read more