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Crazy Like A Fox

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Alan Turing

Today’s topic comes from QSFer Victoria Stagg Elliott: “I just watched the Imitation Game last night so my potential question is inspired by Alan Turing. Alan was a tortured genius. His craziness gave him the genius to crack the enigma code and end WWII, two years early. He probably saved millions of lives. But that craziness and societal homophobia also meant that he was dead by suicide at age 41. In what ways does our own craziness benefit our writing while perhaps being less than beneficial in our lives? How has societal oppression shaped our writing and how we express … Read more

RainbowCon is Coming in July – Have You Registered Yet?

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RainbowCon

RainbowCon is coming to Tampa on 7/16, and they’ve posted their schedule. Here it 0s – are you going? We’ll be having our first annual QSF get together from 4-5 PM Thursday. :) THURSDAY, 7/16 10:00am – 6:00pm: Registration 1:00pm (Section I) Alpha, Omega, Beta – This trope has enjoyed a re-emergence in the past few years, but just what is it? Our panel members will discuss this hierarchical structure in GLBTQ fiction, from power play to knotting to dubcon and mpreg. (Section II) Heroes and Heroines with Disabilities – Do the heroes and heroines of fiction need to always … Read more

Is Testosterone the Wonder Drug of the Future?

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Testosterone

A growing number of “age management” clinics across the country are beginning to seriously market testosterone therapy treatments as a means of combatting the natural side effects of growing older. More often than naught, we associate the transformative aspects of supplemental testosterone injections with transmen in the process of transitioning. But as Dr. Paul Campion explains in a lengthy profile in Fusion, the community of proponents for testosterone as a rejuvenating agent is growing larger. “Testosterone is ridiculously powerful,” Campion says. “I can tell you from experience, the feeling of well-being, of focus, and of masculine energy are massively increased. … Read more

Announcement: Sugar Rush, by Dani Myrick

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Sugar Rush by Dany Myrick

Torquere Press author and QSFer Dani Myrick has a new retelling of the Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale out: Jamie “Redhood” Lassiter leads a quiet life working for Granny’s Goodtime Goodies in Grimmtown. However, after some illegal tinkering with Granny’s recipes, he runs into trouble with a local gang, the Wolves. Their leader, Ren, demands Jamie’s altered recipes and isn’t above kidnapping Jamie into a virtual world to get what he wants. His only hope of rescue lies with Ferro, a member of the cyber-hacker gang, the Hunters. When the true value of Jamie’s altered recipe is revealed, Jamie … Read more

Sci Fi Futures – Near or Far?

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Her

Today’s topic – how do you like your sci fi – near or far? There are a lot of great stories out there that take current trends and extrapolate them into the near future. The film “Her” was one of these that I really enjoyed, because it had that “just-around-the-corner” feel, like it could actually happen within a few years. I loved this film’s ideas of how we might soon interface with tech. Then there’s a branch of sci fi that’s set so far in the future that it’s no longer recognizably connected to our present – or is in … Read more

Announcement: Finding Track, by AJ Llewellyn

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Finding Track

Amber Quill author and QSFer AJ Llewellyn has a new fantasy book out: Track, the lover of Paden, had assumed human form after the pair first met. Now, Track tells Paden they can be together, but their love exacts a price, one that Paden soon learns can be dangerous and potentially deadly. On the day of a tsunami warning in Honolulu, Paden wakens to find Track is with him after several weeks of absence. They are both needed, Track tells him, and soon they traverse a rainbow to unravel the mystery of a young man who has committed a kapu. … Read more

Getting There

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Today I’m wondering about getting there. If you write or read interplanetary or intersolar sci fi – how do characters get around? Oh sure, there’s always hyperspace. But what are some of the more creative ways you’ve written, read, or thought about to get Captain Donatella and First Communications Officer Christopher from Planet Fabulous to Amazonia? And how about on-planet? In 100 years, 500 years, 1000 years, how will we get from one end of the Earth to another? Space elevators? Sling shots? Tunnels through the middle of the Earth? Go a little crazy here with me.

Will Wearable Tech Take Off?

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Apple Watch

The Android smart watch’s time may not yet have come: Despite heavy promotion of Android Wear, Google’s hardware partners, including LG Electronics, Motorola Mobility and Samsung Electronics, only shipped 720,000 of the devices last year. With the arrival of products such as Motorola’s hotly anticipated Moto 360, the smartwatch market was expected to take off. But the data from market research company Canalys shows that consumers are still far from convinced that they need buy one. “Android Wear will need to improve significantly in the future, and we believe it will do so,” said Daniel Matte, analyst at Canalys. Full … Read more

Announcement: IM, by Rick Reed

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IM, by Rick Reed

DSPP author Rick R. Reed has a new sci fi thriller book out: The Internet is the new meat market for gay men. Now a killer is turning the meat market into a meat wagon. One by one, he’s killing them. Lurking in the digital underworld of Men4HookUpNow.com, he lures, seduces, and charms, reaching out through instant messages to the unwary. When the first body surfaces, openly gay Chicago Police Department detective Ed Comparetto is called in to investigate. At the scene, the young man who discovered the body tells him the story of how he found his friend. But … Read more

Strong Female Characters in Spec Fic

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Women in sci fi

There’s a long-standing tradition of male dominance in speculative fiction, but especially in Sci Fi. If you look back at the Golden Age sci fi writers, they are, if not all, than at least 95% male. This has shifted in recent years, but there’s still an under-representation of both female authors in mainstream sci fi, fantasy and paranormal (with, of course, some very notable exceptions). And there also seems to be a lack of strong female characters in these genres, lesbian and straight. So my questions to you today: What can we do about this? Are there still factors holding … Read more