As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

How Do You Write Your Characters?

by

Today’s topic comes from QSFer Beth Brock: “How do you write your characters? Do you talk to them? Do they come through you? Or…?” When I write, I usually start with a story idea. Then I sit down to write it, and the character starts to form in my mind, I usually layer in details and history as I go, and over time, I end up with a three-dimensional, unique character. I know that some other writers work differently, planning out the minuscule details of a character before ever putting a pen to paper. Some people write the characters themselves … Read more

Announcement: Clockwork Bargain, by Therese Woodson

by

Therese Woodson’s second book in her Aerial City steampunk series is out from Dreamspinner: Malachi Covington, sole heir to the Covington Shipping empire and raised sheltered by his uncle, has taken a daring step and departed as a crewman aboard the airship Mockingbird. He’s experiencing new places, new foods, and new cultures, and he’s in love for the first time. Life couldn’t be better. Of course, his good fortune cannot last. His companion and pilot, Ian Molloy, comes down with Swamp Water Fever, a life-threatening illness. During their desperate attempts to save him, the Mockingbird is set upon by airship … Read more

Where Are Our LGBT Time Travel Stories?

by

Today’s topic comes from QSFer Tammy Jenkins: “How about a discussion thread that looks at successful books/series/TV programs in heterosexual literature/entertainment that is either not being written in the LGBTIA or is underwritten in the LGBTIA or has yet to be done successfully. For the sake of this conversation, I will call this topic, Where is ours? Cyberpunk, Time Travel, Serious Sci Fi?” Let’s start with Time Travel stories. There have been some great mainstream sci fi tales, going all the way back to HG Wells and The Time Machine to more modern takes like The Time Traveler’s Wife. So … Read more

Announcement: Chestnuts Roasting Anthology

by

We have a special Turkey Day announcement from Angel Martinez and Mischief Corner Books – a holiday anthology is being released today. Coming this November 27th from the Mischief Corner Crew, Chestnuts Roasting Anthology. Artwork by the talented Catherine Dair. Christmas means different things to everyone, but most often it’s all about pulling loved ones close and brightening the gloom. The fire’s crackling. The snow is piling up outside, even if it’s only in your dreams. Time to snuggle up with some cocoa and some stories carefully crafted by the Mischief Corner Crew to warm hearts and cockles. Wreath of … Read more

Is Gay Dinosaur Erotica a Thing?

by

“The year is 2014 and dinosaurs have gained control of the world economy due to exceptionally accurate stock predictions. After graduating from NYU with a business degree, John is hired to be the assistant for one of the largest trading firms on Wall Street. His boss, the CEO of the company is highly regarded as the best businessman of the century. Only difference is that he is a dinosaur.” So goes the Amazon.com synopsis of A Billionaire Dinosaur Forced Me Gay, one of prolific erotic novelist Hunter Fox’s massive collection. Romance novels are cheesy by definition. That’s their job — … Read more

Announcement: Batting Cage, by Crawford Rhine

by

QSFer Crawford Rhine has a new sci fi book out: In this world populated only by men, Brand is the uncommon man who is sexually attracted to them, which comes in handy when he is delivered to his new Master in a cage. Excerpt Brand is a marked man in a world of unmarked men. The mark identifies him as someone who is eligible to go into Service. He has been ready for this opportunity for years and thinks it will never happen. Brand moves on with his life until he receives a call from a Master, Trent Parks. He … Read more

Freaky Friday, Gender Edition

by

Today’s topic comes to us from QSFer Hendrik de Jong: “How about the ability to move minds into different bodies .. and then explore a character who is male and instantly is put in a female body (or vice versa) .. and explore people who do or do not want to be in the body of the opposite sex. Allsorts comes to mind … how to deal with the sexual organs, or menstruation pains for the first time, or attraction and sex?” There was a comic book series called Camelot 3000 a few years back, where the Knights of Camelot … Read more

News: Trapped By Trash

by

Fretting over space junk is universal among people who care about satellites or space travel. Even partisans in Congress agree that it is a problem. “The scientists who predicted climate change started the same way I did,” [space-junk expert and astrophysicist Don] Kessler muses. “They were thinking about what would happen if we keep dumping things into the air around us. I was thinking about what happens if we do it in space.” Yet space pollution talks have not been poisoned by political division. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, a Republican from California and a climate change skeptic (“CO2 is not a … Read more

Your Favorite LGBT Sci Fi Series

by

QSFer Tammy Jenkins brought to my attention that the Queer Sci Fi Facebook discussion group’s focus seems to be mainly on writers and writing issues. While that’s not surprising given that we have a strong group of LGBT fiction writers in our membership, I ultimately want to make this group a place where both writers and readers can participate. And we writers are readers too, right? So I’m going to initiate some more topics, sprinkled in amidst our daily mix, of direct interest to readers of LGBT sci fi, fantasy and paranormal. I encourage everyone to participate. :) Our initial … Read more

Are Publishers Even Necessary?

by

In the ongoing feud between the major publishing houses and Amazon, Yglesias has no sympathy for the publishers: Wisdom on this subject begins with the observation that the book publishing industry is not a cuddly craft affair. It’s dominated by a Big Four of publishers, who are themselves subsidiaries of much larger conglomerates. Simon & Schuster is owned by CBS, HarperCollins is owned by NewsCorp, Penguin and RandomHouse are jointly owned by Pearson and Bertelsmann, and Hachette is part of an enormous French company called Lagadère. These are not tiny, helpless enterprises. Were their owners interested in the future of … Read more