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Why Aren’t We Writing More Non-Romance LGBT Speculative Fiction?

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This is a topic near and dear to my own heart. I started writing more than forty years ago when I was a little kid – I always felt the need to write. And as I grew older and realized I was gay, I wanted to include LGBT characters in my work. At first, I was really tentative about it – back in the late 80’s and early 90’s, there were very few LGBt characters in sci fi and fantasy, and I could count on one hand the books that had major protagonists who were gay. Fast forward to now, … Read more

Interview: Sweet Fire, by Sarah and Shannen Brady

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QSFers Sarah and Shannen Brady have a new paranormal book out in their Gifted universe, their first MM title: Between Homeland Security’s Gifted Agenda and the bigotry of a fearful populace, having paranormal Gifts is a dangerous thing. Pyrokinetic Aaron Flores knows firsthand how difficult it can be to control his power. Still, he runs his bakery and never gives up on finding his Happily Ever After. When Aaron’s cousin asks him to check on her former EMT partner, Aaron’s chance has finally arrived. He’s determined not to let anything stop him from catching (and keeping) his man. Ramón Del … Read more

Cookie Cutter Characters

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Today’s topic comes from QSFer Tammy Jenkins: “cookie cutter characters (LGBTQIA individuals come in all shapes and sizes)”. As a writer, I have a tendency to reach for the familiar – I often write characters who share traits with people I know or have met – it’s a natural thing to do. But sometimes we go beyond this tendency and write characters like others in our given genre. And these can veer pretty easily into tropes. Who hasn’t read an MM story with a handsome, strong, blond and blue-eyed hero? Or the dark haired, dashing bad boy? So my questions … Read more

Announcement: Fountain of the Worlds, by Laney Cairo

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Laney Cairo has a new paranormal MM romance out: Island ran away from his past and settled into a new life as a bar owner in Melbourne, Australia, with a quietly promising relationship with Faith, his manager. The past hasn’t forgotten Island, however, which is obvious when Schröd! inger, the talking cat, arrives at the bar. Island’s allegiances to his ex-lover, Trouble, draw Island and Faith to the City and into a territorial dispute for a small corner of the universe. Faith’s willingness to trust Island and Trouble, and her innate sneakiness, are all that stand between their team and … Read more

Your Favorite 2014 Read

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Since it’s the last day of 2014 (and the first day of 2015 for our friends on the other side of the International Date Line), I thought we’d keep it simple today. So looking back, what was your favorite LGBT speculative fiction read? And why? If it’s too hard to choose – you can name a couple. :)

The Post-Apocalyptic Diet

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What would we eat in the event of global catastrophe? Two researchers have come up with the answers and let’s just say that it involves plenty of bacterial slime and rats. In a new book titled Feeding Everyone No Matter What, risk researchers have imagined eight scenarios where some calamity destroyed our ability to grow crops. The list includes sudden climate change, super-weeds, super-bacteria, super-pests, super-pathogens, super-volcano eruption, asteroid impact, and nuclear winter.2 The authors of the book, Joshua Pearce at Michigan Technological University and David Denkenberger at the Global Catastrophic Risk Institute, were tired of people imagining apocalyptic scenarios … Read more

New Settings for Sci Fi and Fantasy

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Today’s topic comes from QSFer Jim Comer: “Where are the tales of Santa Muerte? Of the demons that infest Google Glass? What haunts the Pacific Garbage Patch? Yuck!” Our world is full of cultures and situations ripe to be exploited in LGBT sci fi, fantasy, and even paranormal. To add to Jim’s list above: –Are supernatural forces behind Global Warming to get hot guys naked? –Is the local Farmer’s Market a modern-day portal into Faery? –Will Uber’s software become self-aware and take over the world? Let’s have a little fun today and mine the culture for some great new story … Read more

Anime Characters from “Legends of Korra” Confirmed as Lesbians

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The co-creators of anime series ‘Legends of Korra’ have confirmed that two main characters are a lesbian couple. The American TV series – based on hit series Avatar: The Last Airbender – appeared to break new ground for children’s TV. Fans have long suspected that the series was building towards a romance for protagonist Korra and best friend Asami, with their closeness and strong bond a central theme for the show. The show’s closing moments appeared to confirm the rumours – when the pair walked off to the spirit world together hand-in-hand. Full Story at Pink News

Me Me Monday

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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