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Putting a Fresh Coat of Paint on Dragons

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Dragons are a Fantasy staple – for centuries, we’ve had myths of Knights in armor riding off to slay them and rescue the damsel in distress. Over time, they have been fleshed out into wise sages (Merlin), genetic creations to fight falling menaces (Pern), trainable, ridable critters (How to Train Your Dragon), and much more. In many ways, we’ve domesticated them. I haven’t seen a real, original take on dragons in years. Maybe I’m just not looking hard enough; maybe there’s not much more that can be done with them. So my questions to you today – how would you … Read more

Queer Sci Fi Flash Fiction Contest – Third Place Winner

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We’ve wrapped up the judging of the First Annual QSF Flash Fiction Contest early, so we’ll be sharing the top stories over the next 6 days. After that, most of the submitted stories will be posted on the site for everyone to enjoy. We had some fantastic submissions this year – congrats to everyone! All stories were limited to 300 words max, with the theme “endings”. Our third place winner is Alicia Nordwell – congrats, Alicia! Here’s the story – enjoy! First Contact By Alicia Nordwell The wall burst open. I trembled, retreating to my corner. “Hey.” I huddled into … Read more

Announcement: Sanguine, by P.T. Wyant

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Today we have a new vampire tale by QSFer P.T. Wyant: Kaen Yblis is a man with a past – if only he could remember it. He lost his memories in a duel with another vampire, and for centuries he has been alone, not even aware of all that had been torn from him. Until he meets Gregor Vladescu, a young human who stirs desires and emotions that Kaen didn’t know he had, and whose blood brings back fragments of memories. As Kaen returns to his ancient home, a threat from his past arises and threatens to once again tear … Read more

If Men Were the Ones Who Got Pregnant…

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From QSFer Tam Ames: “Mpreg. I don’t even like it, but it does seem like something that is tackled when talking sci-fi and there are readers who enjoy it. Maybe I could get more behind an alien that lays eggs if they were less humanoid. TN Tarrant i like mpreg just for the basic role reversal….it’s kinda fun making some poor male hormonally crazy.” Ah, a fun one. :) We’ve seen depictions on film of male pregnancy – most notably Arnold Schwarzenegger in Junior. And we’ve actually had some male pregnancies in the last few years – albeit in trans … Read more

Queer Sci Fi Flash Fiction Contest – Second Place Winner

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We’ve wrapped up the judging of the First Annual QSF Flash Fiction Contest early, so we’ll be sharing the top stories over the next 6 days. After that, most of the submitted stories will be posted on the site for everyone to enjoy. We had some fantastic submissions this year – congrats to everyone! All stories were limited to 300 words max, with the theme “endings”. Our second place winner is Mario Kai Lipinski – congrats, Mario! Here’s the story – enjoy! Riddles By Mario Kai Lipinski I’ll miss the Scent Fern the most. Its aroma, somewhere between spicy and … Read more

Announcement: Ilya and the Wolf, by Rory N. Coileain

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Today we have a new paranormal tale from QSFer Rory Coileain. Ilya is so deep in the closet he’d find Narnia if that wasn’t a decadent Western story. Volyk, a wolf who carries the blood of the ancient oboroten’, shapeshifters, longs to show him the way out, but if Ilya follows the wolf, two lives will change forever. Excerpt And the angel said unto them, be not afraid… Ilya was not afraid. Enraptured, yes. Entranced. But not afraid. He had been ready for death when he closed his eyes in the wolf’s embrace. Instead, he was whole, and awake, and … Read more

Making Magic

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Today we have two topics from QSFers that dovetail rather nicely. From Angel Martinez: “Magical systems – magic isn’t just ‘magic’ in a well built world. Different ways in which magic ‘works’.” And from Jim Comer: “Any belief system can be used for magical purposes, right? @Ayn Rand detailed an elaborate quasi-religion called @Objectivism. What dybbuks, haints and vodu spring from Right Principles? Can we do magick by proving that A is A?” So since we haven’t done a fantasy topic for a bit, I thought it might be fun to discuss magic. So for our writers out there – … Read more

QSF Flash Fiction Winner Announced

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We’ve wrapped up the judging of the First Annual QSF Flash Fiction Contest early, so we’ll be sharing the top stories over the next 6 days. After that, most of the submitted stories will be posted on the site for everyone to enjoy. We had some fantastic submissions this year – congrats to everyone! All stories were limited to 300 words max, with the theme “endings”. The winner of the contest is Cari Z – congrats, Cari! Here’s her story – enjoy! A Second Chance to Die Well By Cari Z It’s time to close the crypt. Dayell knows it. … Read more

Announcement: A Fallen Hero Rises, by M. Joseph Murphy

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QSFer M. Joseph Murphy has a Fantasy series out, starting with A Fallen Hero Rises: With the power to alter reality, Tadgh is the most powerful man on the planet. Which is why the demons want him. Three hundred years ago, a group of heroes imprisoned a dark god and his lieutenants in a hell dimension known as the Void. Since then, the people of Maghe Sihre have lived in relative peace. Now, a secret war brews at the edge of civilization. Tadgh Dooley, a young gay man from Earth, is burdened with a dangerous and impossible power. He has … Read more

Are Vampires Out of Style?

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So we just went through the whole True Blood and Twilight things, which at their hearts included prominent vampire characters. But they were also kind of a grab bag of paranormal characters, and lately, shifters have seemed to be ascendent. So are Vampire tales going out of style? As I’ve commented before, we’ve seen a gradual transition from vampires as evildoers in the dark of night to allegories for the LGBT experience or misunderstood lovers. I suspect that, for vamps to make another comeback, someone will have to find a new way in – another way to tell this age-old … Read more