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SCIENCE: Game of Thrones Hits the Deep Seas

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Hodor Hodor

Marine worms that dwell in the numbing cold of the deep ocean don’t care if winter is coming. Be that as it may, several newly described species of these worms now owe their names to “Game of Thrones,” inspired by the remorseless Arya Stark (Abyssarya acus) and everyone’s favorite man of few words, Hodor (Hodor hodor and Hodor anduril). The deep-sea worms are part of a family called Polynoidae, which includes about 900 species. These newfound creatures were collected during an expedition to the equatorial Pacific Ocean, at depths of between 13,000 and 16,000 feet (4,000 and 5,000 meters), scientists … Read more

ANNOUNCEMENT/GIVEAWAY: LV48, by Matt Doyle

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LV48

QSFer Matt Doyle has a new lesbian sci fi mystery out, book three in the Cassie Tam Files: LV48. New Hopeland City may be the birthplace of Tech Shifter gear, but it isn’t the only place that likes to blend technology with folklore. Now, a new nightmare is stalking the streets… When PI Cassie Tam is attacked on the way home one night, she expects the police to get involved. What she doesn’t expect is to be forced into acting as bait to lure out a lunatic in a tech-suit that’s literally out for blood. But past actions have consequences, … Read more

FOR WRITERS: Old School Scary

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FOR WRITERS Today’s writer topic comes from QSFer Angel Martinez: Old school paranormal and return to the scary. So often these days when people say “paranormal,” they mean sexpot vampires and shifters with fated mates. But there’s so much more to paranormal fiction – and sometimes it’s even scary, per the original intent. What makes a story scary for you? What’s the difference between “Eek! That was shocking!” and “omgomgomg, don’t leave me alone, don’t make me go in the basement, I need to turn on all the lights in the house.” Writers: This is a reader chat – you … Read more

TV: Is Dr. Who About to Come Out?

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Dr. Who

Thanksgiving has just ended but Doctor Who and the BBC have fans, especially LGBT and ally fans, awaiting New Year’s with great joy. A sneak peek of the show’s New Year’s episode has some fans wondering if the Doctor is going to come out of the closet. The show’s Twitter account posted pictures of Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor wearing a rainbow scarf with fireworks behind her. Some fans have read the look as a hint that the 13th Doctor will start a queer relationship with her colleague Yaz. This possibility has previously been implied by characters in the show. Others think … Read more

REVIEW: Something to Celebrate, by Evelyn Benvie

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Something to Celebrate

Title: Something to Celebrate Series: Escape from the Holidays Collection Author: Evelyn Benvie Genre: Paranormal, Holiday LGBTQ+ Category: M/NB, demisexual Publisher: Mischief Corner Books Pages: 84 Blurb: Niko doesn’t hate the holidays; that would require too much commitment. He just doesn’t care about them anymore. He’s a demi, disillusioned mess and he doesn’t care about much at all. That is, until an enticing stranger blows into his life this Christmas and catches his attention—and his heart. Amazon Review: “Human belief was a fickle and fluid thing.” I found “Something to Celebrate” to be poetic and beautiful. Niko doesn’t celebrate holidays. … Read more

ANNOUNCEMENT: A Swan for Christmas, by M.M. Wilde

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A Swan for Christmas

QSFer M.M. Wilde has a new mm shifter holiday romance book out: A Swan for Christmas. A Swan for Christmas is Book Four in the Vale Valley shared world series filled with lots of mpreg and sweet forever-afters! An Alpha wolf and an omega swan can’t be fated mates… Right? Abandoned by his swan herd and lost in a snowstorm, Kellan has nowhere to go. When he’s near death, he’s discovered by a wolf shifter in the woods surrounding a mysterious town filled with magic and hope. Could there also be love? Vic, the owner of Vale Valley Inn and … Read more

FOR READERS: When is It Queer?

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FOR READERS Today’s reader topic comes from QSFer Paula Wyant: How much does a character’s sexuality have to feature explicitly in a story for it to fall into the LGBTQUIA category? Do they have to be a relationship? Does the relationship have to be the central focus to the story? What’s enough to make a story queer? Writers: This is a reader chat – you are welcome to join it, but please do not reference your own works directly. Thanks! Join the chat

SCIENCE: What Is Dark Matter?

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dark matter - pixabay

In the 1930s, a Swiss astronomer named Fritz Zwicky noticed that galaxies in a distant cluster were orbiting one another much faster than they should have been given the amount of visible mass they had. He proposed than an unseen substance, which he called dark matter, might be tugging gravitationally on these galaxies. Since then, researchers have confirmed that this mysterious material can be found throughout the cosmos, and that it is six times more abundant than the normal matter that makes up ordinary things like stars and people. Yet despite seeing dark matter throughout the universe, scientists are mostly … Read more

FOR WRITERS/READERS: Fighting Sexism and Racism

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FOR WRITERS/READERS Today’s writer topic comes from QSFer Anastasia Vitsky: Many proponents of sci-fi point to acceptance of “difference” as why it’s a great genre. However, protagonists of sci tend to be, overwhelmingly, white men. I’m not talking about a secondary character or a walk-on, but the main character whose actions are integral to every major plot point. What responsibility do we have, as authors and readers of queer sci-fi, to work against sexism, racism, and exclusion in the books we read and write? Join the chat

ANNOUNCEMENT/GIVEAWAY: The Holiday Spirit, by Carole Cummings

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The Holiday Spirit

QSFer Carole Cummings has a new MM paranormal holiday book out – The Holiday Spirit. It’s hard being the PA for the Holiday Spirit. Julian is more dedicated than most, and knows the job inside and out. But that doesn’t mean he’ll still have a job when the new Holiday Spirit is elected. It also doesn’t mean he’s immune to the *cough* charms of the office, but that’s a whole other problem. Amazon | iBooks | Barnes & Noble | Kobo About the Escape from the Holidays Collection For the second year in a row, Mischief Corner Books is putting … Read more