queer
FOR READERS AND WRITERS: “Queer”
Today’s writer topic comes from QSFer Ben Brock: “What do you think of the word queer?” I’ll add a little context. Queer was once used as an extremely negative word toward the gay community in particular and the LGBTIQA community in general. As our acronyms have qotten longer, many folks have searched for an easier shorthand for the community, but the word still carries its own baggage too. We’ve adopted it for a number of our ventures, but I (Scott) am more comfortable with it than Mark, my slightly older husband. How do y’all feel about it, and why? Join … Read more
ANNOUNCEMENT: Shadow Fray, by Bradley Lloyd
DSP Publications author Bradley Lloyd has a new queer sci fi book out: Family is worth fighting for—and family doesn’t always mean blood. No one knows what calamity poisoned the earth and decimated the human population, but living close to the toxic ground means illness and death. Justin is determined to keep his twin sister and younger brother from that fate—no matter what he has to do. To earn enough to keep his family safe in a high-rise, Justin enlists in a deadly sport called Shadow Fray. He quickly finds himself in over his head, especially when he is scheduled to face … Read more
PROFILE: The First Queer Astronaut
For eons, humanity has looked towards the stars and yearned to reach them – to explore distant moons and planets, and touch the very edges of the universe. In the last 50 years, we have made incredible progress, setting foot on the moon, landing robots on Mars and even beaming pictures back from as far away as Pluto. An important part of that journey was Sally Ride, the first known LGBT astronaut. More than 330 American astronauts have made it to space, but Ride was the first American woman – and LGBT person – to go into space, taking the … Read more
FOR READERS: My LGBT Community
FOR READERS Today’s reader topic comes from QSFer A. Catherine Noon: How do you see the “LGBTIQA community” where you are in the world? I’m in the States, and I think, for me anyway, there’s a tendency to have blinders on in terms of our multi-country origins. Being LGBT isn’t unique to any one locale. We know cultural differences are real; to what extent do you see that affecting your own LGBT community specifically? I’d add to Catherine’s question – do you feel like you are connected to your local LGBTIQA community? Writers: This is a reader chat – you … Read more
ANNOUNCEMENT: The Helena Orbit, by James Dunham
QSFer James Dunham has a new queer sci fi book out: Philosophically brilliant and thoughtful, James Dunham’s debut novel, The Helena Orbit, charts a twisting and skillful course through the volatile pitfalls of family and politics, the thrill of scientific exploration, and the quiet, musical stirrings of humanity alone in the sublime void of space. After 500 years of deep space travel, the inhabitants on board the colony ship Euclid, both artistic and scientific, celebrate their arrival in orbit above the planet Helena. Everywhere young scientist Edwyn Santiago looks, the inhabitants of the colony ship Euclid seem restless. Centuries of … Read more
ANNOUNCEMENT: Gatecrasher, by Stephen Graham King
QSFer Stephen Graham King has a new queer sci fi book out: The Maverick Heart is bored. That is until ey discovers a top team of engineers and scientists in a barren, backwater system have created the Gate, a stable, artificial wormhole that will revolutionize interplanetary travel forever. Breaching the wall of secrecy around this radical new technology is a temptation too sweet for em and es human partners, Keene and Lexa-Blue to resist. Ember Avanti is a thief, with the highest of high tech toys in his arsenal. And he’s damned good at it, too. But, sooner or later, … Read more
ANNOUNCEMENT: Summerwode, By J. Tullos Hennig
QSFer J. Tullos Hennig has a new queer fantasy book out: The Summer King has come to the Wode… Yet to which oath, head or heart, shall he hold? Once known as the Templar assassin Guy de Gisbourne, dispossessed noble Gamelyn Boundys has come to Sherwood Forest with conflicting oaths. One is of duty: demanding he tame the forest’s druidic secrets and bring them back to his Templar Masters. The other is of heat and heart: given to the outlaw Robyn Hood, avatar of the Horned Lord, and the Maiden Marion, embodiment of the Lady Huntress. The three of them—Summerlord, Winter King, … Read more
Writers and Readers Help Chechnya’s Queer Community
When the news started coming out of Chechnya about the organized police campaign of torture, imprisonment and murder being conducted against men perceived to be gay, it hit me hard. Growing up in the Netherlands just a few decades after World War II, I learned to dread authoritarianism and genocide — authoritarianism’s frequent offspring — early on in life. On school and family outings we visited houses with secret rooms where families had provided refuge to Jews as they sought to escape Occupied Europe. Every summer, we would drive through northern Germany to see my cousins, and my mom would announce the … Read more
ANNOUNCEMENT: Edging, by Michael Schutz
QSFer Michael Schutz has a new queer horror book out: Intenze is the newest designer drug. Take it, and nightmares come alive. “Edging” is a better rush than the Tower of Terror. It’s a fraction of the price of a Six Flags admission. And it’s the most addictive high the tiny suburb of New London has ever known. Amazon Excerpt “Take these,” Scott said. He held out his hand, where two Intenze lay in his palm. Josh snuggled deeper into the crook of Trevor’s arm. He’d been half-asleep in his boyfriend’s bed. How had Scott found him? And why does … Read more