readers
What I Read When I Was Young
FOR READERS Today’s reader topic comes from QSFer John Allenson: “Reading queerfic you read when you were young. Does it still hold up?” Hmmm… for me, there was so little out there at the time, at least that I was aware of or could find. I read “The Dancers of Arun” by Elizabeth A. Lynn, which was the first thing I ever read that contained a (in retrospect) tame sex scene, but geez… And then there was Larque on the Wing, which helped spark my interest in magical realism. But I haven’t read them since – I probably should! So … Read more
For Readers: Vote With Your Dollar
FOR READERS Today’s reader topic comes from QSFer ‘Nathan Smith: “How consciously do readers ‘vote with their dollar’? By which I mean I try very hard to purchase and pre-order LGBTIQA and AoC authors, #ownvoices, etc.?” I’m gonna expand Nathan’s topic scope a bit. I’d also like to ask, do you withhold your purchases from authors who you think have acted badly? Someone notoriously anti gay, for instance? Someone who has plagiarized in the past? Someone who has acted badly at cons? Or is the quality of the writing the most important thing? No name calling or calling out here … Read more
For Readers: It’s in the Cards
FOR READERS Today’s reader topic comes from QSFer Kari Trenten: I’d also love a discussion on tarot cards, since their imagery has a strong impact on some of the novels and plots I’m working on. That’s a great topic – have y’all read anything that used Tarot VCards as a device or as part of the plot? 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
For Readers: Alternative History
FOR READERS Today’s writer topic comes from QSFer John Allenson: “What do you think are good turning points?” I’ll elaborate a little on John’s question. Most alternate histories choose a point in our own past and ask the question – what if this had gone the other way?: What if Hitler had won WWII? What if the black plague had killed everyone in Europe? What if the Dark Ages had never happened? What if the Japanese had discovered North America first? So what are some alternate histories you’d like to see? What point in history would you suggest be changed, … Read more
For Readers: Slice of Life
Today’s reader topic comes from QSFer John Allenson: What about gay science fiction that is not about dashing heroics but just describes a mundane life in a fantastical future? I do really get into some of the little day to day details of the future, like the last episode of “Weeds” that predicted a coffee-bar style chain of marijuana stores. Or the way near-future tech worked in the everyday world in “Her”. 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
Asta’s Annotations: The Death of Punctuation, or the Decline of the Reader?
Anyone who knows me well will know semicolons are punctuation marks about which my views are passionate. Unfortunately, many digital/small publishing houses do not appear to agree. Notes from editors frequently come through to me with requests to remove all (or at least some) of my semicolons since they are ‘specialised punctuation’. My response to this (in my head) is to ask: Since when? Now, this column is by no means intended as a rant against any publishers or fellow editors; I merely use it to illustrate a point. I fully accept that each publishing house has its own preferences, … Read more
Refill the Reader Topics Bucket!
Hey all, We’re almost out of reader topics, so we need your help. As readers, what would you like to talk about? We’re looking for topics all across the LGBTIQA/QUILTBAG/Queer spectrum, and up and down the speculative fiction one – sci fi, fantasy, paranormal and horror, and all the various flavors too. It can deal with fan fiction, reading, cons, characters, tropes you like and hate, stories you’d like to see, and much much more. We’ll do another of these in a couple weeks for writer topics. For this one, lets concentrate on reader topics only. :)
For Readers: Tropes We Hate
Today’s reader topic comes from QSFer Angel Martinez: We’ve talked a lot about the tropes you love (and when I say trope I mean story component/ archetype, not cliche.) What tropes are guaranteed to make you walk away from a book, and why? 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