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Announcement: Arrival, by Michelle Robbins

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Michelle Robins at Amber Quill Press has a new MM sci fi romance out, part of her Urilqii series: Life for Liam Sinclair used to be easy. Raves, work, sleep. Lather, rinse, repeat. Yet all of that changed with the arrival of the Urilqii…space aliens, technically, although they looked like everybody else. But if that wasn’t freaky enough, they arrived on Earth to thwart a global usurpation by beings they called The Targolt. Climate change, long-denied, was proof of the invasion. Although at first Liam was as skeptical as everyone else, he couldn’t deny one fantastic truth—those space-faring alien dudes … Read more

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

Zzzzzzzzzz….

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OK, folks, sorry I’m a little late this morning. I slept in until 7:30 (my usual wake-up time is 5:30-6) and it felt GLORIOUS! Which inspired the topic for the day. What’s the future of sleep? More specifically, what new ways might we find to alleviate sleep problems? Could we find a way to get rid of sleep altogether, opening up more productive hours in the day (in either the good sense or the dark Big Brother you gotta work sense)? What other future incarnations might sleep take?

What Do Y’all Want to Talk About?

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Hey all, It’s that time again – time to fill up the topics well for the next month or so. We’ve done a lot of sci fi lately, so I’d like to see some fantasy and paranormal topics as well. Also, some more topics from a reader’s perspective. So what do y’all think? Share your ideas below – one per comment to make it easy on me – and if we use them, you’ll get the credit! xxoo –Scott

Announcement and Giveaway: Iron Axe, by Steven Harper

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QSFer Steven Harper has a new fantasy book out – we’re giving away two copies, so comment on this post with your name and email, and we’ll pick the winners on 1/12: Although Danr’s mother was human, his father was one of the hated Stane, a troll from the mountains. Now Danr has nothing to look forward to but a life of disapproval and mistrust, answering to “Trollboy” and condemned to hard labor on a farm. Until, without warning, strange creatures come down from the mountains to attack the village. Spirits walk the land, terrifying the living. Trolls creep out … Read more

Giving a Character a Sex Change

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Hi all… for today’s topic, I’m tapping into my current experience on a story I’m reworking. It was originally a “straight” sci fi story that I wrote maybe 25 years ago. Needless to say, the tech is waaaaay out of date. In my initial update, I brought it up to now, but because this is a future story, I got called on it, and am working out what tech will be like in 10-15 years. But that’s not today’s topic. Today, I’m ruminating and masticating (new word of the day calendar, anyone?) on changing a character from female to male, … Read more

Announcement: Hiding in Plain Sight, by Kathryn Sullivan

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Amber Quill Press has a free sci fi short available from Kathryn Sullivan. Not sure this one is LGBT, but it’s a free read and looks interesting. :) A mysterious box containing a blue crystal is the only warning to the alien invasion. Can Ceily and her group of fellow telepaths protect Earth from the otherworldly slavers? Excerpt …Recovering, she delved again. The stone was undeniably natural, yet her mind fitted into a linkage with its structure that could be more powerful than that with Derrel’s prototype psi-amplifier. Who would send this? Why? I’d love to see the expression on … Read more

Ten Years From Today

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I’m writing a near-future story – one of several I’ve been working on. And it got me thinking. Ten years ago, many of the tech toys we take for granted – the iPhone, iPad/tablets, Twitter, and many more didn’t even exist. And Facebook was a small website for connecting students on college campuses. So I’m asking everyone to dust off their crystal balls and answer this question: What are three transformative technologies or gadgets we will take for granted in 2025 that either don’t exist yet or are in their infancies today?

Announcement: London Steam, by Lynn Townsend

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QSFer Lynn Townsend has a new Steampunk book out (note – contains two m/m stories and two m/m/f stories): In a reimagined 1890’s London, where steam-driven airships rule the skies and monsters roam the streets, the Galileo Observatory’s Club for Gentlemen welcomes all — gwr, shape-changers, vampires, and lords. A high-stakes game leads more than a few men astray. Poindexter Fitzhughes, renowned hero and scientist, learns just how much trouble a full-blooded gwr can be when he attempts to cure his lover, Lord Seth Maitland, of the disease. But when their backs are against the wall, the two must learn … Read more

How Graphic Should Speculative Fiction Be?

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Today’s topic coems from QSFer Tam Ames: “Spec Fiction can often be more graphic than traditional romance. I was thinking about the Charm of Magpies and I actually put a warning in my reviews that there was some very graphic bloody scenes. It is sold as m/m (which it should be) but it’s certainly more graphic than most. How graphic do people like their sci-fi? “Do you prefer it more sanitized with the emphasis on relationships and not gore? Whatever works? Before I found m/m I read mostly crime fiction and there were some very graphic novels about serial killers … Read more