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FOR WRITERS: ARCs and Street Teams

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FOR WRITERS Today’s writer topic comes from QSFer Jana Denardo: I’ve been seeing a rise in ‘street teams’ or ‘ARC teams’ where arcs are given out so there will be reviews on/around release day. Has anyone tried this? has it improved sales? How have you chosen your team? (I’ve seen requests go out in vast email lists which seems like an unlikely way to do it). Join the chat

Asta’s Annotations: The Trickster God as Queer Icon

Trickster gods occur in many cultures and often demonstrate a certain gender and/or sexual fluidity. For today’s post I will concentrate on one: Norse trickster Loki.

Loki practices forms of magic which, in Norse culture, mark him as effeminate. He’s also a gender-bending shapeshifter, as demonstrated in the following tale….

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FOR READERS AND WRITERS: A Very Special Valentine’s Day

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In honor of the holiday, I thought it would be fun to share your favorite spec fic Valentine’s Day stories. This chat is for both readers and writers. Here are the parameters: Readers: What are some of your favorite Valentine’s Day themed stories that are also speculative fiction? Writers: Have you written any spec fic V-Day themed stories? And if not, what might you write about, if given the chance?

Review: “Transcendent” – Boogieman In Lavender

Transcendent

“Transcendent,” edited by K.M. Szpara, is the latest “Best Of” collection from Lethe Press. The question arises, would there be enough Transgender-related speculative fiction for a full anthology, let alone an annual series? The answer, judging from the fifteen stories assembled here, is “yes.” The stories display a surprising variety, never straying from Trans characters, (some not obvious) or themes. Transformation is an obvious recurring motif in the stories but when it occurs, it is often in subtle and startlingly different, and entertaining ways. “The Librarian’s Dilemma,” by E. Saxey, features a group “seeding” an archive, The Hairad Collection, which … Read more