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History & Alternate History

Announcement: Eye of Scota, by Serena Yates

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Eye of Scota

QSFer Serena Yates has a new Fantasy/Sci Fi book out: In 845 a group of Gaels fleeing the Vikings stumbled through the mystic Eye of Scota and found safety on a planet they named Dalriata. Seven centuries later, the arrival of the Crìosdaidh religion changed everything. Fugitives stopped appearing, and the newly established Council of Priests used the energy of Slànach Stones to enforce their religious laws. But by 2500 the Stones’ power is dwindling. The High Priest is desperate—none of the warriors sent to find more Stones have returned. Cináed MacAlpin, a young healer priest, is chosen to undertake … Read more

Announcement: The Lusty Adventures of Theseus, by Arthur Griffin

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The Lusty Adventures of Theseus

QSFer Arthur Griffin has a new fantasy book out: The myth of Theseus and the Minotaur has never been quite this steamy! Handsome Theseus journeys to Athens to claim his birthright as heir to the throne, and along the way he meets the roguish Pirithous, who teaches him all about matters of the heart—and body. When they reach the city, Theseus is shocked to discover that his father, the king, has a tradition of sacrificing youths to the Minotaur, the monster that inhabits the island nation of Crete. Theseus and Pirithous set out to slay the Minotaur. After learning Crete … Read more

For Writers: Steampunk and Alternate History

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Steampunk

Today’s writer topic comes from QSFer Therese Woodson: OK, so she didn’t give me a whole lot to work with here: “And Steampunk/Alt history discussions.” So I’ll just run with it. As writers, we have a unique opportunity with historical pieces – we can go back and take some event or period that was especially difficult for the LGBTIQA community and rewrite it to correct the wrongs of history. Or sometimes to just hilight them. And steampunk makes it even more fun. So my questions today: Have you written any steampunk or alternative history? If so, what period of time … Read more

Announcement: The Shining Ones, by Dusk Peterson

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QSFer Dusk Peterson has a new Alternate History book out: “He was skilled by now at making innocuous remarks in the presence of the Shining Ones. Nobody had even guessed that he knew what they were.” The Eternal Dungeon is filled with prisoners who shine like the sun. No one knows this except Barrett Boyd, a guard notorious for having survived a disciplinary punishment that should have killed him. He is also notorious for his rebellion against the authorities of the royal prison. At a pivotal time in the Eternal Dungeon’s history, when abusive practices of the past may finally … Read more

Announcement: Servant or Slave, by Dusk Peterson

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Servant or Slave

QSFer Dusk Peterson has a new alternate history book out: Is service a privilege or a chain? Two young men face this question. Both live in the Dozen Landsteads, where life centers on the nation’s Bay. One young man lives at the beginning of the twentieth century, the other in the sixteenth century. Both youths possess masters. But do the masters have their best interests at heart? “Servant or Slave” presents twin tales of love, faithfulness, and responsibility. It can be read on its own or as a side story in Waterman, a speculative fiction series set in an alternative … Read more

Announcement: The Mazarinette and the Musketeer, by Heather Rose Jones

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QSFer Heather Rose Jones has a new free Historical Fantasy story out: In the turbulent France of 1678, Hortense Mancini, Duchesse Mazarine takes on the disguise of a King’s Musketeer to pursue her love affair with Anne Lennard, Countess of Sussex. She crosses paths with a true Musketeer, and with Aphra Behn, English playwright and spy, both seeking to retrieve letters between the kings of France and England that could prove ruinous. Every disguise and plan is threatened by the arrival of a young woman who seeks to gain fame by besting a Musketeer in a duel—and now she has … Read more

Announcement: The Last Atlantean, by Odin Alexander

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The Last Atlantean

QSFer Odin Alexander has a new sci fi book out: The Village was the place to see and be seen in 1920’s New York. Jazz, flappers, and endless parties. Doctor Josef Norwich is a brilliant psychoanalyst but bored with his clients who see his profession as another amusement to fill their gin-drenched time. Then there is Hyperion Walsh, an enigmatic spiritualist who has gained fame by exposing fake mediums while promoting his own authentic talents, as a showman. Once on Josef’s couch, he begins relating an extraordinary life that Josef isn’t sure is real. As he probes Walsh, Josef suddenly … Read more

Announcement: Because You Despise Me, by JS Cook

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Because You Despise Me

DSPP author JS Cook has a new historical book out: When Feldwebel Horst Stussel is murdered in Jake Plenty’s Moroccan brothel, local police chief Nicolas Renard suspects Jake’s involvement in the crime. Renard has loved Jake since their service in the Legion Etrangère during the Great War, but in this era of concentration camps, gas chambers, and the infamous pink triangle, his love for the American dare not speak its name. When sadistic Nazi officer Major Danzig, a fanatic who excels at the arts of torture and interrogation, comes to Maarif, it isn’t because of the Feldwebel. He is in … Read more

For Readers: Favorite Sci Fi Subgenres

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sci fi genres

There are many flavors of science fiction. There’s the classic sci fi of Clarke and Bradbury and Asimov, the steam driven anachronism of steam punk, the virtual world of cyberpunk, alternative histories in which things turned out very differently, hard sci fi that deals with space ships and fission and fusion, and romantic sci fi where the relationships are often as important (if not more so) than the science. These are just a few, So what’s your favorite subgenre of sci fi, and why? Give a few examples (extra points for LGBT works!). Authors, feel free to participate in this … Read more

Announcement: Kaminishi: Four Seasons, by Jan Suzukawa

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Kaminishi: Four Seasons

DSPP author Jan Suzukawa has a new fantasy/historical book out: Michael Holden and Shintaro Kawakami have put Shintaro’s yakuza past behind them and started a new life together in Tokyo. For Michael, the relationship is the joyous reunion he dreamed of. The love he traveled through time for is his again, and this time it’s for good. But echoes from that summer long ago are never far away—and for the two men, winter is on the horizon. From the past to the present and as the seasons turn—love always comes around again when the cherry blossoms bloom. Sequel to Kaminishi … Read more