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History

U=(N/T)M*G: Pandora

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A big red globe, with a black starburst in the center, surrounded by red spines.

Ah, climate change. A host of chaos in the near future because of it, no matter what we do now. Intensified storms, higher seawater levels, habitat destruction. Lots of stuff to keep us busy for years. We can throw one more middle finger on top of that pile. Ancient viruses. Yep. You read that right. Scientists are already pulling samples out of the increasingly warm Siberian permafrost, and quite a few of these viruses are still viable. No, there’s no need to panic, yet. It’s that yet which is the problem. First, these viruses are the super big ones and … Read more

Romosexuality: Queer Love in Ancient Times

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roman centurion in front of the Colosseum - deposit photos

Greek homosexuality has been set upon a pedestal, deemed a worthy and respectable model for romance by philosophers, writers and lovers alike. The reality is, though, that love and sex for the queer community owe more to the ancient Romans. Their approach was grittier, dirtier and sometimes just as romantic. However, it’s an outlook on sex and love we are only now coming to embrace. Ancient Greece’s appeal to gay men is much better known. Pioneering activists such as John Addington Symonds (1840-1893) and George Cecil Ives (1867-1950) turned to Greece as a respectable model. It offered them a legitimising … Read more

Possible Roman Sex Toy Found in Ancient Roman Fort in Northern England

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roman sex toy?

A six-and-half-inch wooden penis discovered at a Roman fort in northern England could be the first-known example of a dildo – rather than as a darning needle, as archaeologists first assumed. The carved member was discovered in a ditch alongside dozens of shoes and dress accessories from the 2nd century, at Vindolanda – a Roman auxiliary fort in Northumberland – in 1992. Originally, the artefact was catalogued as a darning needle but new analysis by experts at Newcastle University and University College Dublin suggest it might have been used during sex. Research by the scientists has revealed that both ends … Read more

Review: The Lusty Journey of Perseus – Arthur Griffin

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The Lusty Journey of Perseus - Arthur Griffin

Genre: Historical, Erotic LGBTQ+ Category: Gay Reviewer: Linda, Paranormal Romance Guild Get It On Amazon About The Book You’ve never heard the story of Perseus and Medusa told quite like this before! At just nineteen, the handsome and naive Perseus is given a devastating choice: venture out into the world for the first time to slay the monster Medusa, or watch his mother be forcibly married to his homeland’s tyrannical king. Raised on a small island nation where most everyone goes naked and the main activity is fishing, Perseus is ill-prepared for a quest that includes any sort of danger. … Read more

New Release / Giveaway: Sigrid & Elyn – Edale Lane

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Sigrid & Elyn - Edale Lane

Edale Lane has a new FF alt history mystery romance book out: Sigrid & Elyn. Attracted by passion, repelled by war. Can two shieldmaidens navigate battlegrounds of the sword and the heart? Pre-Viking Scandinavia. Sigrid the Valiant is legendary throughout the kingdoms of Norvegr, along with her twin brother, for their many heroic deeds, but her heart has not found a home. Now, racing on the heels of their father’s murder, a neighboring kingdom’s raids threaten to cause an all-out war. Elyn is a young shieldmaiden with a score to settle, fighting her own insecurities along with enemies who threaten … Read more

George Cecil Ives – Boogieman in Lavender

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books - deposit photos

George Cecil Ives was gay before it was cool and openly gay before that was accepted. He was British and founded a secret society for “Homosexuals” called “The Order of Chaeronea” named after a battle where male lovers of the Theban Band had been slaughtered nearly 1500 years before. Ives co-founded what became the British Sexological Society, one of the first groups to take the study of human sexuality seriously. He knew Oscar Wilde personally and knew Lord Alfred Douglas intimately. And he was a writer. He wrote poetry, one novel and plenty of non-fiction. We know all this, because … Read more

Was Joan of Arc Non-Binary?

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Joan of Arc

As a new production reimagining Joan of Arc as a gender non-conforming hero sparks predictable backlash, historian Florence Scott explains why it’s impossible to define Joan’s gender through our modern lens. A new play at Shakespeare’s Globe theatre, I, Joan, imagines Joan of Arc as a queer figure who uses they/them gender-neutral pronouns. Though simply an artistic interpretation of Joan that offers “the possibility of another point of view”, this portrayal has been considered controversial by those alarmed by the perceived de-gendering or re-gendering of a famous historical character as non-binary. Full Story from Pink News

Preorder: The Cooking Mage and the Parchment Prankster Book Three – Eric Alan Westfall

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The Cooking Mage & The Parchment Prankster Part Three

QSFer Eric Alan Westfall has a new MM historical fantasy romance coming out on September 21st – preorder now: The Cooking Mage & The Parchment Prankster Part Three. The foreseen four happened. Both “prince” and “mouse” survived the 19th. Now everyone knows Georg’s more than a six-nine (rounded up) scarred cooking mage. He’s a deadly warrior who knows how to use the magickal sword gifted to him by Saint Brunhilde of the Blade. The story about Lord Mouse using parchment magick in the ballroom battle is ridiculous, but he’s the only one with the power to stop the conspirators from … Read more

Preorder: The Cooking Mage and the Parchment Prankster Book Two – Eric Alan Westfall

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The Cooking Mage and the Parchment Master Part Two - Eric Alan Westfall

QSFer Eric Alan Westfall has a new MM historical fantasy romance coming out on September 14th – preorder now: The Cooking Mage & The Parchment Prankster Part Two. Despite the fogged future, the Seers have finally Seen that if the foreseen four get together, it’ll be in Berlin, on 19 July 1890, at the Crown Prince’s birthday ball.  The conspirators’ 15 July to-do list is simple. On or before the 19th: (1) kill the Prince, (2) kill Lord Mouse, and (4) stop the dancing. Or at least succeed with one. Oh, and ignore (3) since they haven’t figured out which … Read more

Preorder: The Cooking Mage and the Parchment Prankster Book One – Eric Alan Westfall

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The Cooking Mage and the Parchment Prankster Book One - Eric Alan Westfall

QSFer Eric Alan Westfall has a new MM historical fantasy romance coming out on September 7th – preorder now: The Cooking Mage & The Parchment Prankster Part One. If the “foreseen four”—prince, mouse, saint, dancing—happen together it might wreck a twenty-year plot worth billions, and the future is so fogged-up the Seers can’t See a date and place. Just 1890. But the conspirators have finally identified the young prince. Which makes their 1874 to-do list: (1) Kill the prince; (2) find the mouse, and figure out (3) which saint and (4) what dancing. Only it’s now 1890. Were they wrong … Read more