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Weird Westerns

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Today’s topic comes from QSFer Cynthia Ward: “LGBT Weird Westerns? I would think Weird Western fantasies of any subgenre would cover a lot of WW territory? (supernatural horror, dark fantasy, urban fantasy, magic realism, occult, high fantasy, steampunk fantasy, fantastic bizarro, fantastique, fairytale, fantasy surrealism, etc).” OK, I’m game. One of my favorite underrated sci fi movies of the last ten years was Cowboys and Aliens. I was hooked from the moment I heard the titles, and I may have been the only one, but I thought the movie was awesome. Then, of course, there’s Firefly, the ultimate Western in space, … Read more

Announcement: Seidman, by James Erich

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QSFer James Erich has a re-release – an historic YA Fantasy novel out: In Viking Age Iceland, where boys are expected to grow into strong farmers and skilled warriors, there is little place for a sickly twelve-year-old boy like Kol until he catches the eye of a seið-woman—a sorceress—and becomes her apprentice. Kol travels to the sorceress’s home, where her grandson, Thorbrand, takes Kol under his wing. Before long Kol discovers something else about himself that is different—something else that sets him apart as unmanly: Kol has fallen in love with another boy. But the world is changing in ways that threaten those … Read more

Going to Hell (and Heaven)

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For our paranormal topic today, I thought we’d talk about angels and demons and the religious angle of the paranormal genre. There’s lots to work with here – Heaven and Hell themselves, gay angels (oh, the wings), misunderstood demons, exorcisms on skype (thank you Jon Stewart) and so much more. Many shows and novels have covered this ground – Supernatural did it with the occasional nod to gay fans (and of course the homoerotic subtext between Sam and Dean). So my questions today – have you written or read any Christian gay paranormal stories? If you did write something in … Read more

Announcement: Weatherboy, by Theo Fenraven

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QSFer Theo Fenraven has a new paranormal book out: After fifteen-year-old Tuck finds a Maya artifact while on vacation in Guatemala, his whole life changes. To his surprise, he discovers he can make it rain and snow. A local weatherman happens to be around when Tuck creates a waterspout near his home in Tarpon Springs, Florida, and the next thing he knows, someone from the Department of Homeland Security is picking him up at school and taking him to their offices in Orlando. From there, things only get weirder and more dangerous when he’s escorted to Washington, D.C. With help … Read more

Would the Existence of Extraterrestrials Mean the End of Religion?

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In A Brief History of Time Professor Stephen Hawking asks, “…if the universe is really completely self-contained, having no boundary or edge, it would have neither beginning nor end: it would simply be. What place, then, for a creator?” Indeed, the more humanity learns about the universe in which we are just a very miniscule part, the less need we seem to have for a higher power. The theory of evolution cogently describes how we as a species came into being, and the Big Bang elegantly enumerates on how the universe itself came into existence. As our scientific understanding expands, … Read more

Turning History Gay

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Today is Fantasy day on the blog and at the QSF discussions page on Facebook. Today I’m in an Arthurian mood. The King Arthur legend was put together from a series of historical facts and stories at a certain point in time, so it’s not really accurate to call it “history”. Nevertheless, it’s historical in that it does reflect a certain point in time in what’s now the UK. But what if Arthur had been gay, and had betrayed Guinevere with Lancelot instead of the other way around? We have a rich tradition of Fantasy novels based on history (or … Read more

The Space Taxi is Coming!

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Prepare to have some sci fi plot bunnies released: NASA just announced a critical component of Launch America, the country’s highly anticipated next chapter in human spaceflight. The organization confirmed in a press conference today that Boeing and SpaceX will split the $6.8 billion “space taxi” contract, with $4.2 billion going to Boeing and $2.6 billion to SpaceX. Essentially, Boeing’s CST-100 Space Capsule and SpaceX’s Dragon will each send a test flight to the International Space Station to demonstrate their space taxi capabilities. Each team will fly to the ISS with a NASA crew member and cargo, show that they … Read more

Announcement: Take to the Sky, by Gregory Jonathan Scott

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Hello Everyone! Check out the beautiful cover below for Take To The Sky by Gregory Jonathan Scott. Today is the Official Release Day. Description An angelic romance that’s Powerful, Suspenseful, Sexy, Uniquely Erotic, and Romantic. In a secret Michigan Laboratory, an experiment developed a superior creation that was anticipated but not expected. He was the ultimate conception, a core life-being merged with avian. He was born with a gift, a rare one; the ability to fly. His wings instinctively brought out the urge in him to fly, and Kellan’s need to be free became his obsession. When the dark, swirling clouds … Read more

Where Are All the Queers in Mainstream Sci Fi?

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Morning all! Today’s topic comes from QSFer Jim Comer: “The role of LGBT, etc, themes in mundane SF.” We talk a lot here about romance and love stories set in a sci fi universe. But there’s also a whole big mainstream sci fi market out there, and historically it hasn’t been friendly to LGBT characters. I watched Star Trek for years hoping for a gay character – I finally gave up that particular search – hey, did they ever get there? Ditto for most of the mainstream sci fi books – we’re not talking gay sex or even a romantic … Read more

Announcement: The Severing, by DJ Manly

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MLR Press has a new supernatural tale out: Alex has no idea a ghost called Billy is following him around. Then a strange young man comes up to him in a public place and tells him someone is sitting at his table. Terrance talks to the dead. To him it’s a curse. Labeled psychotic, the dead have kept him from truly living. When he meets Alex, Terrance wants to be normal. Alex doesn’t believe that Terrance can communicate with dead folks. But when his best friend disappears, Alex begins to think that Terrance may be the only one who can … Read more