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Getting Out of the Western World Box

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Today’s topic comes from QSFer Jim Comer: “New cultures in Sci Fi and Fantasy. What places/times have we seen too little of?” Popular sci fi tends to be fairly Western centric – quite often based around US characters and mores, and less often using UK, Australian, and other English-speaking cultures as a basis. That leaves a whole lot of the world out, which to my mind means there are many more stories to be told. So given the choice as a writer, what culture or country would you use as a backdrop for a sci fi or fantasy novel, if … Read more

New Steampunk Condos Being Built in New York

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This is the top for New York City. It’s all downhill from here. A new condo building is going up in Manhattan’s Hudson Square neighborhood — the triangle on the river between Tribeca, SoHo, and the West Village that has until recently been mostly commercial and industrial buildings. 15 Renwick isn’t just any building: it’s a steampunk-themed luxury development. Steampunk-themed. Luxury. Development. What is steampunk? It’s mostly a literary and artistic genre. Think Helena Bonham Carter in Sweeney Todd, but much less murderous, riding atop a floating, steam-powered sidecar. See the Full Article at Business Insider

Announcement: The Park, by Voss Foster

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QSFer Voss Foster has a new Sci Fi book out: 12 Contestants 20,000,000 Dollars 1 Survivor The Park: Evenstad Media’s newest reality show. There are no laws. There are no rules. The only goal is to stay alive. But in Evenstad’s arena, things are far from simple. Outfitted with strange new weapons, trapped in the dark, afraid for their lives, it’s only a matter of time before somebody takes the first shot. And all the while, the world watches. Some in disgust, some rapt, but all feeding Evenstad, and all oblivious to the horrors they’re helping fund. By the time … Read more

Selecting the Sex and Orientation of Your Baby

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Hi all, I’ve been thinking about this one for awhile. Before long, we may have the technology to select all kinds of things about our children, including sex and sexual orientation. There’s long been talk of designer babies – kids that are preselected to be beautiful or unusual or to have athletic prowess and the like. In our current world, we are increasingly seeing news and information filtered for our own preferences – our own little bubbles – that reinforces what we already believe, and that may be different or even diametrically opposed to what our next-door neighbors are seeing. … Read more

Announcement: Love Don’t Die, by Jambrea Jo Jones

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QSFer Jambrea Jo Jones has a re-release out – an alternate history set in Chicago: They might die, but their love never will… Moran Schultz was tasked with getting information from one Ward to another. He was all for helping his brother make Chicago a better place. What he wasn’t expecting was his lover to show up after a month of no contact. Dutch Luciano isn’t going to let Moran go without a fight. They love each other and the gangs in charge of Chicago aren’t going to keep them apart. Can Moran let Dutch back in or is it … Read more

When Did You Pop Your LGBT SpecFic Cherry?

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Let’s face it, we were all virgins at one time. I refer, of course, your first time – the first time you picked up an LGBT speculative fiction book – sci fi, fantasy or paranormal. After yesterday’s roller-coaster ride (and thanks to all for keeping things mostly civil) of a discussion topic, I thought we’d bring things down a notch. So here it goes – what was your first LGBT speculative fiction read? And how does it stack up now that you’ve read more?

Delivering Messages From Beyond the Grave

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A new service does just that: …software called Death Switches that would detect a person’s demise and send prewritten, postmortem emails to next of kin, sharing passwords. But it didn’t take long, Eagleman goes on, for people to realize they could communicate more than passwords. They could say good-bye or get in the last word of an argument. As it turns out, Eagleman wasn’t just writing fiction. In 2006 he launched a real-life startup, Deathswitch, to provide the service. Subscribers are prompted periodically via email to make sure they’re still alive. When they fail to respond, Deathswitch starts firing off … Read more

Announcement: A Christmas Cactus for the General, by Angel Martinez

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Today’s announcement is from QSFer Angel Martinez: Exiled to Earth for perhaps the worst failure in Irasolan history, General Teer must assimilate or die. Earth is too warm, too wet, too foreign, but he does the best he can even though human males are loud, childish louts whom he can’t imitate successfully. When a grieving seaplane pilot strikes up a strange and uneasy friendship with him, he finds he may have been too quick to judge human males. They are strange to look at, but perhaps not as unbearable as he thought. Excerpt Chapter One: Exile So much water. General … Read more

Straight Girls Reading Gay Romance

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Today’s topic comes from QSFer Beth Brock: “Why do straight girls like gay romance?” Let me preface this by saying I’m talking about readers here, not the thornier topic of women writing MM romance or erotica. I’ve often wondered what it is about MM romance that interests heterosexual female readers – although, to be fair, straight guys seem, well, let’s just say “interested” in FF erotica and porn. So my question today – what is it about MM romance that draws straight female readers (whether it’s fantasy, sci fi, paranormal or other)? Keep it friendly, people. :)

Announcement: Finding Matt, by JD Ruskin

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QSFer JD Ruskin has a new paranormal romance out: When six-year-old Matt Wilson and his Shih Tzu, Pixie, step out of the Stanton Community Hospital and disappear, his desperate parents convince Jaron Greenberg, a local pet psychic, to aid the police in the search. Jaron specializes in finding lost kitties and fixing problem pooches. He isn’t prepared for a case with so much at stake. And as soon as he starts, the abilities he’s had since childhood begin changing and growing in unexpected ways. Paulo Silva is a veteran detective new to the small town of Stanton. As the low … Read more