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SCIENCE: When Earth Was a Snowball

It’s difficult to imagine now, but at certain points in Earth’s history, ice covered the entire planet. This frozen Earth, nicknamed snowball Earth, was a setting “so severe, that the Earth’s entire surface, from pole to pole, including the oceans, completely froze over,” said Melissa Hage, an environmental scientist and assistant professor at Oxford College of Emory University in Georgia. In 1840, Louis Agassiz, a Swiss natural scientist, was among the first to acknowledge and provide evidence that Earth had gone through ice ages, according to the University of California Museum of Paleontology. Joseph Kirschvink, an American geologist, later coined … Read more

Ray Bradbury Revisited: jeff Baker, Boogieman in Lavender

Pumpkin - Jeff Baker

            I haven’t read every story by Ray Bradbury, but Graham George Barber may have. Barber contacted me to point out that Ray Bradbury did write at least two more stories with Queer characters, after my writing about Bradbury’s story “The Better Part of Wisdom “ (Boogieman In Lavender, July 11, 2016.) None of the stories are science fiction or fantasy, and they all speak of attitudes toward the LGBT community that a straight writer would have had back in the 1950s, but they are Bradbury. By the very nature of this exposition, this review will contain spoilers. In “Long … Read more

ANNOUNCEMENT/GIVEAWAY: The Vampire’s Quest, by Damian Serbu

The Vampire's Quest - Damian Serbu

QSFer Damien Serbu has a new MM paranormal book out: The Vampire’s Quest. And there’s a giveaway. The Vampire’s Quest brings back the beloved gay vampires, Xavier and Thomas, in the anticipated sequel to The Vampire’s Angel. In 1822, the Archangel St. Michel orders Xavier to go on a quest to America, a quest that violates the Vampire Council’s laws to the point of a possible death sentence. Worse, Xavier must abandon his lover, Thomas. Xavier runs to his aging sister and pleads for Catherine’s help as Thomas races after them. With Thomas and the Vampire Council vying for Xavier’s … Read more

FOR WRITERS: Arguing With Your Characters

angry - pixabay

FOR WRITERS Today’s writer topic comes from QSFer Danielle Flory: How often do you have full blown conversations, or arguments, with the characters in your head? And how often do you win those arguments? Writers: This is a writer chat – you are welcome to share your own book/link, as long as it fits the chat, but please do so as part of a discussion about the topic. Join the chat

SPACE: Are Black Holes the Lighthouses of the Universe?

Stunning new images show how black holes produce tremendously bright jets millions of light-years long that can be seen across vast cosmic distances. The images were produced by a computer simulation and could help resolve an enduring mystery about how the jets form, the researchers behind the images said. Despite their moniker, black holes aren’t always black. As a black hole consumes an object, gas and dust spins around the maw of the gravitational behemoth, and friction can heat the material on the edges to searing temperatures. This violent process creates lighthouse-like beams of charged particles that travel outward at … Read more

ANNOUNCEMENT/GIVEAWAY: Foreign to You, by Jeremy Martin

QSFer Jeremy Martin has a new MM YA Fantasy book out: Foreign to You. The harmony between humans and fianna, a species of shapeshifting deer, begins to wither as racial tensions and deeply rooted resentment turns violent. Ruthless hunter Finn Hail and prophesied liberator Adelaide may be heroes to their own species, but they are enemies to each other. With war on the horizon, the reluctant pair must team up to find the most elusive of prey: the god of the Forest. As enemies press in from all sides, true intentions begin to show. For Finn to save the boy … Read more

Me Me Monday!

Welcome to M3: ME ME MONDAY at our FB discussion group – your chance to pop in and tell us about your latest success. Have a new book or short story coming out? Let us know. Just sell something? Let us know so we can cheer you on. HOW IT WORKS: I’ll pin this topic to the top of our FB discussion page for the day. –Please post your announcement as a separate post so we can comment on yours specifically –Check out the other posts and congratulate and share them too! And congratulations!!!

SCIENCE: How The World Ends Version Three

A new study published in the journal Biological Conservation described as “a comprehensive review of 73 historical reports of insect declines from across the globe” makes a grim prediction: “dramatic rates of decline that may lead to the extinction of 40% of the world’s insect species over the next few decades.” Insects could completely disappear from the Earth within 100 years if they continue to decline at current rates, The Guardian notes: “More than 40% of insect species are declining and a third are endangered, the analysis found. The rate of extinction is eight times faster than that of mammals, … Read more

Polar Opposites, by Cheyenne Meadows

Polar Opposites, By Cheyenne Meadows

QSFer Cheyenne Meadows has a new MM paranormal shifter book out: Polar Opposites. Donovan is the new guy in town, a polar shifter, harboring a big secret. He’s a big city bear who moved to the tiny town of Forgotten, Wyoming, in hopes of finding peace. What he finds is poison ivy and angry wasps.  TJ, a grizzly shifter, is the local doctor with a past. He’s found a home in the country, but lacks happiness and a sense of belonging. The fact that he’s in the midst of his natural mating season doesn’t help in the least. The moment … Read more

FOR READERS: Things That Never Happened

history - pixabay

FOR READERS Today’s reader topic comes from QSFer Marina Justyaoi: Queer historical fiction that plays fast and loose with reality – does it irritate you or make you wish it had been that way? (Particularly with LGBTQ+ relationships). What are your faves? Writers: This is a reader chat – you are welcome to join it, but please do not reference your own works directly. Thanks! Join the chat