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Queer Female Characters We Lost in 2016

Clarke Lexa

Lesbians and bisexual women live dangerous lives – especially if they’re on TV. Producers and writers are famously keen to kill off lesbian characters, meaning their romances rarely meet a happy end. So much so it’s turned into an actual, recurring TV trope. This year has been no exception and, in true 2016 style, has brought us some of the most dramatic, but also often useless, deaths of our favorite lesbian characters. Sadly, there are too many to count, but here are 28 (fictional) women we lost this year: 1 Poussey Washington – Orange is the New Black Cause of … Read more

Announcement: The Applicant, by Aidee Ladnier

The Applicant

QSFer Aidee Ladnier has a new MM time travel novel out: How can something so cuddly and adorable be so destructive? The teddy bear robot decimating his lab is only the first disaster of the day for roboticist Forbes Pohle. If he can figure out how to end its rampage, he still has to interview applicants for the position of research assistant and convince the time traveler on his doorstop that they should be making their future right now. Oliver Lennox didn’t travel back in time to have a quickie in the blast chamber—but it certainly is fun. This younger … Read more

Future Talk: Robot Marriage, Coming Soon?

robot - pixabay

Experts are predicting that humans will be able to marry robots by 2050. David Levy, author of a book on human-robot love, made the prediction at a ‘Love and Sex with Robots’ conference. It’s claimed that because society used to look at same-sex marriage as unthinkable, which is now legal in some countries, the prospect of robot marriages is now on the cards. The University of London event predicted that the human-robot marriages will be legal by 2050. Though it may seem far flung, robots that humans can have sex with have long been in the pipeline. Now those in … Read more

Interview: Four, by Archer Kay Leah

Four

Archer Kay Leah has a new bi fantasy book out, and is stopping by for an interview: On the outside, Mayr seems to have it all: a successful career as Head of the Guard for a prominent politician, family and friends who adore him, and the attention of beautiful women. But appearances are a good way to bury secrets, including the fact that while Mayr is a romantic at heart, searching for the one person to share his life with, his lovers keep leaving him. When his last girlfriend takes him back and suggests an intimate night with Tash, one of … Read more

For Readers: Publisher Reputation

Publisher - Pixabay

FOR READERS Today’s reader topic comes from QSFer ‘Nathan Smith: As a reader, over the last few years, I’ve closed the door on some publishers given how they’ve handled (or not handled) significant issues (especially when it comes to the queer community), and no longer buy books they’ve published. How much, if at all, do you react to a publisher’s actions? 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

Cassini Mission to End in Fiery Plunge Into Saturn

Saturn/Titan

Of the 173 known moons orbiting the eight major planets of our solar system, only one ― Saturn’s Titan ― has an atmosphere, lakes and streams. And that’s not all. There’s also speculation that Titan ― half the size of Earth ― could harbor life forms or be a possible future home for Earthlings. The provocative moon was even featured in Kurt Vonnegut’s 1959 novel The Sirens of Titan, which tells the story of a millionaire on a quest for the ultimate meaning of existence. To study this remarkable moon, NASA launched its Cassini spacecraft in 1997. After maneuvering through … Read more

Jeff Baker – Boogieman In Lavender: Queering Old Stories

Jeff Baker

Gaying The Story Up; or “Keep It Light, Keep It Bright, Keep It Gay.”   by Jeff Baker               I’ve done it. At least I’ve tried it. Taking a story I’ve written and making it appealing to an LGBT market by inserting a gay theme or character or making a character gay. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.             There was a riff on the superhero genre I wrote about ten years ago. Couldn’t sell it, and then I saw a market for an LGBT-themed anthology. So, I tweaked the story a little, made one of the characters in the … Read more

Announcement: Prior Commitment, by Raven de Hart

Prior Commitment

QSFer Raven de Hart has a new MM paranormal romance out: Old town, new flames. Casey Bridge knows what people are thinking, whether he wants to or not. When he returns to Pryor, Washington, he’s roped into helping with the town’s annual Christmas Carnival—as though they didn’t shun him and his entire family for years. But when he hears something worrying in a stranger’s thoughts, he can’t keep himself from jumping in to help–repeatedly. Noel’s life is falling apart, and his last possible refuge is in little old Pryor, Washington. When that fails him, he spirals down into depression… and … Read more