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Girls Who Grow Penises at Twelve

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Great fodder for a story: In a village in the Dominican Republic, an estimated one in fifty children are born ‘girls’ before growing male genitalia during puberty. The children are known as Guevedoces – roughly translated as “penis-at-12” – referring to the age they are when their physical appearance starts to change. This extraordinary intersex condition – known medically as 5-alpha-reductase deficiency – has been documented for a new BBC2 series ‘Countdown to Life’ which takes a look at how we develop in the womb and how early changes impact us for the rest of our lives. See the full … Read more

Announcement: Betrothed, by Therese Woodson

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Betrothed

QSFer Therese Woodson has a new fairy tale out: Faery royalty have always married for duty rather than love. Prince Chrysanths should be no different – except with a human for a father, the prince known as Puck already is different. When he is betrothed against his will to Prince Sky, Puck flees to his father in the human world, only to have Sky follow. Prince Sky Song of the Clouds isn’t thrilled with the prospect of marriage either, but is bound by duty to follow through. If he can’t win Puck over, the faery realm might very well dissolve … Read more

News: Meet Lily, The World’s First Throw-and-Shoot Camera

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Lily

Just toss it up in the air to begin. Lily, the world’s first throw-and-shoot camera, self-maneuvers using a GPS tracker in its owner’s bracelet, soaring though the sky at speeds of up to 25 miles per hour. The Lily Camera also shoots high-quality photos and videos, fits snug in your average backpack, and doesn’t mind getting wet. But, did we mention it takes a mean selfie? Engineered with an accelerometer, barometer, GPS, and not one, but two lenses, the “Waterproof Selfie Drone,” as dubbed by photographer Von Wong, has stirred quite the buzz on social media for its capability to … Read more

Announcement: Cairn and Covenant, by Gus Li

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Cairn and Covenant

QSFer Gus Li has a new Fantasy book out: An assassin’s unexpected mercy granted Octavian Rose his life and freed him from his father’s control, but it left him with little more than the clothes on his back and the determination not to waste his chance at a life of his choosing. As Octavian sets out to make a name for himself, he refuses to compromise his ideals for money or status–a decision tested as he works his way up the ranks as a mercenary fighter and novice mage. Along the way he forges friendships, takes lovers, and makes bitter … Read more

Discussion: Time to Refill the Topics Bucket

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rainbow bucket

Hey all, From time to time, we actually use up all the topics y’all have sent in. It’s sad, but it happens. We’re at that point once again, so this is your opportunity – throw out the things you would like to see discussed here at QSF. We’d especially like to see more Fantasy and Paranormal topics, some more things dealing with the letters LBTQI, and more questions suitable for readers. But whatever you wanna talk about, we wanna hear it. You can leave your ideas on the Facebook post or add them to the blog post comments. :) –Scott

The View from Kepler-452b

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Kepler-452b

High in the night sky, the bright stars Deneb and Vega mark a star field at the center of a probe unrelated to Benghazi or Hillary’s emails or whether Iran will get the Bomb. NASA’s planet-hunting Kepler spacecraft has discovered Kepler-452b, an earth-like planet 1400 light years away. At 6 billion years old, it is 1.5 billion years older than Earth. This raises the question whether any intelligent life there has avoided destroying itself. How might earthlings evolve over a similar time period? It will be sad but unsurprising if it turns out that Kepler-452b has produced several intelligent life … Read more

Announcement: Monster Stalker, by Elizabeth Watasin

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Monster Stalker

QSFer Elizabeth Watasin has a new paranormal book out: “Kill first.” Vampire Nico popped from the year 1998 into an Again NewYork airfield, a sudden chrono-immigrant with Mr Bear strapped to her, her switchblade in hand, and no idea how or why she got there. She’s on Darqueworld: an intragalactic society 400 light years from Old Earth, where Other-beings and humans co-exist and vampires are no big deal. Nico can have a normal student life at last and even date a diner waitress she likes. But there’s a darkened spot in her mind, one blanking out her immediate past, and … Read more

Me Me Monday!

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Welcome to 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 I can also share it over to our FB page (as opposed to this discussion group). –If you want, send me your book announcement info at … Read more

News: So There’s A Working Hoverboard

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Lexus Hoverboard

Lexus’s hoverboard uses magnetic levitation, or maglev, to achieve frictionless movement. Liquid nitrogen-cooled superconductors are combined with a magnetic surface to essentially repel gravity. Even though Lexus and Evico were able to pull off the project, don’t expect to see a hoverboard fly past while you’re walking down the street next year. To use maglev technology that would make this sort of hoverboard work, you need a magnetic metal track. Normal concrete pavements won’t do. Lexus solved this issue by converting a skate park in Barcelona into a temporary hoverboard skate park. On an existing track composed of cement and … Read more