As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

Shawn Ashmore: I Would Play Iceman as a Gay Character

Shawn Ashmore

Star of the X-Men movies franchise Shawn Ashmore has said he would play his Iceman character if he were gay. Ashmore, who has played the character in various Marvel films, responded to the fact that Iceman has now come out as gay in the comic book series. The 36-year-old played Bobby Drake in four X-Men films, most recently in Days of Future Past. A version of Iceman came out as gay in issue 40 of the ‘All New X-Men’ series, after Jean Grey accidentally read his mind and heard his inner thoughts. Full Story at Pink News

Announcement: Out for a Hero Anthology

Out For A Hero

Storm Moon Press has a new queer superhero anthology out: It’s not easy being a superhero. Sometimes it’s even harder when you’re super and queer. In Out for a Hero, LGBTQ heroes find themselves in tight spaces, moral quandaries, and sometimes heated romance. In The Integrals, Kaveri, the daughter of two super dads, struggles to conceal her possibly criminal crush. But when Morning Glory clashes with her parents’ team, she has to decide how to work with her own developing powers to save the day, and her girl. Sparks highlights the complications of an after-hours club where both superheroes and … Read more

Categorizing Our Books

Book categories

Today’s writer topic comes from QSFer ‘Nathan Smith: How do we walk the fine line between categorizing books as readers (or writers) in order to challenge the industry to be more representative? A novel with gay characters is often listed as gay (or, m/m) primarily, and discussed that way, even if it’s a science fiction or fantasy or romance or mystery. In SF we have a bit more leeway and I feel like we’ve made a bit more progress than other genres, but even then: if the book involves LGBTQ characters, it’ll be very much treated as a queer book–which … Read more

For Readers: Who Decides It’s YA?

Gay YA

Today’s reader topic comes from QSFer Richard Wood: Who makes the decision whether a LGBT book or story is YA suitable or not? Is it the author or the publisher and do different publishers have different standards of what is suitable as far as depictions of sex in a LGBT YA rated story? It’s a good question. For instance, I’ve often heard that works with fade-to-black sex scenes… you know: “Christian took Skylar by the hand with a wicked grin. He pulled him down onto the bed as the door slowly closed behind them…” …are “suitable” for YA because there’s … Read more

The Farmer and the Prince

Promised Land

When we’re young, we’re introduced to the idea of a ‘classic’ romance: a woman meets a man; they’re from opposite backgrounds (one rich, the other poor, for example) and, despite obstacles, get together. This fairytale may in fact be alienating for LGBTI people who don’t see themselves reflected in that narrative. Chaz Harris and Adam Reynolds of Wellington, New Zealand want to change that. They have co-authored a fairytale called Promised Land in which a farmer and a prince fall in love, both of them young men. By Jack Flanagan – Full Story at Gay Star News

Announcement: Slaves of Greenworld, by David Holly

Slaves of Greenworld

QSFer David Holly has a new fantasy book out: Dove, a young man without memory, emerges naked and nearly drowned from a creek. Lacking any past or cultural identity, Dove employs his instinct to succeed and survive in any situation. Amid a developing slave revolt, Dove secures comfort and gay sexual intimacy with his slave, Raret. As he advances in an outlandish culture, Dove demonstrates an innate ability to overcome problems as he bounds up the rigid social hierarchy of Greenworld, an ability enhanced by his mysterious luck. Webs of treachery tighten around Dove as he and Raret seek a … Read more

Announcement: Murderous Requiem, by Jamie Fessenden

Murderous Requiem

QSFer Jamie Fessenden has a new mystery/paranormal book out: Jeremy Spencer never imagined the occult order he and his boyfriend, Bowyn, started as a joke in college would become an international organization with hundreds of followers. Now a professor with expertise in Renaissance music, Jeremy is drawn back into the world of free love and ceremonial magick. The old jealousies and hurt that separated him from Bowyn eight years ago no longer seem significant. Then Jeremy begins to wonder if the centuries-old score he’s been asked to transcribe hides something sinister. With each stanza, local birds flock to the old … Read more

20 Times Batman And Robin Were Definitely In A Secret Gay Relationship

Batman is probably the gayest superhero, that’s not actually out kissing dudes, in existence. The ‘gay’ interpretation goes all the way back to 1954, when a psychiatrist claimed that the comic books were ‘homosexual fantasies’… Hit the link for the gayest, and slightly awkward, moments in Batman history (Some may be NSFW). http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/20-times-batman-robin-definitely-secret-gay-relationship/

Mark Hamill: Luke Skywalker Is Gay

“I just read online that JJ is very much open to that. In the old days you would get fan mail. But now fans are writing and ask all these questions, ‘I’m bullied in school… I’m afraid to come out’. They say to me, ‘Could Luke be gay?’ I’d say it is meant to be interpreted by the viewer. If you think Luke is gay, of course he is. You should not be ashamed of it. Judge Luke by his character, not by who he loves.” Full Story at LGBTQ Nation