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speculative fiction

Announcement: End of Line, by J.R. Frontera

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End of Line

QSFer J.R. Frontera has a new queer speculative fiction short story collection out: Lonely assassins. Moon vacations. Consciousness transfers. What do all of these have in common? Not much, except for the characters in this collection of science fiction short stories, they mean the end of the line…. From Twilight Zone-style twists to a romping space-western adventure a la Firefly, these award-winning stories are now presented together as a complete collection science fiction lovers of all types can enjoy. Giveaway J.R. is giving away an eBook of her short story “In Death, Everything” with this post – just comment below … Read more

For Readers: Speculative Fiction in Pictures

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Young Protectors

FOR READERS Today’s reader topic comes from QSFer Hank T. Cannon: “Comic books, graphic novels, web comics: what kind of non-prose SF&F works are you into? Do any of them have a particular QUILTBAG focus? Share!” This topic is the perfect lead-in to our Graphic Novel Week, coming in October – we’ll be announcing our week-long line-up of interviewees soon! 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

Announcement: Daemensions, by Brian Barr

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Daemensions

QSFer Brian Barr has a new speculative fiction anthology out: My new short story collection, Daemensions, is 2.99 on Kindle and free through KindleUnlimited! Daemensions is made up of two Carolina Daemonic short stories, a cyberpunk science-fiction thriller, a dark sword & sorcery tale, an urban occult fantasy short, and a gothic short fantasy story. 6, count them, 6… that’s right, 6 tales I’ve got all wrapped up in one book. Buy Links Amazon Kindle | Amazon Paperback Author Bio Brian Barr is an American author. Brian has been published in various short story anthologies and magazines, including New Realm, … Read more

Asta’s Annotations: Editing Tips for Sci-Fi/Fantasy Writers

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Today I thought I would cover three of the common editing queries I see from science fiction and fantasy writers. 1) World and Race Names The common issue here appears to be whether or not to capitalise. My advice is to follow standard English conventions, unless you have a strong reason not to do so. In either case, the real key is consistency. Don’t swap and change from chapter to chapter; make a decision on your preference and stick to it. Here is an example based on common English usage, followed by a fantasy rendering. In Denmark, many Danes enjoy … Read more

Announcement: A Summer’s Day Anthology

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A Summer's Day

QSFer Rory Ni Coileain has a story in a new “Shakespearean Anthology with a Twist”, and all proceeds go to the “It Gets Better Project”. A number of the stories are speculative fiction: A collection of 12 stories celebrating the Bard’s legacy with modern retelling of some of his works and delightful referencing of anything Shakespeare. There is gentle YA romance next to hot sexy stories and all kinds of relationships – first love, May/December, interracial, second chances, happy endings and even a tragic one. We’re travelling from Ancient Rome through Renaissance England to modern day UK, Venice Beach and … Read more

For Writers: Alpha Males and Other Character Stereotypes

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diversity hands

Today’s writer topic comes from QSFer Aidee Ladnier: Why so many alpha males? Where is the diversity of main characters? I’d extend this out past the subject as stated. Yes, we have a glut of alpha male characters – especially on the romance side of speculative fiction (and maybe especially in shifter books?). But we also have a preponderance of cute young white male characters. But I’d also argue that a lot of our fiction, romance, and otherwise, lacks diversity. Diversity of orientation, of gender, of color, and of ability. Are readers ready for more? As a reader, are there … Read more

Queer Sci Fi Featured on the Pop Queer-ies Podcast

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Pop Queer-ies

Hey all, We’re excited that QSF was featured on the new Pop Queer-ies podcast – Angel, Ben and I talking about diversity in speculative fiction. The audio’s a little grainy, but it’s a great interview. Take a listen here: https://soundcloud.com/user-3501191/episode-3-part-2-interview-with-queer-sci-fi See the whole Pop Queer-ies site here

For Readers: Hot Trends

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Hot Trends

Today’s reader topic comes from QSFer Cheyenne Meadows: What do people think are the growing trends in speculative fiction that readers want right now? Are shifters still hot? Are stories about other worlds picking up readers? What do the readers want to see? 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

For Readers: When is It Queer?

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Today’s reader topic comes from QSFer Paula Wyant: How much does a character’s sexuality have to feature explicitly in a story for it to fall into the LGBTQUIA category? Do they have to be a relationship? Does the relationship have to be the central focus to the story? It’s a good question. We had this one at a Rainbow Con panel last year, from an audience member. For me, the simple fact that the protagonist is queer is enough, and introduces subtle changes throughout a story. But what do y’all think? Writers: This is a reader chat – you are … Read more