Outer Alliance Spotlight #6: Hayden Thorne October 23, 2009
Posted by juliarios in : interviews, publications , add a commentWelcome to Outer Alliance Spotlight #6. Each Friday the Spotlight features an ally who writes, reviews, publishes, or is in some other way involved with LGBTQI speculative fiction. Our guest this week is Hayden Thorne, author of The Twilight Gods.
Hayden Thorne is a straight ally, who looks at writing as a form of activism, and features queer teens coming of age in contemporary and historical fantasy stories. Her Masks series follows the journey of a gay teen in a city full of superheroes, while her historical novels, The Twilight Gods, Banshee, and Icarus in Flight, deal with darker and more realistic themes.
When she is not writing, Hayden divides her time between working in the fine art industry, and cycling. In addition to advocating for LGBTQI rights, she supports the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Humane Society of the United States.
All of Hayden’s books to date, including her latest novel, The Twilight Gods, are available now from the LGBTQ YA imprint, Prizm Books. (more…)
Hayden Thorne’s new novel released October 21, 2009
Posted by mbranesf in : announcements, publications , add a commentWhat does it mean to see shadowy forms mingling with London’s daily crowds?
Genre GLBT Young Adult writer, Hayden Thorne, explores a few curious little mysteries that enter fifteen-year-old Norris Woodhead’s dull and lonely life in her new novel, The Twilight Gods. Set in Victorian England during the Great Exhibition, the story follows Norris’ unusual coming-of-age at a time when England celebrates advances in technology and science.
The Twilight Gods is a retelling of a Native American folktale called “The Girl Who Married a Ghost.” It is a melding of the fantastic with the real, in which a gay teen’s coming-out process is explored along supernatural lines. The novel’s plot might be steeped in folklore and magic, but the issues Norris faces are not.
Hayden Thorne has written other genre titles for GLBT teens: a historical romance, a Victorian ghost story, and a contemporary superhero series. She is currently writing a sequel to her Masks superhero trilogy. She owns a blog at http://www.haydenthorne.net/.
The book is now available through the publisher (ebook and print) and Amazon (print only).
Outer Alliance Spotlight #5: Nicola Griffith October 16, 2009
Posted by juliarios in : events, interviews, publications , 2commentsWelcome to Outer Alliance Spotlight #5. Each Friday the Spotlight features an ally who writes, reviews, publishes, or is in some other way involved with LGBTQI speculative fiction. Our guest this week is author, editor, and Lambda Literary Foundation board member, Nicola Griffith.
Nicola’s first novel, Ammonite, won the Premio Italia, Lambda, and Tiptree awards. She went on to win the Nebula, Spectrum, World Fantasy Award and 5 more Lambdas before joining the Lambda Literary Foundation Board of Trustees in June of 2009. In addition to writing 5 novels, a memoir, and several shorter works, she also co-edited (with Stephen Pagel) the Bending the Landscape series of LGBTQ science fiction, fantasy, and horror anthologies. She keeps a blog at http://asknicola.blogspot.com/.
Originally from the UK, Nicola now lives in Seattle with her partner, Kelley Eskridge, with whom she recently started Sterling Editing (an editing, mentoring, and coaching service for writers). Both Nicola and Kelley will be appearing alongside futuristic heavy metal band, BloodHag, on October 24th at Olympia Washington’s first SciFiFest. (more…)
LACUNA: New historical fiction journal launches October 15, 2009
Posted by mbranesf in : announcements, publications, queer-friendly publishers , add a commentMegan Arkenberg reports the launch of her new historical fiction publication Lacuna. Says Megan in her introduction:
“When I first decided to create a historical fiction magazine, there were three publications listed on Duotrope’s Digest dedicated exclusively to the genre: by the time Lacuna opened to submissions, there were only two. For me, as for many of you who read historical fiction, write it, or both, this is a very sad state of affairs. I created Lacuna in the hope that it could provide some relief for both readers and writers looking for a place to enjoy and create tales of days gone by.
“The lack of historical fiction magazines which lead to the creation of Lacuna has also kept me from narrowing the magazine’s focus to one particular style or theme. The stories are not all literary—though they are beautifully written and meticulously characterized; nor are they all adventure and suspense—though I guarantee you’ll find them hard to put down. The settings run from 19th century Spain to biblical Timnah to the pre-Columbian (or is it?) New World. Some stories have fantasy elements, some are alternate histories, and some aim for precision and historical accuracy.”
Though not specifically focused on queer-oriented fiction, Lacuna is open submissions with queer content.
Outer Alliance Spotlight #4: Lynn Flewelling October 9, 2009
Posted by juliarios in : interviews, publications , add a commentWelcome to Outer Alliance Spotlight #4. Each Friday the Spotlight features an ally who writes, reviews, publishes, or is in some other way involved with LGBTQI speculative fiction. Our guest this week is Lynn Flewelling, author of the Nightrunner series and the Tamir Triad.
Lynn began writing as a child, and got serious about her craft when she was in college. She worked writing advertising copy and as a freelance journalist until she sold her first novel, Luck in the Shadows in 1995. Since then, Lynn has been writing fiction full time. The first three volumes Nightrunner series have recently been optioned for film by C-Squared Pictures, and C-Squared have stated their intentions to preserve the gay relationship between Lynn’s main characters in the film adaptations. The 4th book in the series, Shadows Return, is out now, and the fifth book, The White Road, will be available in May of 2010, just in time for the writing workshop cruise Lynn is leading in the Caribbean.
Although she is in a committed and loving relationship with a man, Lynn is glad to be an ally, and says that she would be very open minded about possible mates if she were (by some disaster) to find herself single again. In addition to supporting LGBTQI rights, Lynn supports women’s rights and human rights. She is particularly interested in the International Campaign for Tibet, and the humanitarian work of Thich Nhat Hahn.
Lynn’s cruise workshop is open for reservations now, and she’ll also be reading at Mysterious Galaxy in San Diego on Saturday the 17th of October, 2009.
Outer Alliance Spotlight #3: Maria Lima October 2, 2009
Posted by juliarios in : interviews, publications , add a commentWelcome to Outer Alliance Spotlight #3. Each Friday the Spotlight features an ally who writes, reviews, publishes, or is in some other way involved with LGBTQI speculative fiction. Our guest this week is Maria Lima, author of the Blood Lines series.
Maria was born in Cuba and emigrated to the United States as a child. She began writing fiction eight years ago, and has worked writing non-fiction for over twenty years. Maria identifies as bisexual, and includes various types of queer characters in her stories, so she’s very happy to promote LGBTQI speculative fiction with The Outer Alliance.
When she’s not writing, Maria works for an interactive web agency in the Washington DC area. She also keeps a blog at www.chickwriter.com, and posts to Twitter as chickwriter. Maria’s short story, “The Butler Didn’t Do It” received an Agatha Award nomination in 2004. Pocket Books reprinted her novels Matters of the Blood (originally published in 2007) and Blood Bargain (originally published in 2008) in August and September of 2009, and the third in her Blood Lines series, Blood Kin will be available for the first time on the 27th of October.
OA members fill new anthology September 29, 2009
Posted by mbranesf in : announcements, publications, queer-friendly publishers , add a commentPlease indulge me in a little bit of bragging about a very special group of people that I am having the honor of publishing.
The pre-order period for M-Brane SF’s anthology of queer sf, Things We Are Not, began this week, and I wish to draw some extra attention to its writers, nearly all of whom are Outer Alliance members. Several posts at the TWAN blog from September 17 onward, introduce the book’s writers and their stories. Some of these writers have been writing and publishing for a long time, while some are fairly new. They are all wildly imaginative and, as a group, represent the great diversity of the Outer Alliance’s membership. So, even though this project started well before the founding of the Alliance, I am delighted that the timing of the publication is such that I am able to proudly print the Alliance’s Mission Statement on its acknowledgements page.
Followers of artist and writer Mari Kurisato’s work, will recognize her vivid style in the book’s cover art. Newer members of the Alliance may be unaware that Mari is also the designer of the Outer Alliance logo and its various banners and badges.
Outer Alliance Spotlight #2: Malinda Lo September 25, 2009
Posted by juliarios in : interviews, publications , add a commentWelcome to Outer Alliance Spotlight #2. Each Friday the Spotlight features an ally who writes, reviews, publishes, or is in some other way involved with LGBTQI speculative fiction. Our guest this week is Malinda Lo, author of the YA novel, Ash.
Malinda is a Chinese American lesbian, who is active in LGBTQI and POC (People of Color) awareness efforts. She was managing editor of the lesbian entertainment news site, AfterEllen.com until September of 2008, when she began writing fiction full time.
In addition to keeping a personal journal, Malinda is a member of the 2009 Debutantes LiveJournal community for new YA authors, and a maintainer for The Enchanted Inkpot YA and Middle Grade fantasy community. She lives in Northern California with her partner.
Outer Alliance Spotlight #1: Michele Lee September 18, 2009
Posted by juliarios in : interviews, publications , 4commentsWelcome to the first Outer Alliance Spotlight. Each Friday the Spotlight will feature an ally who writes, reviews, publishes, or is in some other way involved with LGBTQI speculative fiction. Our first guest is Michele Lee, a writer and reviewer from Louisville, Kentucky.
Michele is bisexual and happily married to a straight ally. She thinks of herself as an inclusive writer, who doesn’t necessarily focus on including queer content, but instead on exploring the machinations of relationships, and how our sexual and gender identities develop. One of her two children is autistic, so Michele is also active in autism awareness.
Her short fiction has appeared in several places including Aoife’s Kiss, Black Ink Horror XXX, and Cthulhu Sex Magazine, and her novella, Rot is available through Skullvines Press. In addition to her personal book review blog, Book Love, Michele has written reviews for The Fix, Monster Librarian, and Dark Scribe. She is planning a Horror Day event in the Louisville area tentatively scheduled for the 14th of November, 2009, but she managed to carve out some time from her busy schedule to answer a few questions for us. (more…)
Lethe to reprint Scott's SHADOW MAN September 16, 2009
Posted by mbranesf in : publications , 1 comment so farSteve Berman at Lethe Press reports that Lethe will very soon reprint Melissa Scott’s Lambada Award-winning novel Shadow Man.
In the far future, human culture has developed five distinctive genders due to the effects of a drug easing sickness from faster-than-light travel. But on the planet Hara, where society is increasingly instability, caught between hard-liner traditions and the realities of life, only male and female genders are legal, and the ”odd-bodied” population are forced to pass as one or the other. Warreven Stiller, a lawyer and an intersexed person, is an advocate for those who have violated Haran taboos. When Hara regains contact with the Concorde worlds, Warreven finds a larger role in breaking the long-standing role society has forced on ”him,” but the search for personal identity becomes a battleground of political intrigue and cultural clash.
Readers may add it to their cart at Amazon.