The amazing folks at Gay Star News just featured me and QSF:
Excited by the gay relationship included in the latest Star Trek series, I spoke with science fiction author J. Scott Coatsworth to dig a little deeper into why the genre of science fiction holds such appeal for a lot of LGBTI people.
Coatsworth runs Queer Sci Fi with his husband Mark, a site that celebrates fiction that reflects queer reality.
When did you first become interested in science fiction?
When I was in second or third grade. My mom has always been a big sci-fi/fantasy nut, and a card-carrying member of the science fiction book club. She had shelves of these books in our spare room, and one day I took down the box set of Lord of the Rings. I devoured the trilogy, and cried for a week when Boromir died.
I loved Lothlorien. I remember reading something Tolkien said about writing the books – how he paused in Lothlorien for a year or two – and wishing I could have, too. I was swept up by the epic nature of the tale, and I think I connected with Frodo as an outsider before I ever knew I was gay, or what being gay was.