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POINT OF VIEW: The Long Bleak August of the Soul

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Green Plant in Bleak Desolation - Deposit Photos

It’s been a bad month. Out in the world, fires are burning up the very trees we need to slow climate change, sending clouds of choking smoke into the air and filling the Sacramento valley with a nasty orange haze. Hurricanes are supercharging over the gulf and bringing torrential rains to the places that need it least, flooding people out of their homes. Religious extremists are taking over a country and shoving women and gays back into their respective closets. Covid, in the form of the cursed “Delta Variant,” rages on against a backdrop of idiocy, hatred, horse dewormer, and … Read more

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AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT: Aigner Loren Wilson

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Aigner Loren Wilson

Welcome to my weekly Author Spotlight. I’ve asked a bunch of my author friends to answer a set of interview questions, and to share their latest work. Today, Aigner Loren Wilson (she/her) is a SFWA, HWA, and Codex writer who writes poetry, nonfiction, games, alongside her fiction. She is an editor for Strange Horizons and the horror podcast NIGHTLIGHT. Aigner writes for Tor Nightfire, Discover Pods, Tordotcom, and other publications. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Lightspeed Magazine, WIRED, FIYAH, The Writer, and many more. Her work has been called evocative, noteworthy, and imaginative and has earned her an honorable … Read more

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ANNOUNCEMENT/GIVEAWAY: Baja Clavius: Dream Time For Moon Men – Madeira Desouza

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Baja Clavius: Dream Time for Moon Men

Madeira Desouza has a new mm erotic sci fi serial story releasing on Kindle Vella – Baja Clavius: Dream Time for Moon Men. And there’s a giveaway! This serialized story continues the science fiction time travel adventures from “Baja Clavius: Moon Men Deep Inside” written and illustrated by Madeira Desouza. What’s it about? In the 23rd century a gritty, quasi-militaristic time travel agency located beneath the crater Clavius on the moon sends gay male agents on missions to the past on Earth. The often immoral actions of the time travel agents are unrestricted by the agency which allows the agents … Read more

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ANNOUNCEMENT/GIVEAWAY: Diamond Heat – Alex Washoe

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Diamond Heat

Alex Washoe has a new LGBTQ sports romance out (trams ftm, mtf): Diamond Heat. And there’s a giveaway! Daisy Flowers is a one-time college pitching phenom whose career was sidelined by misogyny and transphobia. For over a decade she’s toiled away in the minor leagues, doing any job she can to stay in the game she loves. But her heart has grown bitter, and every fastball she throws is fueled by rage. When the Majors finally give her the call, she has only one dream left: to take on the entire baseball world and leave it scorched and ruined in her … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: Keeping Track of All the Details

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Series Bible

I was just a part of a great online panel on story bibles. “What’s a story bible?” you ask. It’s a great way for a writer to keep track of all the nitty-gritty details of a story or series. The longer you write in a given universe, be it sci-fi, fantasy, or a sweet magical contemporary set in the eastern end of Sacramento, the details pile up quickly: Character Details: Hair color, eye color, height, race, history, relationships and personal tics. Place Details: Stores and restaurants, real and imagined. Neighborhoods. Moon bases or starships or enchanted cities. Cultural Details: What … Read more

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ANNOUNCEMENT/GIVEAWAY: His Brother’s Viscount – Stephanie Lake

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His Brother's Viscount

Stephanie Lake has a new MM historical Regency romance out: His Brother’s Viscount. And there’s a giveaway! As a baron’s youngest son, Hector Somerville has no real prospects. He will not inherit, and he’s overshadowed by two perfect brothers. While searching for ways to improve his situation, Hector finds respite in an invitation to a country estate—and has a second chance at rekindling his illicit affair with Viscount Wentworth, captain of HBMS Dragon. The upcoming fortnight could be everything Hector dreamed of since their disastrous parting. Wentworth has forsaken love, and yet, memories of guilt and heartache resurface. He loved … Read more

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ANNOUNCEMENT/GIVEAWAY: Concussion and Contentment – Liz Faraim

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Concussion and Contentment - Liz Faraim

Liz Faraim has a new ff contemporary book out, Vivian Chastain series book 3: Concussion and Contentment. And there’s a giveaway! Vivian, an adrenaline junkie and U.S. Army veteran, goes about her life as a bartender, avid runner, and polyamorous lesbian. Life in Sacramento, California is going well until she is blindsided by unforeseen financial issues which lead her to consider a new career. In an attempt to recharge and take a break, she visits her best friend, Jared, only to be sidetracked by a motorcycle trip with her other best friend, Bear. The adventure does not turn out to be … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: Writing in a Time of Chaos

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chaos - deposit photos

Damn, it’s been a week. The earth is shaking, a country is falling, and a virus is surging across the land. Mark and I find ourselves trapped inside our house again, staring out the windows at the excessive heat (and sometimes the wildfire smoke) and feeling like it’s 2020 all over again. My writing is in a shambles. Or maybe it’s not. I’m in the second third of the third book in a trilogy. I’m too close to it and I just can’t tell anymore. I am actually writing, but it’s too soon to know how it’s really going. Welcome … Read more

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AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT: SI CLARKE

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SI CLARKE

Welcome to my weekly Author Spotlight. I’ve asked a bunch of my author friends to answer a set of interview questions, and to share their latest work. Today, SI CLARKE – SI CLARKE is a Canadian misanthrope who lives in Deptford, sarf ees London. She shares her home with her partner and an assortment of waifs and strays. When not writing convoluted, inefficient stories, she spends her time telling financial services firms to behave more efficiently. When not doing either of those things, she can be found in the pub or shouting at people online – occasionally practising efficiency by doing both … Read more

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ANNOUNCEMENT/GIVEAWAY: Windfall – Shawna Barnett

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Windfall - Shawna Barnett

Shawna Barnett has a new LGBTQ+ pirate fantasy book out: Windfall. And there’s a giveaway! Captain Liana Foley knows a thing or two about fights. She fights the King’s Navy. She fights to balance power in oppressive Vioria. She fights for respect as a female, bisexual, pirate captain. But she’s losing her biggest fight: to escape her secret past as a lost Princess.With a mysterious letter and a stranger threatening to expose her, Liana is blackmailed into attending a royal ball and protecting her counterpart, sheltered Princess Rhian. The pretenses are suspicious enough, but Liana takes the risk in hopes … Read more