I am so thrilled to announce this anthology is now available for purchase! In it, you will find 120 pieces of flash fiction on this year’s theme, including my very own first published piece of fiction. Go check it out!

Queer Sci Fi has just released the annual QSF Flash Fiction anthology. This year, the theme is “Migration.”

MI-GRA-TION (noun)

1) Seasonal movement of animals from one region to another.

2) Movement of people to a new area or country in order to find work or better living conditions.

3) Movement from one part of something to another.

Three definitions to inspire writers around the world and an unlimited number of possible stories to tell. Here are 120 of our favorites.

Migration feaures 300 word speculative flash fiction stories from across the rainbow spectrum, from the minds of the writers of Queer Sci Fi.

Other Worlds Ink | Amazon | iBooks | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | QueeRomance Ink | Goodreads

Giveaway

Queer Sci Fi is giving away a $20 gift Amazon certificate with this tour – enter via Rafflecopter for a chance to win:

a Rafflecopter giveawayhttps://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b60e8d4774/?

Excerpt

Each year, hundreds of writers send in stories for the Queer Sci Fi flash fiction anthology. Here are the opening lines from some of the stories chosen for the 2019 edition – Migration:

“Darkness has substance. It is tangible; different shades within the black, sounds, a taste. It is accompanied by self-awareness of time and thoughts, even when other senses fail.” —Hope for Charity, by Robyn Walker

“The sky has been screaming for five straight days when the shrimps come to take us away. They’ve been boxing up the others and hauling them off. Now they’re here for us, soaking wet, dragging cords and crates behind them.” —Shrimpanzee, Sionnain Bailey

“Allister always had faultless hair. He’d comb and gel it to perfection while gazing in the mirror. One day a pair of eyes stared back.” —Zulu Finds a Home, by Kevin Klehr

“On her sister’s wedding day Ari noticed that one of her ears had migrated to her hand. It was right after her high school crush, Emily, arrived with Cousin Matt.” —Playing It By Ear, Aidee Ladnier

“The wound was fatal. Their vessel wouldn’t live much longer. This is what came from leaving loose ends. Frantically they sought out a new vessel to migrate to. “ —The Essence, by L.M. Brown

“That night, we were sitting in the bed of her daddy’s old pickup truck and the radio was playing the best song. We had a pack of cigarettes between us and her hand was almost touching mine. The wheat field was silver in the moonlight. When they came, we weren’t surprised, just disappointed that our time was up already.” —Our Song, by Lauren Ring

“Willow said she was my wife, but I knew it wasn’t her, not the right her, anyway. Sure she looked like her with olive skin and bright pink hair. She even smelled of mango flowers, just like I remembered, but there was something about her smile that was slightly off, something about when she said she loved me that didn’t sit well in my old heart.” — They Said It Would Be Her, by Elizabeth Andre

“Agnes is eight when she first sees the river. Cutting its way through town, the only thing she knows not coated in coal dust. She sticks her toes in, comes home with wet socks and a secret. See, the river hadn’t been there yesterday.” —Stream of Consciousness, by Ziggy Schutz

“Terry twirled in her green synthsilk dress, looked at her reflection, liked what she saw. She felt good in her own skin, for maybe the first time.” —Altball, by RE Andeen

“The thing was in the corner. It had come through the window and had slid down the wall. Scratch went the sound. The noise of a hundred nails clawing at the wood. Nails of white bone. Alex pulled the sheets up quickly, covering every inch of skin and hair in a warm darkness.” —Whose Nightmare, by Jamie Bonomi

Author Bio

AUTHORBIO

A hundred and twenty authors are included in Migration:

• Butterflies, by A O’Donovan
• The Return, by A.M. Leibowitz
• A New Spring, by Aaron Silver
• Universal Quota, by Abby Bartle
• The Call of Home, by Adrienne Wilder
• Starfall, by Adrik Kemp
• Playing it By Ear, by Aidee Ladnier
• Rabbit, by Amanda Thomas
• That Does Not Love…, by Andi Deacon
• Inborn, by Andrea Speed
• Saving Ostakis, by Angelica Primm
• A Dawn Wish, by Antonia Aquilante
• Diaspora, by Ariel E. James
• Transmigration, by Ashby Danvers
• Across the Mirror, by Ava Kelly
• Between, by BE Allatt
• The Speck, by Bey Deckard
• The King of the Mountain Cometh, by Bob Goddard
• Before and After, by C. A. Chesse
• Home, by C.A. McDonald
• Too Much Tech, by C.L. Mannarino
• Ze Who Walks Into the Future, by Carey Ford Compton
• The Gate, by Carol Holland March
• Our Last Light Skip, by Chloe Spencer
• Passage, by Christine Taylor-Butler
• The Perils of Pick-Up Lines, by Colton Aalto
• Parched, by Crysta K. Coburn
• Changeling Dreams, by Damian Serbu
• Destinations, by Dave Creek
• Another Job, Another Planet, by David Viner
• Thiefmaster Rosalind’s Apprentice, by Devon Widmer
• A Weight Off Their Shoulders, by Diane Morrison
• Once a Year, by Dianne Hartsock
• Mettle, by Die BoothForever Bound, by E.W. Murks
• They Said It Would Be Her, by Elizabeth Andre
• Til Death Do Us Part, by Elizabeth Anglin
• Little One, by Eloreen Moon
• GBFN, by Emilia Agrafojo
• The Long Distance Thing, by Ether Nepenthes
• Call My People Home, by Evelyn Benvie
• Jace vs. the Incubi, by Eytan Bernstein
• A New Tradition, by Foster Bridget Cassidy
• The Curious Cabinet, by Ginger Streusel
• Ready, by Hank Edwards
• The Albatrosses, by Harry F. Rey
• A Boy’s Shadow, by Helen De Cruz
• Portrait of a Lady, by Isobel Granby
• Beam That Is In, by J. Comer
• The Hunt, by J. R. Frontera
• Repeating History, by J. Summerset
• Neil’s Journey, by J.P. Bowie
• Homeward Bound, by J.S. Garner
• Whose Nightmare?, by Jamie Bonomi
• A Moment of Bravery, by Jessie Pinkham
• Laetus, by Jet Lupin
• Where You Go, I’ll Follow, by Joe Baumann
• Ambrose Out of Ash, by Jonathan Fesmire
• Shooting Modes, by Joshua Darrow
• TerrorForm, by Juam Jocom
• The Curse, by Jude Reid
• Throwing Eggs, by K E Olukoya
• Fly, by Kayleigh Sky
• The Keep, by KC Burn
• Zulu Finds a Home, by Kevin Klehr
• The Risks and Advantages of Data Migration, by Kim Fielding
• Irreversible, by kim gryphon
• Looner, by Krishan Coupland
• The Essence, by L.M. Brown
• Our Song, by Lauren Ring
• O Human Child, by Lisa Hamill
• Goodbye Marghretta, by Lou Sylvre
• Choices, by LV Lloyd
• Endangered Species, by M Joseph Murphy
• Planet Retro, Unplugged, by M. X. Kelly
• Elemental, by M.D. Grimm
• To Wish on a Love Knot, by Margaret McGaffey Fisk
• Firebirds, by Marita M. Connor
• Breeding Season, by Mary Newman
• Kooks at Home, by Matt McHugh
• Spring, by Mere Rain
• Into the South, by Mindy Leana Shuman
• Not How We Planned It, by Minerva Cerridwen
• What Is Left Behind, by Monique Cuillerier
• How Far Would You Go for the One You Love?, by Nathan Alling Long
• Innocence, by Nathaniel Taff
• Heart and Soul, by Nils Odlund
• Tides, by Patricia Scott
• Killer Queen, by Paula McGrath
• Genesis, by Pelaam
• If Pigs Could Fly, by Penelope Friday
• Click, by R R Angell
• Be Kind to Strangers, by Raina Lorring
• Altball, by RE Andeen
• Far From Home, by Riley S. Keene
• Hope for Charity, by Robyn Walker
• Night Comes to the Bea Arthur, by Rory Ni Coileáin
• MIG Ration, by S R Jones
• Going Back, by Sacchi Green
• World Behind and Home Ahead, by Sara Testarossa
• The Call of the Suet, by Sarah Hadley Brook
• Research & Development, by Shaina Phillips
• Into the Void, by Shannon Brady
• The Silkie’s Dance, by Shannon West
• Seal Hunt, by Shirley Meier
• Shrimpanzee FIRST IN BOOK, by Sionnain Bailey
• The Woman With No Name, by Siri Paulson
• Memories of Clay, by Spencer Mann
• Simulacrum, by Steve Carr
• The Experience, by Steve Fuson
• Flight, by Steven Harper
• Birds of New Atlantis, by Stewart C Baker
• Lurching Forward, by Sydney Blackburn
• Spores of Retribution, by Tray Ellis
• Skin Hunger, by Treasure Nguyen
• Elvira, by Trevor Barton
• Ever After, by Warren Rochelle
• Into the Light, by Wart Hill
• Dryads, by X Marduk
• Stream of Consciousness, by Ziggy Schutz

Wow, I have been so busy that I forgot to write a blog post here to keep it all up to date.

First off, I’m thrilled that my ICFA40 presentation, “Questioning Mononormativity: The Identity Politics of Polyamory in the Popular Fantastic,” is finally edited and up on my YouTube channel! I’ve managed to figure out how to edit a closed captions track into my videos, so I expect I’ll be working on one for my WorldCon76 talk in the near future. You can find my ICFA40 presentation on my YouTube channel, on the Videos page here on my site, or by simply clicking here.

I’ve added another conference to my upcoming European trip this summer, the 10th annual Gesellschaft für Fantastikforschung conference, also known as the GFF. In English, it translates to the “Association for Research in the Fantastic,” but everyone still calls it the GFF. This year, the GFF is holding their conference from September 18th-23rd in Berlin. I’m so excited! I’ll be presenting a discussion titled “Increasing Diversity of Representation: An Unintended Consequence of Fantastic Utopias.” The preliminary schedule has been released, but my time slot could change. I’ll be sure to announce it here when it is confirmed.

I’ll have some time in Europe between WorldCon77 and GFF10, mostly in Berlin. I’m not entirely certain yet what I will do with all that time, but I may add yet another conference in between the two I already have scheduled. As always, future details can be found here!

I’ve updated my CV as listed here on my site. It’s still really boring reading, but if you’re curious about some of what I’ve done, studied, and otherwise accomplished, then that’s a good place to look.

If you’re still here and reading, thank you so much for taking the time to keep up to date with all my goings-on. I couldn’t do this without your interest; I wouldn’t spend all the time I do on it if there wasn’t some interest. So, thank you!

In the latest news, I have received official word that my proposal to present a paper on WorldCon Dublin‘s academic track has been accepted.

I look forward to sharing more of my current research, this time focusing on the latest series from one of this year’s Guests of Honor, Ian McDonald. My current working title for this presentation is “Questioning Mononormativity: Love, Sex, and Relationships on McDonald’s Luna.”

Of course, the title might change slightly by the time I get to Dublin, this summer. I have no information yet as to what time and / or day of WorldCon my academic track panel will be scheduled for, but I will share it once that information has been finalized and I am clear to shout it from the roof-tops!

What an absolute honor! I would like to extend my thanks to Mr. Gilliland, the award committee, and the Heinlein Society at large. I am absolutely over the moon (pun intended) and incredibly grateful.

A video of my presentation of the award-winning paper, “Questioning Mononormativity: Heinleinian Non-Monogamies,” can be found here, and is also available through the video tab listed in the horizontal menu on my website.

I could not be happier to receive such a fantastic recognition.

[Just to be clear,  I redacted some ancillary information by painting over it in white.]

Hello all!

Are you wondering what I am working on now? Sometimes, so am I!

While I can’t always talk about everything I do because I provide my clients with the utmost confidentiality, I am always happy to discuss my current focus of independent research in the fantastic genres.

My next scheduled presentation will be at the 40th International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts (ICFA 40), which runs March 13-16, 2019, in Orlando, Florida. My presentation is titled “Questioning Mononormativity: Identity Politics of Polyamory in the Popular Fantastic.”

This paper is yet another brief look into my research in liminal, non-traditional relationships in the fantastic. Previous glimpses were seen at the 7th Gesellschaft für Fantastikforschung conference in Münster (GfF 7) and at WorldCon 76 in San Jose.

The current program has my paper slated for the second block (10:30 am-noon) of Saturday, March 16th, but that could change by the time the conference starts, so be sure to check registration for any last-minute changes.

See you in Orlando!