In a supposed utopia, people face discrimination—not for race or sexual orientation, but for being overweight, using banned words, or voicing unpopular opinions.

Degranon: A Science Fiction Adventure. For fans of Star Trek, Babylon 5, Torchwood, Doctor Who, or Lois McMaster Bujold. Winner of a StoneWall Society Pride in the Arts Award.

This is an incredible book about the human condition and how one person striving for the good can, in the end, be a source of change. -Rainbow Reviews, Read the full review.

In Degranon, author Duane Simolke establishes his voice in gay genre writing by combining current concerns revolving around queer culture with a world of dimensional doorways, advanced technology, and distant planets. -X-Factor, October 1, 2004 issue

It's a very good story. -HomoMojo.Com

A must read. -Joe Wright, for StoneWall Society

A reminder of the danger of fanaticism. -Mark Kendrick, author of Stealing Some Time

Duane Simolke's latest offering is a fascinating scifi excursion into a world as unique as his singular vision. -Ronald L. Donaghe, author of Cinátis

I recommend DEGRANON for its exciting, well-constructed narrative, its often intriguing characters, and its wealth of ideas both political and philosophical. -J. Clark

DEGRANON is sci-fi that warrants the attention of any serious aficionado, gay or straight, fascinated by alien worlds that mirror our own world. -William Maltese, author of Beyond Machu

Keywords: dystopia, racism, homophobia, weight discrimination, bigotry

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Fishpond.co.nz
Fishpond.co.au
Degranon: Kindle eBook
The Maintainers Arrive

Sherwood Anderson and Gertrude Stein fans, I've just updated my New Readings of Winesburg, Ohio listing.

Andrew O’Day explores the gay themes of Degranon: A Science Fiction Adventure within Encyclopedia of Contemporary LGBTQ Literature of the United States, a scholarly collection that Emmanuel S. Nelson edited. The publisher’s description of that book follows.

In this two-volume work, hundreds of alphabetically arranged entries survey contemporary lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, and queer American literature and its social contexts.

"Edited by Nelson (English, SUNY Cortland), this two-volume set presents over 300 signed entries authored by over 125 authors, professors, graduate students, librarians, and professionals from across the United States. The articles cover topics of relevance to the field of lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgendered/queer (LGBTQ) literature such as AIDS, seminal texts like Angels in America, and a large number of articles on mainly contemporary authors. ... Bottom Line: Geared toward high school, college, and scholarly research users, this work is free of bias, focusing on LGBTQ topics as equally as the materials enable. Recommended for all academic and high school libraries."

Valentines Day Greetings for Gay Men

Newly updated listing: Holding Me Together

West Texas Tales Still Treasured

Sherwood Anderson.

The Virginia Scribe Reflections by Amy Tate: Sherwood Anderson Posts
Winesburg, Ohio Reading Quiz
2010 E-Book Reading Challenge
JoBlo.Com: The Wettest County Ever
Stein, Gender, Isolation and Industrialism: New Readings of Winesburg, Ohio examines the best known work of the influential American writer, Sherwood Anderson.

Videos for my books are receiving heavy viewing, especially at YouTube. All of my books include gay themes or characters.

Gay Love Poem has received more than 100,000 views at YouTube, while Gay Pride has received more than 13,220 views there. Both videos serve as book trailers for my book Holding Me Together.

Science Fiction has received more than 1100 views at YouTube, while Gay Science Fiction has received more than 4500. Those videos promote my novel Degranon: A Science Fiction Adventure.

The video for The Acorn Stories has received more than 370 views, the video for The Acorn Gathering has received over 780, and the video for The Return of Innocence has received more than 580. These numbers only represent YouTube, and not the other places where the videos appear.

I recently mentioned that A. Chandler, an Amazon.Com Top 100 reviewer, had posted a review of The Acorn Stories, titled “A light hearted read with stories that flow smoothly and a dash of humor.” Chandler is now the #1 reviewer there.

More reviews by A. Chandler.

SF Universe reports that Demons Are Coming to BBC America, January 2. A secret team recruits a teenaged descendent of Van Helsing to fight things bumping in the night. Christian Cooke plays the descendent, Luke Rutherford.

The videos I’ve seen posted make it look fun, with a good combination of danger, humor, and creature effects. It sounds like the perfect companion to BBC America’s Being Human. Like that show, though, the season ends way too quickly.

Gay Movie Review: Shank

Summary:

An eighteen-year-old gang member tries to hide his homosexuality amid a violent life in this gritty British drama. Shank offers a frank, disturbing look at life on the street.

Pictured (from right): Tom Bott (Jonno), Alice Payne (Nessa), Wayne Virgo (Cal), and Marc Laurent (Olivier).

Text:

Eighteen-year-old gang member Cal (Wayne Virgo) acts violently against his homosexual feelings, including those for his best friend, Jonno (Tom Bott). Nessa (Alice Payne) not only leads their gang but also holds secrets about both young men and why she carries so much anger.

In an intentional departure from coming-out films, director Simon Pearce teams with screenwriters Darren Flaxstone and Christian Martin for a British film that depicts a clash between gang life and gay life. The resulting story not only mixes graphic sex and violence but goes much deeper, looking at why people live in fear of sexual orientation and their own vulnerabilities.

Though Cal seems perfectly willing to bash other gays, he finds himself defending and then befriending Olivier (Marc Laurent). Meeting secretly while Cal hides from his fellow gang members, Cal and Olivier quickly fall into a relationship and in love.

Of course, violence waits around every corner for Cal, and he only manages to lead Olivier into that violence. I honestly can’t say for sure that this movie will appeal to all fans of gay films. In fact, I usually prefer some of the more positive representations of gay characters that other movies offer. However, Shank’s honest look at closeted, conflicted gays in dangerous settings makes it equally compelling.

The homosexuality of those characters adds to their complexity, taking what might sound like a B-movie premise and elevating Shank into an exciting, disturbing, and engaging drama. The talented cast and the unconventional script make Shank a memorable experience.

Thanks for visiting my blog! Please read about my small-town fiction collection The Acorn Stories and my free eBook Degranon: A Science Fiction Adventure.