Writing news.

Thanks for reading! I've been working on short stories lately and hope to make more announcements about those soon. Also, watch for news about a paperback version of Sons of Taldra.

Flash Fiction: Gay Cowboy Vampire Highlander (no, really)

My flash fiction story Gay Cowboy Vampire Highlander appears in the March 2018 edition of Who Writes Short Shorts? That site features flash fiction and promotes the stories on twitter.

Featured Book Blog: Speculative Fiction Spot

Speculative Fiction Spot is "Your spot for news, author spotlights, awesome book deals and giveaways and everything else speculative fiction!"

Dark speculative fiction author Renee Scattergood started this blog as a companion to Renee's Author Spotlight but with an emphasis on scifi, fantasy, and horror. Visit her network of sites for a free eBook and a lot of reading recommendations.

Sons of Taldra: A Science Fiction Adventure at Speculative Fiction Spot.

Please click the tags under this entry to find more reader and writer resources; please also use the icons to share this blog entry.

Featured Book Blog: My Book Place

MyBookPlace.Net features author interviews and details about new books. Readers can find something of interest with the search engine or category listings. Writers can take part for free or choose paid options for increased publicity. The layout for the entries makes it easy to learn much more about the works and their writers.

My Texas Humor Book at MyBookPlace.Net

Find more reader and writer resources via the tags under this entry.

Book Reviews Continue During 20th Anniversary Year of The Acorn Stories

• “Duane Simolke is one of our great American writers just ready to be recognized as such. He has the talent and the imagination and the humanity and the perspective to make each of our lives richer. Bravo!” –Grady Harp, Amazon Hall of Fame Reviewer
• “I love the numerous small wins of the characters and the unexpected turns of luck.” –Billy O.
• “Having spent quite a bit of time in Texas, I could see each character matching someone I know or have met in my time there.” –Noel D
• “Amazing and hard to put down.” –Kimmie Sue’s Book Review and More
• “Snapshots of the lives of people and their life-changing encounters that will leave lasting impressions on you.” –Michelle Williams
• “Readers who enjoy immersive first person stories about small town life and the human condition will love this book.” –Purple
• “The author demonstrates a healthy understanding of human nature.” –John H. Mangold
• “Amazing and hard to put down.” –Kimmie Sue’s Book Review and More

The Acorn Stories.

Flame.Con: The World’s Largest Queer Comic Con

Gay geeks should love Flame.Con.Org, which runs August 18-19, 2018, in New York. Details from their website include the following: “Flame Con, the world’s largest queer comic con, returns for its fourth year. Featuring a two-day comics, arts and entertainment expo, showcasing creators and special guests from all corners of the LGBTQ fandom. It features thoughtful discussions, exclusive performances, screenings, cosplay and more!”

This is their fourth year. Last year’s FlameCon received considerable coverage from SyFy.Com and other media, as well as praise from attendees. I’m promoting Sons of Taldra as an online sponsor. My FlameCon sponsor page.

Guests this year include comic illustrators and/or comic artists Brittney Williams, Atla Hrafney, Jen Bartel, Tee Franklin, Kris Anka, and Sina Grace. Flame.Con is still adding more guests at this time. Please visit the site to read more about the guests, sponsors, and ways to get involved (or just to sign up for updates). Please support queer representation in the arts.

Please also see my blog entry Sons of Taldra: What is Gay SciFi?

Flame.Con

Featured Book Blog: Author Features at Renee's Author Spotlight

Renee's Author Spotlight offers indie and small press authors a place to share about their work. It also offers readers a chance to find new authors, some free books, and much more.

From the blog description:

"If you're a reader, I hope you will browse these pages and support the authors within them! You can show your support by buying their books, writing reviews and posting them on relevant sites (such as Amazon and Goodreads) as well as your own blog (if you have one), and you can help spread the word by sharing these Author Spotlights on your social media sites."

Renee Scattergood writes dark fantasy, including the Shadow Stalker series.

Renee's Author Spotlight listing for my book Sons of Taldra: A Science Fiction Adventure.

Keywords: find books, book promotion. Find more reader and writer resources by clicking the tags below this post.

Featured Book Blog: The Novel Approach

The Novel Approach description: "The Novel Approach is a site focused on books in the LGBTQ+ spectrum." Lisa Horan owns this book blog, which features book reviews, giveaways, guest posts, and much more. Visitors can find reviews by reviewer, rating, or publisher, or just use the search engine.

I love the banner quote: "I am too fond of reading books to care to write them."

Follow on twitter to keep up with the constant updates.

Sons of Taldra: What is Gay SciFi?

Sons of Taldra is a gay scifi novel in which a heroic Native woman and her gay sons fight shapeshifting aliens.

The terms gay scifi, gay science fiction, queer scifi, etc., refer to science fiction with gay themes or gay characters in major roles. Several related and more inclusive terms exist as well, bringing in other genres and other orientations—lesbian fantasy, queer horror, queer fantasy, LGBT speculative fiction, etc.

My novel Degranon: A Science Fiction Adventure is another example of gay scifi, though Sons focuses a lot more on gay relationships. Both novels also appear as one specially priced eBook.

Sons of Taldra has three book trailers so far. I’ve included those in the YouTube video playlist Gay SciFi, which also contains videos about books, movies, TV shows, and more from other creatives.

Sons of Taldra: Teaser Trailer.

Sons of Taldra: 2nd Trailer.

Sons of Taldra: 3rd Trailer.

I also have a special list of my twitter followers: LGBT SciFi/Fantasy/Horror. It covers a wide variety of related topics from the perspectives of numerous fans and/or creators. Keep in mind, though, that some members there post tweets that are not safe for work (NSFW).

For details about more related authors, books, and resources, visit QueerSciFi.Com and Gay Geek and Fabulous (Official GayGeeks).

Revised version of fantasy adventure now out.

Revised eBook, published 2018 on Kindle.

Sometimes, going home is the most dangerous adventure of all!

The Return of Innocence blends humor and romance with exciting fantasy action. Visit Theln, a planet of magic, dragons, nobility, and heroes. Sasha Varov was born into a noble home in the Thelni kingdom of Jaan, but Sasha’s father dared to oppose the king’s sorcerer, Wuhrlock. Sasha and her family became exiles on a desolate island.

At sixteen, Sasha left her island home to buy seeds in Jaan. She stumbled into a series of misadventures that ended with the death of Wuhrlock and made Sasha a legend, known as “Innocence.” Never mind that the legend barely resembled the truth, or that Sasha caught Wuhrlock in an unguarded moment. When Sasha returned for more seeds, the people of Jaan expected her to defeat a much more ruthless and powerful sorcerer.

I wrote the short story “The Return of Innocence” in 1983. With contributions by Toni Davis, I later developed it into a novel. As with all of my books, it includes gays and people of color.

Disclaimer: Admittedly, some of the readers who like my other works have no comment about this one, and one critic really tore apart the first edition. Still, I wanted to create a light-hearted and fun novel, and I enjoyed the adventure. Some reactions follow.

---

“This was a really fun fantasy book. I loved the world Simolke created, because it has the traditional ‘medieval’ sort of feel what with how it took place in villages where people bartered and traded, but it had many modern elements that I appreciated.” –Shawn C. Sproatt, author of The Misfit of Supernatural High (Supernatural High Series)

“As an avid Simolke reader, one way I judge a book is that I want to know more about the characters that are introduced to me. ‘The Return of Innocence’ is one of those books. (Duane, take the hint.)” –Joe Wright, for StoneWall Society

“In 'The Return of Innocence', Duane Simolke once again proves his writing mastery.” –Mark Kendrick, author of Stealing Some Time

“Not your typical swashbuckler.” –Bob Medak, for Allbooks Reviews

“An engrossingly successful story-teller.” –William Maltese, author of Beyond Machu

---