Saturday, October 26, 2013

Gay Science Fiction News

Gay Love in New SciFi Adventure! Read about Sons of Taldra and more.

Monday, August 05, 2013

First Three Chapters of Gay Science Fiction Novel

“Unidentified space vessels, this is Captain Laaron of the Degran ship Equestar. We’re on a mining mission and mean no harm to anyone, but we have the capacity for self-defense. Please stop firing and identify yourselves.”

Only static came through the com.

Finally, a single broadcast confirmed what they suspected: something was on the planet, killing the Equestar crew members who had been mining the planet below. “Ships! They’re shooting at us!”

The static returned, and neither attackers nor crew members answered Laaron’s hails.

What kind of ships? Was it someone from another circle of Degranon? Equestar hadn’t heard from anyone outside its crew since leaving Degranon’s broadcast range.

Laaron jerked around to see if the other two officers on his deck had anything to report. Their skin-tight red and black uniforms couldn’t conceal their shaking.

Lt. Em stared back at him. With a clean-shaven head and a height that made her look down at most of the Equestar’s men, she rarely looked nervous. Over the past two years, she had remained calm during the middle of a meteor shower, a mine shaft collapse, and a case of oxygen line congestion. But enemy vessels were something new. Laaron could practically see fear throbbing through the veins of her long, brown hands, making them shake.

Read more...

Sons of Taldra, Chapter 1 Draft

Sons of Taldra, Chapter 2 Draft

Sons of Taldra, Chapter 3 Draft

Keywords: gay scifi, sci-fi, science fiction, adventure, gay marriage, Degranon, Duane Simolke, Native American, First Nation, African American, black, Arabic, Indian, Hispanic, people of color, strong women, female leaders, space travel, health care, shapeshifters, aliens, teen heroes, new adult, diversity, social issues, alternate reality

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

More Positive Reviews for Free Comedy eBook.

Click the book cover to read the reviews and join the discussion at GoodReads.

Fat Diary (Acorn, Texas)

This short story also appears in The Acorn Gathering. Some of its characters also appear in The Acorn Stories.

Sunday, July 28, 2013

Video Science Fiction Receives 2000 Views at YouTube

Watch the video:

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. "Revenge," by Plain White T's, used by permission.

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

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 CinĂ¡tis

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

http://DuaneSimolke.Com/

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Vacation Reading

Reviews of West Texas Book The Acorn Stories
I found this book to be a perfect vacation companion. Filled with stories that "packed a punch" for good reading but were also short and often had some good humor spliced into the writing.

Saturday, June 01, 2013

Buzz About Free Humor eBook

“Since the book's available in all ebook formats completely for free, I would ask everyone to have a look at this great short story. Trust me, it's worth your time.” –from Tista Ray’s review of Fat Diary.

“Well worth the read for the laughs!” –from SheWolfCat’s review of Fat Diary.

A West Texas librarian makes fun of herself and the other people in her town, while writing about her reasons for wanting to lose weight.

Pamela Mae Willard must learn to love herself. Still, she can’t resist laughing about her problems, and about the adventures of the colorful characters in Acorn, Texas.

This irreverent, politically incorrect tale reveals a woman finding joy in life, no matter what happens to her and no matter who mistreats her.

This short story also appears in The Acorn Gathering. Some of its characters also appear in The Acorn Stories.

Free at Barnes & Noble.

Free at Smashwords.

Discuss Fat Diary and other books at Goodreads.

Categories: humor, comedy, short story, fiction.

Keywords: Duane Simolke, fat diary, weight loss, fat, humor, comedy, satire, West Texas, Texans, Lubbock authors, writers, politically incorrect, e-books, eBooks, fiction, fictional towns and cities, short stories, Sordid Lives, Tuna, gay, ex-gay, exgay, small-town, small town, rural, chick lit, women’s fiction, Acorn.

Blog entry updated June 1, 2013.

Monday, November 08, 2010

Revisiting Diversity in Science Fiction.

Now that I’ve completed a draft to the sequel of Degranon: A Science Fiction Adventure, I still find myself surprised by the slow but steadily growing audience Degranon finds. It’s been almost ten years since the first edition appeared. I rewrote the book two years after its publication, following an earlier idea of making some of the major characters gay.

Read more.

Friday, October 01, 2010

Bitsy Bling's Book Review: featured author Duane Simolke.

Monday, September 27, 2010

Attention Xena fans!

Visit AuthorIsland Giveaway for details about winning a paperback copy of The Return of Innocence: A Fantasy Adventure. AuthorIsland must receive entries before October 1, 2010.

TROI is a campy novel with gay and lesbian characters and an accidental heroine.

Keywords: science fiction, fantasy, sword & sorcery, gay and lesbian, novels, novel, fiction, contests, drawing, giveaway

Monday, April 05, 2010

Monday, March 08, 2010

Duane Simolke is currently writing a sequel to Degranon: A Science Fiction Adventure.

Sunday, March 07, 2010

Visit the official website at http://ebookweek.com for details about Read an E-Book Week, March 7-13. Many of the participating sites will offer free and/or discounted eBooks. New Readings of Winesburg, Ohio and many other titles are already free, but Smashwords and other publishers will offer discount coupons for many other eBooks.

During that week, use the code RAE50 at checkout, to save half off
The Acorn Stories, Degranon: A Science Fiction Adventure (gay-themed scifi), The Return of Innocence: A Fantasy Adventure, Holding Me Together, and many other Smashwords eBooks.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

West Texas Tales Still Treasured. The West Texas fiction collection The Acorn Stories continues to receive positive reviews and new readers. Now the top customer reviewer at Amazon.Com has recommended it.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Proposition 8?

Read about gay marriage and bigotry-inspired constitutional amendments in Duane Simolke’s award-winning novel Degranon: A Science Fiction Adventure.

Saturday, October 04, 2008

Lubbock, Texas: Tuesday, October 14, 4:30-6:30 PM. I’ll sign copies of The Acorn Gathering at Barnes & Noble (6707 Slide Road). From a scandal-rocked town in West Texas to the Blackfeet Indian reservation in Montana, these short stories take readers to surprising places in America and the human heart!

The Acorn Gathering is a fiction anthology that raises money for the fight against cancer. I edited that book and wrote four of its stories.

Read the reviews.

Monday, September 08, 2008

Rainbow Reviews has posted a review of my gay-themed novel Degranon: A Science Fiction Adventure. Read the review.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

New Book Trailer.

Innocence Returns, in Video Form:



The Return of Innocence: A Fantasy Adventure

Saturday, January 05, 2008