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Q: Queermance Volume 1
The Queermance Anthology celebrates the best of queer Australian romance writing.
Commissioned to celebrate Melbourne's inaugural Queermance Literary Festival, this is an anthology of erotically-charged romances from famous, emerging and aspiring writers.
Volume 1 features fabulous tales of love and lust by Kerry Greenwood, Matthew Lang, NM Harris, Julie A Pollard, Susan Beck, Alison Evans, Kristen Henry, Mary Borsellino, Anders and Nicole Field.
Commissioned to celebrate Melbourne's inaugural Queermance Literary Festival, this is an anthology of erotically-charged romances from famous, emerging and aspiring writers.
Volume 1 features fabulous tales of love and lust by Kerry Greenwood, Matthew Lang, NM Harris, Julie A Pollard, Susan Beck, Alison Evans, Kristen Henry, Mary Borsellino, Anders and Nicole Field.
108 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 17, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 22, 2014
Looking at my shelves is probably not a good idea with this anthology. as it's not specifically paranormal or vamps... or romance or mm.
This is a great selection of writing that showcases writings by Australian authors in the queer arena. And some of those writers are scarily brilliant. Some are known, some not so well but I think all the included stories really do raise the bar on what to expect in the future out of Australia. Certainly beat's a lot of the crap coming out of the US publishers at the moment, which is probably not fair on the authors contained within this anthology because they probably shouldn't be compared that way.
Any way do yourself a treat, grab a copy from Clandestine and find some great stories to pass your day..
This is a great selection of writing that showcases writings by Australian authors in the queer arena. And some of those writers are scarily brilliant. Some are known, some not so well but I think all the included stories really do raise the bar on what to expect in the future out of Australia. Certainly beat's a lot of the crap coming out of the US publishers at the moment, which is probably not fair on the authors contained within this anthology because they probably shouldn't be compared that way.
Any way do yourself a treat, grab a copy from Clandestine and find some great stories to pass your day..
May 17, 2014
I received a free copy of this book from one of the authors in return for an honest review.
This collection of stories manages to get that tricky balance right, of providing variety while cohering to a theme. All the stories, and the one poem, have something to recommend them - but I will, if I may, focus on the ones that stood out for me.
The Flooded Streets, by Julie A Pollard: This is futuristic fic set in a permanently flooded Brisbane, where two women meet while scavenging in the abandoned office blocks. The story seemed straightforward enough at the time, but it really stayed with me - to the point that when I was later writing something set in present-day Brisbane, I had to force myself to remember that it's not currently flooded! Anything that evocative is a winner, I reckon.
I Blame the Cat, by Alison Evans: Another evocative story, this time due to the immersion in Lucy's point-of-view as she is slowly brought out of her shell by Emily, a young woman she meets one night while clubbing. This is all aided and abetted not only by the cat but by Simon, Lucy's gay flatmate. A nice tale of emerging possibilities.
It's So Very Lonely ..., by Kerry Greenwood: An intriguing sci-fi story about Sebastian, lost in an escape pod with only one hour of air left, encountering a rather unexpected alien. This one provoked a great deal of thought, I have to say, about what's acceptable under what circumstances.
Late Bloomer, by NM Harris: I particularly loved this story about a judge and his gardener. The story is set in Launceston, in the judge's large house and gardens. This was interesting, as we rarely see this sort of setting in Australian stories, instead associating such things with English manor houses and the like. It really worked very nicely indeed. I loved the detail of the gardens, and the deftly told love story was delightful.
As well as these gems, we also have Aussie teenagers being their full-on selves, a poem beautifully evoking an unforgettable moment, and various queer encounters both natural and supernatural. All in all, a darned good read!
This collection of stories manages to get that tricky balance right, of providing variety while cohering to a theme. All the stories, and the one poem, have something to recommend them - but I will, if I may, focus on the ones that stood out for me.
The Flooded Streets, by Julie A Pollard: This is futuristic fic set in a permanently flooded Brisbane, where two women meet while scavenging in the abandoned office blocks. The story seemed straightforward enough at the time, but it really stayed with me - to the point that when I was later writing something set in present-day Brisbane, I had to force myself to remember that it's not currently flooded! Anything that evocative is a winner, I reckon.
I Blame the Cat, by Alison Evans: Another evocative story, this time due to the immersion in Lucy's point-of-view as she is slowly brought out of her shell by Emily, a young woman she meets one night while clubbing. This is all aided and abetted not only by the cat but by Simon, Lucy's gay flatmate. A nice tale of emerging possibilities.
It's So Very Lonely ..., by Kerry Greenwood: An intriguing sci-fi story about Sebastian, lost in an escape pod with only one hour of air left, encountering a rather unexpected alien. This one provoked a great deal of thought, I have to say, about what's acceptable under what circumstances.
Late Bloomer, by NM Harris: I particularly loved this story about a judge and his gardener. The story is set in Launceston, in the judge's large house and gardens. This was interesting, as we rarely see this sort of setting in Australian stories, instead associating such things with English manor houses and the like. It really worked very nicely indeed. I loved the detail of the gardens, and the deftly told love story was delightful.
As well as these gems, we also have Aussie teenagers being their full-on selves, a poem beautifully evoking an unforgettable moment, and various queer encounters both natural and supernatural. All in all, a darned good read!
April 6, 2014
I received a free copy from one of the authors in exchange for an honest review.
There's a little of everything in this anthology of Antipodean gay and lesbian short stories. Science fiction, paranormal, dystopian, contemporary; even a hint of BDSM in "Vanilla," by Mary Borsellino.
The story with the longest title, Kerry Greenwood's "It's So Very Lonely, When You're a Thousand Light Years from Home," is almost too short, and lightly sweet, like following a nice scent and discovering someone else just grabbed the last pot of those flowers.
"Leaving Home," by Susan Beck is the reason I wanted to read this book. A continuation of her very funny "Leaving Lennox" in Blokes in Love, it did not disappoint. So many M/M writers seem flummoxed by the concept of time, this tale takes up two weeks after the end of "Lennox," careens through the last minute flurry of leaving for university, uncertainty of a new love, anticipation, and confusion about sexual orientation. Not as many laughs as "Lennox" but well-done. I look forward to the next installment of Adam and Ed.
Among the paranormal tales, one of the lesbian stories, "Fearless," may seem a bit squicky at first, but trust me, it's not going where you think it is (it reminded me of an Anaïs Nin short story at first and thankfully was quite different).
Nicole Field's "The Selkie" is a classic of the short story genre, I wanted to whack the protagonist, Tully, upside the head but am unlikely to ever set foot in Tasmania.
I enjoyed "Inheritance" from Matthew Lang although I can't quite put my finger on what didn't work, perhaps the reluctance of Lex? And I liked the idea behind "Late Bloomer" by NM Harris but not the limited third person present tense POV.
In all, a well edited collection.
There's a little of everything in this anthology of Antipodean gay and lesbian short stories. Science fiction, paranormal, dystopian, contemporary; even a hint of BDSM in "Vanilla," by Mary Borsellino.
The story with the longest title, Kerry Greenwood's "It's So Very Lonely, When You're a Thousand Light Years from Home," is almost too short, and lightly sweet, like following a nice scent and discovering someone else just grabbed the last pot of those flowers.
"Leaving Home," by Susan Beck is the reason I wanted to read this book. A continuation of her very funny "Leaving Lennox" in Blokes in Love, it did not disappoint. So many M/M writers seem flummoxed by the concept of time, this tale takes up two weeks after the end of "Lennox," careens through the last minute flurry of leaving for university, uncertainty of a new love, anticipation, and confusion about sexual orientation. Not as many laughs as "Lennox" but well-done. I look forward to the next installment of Adam and Ed.
Among the paranormal tales, one of the lesbian stories, "Fearless," may seem a bit squicky at first, but trust me, it's not going where you think it is (it reminded me of an Anaïs Nin short story at first and thankfully was quite different).
Nicole Field's "The Selkie" is a classic of the short story genre, I wanted to whack the protagonist, Tully, upside the head but am unlikely to ever set foot in Tasmania.
I enjoyed "Inheritance" from Matthew Lang although I can't quite put my finger on what didn't work, perhaps the reluctance of Lex? And I liked the idea behind "Late Bloomer" by NM Harris but not the limited third person present tense POV.
In all, a well edited collection.
April 4, 2014
I know I'm one of the authors, but the other stories in this wee Aussie anthology are just lovely.
September 2, 2016
Review of the stories I didn't write
December 7, 2014
A diverse and entertaining collection of short stories.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews