Check Out Dave Butler's Kickstarter!

Hi alls!

Just wanted to let you know that Dave Butler is partway through a kickstarter re-launching his Witchy War series! These books are an American Epic Fantasy series, and they'r'e awesome. He's already funded, but you can still get in on some of these very cool rewards (shirts! mugs! hats! oh my!) if you back before the end of the month. I highly recommend it--Dave is an incredible writer and an incredible human.

Here's his kickstarter!

Here's a link to his new publishing house!

The WITCHY WAR Kickstarter project is LIVE! It funded in ONE HOUR. Putting a critically-acclaimed, award-winning epic American fantasy trilogy back into print in a cool new edition. Back the Witchy War here: https://t.co/RPV9X0cn7D https://t.co/1W6SGY8lgr

— D.J. Butler -- Sci-Fi / Fantasy Author and Editor (@DavidJohnButler) October 1, 2026

Someone is Impersonating Me in a Phishing Scam (Boooooo)

Hi alls!

Long time no, uh, anything?

I wish I had better news to report (although I have written and been working on a few different books that I hope to tell you more about one day...), but the immediate situation is that someone is currently impersonating me in emails sent to authors. 

The TLDR of all this: if you've received an email from someone claiming to be me, inviting you to be a part of some kind of showcase, it is a scam, and you should not give that person any of your information.

This is, unfortunately, something that happens a lot these days. The best resource for all of this is probably Writer Beware, which has tons of info, including posts about these "impersonation" scams. So, please, stay safe out there!

Regarding my situation specifically, here are a few more details. A fellow author recently reached out to my agent after receiving an email claiming to be from me. The message invited the recipient to participate in an “international broadcast showcase” organized by the (as far as I can tell, completely made up) "Indie Horizon Media Group." The email was not written by me, and I have no affiliation with that organization.

Whoever is behind the scam has used my name, a real author photo, information about my books, and even created a Gmail account that resembles my identity. The account they used is "christopherhusberg.writer@gmail.com," which is not my email address. I’ve reported the impersonating account to Google, and I'm in the process of filing reports through a number of other outlets including law enforcement.

At the moment, I have no reason to believe that my personal email accounts or website have been compromised (which isn't to say that I'm not taking extra precautions, but still.) This appears to be an impersonation using publicly available information rather than a hack of my accounts.

So, anyway, if you receive an unsolicited email claiming to be from me about media appearances, author showcases, paid opportunities, or similar invitations, please treat it with skepticism. I will never cold-email authors from a Gmail address representing myself as a media executive or ask you to participate in promotional opportunities through an organization you’ve never heard of. Also, honestly, I'm just not really engaged in that side of the business at the moment. I write books, and I attend conventions and conferences myself, but I don't do anything on the invitational side of things.

Thank you to the people who took the time to alert me! I appreciate everyone helping to keep our writing community informed and safe.

So, once again, stay safe!

Chaos Queen NAZANIIN SWORD Incoming

 Ya'll, Kevin Nielsen (@kevinlnielsen.bladesmith) is making a real-life replica of a Nazaniin sword from the Chaos Queen series.

This is not a drill.

Proof:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kevin Nielsen (@kevinlnielsen.bladesmith)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kevin Nielsen (@kevinlnielsen.bladesmith)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kevin Nielsen (@kevinlnielsen.bladesmith)

More proof:

It's looking amazing so far. When it's done, it should look like the weapon so many of your favorite Nazaniin used in the books (Code! Kali! Nash!). I'm personally loving the way it's coming together.

If you haven't followed Kevin on Instagram, you definitely should--especially if you're interested in more amazing blacksmithing projects! @kevinlnielsen.bladesmith :-D 

🗡️👹 I'll keep you posted on the sword's progress, but for now I'll leave you with this video:

QR22 Day 30! Schitt's Creek!

 

Last but far from least, for the final day of my Pride Month Queer Representation challenge: Schitt's Creek.

David Rose might be one of my favorite fictional characters of all time. (For queer purposes, his wine bottle dialog is iconic. As is his entire character.) But then I also love Alexis! And Moira! And Stevie! And Patrick! And Johnny! And so many other things about this show! The cast just nails every moment, the memes are in infinite supply, it makes my cry from laughter and then cry from happiness, and it has Moira's Rose's Garden. I have a running list of top 5 sitcoms that doesn't change often, but Schitt's Creek immediately made the cut. This show is iconic. You should watch it, and you should also watch the special "Best Wishes, Warmest Regards," which is really wonderful and puts a new perspective on the entire show.

Happy Pride Month! ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🤍💗💙🤎🖤

(Probably next week I'll do some honorable mentions and a reflective post on the list as a whole, so that's coming as well!)

QR22 Day 29 - Dickinson

 

There's no shortage of literary criticism and historical evidence suggesting the poet Emily Dickinson might have been queer. You can read her poetry, biographies, criticism, or whatever you want and decide for yourself, but the case is compelling.

The Apple TV show Dickinson takes that premise and runs with it in tumultuous mash-up of history, humor, poetry, modern slang-injected dialog, and drama. And it's freaking great. It's like A Knight's Tale meets Jane Austen in antebellum America. Hailee Steinfeld shines as Emily Dickinson, and Ella Hunt (from Anna and the Apocalypse!) plays opposite her perfectly as Sue, Emily's best friend and chief love interest. Jane Krakowski is in it. Wiz Khalifa plays Death. Billy Eichner has a cameo as Walt Whitman. Like???

So that's the penultimate day of Queer Representation! One more to go! 🏳️‍🌈

QR22 Day 28: The Unspoken Name

 

Day 28 of Queer Representation (only two more days left after today!) and today I’m talking about the novel The Unspoken Name by A.K. Larkwood. Listen, who doesn’t want to read a book about a young orc girl who was raised for the explicit purpose of being sacrificed to her dark god, only to be given an option to live at the last moment by a powerful wizard, and to then go on to be a badass assassin, and do tons of crazy awesome things, yada yada yada, and there’s tons of queer content, including said main character orc being queer. It’s real good, ya’ll. Peace. 🏳️‍🌈

QR22 DAY 27: Hacks

 

Queer Rep day 27: Hacks is easily one of my favorite new series--maybe one of my favorite series of all time. A washed-up and nearly cancelled comedy writer is enlisted to help write jokes for a once legendary now-on-the-way-out comedian, and hilarity and antics and drama ensue. The acting and writing is top notch, and the show is SO funny and also tuggy on the heartstrings, as it were, and it has some of the best bisexual representation I've seen in...anything, honestly. I can't overstate how great that casting and acting are in Hacks--Jean Smart, Hannah Einbinder, and Carl Clemons-Hopkins SLAY. It's so good. 🏳️‍🌈

QR22 Day 26 - Crush

Crush is a brand new teen romcom on the scene, and what I'm plugging for day 26 of my Queer Representation challenge! And what Love, Simon is for male/male queer teen romcoms, Crush is for female/female queer teen romcoms. Engaging characters, and a solid, fun story. Rowan Blanchard is perfect in the lead role, and it was awesome to see Auli'i Cravalho (Moana!) do something a bit different. And they both crush it (pun absolutely intended). 🏳️‍🌈

 
 

QR22 Day 25 - The Haunting of Bly Manor

 

Day 25 of Queer Rep is The Haunting of Bly Manor, a gothic drama/romance with a fair shake of horror thrown in. The creator, Mike Flanagan, is also behind The Haunting of Hill House as well as Midnight Mass, both really fantastic horror programs in their own right. But while Hill House is certainly scarier, and Midnight Mass dives into some fascinating metaphors and philosophical ground, imo Bly is the best of the three--and there's a really well done queer relationship at it's heart. 🏳️‍🌈

QR22 Day 24 - Little Girl

For day 24 of my Queer Representation list I'm talking about the French film Little Girl. This is a very tight, focused documentary about Sasha, a young child who was assigned the male gender at birth but from a very early age insisted she wanted to be a girl. It's just a segment of her journey, but it's tender and intimate and while it may not answer many questions about the trans community, it certainly conveys a powerful trans experience.

In all honesty I'm feeling too sick and heartbroken over the Supreme Court ruling today to say much more. Just...be good to each other. And fuck the patriarchy. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

QR22 Day 23 - Our Flag Means Death

Day 23 of Queer Rep: Our Flag Means Death.

"Queerbaiting" is an unfortunate trend in which possible relationships between same-sex characters are teased, but never fully realized on the screen or page. Sometimes this is just ignorant writing, but more often than not it's more insidious than that, a marketing technique to attract LGBTQIA+ audiences and allies without expressly committing to a queer story. (If season 2 of Warrior Nun doesn't have any queerness in it, for example, it would be an egregious queer baiting offense.)

A recent Atlantic article called Our Flag Means Death "the opposite of queer baiting" and I 100% agree--it's a really well done, slow-burn queer romance with a payoff, ensconced in an always brilliant, often hilarious comedy about pirates. Also Taika Waititi is attached.

The show is delightful and you should watch it! 🏳️‍🌈

 

QR22 Day 22 - Warrior Nun

 

Ah, Warrior Nun. Weird, imperfect, and awesome. Imagine if demons were real and the Catholic Church had an entire warrior sect devoted to fighting them off, including a divinely-powered superwoman called the Warrior Nun, and you’ll have a pretty solid grip on the series premise. It’s fun, if overly serious sometimes, and a little too reliant on mediocre CGI, but it has some strong elements. It certainly fits the mold of a BtVS successor, and while it fits a little better than a lot of other contenders out there, it falls far short compared to TBH.

I questioned whether to include this one in my Queer Representation list too, honestly, because the queer is…subtle. Barely textual, honestly. But it is there, and has so much promise. The good news is that it was renewed for a second season and it should be releasing later this year! And based on the recently released trailer, my hopes are reasonably high that they’ll embrace the show’s queerness instead of sweeping it under the rug—but we’ll see. Anyway, that’s day 22!

QR22 Day 21 - TEENAGE BOUNTY HUNTERS

 

Ya’ll I have been waiting ALL MONTH to talk about this one. For Day 21 of Queer Representation: Teenage Bounty Hunters!

But first, a rant.

I mentioned Buffy the Vampire Slayer yesterday, and there’s no denying that BtVS has progressed beyond cult classic into legitimate classic in its own right. Classic enough that I’ve often heard people talk about “spiritual successors” or “heirs” to the BtVS zeitgeist. (If your response to that is “Chris I’ve literally never heard people talk about 'successors to the BtVS zeitgeist' or whatever,” my response to you is in two parts: 1 - you admittedly sound like a normal person so that’s fine and I’m happy for you, and 2 - you obviously need to watch more BtVS and read more about it and study it and discuss it in person with everyone you know and online with random people on the internet a lot more. Because you are living half a life.)

Anyway. Let’s be honest, BtVS left a big throne to fill, as it were. There are a lot of things that made Buffy so iconic. Quick, whippy, creative dialog. Grungy, indy rock and pop sprinkled perfectly throughout. Creating cohesive season- and series- spanning stories at a time when TV was almost exclusively week-by-week. Metaphor: using supernatural drama as a lens to examine teenage drama, and using both to examine universal fears, questions, and social issues. Characters—heroes and villains and everything in between—that were complex, multifaceted, and experienced growth and change in step with the series-spanning plot elements.

There have been a string of pretenders to the vacant Buffy throne over the years, all of them trying to replicate the above. The Vampire Diaries was an obvious candidate (and a show I acknowledged years ago when it was airing). An interesting new contender is First Kill, a vampire series that does have queer representation as well as a decent story and characters, but also falls short in a few areas. There have been many others, including one I’m mentioning tomorrow for Queer Rep, but none of them quite manage to lock down the throne.

The problem with most surface-level, failed “successors” to BtVS is that they focus too much on the teen and supernatural aspects of the show, and honestly they can't even get that stuff right. They hammer the supernatural without metaphor and nuance, creating stories that are admittedly dramatic but overwhelmingly hollow. They cram pop (and pop-adjacent, or pop-alt-rock, or indie-pop-whatever) music tracks into every possible scene that could remotely (or don’t remotely) call for music, and shamelessly stitch pop-culture references and the latest urban dictionary entries into otherwise uninspired dialog. What follows isn’t something that genuinely feels youthful, or current, or like it has something to say, but rather something that feels more like a Frankensteinian pop-culture monster crafted by a bunch of executives who googled “what do The Youth like these days?” and went with whatever was on the first page of results. Don’t get me wrong—teens (and really anyone remotely interested in pop culture) often still like these shows. They’re popular! And I’m not saying they shouldn’t be. I liked The Vampire Diaries and First Kill, for the most part. But they aren’t remotely in the same arena as BtVS.

No, my friends. The truth is, that throne sat empty and unoccupied since BtVS ended in 2004. 

Unoccupied, anyway, until 2020, when Teenage Bounty Hunters was released on Netflix.

Teenage Bounty Hunters (TBH) is the One True Heir to Buffy. Let’s go down the list of things I mentioned earlier:

• TBH’s dialog is innately delightful and hilarious, but it also feels current, creative, and effortless.
• They don’t smash you on the head with the music, but there are tracks that have recurring importance and other moments where the music fits perfectly for humor, drama, or really whatever else the story needs.
• TBH executes the monster-of-the-week/season-spanning-arc hybrid approach flawlessly. (“Skip”-of-the week in TBH’s case, because they’re bounty hunters, but it’s the same idea.)
• The show weaves teen drama, metaphor, and the bounty-hunter plot elements perfectly. It has heart, because instead of empty teen drama or supernatural nonsense, it’s full of meaning on multiple levels.
• The characters are wonderful. Sterling. Blair. Bowser. April. Ellen. Terrence. I need them on a t-shirt. And the casting and acting is really phenomenal. Also Method Man is in it. Like??? It’s so great.

So it’s as good as—and in some cases better than (YES I SAID IT) BtVS on almost every level. And there’s more:

• Crucially, TBH is not a supernatural series. Admittedly the premise (two teenage twin girls start working for a local bounty hunter while dealing with family and high school drama) is so ridiculous it’s almost supernatural, but it’s actually implemented seamlessly, and the show still uses elements of the premise to explore metaphors, social issues, etc.
• It’s incredibly sex-positive and empowering. Sex is always a choice in the show, and when characters make mistakes in the sex arena—which happens often—they learn from it and grow. When they have positive experiences, they see and acknowledge the positive. It's really well done. (Which also means the sexual content is reasonably mid-to-high in this show, so if that’s not for you, you’ve been warned. But trust me, if you can get through the first five minutes of the first episode, you’re going to be fine, and you’re going to love the show.)
• It’s gaaaaaaay! I won’t spoil anything but it’s gay and it’s great. I will say the series makes you work for the gay, though, so be prepared for a lot of…I don’t know, not-gay for the first few episodes. But when the gay hits, it’s like wait this show is SO GAY and it’s amazing.

There’s really only one problem with Teenage Bounty Hunters: Netflix cancelled it after it’s first season.

I know, it’s horrible. And story elements and questions are left unanswered. And I can only imagine how great the series might have become if it had been allowed a few more seasons of life. But the lone season is so good that it’s absolutely worth watching. And I’ll be honest, if I were given the chance to resurrect one TV show from the grave of cancellation, it would not be Firefly. It would be Teenage Bounty Hunters. I know those are fighting words for just about everyone I know, but they're truth.

So, Teenage Bounty Hunters. It’s…so, so good. It inhabits the zeitgeisty throne of BtVS with august majesty. Watch it. Love it. Live it. Or whatever. 🏳️‍🌈

QR22 Day 20 - Buffy the Vampire Slayer

 

For day 20 of Queer Representation I’m going to talk about Buffy the Vampire Slayer. (If you know me at all you had to expect this at some point, right?) And honestly, there’s a lot to say. But I’m also going to try to keep this short. So, the highlights: 

Willow Rosenberg is one of the best characters in the entire series. She’s smart, she’s funny, she’s brave, she’s compassionate, she’s a witch, and she’s also gay (or, arguably, bisexual, but I personally think she’s solidly in the lesbian camp). Her relationship with Tara was really wonderful (with one big asterisk), and they shared one of the first lesbian kisses on television as well as the first lesbian love scene. So, BtVS has a few strong gay characters whose characterization goes beyond their gayness, and it was willing to take some risks at a time where things like this were risky. So that’s good!

But also, the lowlights. BtVS falls into some harmful tropes for the LGBTQIA+ community. “Bury your gays” (there’s the asterisk) and “gay panic” (namely: Xander) are the first ones that come to mind, but I imagine there are others. I won’t go into detail about what those tropes mean for the sake of time and spoilers, but you can follow the links to find out more.

What I’d like to point out is that even though BtVS was a very good series in a lot of respects, and even though in some ways it pioneered queer representation, it didn’t come without issues and without problems. Honestly it makes films like But I’m a Cheerleader and Saving Face, and books like Annie on My Mind (all contemporary or predating BtVS) even more impressive because they manage to have strong representation without furthering problematic tropes. So, kind of a mixed bag here, but I think it’s worth acknowledging that just because a piece of media might have good representation or further a cause in a specific way doesn’t mean it’s completely unproblematic. 🏳️‍🌈

QR22 Day 19 - Love, Simon

Look, for Day 19 of Queer Representation we’re going to keep it simple. Love Simon is great. It’s just a really, really good romcom where the rom in question happens to be gay. Characters are likeable, the story is fun. Honestly I don’t know what else to say about it! Except: you should watch it :-D. (And that the spinoff series on Hulu, Love, Victor, is also very very good!) 🏳️‍🌈

QR22 Day 18 - But I’m a Cheerleader

 

If you’re looking for an OG gay cult classic, look no further than But I’m a Cheerleader, the 1999 teen romcom with a bit of a satire-y streak. But I’m a Cheerleader follows Megan, a—you guessed it—high school cheerleader whose parents send her to a form of conversion therapy camp. The film’s cast is first rate. Natasha Lyonne, now a gay icon largely because of this film, is both hilarious and sincere as Megan. Clea DuVall, who has since come out as lesbian, does delightful work as Graham. RuPaul is in it, as is Melanie Lynskey, and even Michelle Williams has a small role. 

But beyond the cast, the film is kind of mind blowing for how it manages to weave humor, drama, and satire, making gay conversion therapy* seem both laughably ridiculous and horrifically insane at the same time while also making me root unabashedly for the central couple. All in 1999. It’s quite phenomenal. And that’s why it’s Day 18 of Queer Rep. 🏳️‍🌈

* While this film once again does a surprisingly good job of treating this topic, and I love it because it is, ultimately, a romcom, it’s worth mentioning a few other movies and their source material, namely The Miseducation of Cameron Post and Boy Erased, both of which take a more serious approach to the reality and consequences of gay education therapy.

QR22 Day 17 - Marlon Bundo

 

Alright, for Day 17 of Queer Rep it’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Presents: A Day In The Life Of Marlon Bundo. This one has a lot of backstory behind it involving Mike Pence, John Oliver, and others, but what you need to know is this:

1. It’s a children’s book about two boy bunnies who get married despite ignorance and opposition.
2. ALL proceeds of the book go to the Trevor Project (nonprofit organization focusing on preventing suicide in LGBTQIA+ youth) and AIDS United (nonprofit organization focusing on ending the AIDS epidemic in the United States).
3. It’s ultimately a great resource for teaching acceptance of ourselves and others, and inclusion of all.
4. Also the audiobook is amazing, cheap, and has a phenomenal cast. (Jim Parsons, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, John Lithgow, Ellie Kemper, and RuPaul among others!)

So yeah, you should read this book, buy this book, check out the story behind it! 🏳️‍🌈

QR22 Day 16 - Continuum by Chella Man

 

For day 16 of Queer Rep, I’m pointing you towards Continuum by Chella Man. It’s part of the “pocket change collective,” a group of small and short books written by today’s activists and artists. The whole series seems pretty great, but today I just want to talk about Continuum. Chella Man is deaf, Asian, Jewish, and a trans man. “All of who I am lies on a continuum,” he writes, and his book explores what that means in terns of gender, religion, race, how to process discrimination, and more. It’s fantastic—and it’s honestly very short, and would not take much of your time to read. I highly recommend it! 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

(Ongoing list of Queer Rep recommendations here!)

QR22 Day 15 - Just Juliet

 

Day 15 of Queer Rep—we’re already halfway through the month!—and today I’m talking about Just Juliet by Charlotte Reagan. It’s another delightful romcom, this time with a bisexual lead. Bisexuality can be tough to represent accurately and in a meaningful way. The tendency is to either let a bisexual main character fall into a heterosexual relationship and basically treat them as straight, or to let them have a homosexual relationship, and all but label them gay or lesbian (do a quick search for “bisexual erasure” and you’ll scratch the surface of this problem).

But Just Juliet doesn’t do that! While it does have a strong central romantic relationship, it still manages to represent bisexuality intentionally and in a well-rounded way. It’s a really solid book and deserves a read! 🏳️‍🌈

Ongoing master list for Queer Rep here!

QR22 Day 14 - Everything Everywhere All At Once

Okay, so Saving Face is a queer Asian-American rom-com ahead of it's time. Everything Everywhere All At Once is a queer Asian-American drama turned mystery turned insane sci-fi multiverse romp that is (probably?) also ahead of its time. And just like Gideon the Ninth is my favorite book I’ve read in the past few years, Everything Everywhere All At Once is probably my favorite movie from the past few years.

This movie is so out there but I love it. Actually I love it because it is so out there. No no wait actually I love it because of how it is so out there. Yep, thats the one. This movie makes the mundane seem exciting, the grotesque feel whimsical, and the absurd exude meaningful truth and significance. It has exciting, well-produced action, heartstring thrumming (snapping?) drama, and scenes of two rocks literally just sitting on a cliff for minutes at a time. I’m not kidding. And it’s beautiful. And it’s Day 14 of Queer Rep. 🏳️‍🌈

Obligatory ongoing master list link here.