Heiresses of Russ 2014: The Year's Best Lesbian Speculative Fiction
A book such as this spins not only words but also worlds: eighteen of them, representing the best lesbian-themed stories of the fantastic or futuristic published the prior year. An artisan who tests the skills and wares of her friends in the hope of finding the ideal housing for an idealized love. A shape-shifting sidekick ensures that the heroine, who might not even be aware of her, saves the day. The device on a young girl's wrist that counts down the years until she will meet her soul mate poses the ultimate challenge of delayed gratification. A daydreamer wonders how she will face the coming Stone Moon and its gathering when her culture demands fertility yet her heart belongs to her best friend, who is not only female but of a higher caste. The women to be met in these pages will find themselves tested not because of their sexual identity but rather the identity they have composed, constructed, and spun.
Contents
Introduction
Melissa Scott
The Gold Maskβs Menagerie
ChantΓ© McCoy
Counting Down the Seconds
Lexy Wealleans
The Other Bridge
Alex Jeffers
Love Over Glass, Skin Under Glass
Penny Stirling
Hungry
Robert E. Stutts
Liquid Loyalty
Redfern Jon Barrett
Her Infinite Variety
Sacchi Green
The Coffinmakerβs Love
Alberto YÑñez
Terminal City
ZoΓ« Blade
The Bride in Furs
Layla Lawlor
Your Figure Will Assume Beautiful Outlines
Claire Humphrey
Blood, Stone, Water
A.J. Fitzwater
Vector
Benjanun Sriduangkaew
Of Selkies, Disco Balls, and Anna Plane
Cat Rambo
Selected Program Notes from the Retro- spective Exhibition of Theresa Rosenberg Latimer
Kenneth Schneyer
Difference of Opinion
Meda Kahn
Boat in Shadows, Crossing
Tori Truslow
The Raven and Her Victory
Tansy Rayner Roberts