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The SPECULATIVE FICTION high-five circle.

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294K views 2.1K replies 221 participants last post by  PaulLev  
#1 ·
Why, hello.

I know there's a science-fiction thread here: http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,67482.0.html

But it seems to be mostly self-promotion, with little discussion.

This forum is flooded with erotica and romance, so I thought it would be cool to start a thread where speculative fiction authors can just talk about things - I know there's a lot of interesting spec fic authors on kboards.

All types of speculative fiction are welcome here! Speculative fiction is a very diverse field. Feel free to talk about the genre and sub-genres, but please be respectful to your fellow authors. :D

My main aim here is to meet and talk with other spec fic authors. Talk about what you're working on, what interests you, etc. Please don't promote your releases - this is better done elsewhere. The goal here is to have a supportive community of similar authors.

---

Heidi has set up a new blog, the Speculative Fiction Showcase: http://www.indiespecfic.blogspot.com.au/. The purpose of this site is to support indie speculative fiction, and give readers a place to uncover it. I'll be updating this post with links to each of the features, as they run. For more information, post in this thread.

Features (updated 22-May-14):
Welcome Post
Irradiated by S. Elliot Brandis
Jason Gurley Talks About How He Writes
Threats of Sea and Glass by Jennifer Ellision
Dreaming of the Sea by Heidi Garrett
Warden (Book 3: Attack of the Aswang) by Kevin Hardman
Michael Patrick Hicks Talks About How He Writes
Sworn to Defiance by Terah Edun
The Lost Tales of Power, Volumes 1-3 by Vincent Trigili
The Edge of the Woods by Ceinwen Langley
Outage (Powerless Nation): Book One by Ellisa Barr
Benton: A Zombie Novel by Jolie Du Pré
Cat Amesbury Talks About How She Writes
Deep Breath Hold Tight by Jason Gurley
William D. Richards Talks About How He Writes
Bound in Blue: Book One of the Sword Elements by Heather Hamilton-Senter
 
#3 ·
I do have to say, as a lover of comics, there's not enough superhero novels. Some superhero stuff I would class as fantasy, others as science fiction - but it definitely fits under the spec fic umbrella.

I've also noticed amazon has a very underpopulated Westerns - Science Fiction category. My own stuff has some spaghetti western elements, I might try to use this. All in all, the amazon categories are batsh** crazy.
 
#4 ·
Vaalingrade said:
You have my sword.
Click to expand...
And my axe.

I have to say that spec-fiction is a fun genre to write in. It's my favourite. I just wish it was... I don't know. More profitable?

Sure, romance floods everything, but it's also a very popular genre to read. I wish more people read spec-fic.

I don't know. It's good though. :)
 
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J
#5 ·
High five!  And good call.

One of the things I'm most interested in seeing in 2014 is the new Serenity comic book series - as you seem to like SF westerns you might be interested ;)

I write supernatural thrillers and dark fantasy/horror btw.
 
#7 ·
David Adams said:
I have to say that spec-fiction is a fun genre to write in. It's my favourite. I just wish it was... I don't know. More profitable?

Sure, romance floods everything, but it's also a very popular genre to read. I wish more people read spec-fic.
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That's true, but surely the romance genre is more saturated - my impression from this board is that there's a million billion romance writers, maybe ten to one. Maybe it's a smaller audience, but it's a smaller pool of writers, too.
 
#9 ·
I am interested in the development of an entirely unique type of creature/character in the realm of Horror and/or Dark Fantasy, even if said creature/character is (somewhat) an extension of a more familiar concept (ie: the witch, the elemental, the immortal, etc.) I write Soft Horror and Dark Fantasy, and so am always attempting to bring a different element or layer to a central character or theme that an adventurous reader might not find elsewhere. Clive Barker is a great one for bringing unique characters into the foray, although he is often a bit too dark for my taste.

It is very difficult to promote such stories, sometimes.
 
#10 ·
jjfoxe said:
High five! And good call.

One of the things I'm most interested in seeing in 2014 is the new Serenity comic book series - as you seem to like SF westerns you might be interested ;)

I write supernatural thrillers and dark fantasy/horror btw.
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There's space western, and science fiction western (apparently!).

Serenity (along with Firefly) is awesome, and a space western - a science fiction setting using western conventions. While science fiction westerns (and weird west, ect) are in a western setting, with science fiction elements included. I don't know where my stuff fits. It's post-apocalyptic sci-fi stuff, but it has a mad max-ish semi-western bent (but without cars!).

Who knows. I remember reading once that all westerns are spec fic.
 
#11 ·
David Adams said:
I have to say that spec-fiction is a fun genre to write in. It's my favourite. I just wish it was... I don't know. More profitable?

Sure, romance floods everything, but it's also a very popular genre to read. I wish more people read spec-fic.
Click to expand...
Here's the thing: Spec-fic (or as I like to say, Nerd Genres) is more popular right now than it has ever been. The problem is that our infrastructure needs are not being met by a self-pub industry that makes it gravy on romance and mysteries.

For example, no one I talk to online on a regular basis knows what in the seven interlocking hells Bookbub, or ENT or any of the other big agrigators are. No one. That's because when me or one of my fellow nerdlings wants a book recommendation, we'll start a thread, or jack into a favorite blogger's (usually not a dedicated book blogger) RSS feed and go from there.

At this moment, there's really no good, reliable way to reach our readers through the normally recommended channels. We need... well this thread, actually. We need to work together to find ways of tapping into those people who got LotR a mess of Oscars, helped the Avengers make all the money, and keep the bloated, stinking corpse ratings sensation that is Game of Thrones on television.

They're there, we just don't have line of site. If only we could get the self-pubbing game to switch to a hex grid...
 
#12 ·
S Elliot Brandis said:
I do have to say, as a lover of comics, there's not enough superhero novels. Some superhero stuff I would class as fantasy, others as science fiction - but it definitely fits under the spec fic umbrella.

I've also noticed amazon has a very underpopulated Westerns - Science Fiction category. My own stuff has some spaghetti western elements, I might try to use this. All in all, the amazon categories are batsh** crazy.
Click to expand...
They have that? Well crapspackle. I haven't delved into what the categories for my next release are going to be, but I'd been thinking it's somewhere between post apocalyptic scifi and horror, with some spaghetti western or gunslinger elements to the overall mise en scene and narration. That could be a perfect categorization for it. This post made my night! Now I have to figure out the keywords to get into it.
 
P
#14 ·
Hi,

And my battleship complete with rail cannon!

I write sci fi (mostly space opera) and fantasy. And is it romance that's so hot right now or erotica? Honestly coming to KB a couple of years ago was an eye opener. I'd never heard of tentacle sex before (he says shuddering) or bigfoot sex etc. I read these threads and constantly think to myself - people really write this stuff? But it seems to be doing well right now so obviously there's a market.

Cheers, Greg.
 
#15 ·
And my longship.

What, you mean I can't park it here!?!

I do dark fantasy and alternate history. My alternate history, which is about the Norse colonisation of North Norse America is the thing that's going great for me.

I do like a good green field to play in, and few fields are as green as those under a spec fic binary sun!
 
G
#16 ·
Hello S Elliot and Friends  8)

I write horror, just because it's easier if I just write one thing and not many. Helps to have focus.

My goal for most part is to write books that will assault the minds of readers, without being gratuitous. The books I've read that have lasted with me, were always the ones that opened my eyes. The ones that broke a bit of my innocent core. So that's what I'll be generally striving for. Sales are pretty non-existent but I'm not blaming the genre nor my writing. At the moment I've just written a few random things. That will change.

I would definitely like to see a greater presence for speculative fiction authors here on KB. It would give me something to post about at least ;)
 
#17 ·
I could go into a huge long rant about why SF is the most profitable movie genre but has such a tiny book market share, but I won't. I am thrilled, however, that we can now publish ourselves and write whatever for the market, because of how the traditional market has developed and how insular and incestuous certain parts of SF writerdom has become. (It would be a hecka-long rant, seriously).

Fantasy, thank god, avoided a lot of that. :)

Anyway. I write all kinds of spec fic. So, uh, hi.
 
#18 ·
Hey, you're not going anywhere without me...

Great idea for a thread. I write science fiction, dystopia and horror (and general fiction, but don't hold that against me). I don't follow market trends and have never even considered confining myself to one genre. Like many, I suspect, I write what I got to write.
 
#19 ·
Haven't written proper sci-fi or fantasy in a while, but I do love reading it.

It is indeed hard to separate you even when he is invited to a secret counsel and you are not.
 
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#20 ·
Yippee!!

I suppose I write quiet horror? Someone else mentioned soft horror. I don't know if it's the same thing or what. Usually I write ghosts and madness and all that, but it's never gory or real tangible type of scare. More atmospheric, I think.

I would love to write nothing but horror, but I also want to make some money. I go back and forth between different genres, just to test the waters, but horror is always what I come back to. Sort of like my writing home. I enjoy the other stuff, but my horror stories are always the ones keeping me up at night (either thinking about plot/characters, or just because I'm terrified).
 
#21 ·
I love this thread already. Glad to see so many spec fic writers appear.

Greg Strandberg said:
I'm not really sure what spec fiction is, but I have a feeling I might be writing it.
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This is a fair enough comment. I entrust my overlord, wikipedia, to clear things up:

Speculative fiction is an umbrella term encompassing the more fantastical fiction genres, specifically science fiction, fantasy, horror, weird fiction, supernatural fiction, superhero fiction, utopian and dystopian fiction, apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, and alternate history in literature.

I say spec fic instead of science fiction as it's more all encompassing. It also seems to break down the walls between "genre" writers and "literature" writers. Authors like Kurt Vonnegut and Margaret Attwood seem/seemed to fight against being classified as science fiction, for whatever reasons.

psychotick said:
I write sci fi (mostly space opera) and fantasy. And is it romance that's so hot right now or erotica? Honestly coming to KB a couple of years ago was an eye opener. I'd never heard of tentacle sex before (he says shuddering) or bigfoot sex etc. I read these threads and constantly think to myself - people really write this stuff? But it seems to be doing well right now so obviously there's a market.
Click to expand...
One of the reasons I wanted to start this thread! Every second signature has abs, tits, or arse! I don't want to sledge people who write that sort of stuff, but it's a whole different beast from spec fic - it's awesome if we can raise the profile of it. I think speculative fiction readers are very open minded, and open to new voices and new ideas. For us, this represents all sorts of opportunities for indie fiction.

My favourite spec fiction novels:

Slaughterhouse 5 - Kurt Vonnegut
The Road - Cormac McCarthy
Wool - Hugh Howey
Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card
Flowers for Algernon - Daniel Keyes
Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess
 
#23 ·
Doomed Muse said:
I could go into a huge long rant about why SF is the most profitable movie genre but has such a tiny book market share, but I won't.
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Maybe a little rant? I've always been aware of the huge difference between a movie with ghosts and a book with ghosts, but I never really gave much thought as to why. I figured it was just that it's harder to have something jump out and yell "boo" in a novel.
 
#24 ·
HezBa said:
Maybe a little rant? I've always been aware of the huge difference between a movie with ghosts and a book with ghosts, but I never really gave much thought as to why. I figured it was just that it's harder to have something jump out and yell "boo" in a novel.
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It is interesting. I reckon at least half of the movie market is spec fiction stuff (including superheroes, horror, science fiction, etc). Or more. You see the top grossing movies here: http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?view2=worldwide&yr=2013&p=.htm and I reckon all of the top ten, beside fast and the furious 6, are spec fic.
 
J
#25 ·
S Elliot Brandis said:
It is interesting. I reckon at least half of the movie market is spec fiction stuff (including superheroes, horror, science fiction, etc). Or more. You see the top grossing movies here: http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?view2=worldwide&yr=2013&p=.htm and I reckon all of the top ten, beside fast and the furious 6, are spec fic.
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If you read David Farland's book - I think it's his OUtlines book - he looks at the top 20 or 30 best selling movies of all time (with dollar figures adjusted for inflation). And he found that a big percentage of them - i think 90 per cent plus - were 'speculative' in some way. Either other time. Or imaginary world. And so on.

Food for thought.

Kudos for starting the thread btw....be very cool if we can work out some way of banding together and supporting each other!
 
G
#26 ·
S Elliot Brandis said:
It is interesting. I reckon at least half of the movie market is spec fiction stuff (including superheroes, horror, science fiction, etc). Or more. You see the top grossing movies here: http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?view2=worldwide&yr=2013&p=.htm and I reckon all of the top ten, beside fast and the furious 6, are spec fic.
Click to expand...
Exactly. I don't understand why Romance should be all the RAGE with reading, where it doesn't dominate film or TV. It's all storytelling. Come on Spec lovers, pic up a book.
 
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