[scottmarlowe]

Damien Walter over on The Guardian is looking for a few good indie f/sf/h books. I threw mine in. What the heck. At least he's a bit more open-minded than a certain individual named 'Pat'.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2013/feb/22/sci-fi-hunt-independently-published

[2013-02-23: Edited title. I realized the wording made it sound like *I* was trying to find the best indie books. ]

 

[Quiss]

Interesting.
I'm a bit puzzled why he, in several places, refers to sci-fi as "weird".

 

[KevinMcLaughlin]

Popped Starship up there. Hey, can't hurt, right?

Thanks for the link.

 

[scottmarlowe]

Interesting.
I'm a bit puzzled why he, in several places, refers to sci-fi as "weird".

Me, too. He describes "science fiction" as "science fiction, fantasy, and horror", of which it is most certainly not.

I always wonder about what ppl mean when they say "speculative". I don't consider myself a speculative writer as I equate speculative with "weird". Weird is ok with me, but I don't think I write it. I think some ppl think of it as anything that isn't mainstream, though. Confusing.

 

[KevinMcLaughlin]

Technically, he's right, Scott. Speculative fiction definitely includes all science fiction AND fantasy. It's also generally used to describe stories from other genres which include elements of those genres (so supernatural horror or a romance on a spaceship would probably be spec fic).

 

[J Dean]

I bit.

 

[Lisa Grace]

I posted mine. Right now it's free in the UK and it's listed under:

Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,507 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Free in Kindle Store)
#63 in Kindle Store > Books > Fiction > Horror

So I figure it can't hurt. I did post a warning that is for "young" age 12 -16 year-old -girls. I get really sick of the complaints that there is no sex in it or adult level relationships. Why is it adults want to sexualize children? (Rhetorical. ) Do they forget it's illegal to have sex with kids? (Rhetorical again.)

 

[harrisonbooth]

Just tossed Iguana Diplomacy onto the pyre.  It certainly fits the "unloved" criteria, whether justified or not!

 

[Shalini Boland]

Just added my Outside Series to the list. Thanks for the heads up 

 

[Spinneyhead]

I added Sounds of Soldiers and then it had its first sale in a month or two the same day.  It's unlikely these things aren't connected.

 

[CoraBuhlert]

Interesting.
I'm a bit puzzled why he, in several places, refers to sci-fi as "weird".

Damien Walter is referring to "weird fiction", a sort of movement/subgenre within the wider field of SF, fantasy and horror. Here is a website about weird fiction, which should have more info and maybe even a definition (somewhere).

I've been following Damien Walter's columns in the Guardian for a while and also used to read his blog. His tastes run to the more literary type of speculative fiction or at least they used to.

 

[Quiss]

I've been following Damien Walter's columns in the Guardian for a while and also used to read his blog. His tastes run to the more literary type of speculative fiction or at least they used to.

Yeah, I don't think he'll have much interest in my wee Space Opera

 

[scottmarlowe]

Looks like Damien is giving some updates on Twitter. Might be worth a look.

https://twitter.com/search/realtime?q=%23SciFiHunt&src=hash

Damien Walter ‏@damiengwalter
So far the general quality of both writing and cover design is notably higher than last year. #SciFiHunt Indie writers raising their game?

 

[Mathew Reuther]

Most importantly to him is that you avoid the word suddenly.

 

[Lisa Grace]

He uses the F*** word a lot. Maybe someone should tell him that's so 90's. S***flake is the new sick word.

 

[Mathew Reuther]

He uses the F*** word a lot. Maybe someone should tell him that's so 90's. S***flake is the new sick word.

I must be so old fashioned.