Sunday, April 2, 2017

8/9/16 - More musing... A rant here and there

Some people don't seem to understand why I write fiction, why I write fantasy, why I work in anthropomorphism, or why do I read SF/F at all.

I don't know what to think. I do know on some level why I do the art that I do. I know there's a lot for me to say and if the characters looked too familiar, readers might shy away. SF/F brings up the ideas and discusses the topics many normally won't talk about. But once dressed in animal or nonhuman, it becomes easier to get away with speaking about taboo subject matters and controversial topics. I can use such devices and literary genres to tell the stories about mundane things.

I often don't want to tell people where I'm published because of their reaction. The statements can be any number of superficial magazines that they think my submissions are better suited for but this advice couldn't be further from the truth. No, I've learned that some of my writings are categorized under sub-genres. I consider them speculative fiction. That means they aren't mainstream and because of this, my works may be found online or purchased directly from the publisher.

Don't look for me in The New Yorker or other such mainstream and coveted titles anytime soon. I also find a number of women's magazines foolish and some men's magazines even worse. Right now, and you can say I'm limiting myself. I've heard it all before, but I'm better off where you may find me: niche, sub-genre, speculative, mixed genres, and mostly nerdy.

Representation is a gift

When I began SUMMER TO WINTER, I noticed more than one brown or Black reader and/or friend asked if (Peter) Dunlop is Black.  The relief and...