Ideas, Ideas, Ideas

By the way, the great artwork above is from a Kickstarter campaign called Clockwork Universe. Its a sciFi anthology that looks really cool. Check it out!

As I've said on this blog before after the Red World trilogy is done I plan to write a science fiction Steampunk series. Nothing new or ground-breaking there.

However, I've had two things that nearly deflated my enthusiasm for the series. First, about a year ago I ran across a blog post written by an author who discusses, or rather calls out authors and readers of Steampunk in general for not including minorities in steam punk fiction. He was pretty aggressive in his accusations - I would have approached it differently but he had a good point. I don't remember the blog address right now. To be honest, I never really thought about authors purposefully excluding blacks and other minorities in Steampunk but that most people write about what they know. Most whites don't know much about blacks today (sad how people of every color don't bother to expand their associations but that's a subject for another blog post) and hardly anyone knows what black American life was like after the civil war. It's as if we were invisible. Simply not there. It's up to black authors to change that. It is up to me as a black woman who is also an speculative fiction author to write about what the plight of blacks might be in the Steampunk era in speculative fiction. In fact, I'd set about thinking up ideas for my story for this new series. But then I went: darn! When this series comes out what is the first thing people will think? That I am writing this series simply to be politically correct, that I am guided by multi-cultural politics, which I dislike - and that I am writing it in response to this tempest in a teacup.
 I am not. I'd thought of writing this story for about two years now and I'd heard about and read the article after I came up with the idea. Shucks! I was *not* happy to encounter that article! Crap!

But it gets better - or worse, depending on how you see it.

A few days ago I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts, Adventures in SciFi Publishing, and it was a two part episode show featuring Larry Correia. What floored me about these new episodes? Well, Correia wrote a new Steampunk series with many aspects that I was planning to put in my own series. There's the secret society (although I believe this is a steampunk trope and not so bad actually) there are a group of people who have decided to become crime fighting heroes to combat the looming evil or forces of darkness  (yes I am adding this trope as well in my own series) more and more people are acquiring mysterious super powers - yes this is also my idea for my own series I was so upset I didn't know what to do and I turned it off to gather myself together. So now, if I write this series somebody's going to accuse me of copying Correia. Crap.

Great. Just great. There are some differences, though. His dark forces are supernatural, mine are not. And of course, my main characters will be black, with a few Native Americans and Asians and Caucasion characters. In any case, I will still write it but I was crushed when I heard this. All of this has crushed me. I guess we writers all get our ideas from a similar, unconscious wellspring, do we not?

Oh well. That's life. :(

Reclaiming the Blade Day!

Fantasy, scifi geeks and all those interested in forge craft, join us over at the Middle-Earth Network (Legendarium) on August 3, a special day!

It's Reclaiming the Blade Day, a day in celebration of the romance, history, legends and symbolism of the sword. The sword is no longer a weapon used in warfare but once it was one of the most important weapons in a warrior or soldier's arsenal. Whether swords of bronze, iron or steel the sword has a special plac eint he history of Man and also in story-telling. On August 3rd we will take a closer look at the forging, artistry and craftsmanship in making these blades and what they represented in cultures in history and in story and legend.

Also, you'll want to check out the kickstarter campaign, Reclaming the Blade: Sons of Fire. The first documentary, Reclaiming the Blade, by Galatia films, explored the importance of the sword in Hollywood filmmaking as well as in warfare and its use in European martial art. It was narrated by John Rhys-Davies. A second documentary will be made, called Sons of Fire which will further explore the realm of myth and romance of the sword in storytelling and in history. Come join us for a fun filled day!

Reclaming the Blade Day on the Middle -Earth Network! August 3rd! See you there!

When A Popular Series Is Left Unfinished

The Wheel of Time series, By Robert Jordan

Among readers I've noticed something interesting when it comes to a series. Many readers will not purchase the first book in a series until at least a few books in the series are already out or until the entire series is finished. I understand the reason for it and I have often done it myself, unwittingly. What I have learned in reading blogs by long time  authors, publishers and editors Kris Rusch and Dean Wesley Smith is that before the advent of empowered self-publishing (indie publishing) - and this was during the time when traditional publishing called all of the shots and authors either accepted them or did not get published or resorted to vanity publishers, numerous authors, through no fault of their own, usually, were dropped when changes and flucuations in a publishing company took place. Usually if they got a new editor that didn't like them or didn't like their books or if the marketing team felt the books were not performing well the series was dropped. Other publishing houses from what I've learned did not like buying a series that belonged to another house, so that series often got canceled. It left the author hanging and it also left readers of that series hanging. Note: For writers on MME I would suggest you read Kris's blog and Dean's blog. Also the Passive Voice is a good one. They have a wealth of information on the traditional publishing industry. Many of the horrors writers were and are still going through are eye-opening. Many are treated like peons or cattle and the trad publishing houses sometimes seem to think even less of readers.

So there's that problem. Then there another issue: death. The author dies before the series is done. This happened to me with Frank Herbert and with Tolkien. I was young when I started reading Tolkien and Herbert, when I'd found that Tolkien wanted to write more stories in his world but felt he no longer had the time to continue. But Tolkien's work is so vastly comprehensive and cyclical that this loss in the author's voice in Middle-Earth is not felt as deeply by me. His work feels complete even though it is unfinished. Most writers never reach Tolkien's level of skill in world-building though many have created great worlds of their own. Most series are linear stories. There is a definite beginning and it moves, generally, in a straight line towards an ending. When I started reading the Dune chronicles I had no idea Herbert was dead. It wasn't until I'd gotten to Dune: Chapterhouse that I started looking for the next book and I found, to my chagrin, that it would not be. Years later Anderson and Herbert's son would release sequels and prequels - I've read the House prequels and even though Orthodox Herbertarians might disagree, I did enjoy them and thought they were pretty good, though I have no interest in the other books. But as for the original voice of that universe dying? I was crushed! Anderson is not Herbert and Herbert's voice is gone forever and will not be able to further broaden this wonderful universe. This is one of the worst things that can happen. Where as, in the first issue of a publishing house killing a series, when business changes an author may try to wrestle the rights back from a publishing house and he or she can resume writing and finishing that unfinished series. When an author dies it creates a void. A deep void for readers who have come to love a certain series. They know it's not finished and that it will never be finished by the original author. Which means that it will never be *truly* finished.

This is why it has taken me years to finally decide to read Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series. Years ago my younger brother was telling me how immersive and expansive his world was. This was about ten years ago. I hesitated for years because at that time I had transitioned to historical fiction, having temporarily lost interest in fantasy, but I'd always kept my brother's recommendation in mind. Later, I found out that Jordan died and then I'd decided not to read the books.

But then I heard great things about Brandon Sanderson as a writer after he'd come along and finished the series. Though Sanderson is not the original author, because many in WoT fandom had good things to say about him I finally decided to take the plunge into this world. It's a new world for me. I bought the first book, The Eye of the World on audio book and I have to say that I am enjoying it. Jordan is a very good storyteller. I do hear that some of the middle books are mostly filler. I may listen up to book four and then skip to the last books, but so far I like the book. One of the troubling things about a situation like this is the loss of voice. As a reader you get used to a certain author's voice and come to rely on it when navigating your way through the world they've created. When that author dies, no matter how good another substitute author may be, that elemental force for the story is lost forever and as a reader I mourn that loss. I did so with Frank Herbert and I may do so with Jordan but even so, if the books are good, sometimes it is well worth it anyway. So, I'll be getting back to my Eye of the World! Until next time, happy reading! :)