Science Fantasy

Cities of Dust, Planes of Light

I’m proud to announce that one of my stories, The World’s More Full of Weeping, will be published in “Cities of Dust, Planes of Light,” a science fantasy anthology from Air and Nothingness Press! Preorders are now available, and shipping/publication date will be January 31st. I’m honoured to be included among this amazing cast of […]

Read more "Cities of Dust, Planes of Light"

My Publishing Year in Review

This year was my year for being stubborn.  Frustrated with my inability to find a home for my Weird Western novelette, in part I assume because of its unusual size, in part because of its unusual subject matter, I decided to publish it myself, and proceed with the Wyrd West Chronicles serial idea I had.  […]

Read more "My Publishing Year in Review"

What is Science Fantasy?

I’m delighted to announce that an except from Showdown will be featured in July’s issue of SciFan Magazine, and the entirety of my Toy Soldier story, Survivor, will be featured in the August issue!  And yes guys, you can get these in PRINT!

SciFan Magazine is a publication devoted to “science fantasy” as a genre.  So what is science fantasy?  They explain on their website in the following article.  And don’t forget to check out the footnotes, because they provide some extremely useful information!

I would say that quite a lot of what I write is probably “science fantasy,” including the Wyrd West Chronicles and the Toy Soldier Saga, and even my work for Tales of the Stellar Deep.  Other science fantasy authors include but are not limited to: Jack Vance, L. Sprague de Camp, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Andre Norton, Terry Brooks, S.M. Sterling, and Anne McCaffrey.

“Science fantasy is a mixed genre within the umbrella of speculative fiction which simultaneously draws upon and/or combines tropes and elements from both science fiction and fantasy. It also sometimes incorporates elements of horror fiction.” [1]

Science Fantasy (SciFan) is a genre that is often ignored. Not too many people are familiar with the genre, but it was originally coined in the late 1930’s by John W. Campbell, Jr. in his magazine that was (ironically) entitled Unknown.

 The Science Fiction genre is often defined as the improbable made possible, whereas the Fantasy genre is commonly defined as the impossible made probable. So then, what is Science Fantasy (SciFan)?

Read the full article at SciFan Magazine.

Read more "What is Science Fantasy?"

So I’m Writing a Magicpunk Kindle Serial

So I’ve been kicking around this idea for a steampunk/magicpunk series for a few years (since 2012, it turns out).  I was intending to sell a couple of stories to some magazines to build interest, then publish a book that was a collection of short stories.  But instead I’ve been collecting rejection slips, and those who offer critiques and feedback tell me it’s because it seems like part of a larger work.  Since that’s essentially true, I guess I have to accept that!

My current thought is to publish them instead as a serial short fiction series on Kindle (and possibly other e-book platforms too; we’ll have to see, but I thought Kindle was the logical place to start) for 99 cents per approximately 6000 word story, with a regular publication schedule of one every two or three months (because otherwise I won’t have time to write anything else).  Is this something that would interest my readers?

Here’s a machinima trailer I put together when I came up with the idea.  Some details are changing in my current format – for instance, instead of a post-apocalyptic setting in our world, I’m more envisioning a place where many worlds overlap or fall together somehow – but it may give you an idea of the feel and tone I’m trying to create.  My current working title for the series is “The Wyrd West.”  Please let me know what you think in the comments!

Read more "So I’m Writing a Magicpunk Kindle Serial"