The Flip Side

I often hear unpublished writers say that they are fearful of the process or that people will not like their work. It is true that there will be people out there who won’t like what you have to offer. This is true for everything from art to politics to science. Someone will be there to voice their dislike. It’s simply human nature to be opinionated. This is what gives our world such immense diversity and color. 

Why not focus on the flip side of this?

There will always be someone who enjoys your work! It is now easier than ever to reach millions of people with minimal effort. The numbers game alone dictates that there will be people out there who will connect with your stories. Put those fears aside and deliver something. In time you will build your brand and with it your audience. 

On that note, I have a novel to finish! So I’ll leave you with this quote from Sylvia Plath: 

Enjoying The Season

I notice I haven’t posted in quite a few weeks. There’s a simple reason for that. I’ve been enjoying the season!  Summers in Chicago are far too short and too easily allowed to slip by. I’ve spent a lot of time relaxing with books and movies, listening to bird song outside my window, watching the neighborhood ignite into a fervor of human activity and feeling the moist caress of Summer’s kiss on my skin.

I hate Winter. I know what you’re thinking: “You live in Chicago! Winter should be in your blood.” And perhaps it is. Furthermore, that is most likely the reason for my despise.  Winter is dark, sullen, heavy, depressing, and above all COLD. Not at all good for the spirit. Perhaps one day I’ll move to a warmer climate where I can enjoy temperance on a regular basis. Preferably, somewhere that nature lives in better harmony with civilization. But for now I’m going to focus on making the most of what little bright, tangy, uplifting Summer that I can. 

We’ve come upon on the threshold of August and I can already feel Earth’s orbit once again transporting me toward that desolate of seasons.The days have noticeably shortened. Summer’s swan song string of 90-degree temperatures has arrived, heralding the coming Autumn.

And with the coming of Autumn so close at hand, I am grateful for one very important thing: the emergence of a potentially fruitful collaboration with two wonderfully positive and talented ladies with equal desire to carve a niche in the world of fiction. That’s right, a writer’s group. It has all the makings of success and through the end of glorious Summer and the calming luxury of colorful Autumn we’re sure to come upon a rhythm that aids us all in beating back the breath of big, bad Winter. We have goals (my personal goal being to complete a first draft before the new year), we have enthusiasm, and most important of all we have moxie!
 

Parallel Earth (Alternate History)

Alternate history fiction (also known as alternative history, allohistory, or uchronie) is a subgenre of fiction that takes place in our world, yet has strayed from our actual history. This subgenre usually has a science fiction, literary fiction, or historical fiction emphasis and has been in use since as early as the 4^th century. Considering my personal science fiction bent, I prefer to call this subgenre Parallel Earth—the story takes place on Earth, but Earth of a parallel Universe where things are not quite like the Earth we live on. 

As a massive fan and writer of Magical Realism (the most popular current form of which is Urban Fantasy)—fiction that takes place in our real world but contains fantastical or magical elements—using a parallel Earth as a setting loosens up the boundaries and provides a wider range of fantasy elements for use. I have in fact created an entirely fictional Midwestern city so that I am not shackled by actual geography.

Working on a novel with characters that are centuries old has depended almost entirely on strategic divergence from the actual history of civilization in small ways. With 10 protagonists, 5 antagonists and 19 secondary characters that fill out my story, it makes for a lot of research. I have been very conscious of having these changes make sense and in many cases logically link up with actual developments in Earth’s history. I’ve done quite a bit of brushing up on ancient Roman history and culture and will have plenty more to do with several isolated times and places as referenced by the origins of my large cast of characters.

How do you readers out there feel about stories that take place on a parallel Earth?  Are you distracted by historical inconsistencies? Or do you welcome a view into what might be rather than what is?