The Future

I mentioned in my last post how science fiction romance is a very popular sub genre at the moment. Lucky for me that is where my space opera romances fall and they have been my most popular books so far. And I really enjoy writing them.

I was pretty young when the first Star Wars movies came out but I found a ride to theater numerous times to watch it. It may have been the first movie I saw multiple times in a movie theater. At least it cost much less then. But that was the movie that made me fall in love with the genre. Then came Stargate the movie and then the TV show. Firefly and the movie Serenity. The remake of Star Trek has also created more fans of the genre. Great stories set in a futuristic society with space travel a routine part of life. I hope humans do someday get to travel through the galaxy and discover other societies and lifeforms though I know it won't be in my time. If I make it to heaven, (I'm really trying), I expect to get all the answers there to what lies out there among the stars.

Romance novels are mostly about the characters but successful space operas have to have more than some kisses and sexual tension. As I create the universes my series are set in, I have to decide what will human society be like. Will there still be bars and pubs? I believe so. Will there be military units? What will health care look like and education? Will there be class divisions by economic factors or perhaps birthright? What will government look like and law enforcement? Usually one of those questions will be the basis for the external conflict that brings my characters together.

In my Recon Marines series, the futuristic issue I addressed the creation of genetically-enhanced soldiers and the questions of their humanity. In my Warriors of Gaviron, encounters with alien species drove the conflict and adventure. My newest series, The Galactic Outlaws, focuses on a corrupt central government that keeps the working class under their thumbs and the rebels who rise against it are the heroes. The first book in that series is not yet released.

For each of these series, I create societies different from the others but also with some things in common. I believe colonies in space will rely on renewable energy sources such as solar power. Health care will make major advances but just like on good old planet Earth, resources won't be distributed evenly. Like on Firefly, some settlements will be poor and not have the best doctors or educational opportunities. There will be corrupt politicians, greedy industry owners, common criminals and all the human failings we witness today. In the end, the same societal flaws of today will always be with us because humans are not perfect.

In other news, the second book in my much traveled Futhark Chronicles, Beyond the Gate,  is now available on my publisher's website. My publisher keeps exclusive to there for a few weeks to cut out the middle man like Amazon taking their share. The first book, Keepers of Sulbreth is now on Amazon and other online retailers. Unlike science fiction romance, epic fantasy isn't having a big popularity bump. Despite the success of Game of Thrones, the fantasy market lags far behind many other genres. But I'll keep trying.

What things do you think will remain the same in society centuries into the future? Do you believe humanity will find its way into space beyond our solar system? Do you read or write in a genre that doesn't have a big market share?

New Things

I hope you'll stop over to the IWSG site today. Guest poster Heidi Hormel, multi-published author, is sharing a fill-in-the-blank press release. Every writer should have one ready or at least know what goes in one. Heidi makes it really easy. See her post today.

During last years A to Z Blogging Challenge, one of the blogs I came upon and fell in love with is Alex Hurst, Fantasy Author Living in Kyoto. She shared an amusing post about purple prose words. Read them and see how many you've used and how many you've never heard of.

During my post for IWSG last week, I mentioned the concerns about Kindle Unlimited and thedifficulty of small presses and indie authors competing against the Amazon monster. My publisher threw around some ideas and I know a number of your publishers are trying the same thing. My publisher has released my two recent series in boxed sets.  The Recon Marine series and The Warriors of Gaviron Series. The third Warriors book is part of the boxed set and for now, only on Amazon. The series set has a great ranking even in the paid department so I hope this newest strategy works out for me, my publisher and my readers.

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Sometime before the year is out, I'll let you know how that is working out. I'd love it if some of you could share your experiences in the comments like so many of you did on my post last week.

Last Friday, I taped a short interview and reading with Demi Stevens, organizer of the upcoming York Book Expo that I'm part of. Demi is CEO of Year of the Book Press. She's great at making her guests relax for the recording. I'll share that sometime in the future and you can hear what I have to say about writing and being an author. I hope to rope Demi into a guest post here or on IWSG at some point.

Don't forget if you're awake tomorrow night after midnight, it's that time of year to see the Perseid meteor shower.

Do you need a press kit? Check out Heidi's post. What do you think about buying or selling books in boxed sets? Going out after dark to see the meteor shower?