World-Building in Speculative Fiction - Astrid Amara

We're waving the Flag today for Astrid Amara

What is it that excites readers about speculative fiction (science fiction, fantasy, paranormal, horror)? Is it the sense of escapism into a world that is almost like ours, some place familiar and yet different enough to awaken the dormant explorer within us? Is it the expression of imagination, striving to define not only characters, but the very nature of the society in which they live? Or is it an opportunity to derive meaning through metaphor?

As a reader, I am most enchanted with spec fiction that takes me to a unique alternate universe - a place where the basic rules are different. Where the devils of hell won the battle in heaven. Or where the machines are run by biological components instead of the other way around. Or where the glittering future of space is sooty and tarnished with the messy detritus of our industrial past.

As a writer, I strive to create realistic worlds that are similar enough to our own that I can feel comfortable in them, and yet with enough difference to transport me outside my own realities. In Intimate Traitors, I visualized a plausible future of nanotechnology, oppressive governmental regime, and computers embedded in end-users to present a world that seemed plausible and yet foreign.

Similarly, in A Policy of Lies, I took trends in computer development and transported this to a satellite in space, complete with mining moons, all-powerful corporate oversight, and a futuristic insurance agency where if you sign a life insurance policy, the company literally owns your life.

Both of these are exaggerations of modern realism. It is world-building on a small scale. Nearly real, but different enough to add a challenge as a writer to create more than just plot and character – to create society, and cityscape, and political structure.

But it was with my fantasy novel The Archer's Heart that I had the most fun, creating a complete universe from scratch. Although based heavily on Indian epic tradition, I created a world and a society where caste defines all, where mystic powers are wielded by the nobility, and immortal demons themselves are transformed by the power of words into weapons of mass destruction.

In fantasy, the setting must become one with the story itself, and therefore, if the world-building is dull, then the story itself suffers. The two should build off each other, enhancing the quality of the character's journey until even the oddest settings become the only settings that story can take place in.

In my latest release, Hell Cop, I worked with two talented authors, Nicole Kimberling and Ginn Hale, and together we created three novellas that interact in the same alternate world. This gritty urban setting has a sorcerer-elite class, demons whose parts run their technology, and whose psychic powers can unravel mysteries. This was a great experiment in world-building; can three different authors make up a new universe and have all the rules apply equally? I think we pulled it off, and had a lot of fun doing so!

When I'm writing, I constantly ask myself the question: has this been done before? Because I want something fresh if I'm going into another world. And then I ask, am I faithful to the realism of my own world? Because nothing takes a reader out of the story faster than breaking one's own rules within the setting.

And the beauty of world-building a story with the author's unique mark is that it can be so much more than mere setting. It is the metaphorical power of fantasy and science fiction that allows for a world to be twisted around the character's experience, and serve as allegory for the theme of the story as a whole.

In realism, we see a person react to specific circumstance and illustrates the economic, political, and social conditions of our world today.

But since so much of fantasy is archetype-based, readers get more than just plot; they get a psychological journey, and an opportunity to question universals. It represents more than just one person, but what it is to be human, and the vivid, raw truth of what it means to live and breathe, fall in love and fight for one's dreams.

Wow. I didn't even mention that all my stories involve hardcore anal sex, did I?

Heh. But they do that as well. And again, that's the beauty of speculative fiction – if you're going to write an anal sex scene… why not put it on the moon? Oh the glories of fiction!

So there's my rant, but monologues are boring. What do you think? What is it that you enjoy most about stories set in alternate universes? When is some fabrication too much? And what are the worlds that stick in your mind as real places, as real as the emotions, the situations, and the characters themselves? I'd love to hear from you!

And I would be remiss if I didn't now thank Jeanne for the honor of being a guest blogger! Thank you so much.

About Astrid Amara

Astrid is the author of four science fiction/fantasy novels, all with gay protagonists:
Intimate Traitors

A Policy of Lies

Hell Cop
(all available through Loose Id);

The Archer's Heart available through Blind Eye Books
She is also the author of two short stories in the gay fantasy anthology, Tangle, also available through Blind Eye Books.

Check out her website at: http://www.astridamara.com/ and help her Porn for Ponies campaign! That's right – every porn-y novel you buy puts more money in her savings to rescue an old, decrepit, bite-y pony!
Astrid's blog: http://astridamara.livejournal.com/

Guest Blogger Treva Harte ~ Multi-talented Multi-tasker

I know it says Tuesday, but I wanted to make sure that we got an early start!

I'd like to welcome Treva Harte, Editor-in-Chief and one of TPTB at Loose Id and author of award winning m/m romance and other erotic romances with a paranormal twist.

Treva Harte lives near a city with many, many attorneys. Thanks to Loose Id and her writing, she can be a recovering attorney and now spends her time writing, editing, raising adolescents, taking care of an elderly mother and dealing with a hyperactive husband (who says he's just very energetic). She is also co-owner and Editor-in-Chief of the e-publishing companyLoose Id.
She and her husband both like writing in whatever time they have left, so they often fight over—sorry, since he is still a practicing attorney they NEGOTIATE—keyboard time. No wonder Treva’s particular brand of sensual romance is a bit offbeat and usually mixed with fantasy.
Treva is multi-published with several e-publishers in print and e-book, a member of RWA, WRW and PAN, and winner of the CAPA 2003 award in the “Erotic Fantasy Romance” category.

JB: First, thanks so much for taking time out from what must be an insane schedule to join me here. That leads straight into my first question: As EiC and owner of a large and growing e-book publisher, what made you decide to continue writing and how the heck do you manage to do all this?

TH: And thank you for letting me have this interview. My writing is what keeps me hovering on the fine line that separates the sane from insane. Or if it hasn’t, no one has dared to tell me yet. When all else fails in my life I go and create another world and let out the problems in a hopefully creative way.

How do I manage all this? Um, mostly if I don’t think about how much I do, things go much better. Until February of this year I was working my law job, writing and being EiC along with taking care of the family—and they require much maintenance. I can juggle a lot but I really was pretty much at the end of my rope…or maybe out of balls, if we want to keep the original cliché going and add a nasty innuendo. In comparison my life is now easy. I can allow myself a half hour walk every day to keep me going. This is luxury.

Mostly I just sit down every morning, figure out what needs to be done, when it needs to be done and then do it. If an emergency hits or there is too much, then whatever I can’t do waits until the next day. And if it slips my mind, I have people who can whack me and remind me I forgot to do something. Really, how else can you do anything?

JB: Although you have written other erotic genres, most of your books involve LGBT relationships and your most popular series involves werewolves. Why LGBT in particular and why paranormal?

TH: To be honest, I have only one story that is purely LGBT and that was a very short story called Hunted Down in my Alpha werewolf series. My other recent stories tend to have many pairings and relationships between many characters, including between men, a man and a woman, men and a woman, weres and non-weres…

Paranormal frees me to look at human relationships in different ways. Ditto LGBT. I’m always interested in the conflict within what is or what will become a loving relationship and using the two elements you mention certainly can change how you look at the nature of the conflict. Besides, it’s kinda hot.

JB: I always hate being asked the question who is your favorite hero or heroine in your books, so let me rephrase the question : Briefly, what do you like most about each of your heroes?

TH: Hmmmm. Someone once told me what my heroines are like and I was fine with that. Now I’m trying to think of what characteristics all my heroes have so I can figure out what I like about them.

I think most recently what I like about them is that they have very strong emotions that they don’t necessarily talk about but they learn to deal with as the story progresses.

JB: Putting your publisher's hat on, do you see any genre's popularity dying? And any guess for the next flavor of the month?

I’d have to talk purely as an epublisher because I can guess at what mainstream print publishers are struggling with and those tend not to be our issues.

High fantasy may not be losing popularity but it tends to not do well at Loose Id. I have some ideas about what stories may become more popular now that the economy is tough, but I eagerly await whatever the next hot trend will be. I do think that readers dealing harder times will be looking for different books than when things were good – whether that means escape fantasies a la Depression-era movies or more true-to-life stories with a HEA or something else.

If I really knew what would be popular next I would be making a ton more money than I do now. Loose Id is going to be open to changes in reader expectations.

JB: Are you working on any more werewolf stories right now?

TH: Indeed. I have another WIP to follow up on my last story. It’s tentatively titled Heal. However I may need to take a break from that because I’m discussing doing a story as part of another series for early next year. It will probably have nothing to do with weres and would likely be a contemporary.

JB: Are all your stories with Loose Id?

TH: No. I have two other publishers (thanks, Changeling Press and Liquid Silver Books!) I am currently with and I was published elsewhere before Loose Id came on the scene.

JB: Anything more you'd like to share with us?

TH: If you want to read about what I’m talking about in epublishing you can check with the blog I have with Margaret Riley of Changeling Press called Loose Change:
http://treva2007.livejournal.com/

If you want to know what I am doing with my writing you can check my newsletter:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TrevaHarte

And I’ll be hanging out at Gaylaxicon in Bethesda next weekend. Several Loose Id authors will be there so if you are, too, be sure to say hello.

A New Year's Greeting

Monday evening will begin the Holiday of Rosh HaShanah, the beginning of the Jewish New Year. Rosh HaShanah ushers in a ten day period of contemplation, reaffirmation and renewal ending with Yom Kippur.
The following brief opinion from Orthodox Rabbi, Meir Fund, expresses I feel, an appropriate message and reminder for this Holiday season.
"We never heard that a Jew is barred from a shul because he is a sinner. If that was the policy of the halacha, then I hate to tell you I doubt there would be a minyan in any shul. I have to believe that if someone is gay, that that's an assignment from HaShem and that HaShem is somehow also sharing with that person not just the strength to carry out the assignment as best as they can but ultimately it's part of the life purpose of that person to have struggled and worked with that particular issue, among others, to do the best they can. These are the secrets of the soul."
L' Shanah Tovah to all my readers and friends.

Guest Bloggers for October

Wow! We have quite an amazing group this month, starting with Treva Harte. Treva not only writes m/m (and other goodness), she's one of TPTB at Loose Id
Treva Harte 10/8 ~ Wears her author and publisher hats for us!
Astrid Amara 10/15 ~ Astrid's stories take place on other worlds and are filled with demons, sorcerers, Urban Fantasy and Hell Cops!
Jules Jones 10/22 ~ Besides contemporary m/m, Jules writes shapeshifters and sidhe!
Jason Edding 10/29 ~ A new author for ManLoveRomance Press, Jason writes gay sci/fi!
So, join us as we wave the Flag on these wonderful authors!

Fan Mail

This is what authors treasure the most. When a reader feels strongly enough about what you've written to take the time to let you know.
Thanks so much, and you know who you are!
Dear Jeanne- I just finished “The Sweet Flag” and wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed it. It was much more unconventional than I’d been expecting and I had been thinking, while reading, who Ron might be but I never guessed that ending *at all*. I thought at one point he might be a ghost.*g* It was a nice twist, finding out who and what he was. I also really liked the way you laid the story out, starting with Brandon’s notes on the case. It fleshed out his personality for me and let me see his passion for his work. Also gave me enough details to keep wondering and guessing about Ron throughout. I thought that was really well done. I don’t usually go for stories that have one character telling a story to another character, but it worked awesomely in this case. There was this nice build-up of tension, both between Brandon and Ron, and in finding out what happened to Aaron and Matthew. Also enjoyed the way the feelings between Brandon and Ron intensified until Brandon could make no other choice at the end but the choice he made—without even needing to consider it. It was romantic and just a satisfying conclusion to the story. And all your descriptions were lovely--I could just see the beautiful furnishings. I wanted to live there. *g* I think yours is the first Loose ID title I’ve read. I wasn’t entirely prepared for the amount of sex, but I did like how it wasn’t just about the sex—that there were emotions involved and it felt complex and believable. That’s what I read these stories for. That sense of feelings that just can’t be denied. Just lovely. I can’t write sex in that detail. Always impressed when it is done well by someone else. The only thing I missed was I would have loved seeing some more paranormal investigation...but that’s just me. I like that sort of thing. :) I loved that line in the story where Brandon muses that he wasn’t sure all his investigation had ever really prepared him for finally finding something was true. It was a really entertaining story. I hope you’ll be writing more.
I definitely will be writing more! Thanks again.

Here Be Dragons and TA Chase

Hey everyone…

Good Wednesday Morning to you all and thank you to Jeanne for inviting me here to her blog.

Jeanne expressed an interest in finding out more about my dragon story, Here Be Dragons. I’ll be more than happy to talk about Kael, Hugh, Mordred and George. Oh and about how I came to write the story.

I’m not sure why I was looking up the legend of St. Patrick chasing snakes from Ireland. It might have been because I was trying to find out why there were no snakes there. Probably some weird thought got stuck in my head and I just had to find the answer to it. I doubt it was because I wanted to write a story.

As I was reading along, one of a writer’s most favorite questions in the world popped into my head, “What if…”

What if snakes started appearing in Ireland again? And what if they weren’t snakes, but dragons, returning to the world centuries after St. George killed the last one? And what if there just happened to be a herpetologist working at a lab there who could check the snakes out? What if…?

You get the picture. The story took off from that one simple question. My muse introduced me to Kael Hammerson, a geeky herpetologist running from an abusive ex-lover. He was still healing emotionally and mentally from that relationship, but he was the perfect character for the story.

Researching all kinds of different cultural myths and legends, I discovered St. George and Mordred. In my story, they are so much more than their legends made them out to be. I admit, I might have taken liberties with the myths I used, but what’s the fun of being a writer…if I can’t tweak them to fit my imagination.

I found that writing the paranormal/mythological aspects of my story were rather easy. For the most part, I could make up what I wanted. A talking cat. Mordred as an elf. George as something more than just a knight. The most difficult part for me was making the actions of an abused character (Kael) seem realistic without making him whiny or weak.

Here Be Dragons turned out more complex than I originally planned it to be. There were hidden depths to all the characters and situations that I never saw coming until after I wrote them. I enjoyed visiting their world though which is why I’m finishing up the sequel to it right now.

Dreaming of Dragons will take place six months after the dragons have appeared and focuses more on Mordred and George, but we do get glimpses of Kael and Hugh, plus all the other characters we met in Here Be Dragons.
Paranormal stories are some of my favorite stories to read, but I haven’t written many of them…which strikes me as odd suddenly…lol. I do have a short story titled “Understanding Forgiveness” in which Mason, a snow leopard shifter, is rescued by Heinrich, the son of the mad scientist who created Mason. Mason and Heinrich have to learn how to deal with each other and all the baggage they carry. It’s a short sweet story.

On my blog, I’m posting a free story called “Allergies”. Lou’s a wolf shifter who falls in love with Ray, a normal human. They’re attracted to each other, but there’s a problem. It seems Ray is allergic to Lou’s human side. It’s been a fun romp so far. Things took a little twist last week, so I’ll be interested to see where the guys are taking me.

I have ideas for a couple other paranormal stories, just haven’t gotten the time to write them. What kind of paranormals do you as readers enjoy? Are there any types that you’d love to see more of published? Demons? Ghosts? More shifters…if so, what kind?

It’s been great hanging out with you here at The Sweet Flag. Stop by my blog: No Boundaries (http:www.tachase.blogspot.com) to check out my books, my free blog story and just to see the yummy eye candy I post every day. My website is being updated at the moment, so my blog is the best spot to find me right now.

Thanks, Jeanne for having me today.

Better late ~ a brief note from D.J. Manly

Hi Jeanne!
D.J. has arrived. Sorry I'm late and absent and the whole bit. :)
That said, I appreciate the invitation.
I've been writing M/M romantica for awhile now... a few years at least. With a sociological background, I have been told that my books have lessons to teach and although, I don't write to "preach"...lol...some readers have told me that my writing has changed their minds about a lot of things, namely about love between men. Men do and can fall in love, with each other, and first time readers of m/m fiction have told me that my work makes them believers. That's really nice. Come visit my website at www.djmanly.com
And drop me a line, if you read me and like me.
My readers are the best anywhere.