IROSF Flirts with Speculative Romance
Cynthia Ward, rapidly becoming one of my favorite speculative fiction theorists, strikes a blow for paranormal romance in the current issue of The Internet Review of Science Fiction. "Paranormal Romance: Here, There and Everywhere with Science Fiction" takes the IROSF sub-genre spotlight with a detailed genealogy of fiction that currently culminates in our beloved speculative romance. You've gotta register to read it, but registration's free and the IROSF is a resource worth your attention.
Cynthia's article raises a point near to my heart: how paranormal romance is starting to burst through certain seams of romance fiction conventions. I don't mean to suggest that speculative fiction conforming to the happy-ever-after, monogamous, heterosexual standard has no value. On the contrary, I love em. But I'm also excited to see the development of what I'm starting to call speculative fiction about relationships.
Cynthia singles out several Mothers of the Genre, among them the Pern series by Anne McCaffrey. While I was entranced by the romance between Lessa and F'lar (and how many among us didn't have a crush on F'lar or Lessa by age 13?), the Pern novels also deliver those delightfully fascinating relationships between the dragons and their riders. To me, Impression was always as emotionally moving as any human romantic relationship.
If I think about the science fiction and fantasy stories that stay on my shelf as keepers, they almost all have central plots that revolve equally around speculative elements and relationships. The by turns violent then disturbingly tender relationship between Morn Highland and Angus Thermopyle keeps Stephen Donaldson's GAP series an annual read for me. Guy Gavriel Kay's A SONG FOR ARBONNE and TIGANA never deliver a happy ending, but I consider them grandly romantic. Frank Herbert's DUNE series is as ripe with relationships as it is with ideas: Paul and Chani, Jessica and Faradyn, Alia and first ghola Duncan Idaho, series ghola Duncan Idaho and Honored Matre Murbella.
As much as I love a happy ending, I also appreciate the occasional tragic love story. As Cynthia states in her article, the movie Brokeback Mountain wouldn’t qualify under genre standards as romance because there certainly isn't an HEA, there's adultery and homosexual main characters. But the movie's plot is motored entirely by the characters' relationships. So of course I'm interested!
I respect the boundaries of the romance genre, because when I pick up a book marked "romance" I know that I'll be getting that HEA. But even though I love dark chocolate the best, that doesn't mean I'm not open to milk chocolate. Or caramel. Or spun sugar. Just as long as the experience satisfies my craving for something sweet.
But how the heck do we get bookstores to shelve relationship-oriented speculative fiction so we can FIND it? I leave that problem to a better mind than mine. Any suggestions?
Showing posts with label Specrom on the web. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Specrom on the web. Show all posts
Friday, January 05, 2007
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Fess Up Monday!
Did you write? Did you sell? How many words? Tell, tell tell!
The Global Existential Threat Level remains at GUARDED.
Happy New Year to everyone!
This is a milestone year for me, because this is the Year of my First Novel-Length Publication. You can all read BONDS OF DARKNESS from Liquid Silver Books on January 15th, or you can sneak a peak at www.JoyceEllenArmond.com.
But of course, while that's pretty cool, I'm well into two new projects. What are you up to, this first day of 2007? What are your goals? Do you freeze up even thinking about that?
If you want a little hint in setting reasonable, attainable goals, check out FINDING FOCUS: MANAGING YOUR CREATIVITY from last autumn's newsletter. If you set an unreasaonable goal, you're just setting yourself up to fail. And that sucks. A good goal for 2007: avoid the suckage early and often.
On the blog schedule this week:
Tuesday: News 2 Use, everyone's favorite feature.
Thursday: A new Read This, with links to some good speculative romantic short stories available on the web…including MINE!
Friday: Romance and science fiction go out on another date in a new publication dedicated to speculative fiction.
Weekend: A new feature, From Other Shelves – noteable books outside our subgenres.
So I invite you, every Monday, to fess up. Did you write? Did you sell? How many words? Tell, tell, tell! Because if you write just 1,750 words a week, by this time next year, you'll have the first draft of a novel!
Did you write? Did you sell? How many words? Tell, tell tell!
The Global Existential Threat Level remains at GUARDED.
Happy New Year to everyone!
This is a milestone year for me, because this is the Year of my First Novel-Length Publication. You can all read BONDS OF DARKNESS from Liquid Silver Books on January 15th, or you can sneak a peak at www.JoyceEllenArmond.com.
But of course, while that's pretty cool, I'm well into two new projects. What are you up to, this first day of 2007? What are your goals? Do you freeze up even thinking about that?
If you want a little hint in setting reasonable, attainable goals, check out FINDING FOCUS: MANAGING YOUR CREATIVITY from last autumn's newsletter. If you set an unreasaonable goal, you're just setting yourself up to fail. And that sucks. A good goal for 2007: avoid the suckage early and often.
On the blog schedule this week:
Tuesday: News 2 Use, everyone's favorite feature.
Thursday: A new Read This, with links to some good speculative romantic short stories available on the web…including MINE!
Friday: Romance and science fiction go out on another date in a new publication dedicated to speculative fiction.
Weekend: A new feature, From Other Shelves – noteable books outside our subgenres.
So I invite you, every Monday, to fess up. Did you write? Did you sell? How many words? Tell, tell, tell! Because if you write just 1,750 words a week, by this time next year, you'll have the first draft of a novel!
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