I Spy Sci-Fi

These items from recent news highlights:

Residents become ill after meteor crashes - http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070918/sc_afp/peruhealthoffbeat

Britain approves creation of hybrid human-animal embryos for research - http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070905/sc_nm/britain_embryo_dc

Don't you see the makings of sci-fi/horror there?

Anyhoodles, just finished a really good book last night. A MANKIND WITCH was fun, but was not on the level of this one. Once more, I accidentally brought home the last book of a series, but since I was desperate, I went ahead and read it. I didn't really need to read first two to understand the third, but I'm going to go pick them today just because I loved this guy's writing style. Here's an example where he describes a hunter's dog from a demon's point of view:

That dog, potential insanity on four legs, can be as calm as a dreamless sleeper until danger drops from the trees and then his placid, near-human smile wrinkles back into a snapping wound machine. The crafty beast learns to lunge for my brethren's unprotected areas--wing membrane, soft belly, groin, or tail. I, myself, witnessed that hound tear of an attacking demon's member, slip through its legs, and then shread a wing to tatters in his escape. He has an uncanny sense of certainty about him in all situations, as if in each he is like a dancer who has practiced that one dance all his days. Wood reads Cley like a book, understands his hand signals and the subtle shifting of his eyes. There is no question he will die for the hunter, and I am convinced he will go beyond death for him--a guardian angel the color of night, muscled and scarred and harder to subdue than a guilty conscience.

Doesn't that just perfectly capture the essence of dogs?

The book? THE BEYOND
The author: Jeffrey Ford

Welcome...

To my blog for writers and fans of speculative fiction in all its flavors: dark, light, and yes folks, even romantic. (Although I started this blog to differentiate it from my paranormal romance blog, since my current WIP is not a romance.)

A word of warning to those who rolled their eyes at that last item: if, at any time in the course of discussing fiction, speculative romance is vilified, I will immediately invoke Harlequin's Law. :)

Now, since readership building takes time, I'll just start by saying "hello" and "welcome" if you've found your way here, and recommend a few good reads & links.

If you haven't read "In the Company of Ogres" by A. Lee Martinez, and you enjoy humorous fantasy (such as Douglas Adams or Terry Pratchett) then I think you'd enjoy that one. An unpublished writer that I recently discovered (and who makes me want to buy a publishing company so that I can launch his career and become very wealthy *g*) is Stewart Sternberg.

Actually, I've read stories from so many talented writers whose work is considered outside mainstream fiction that I am seriously looking into starting my own publishing business. I imagine the big houses probably got big catering to the masses, but I also believe the niche markets are still alive and well. I've read on some blogs that people think the paranormal/speculative fiction lines will soon tank, but I recently tried to take a stroll down the sf/f aisle at Barnes & Noble and had a hard time getting through. One sight that warmed my heart as I was elbowing my way down the aisle was a dad pointing out his favorites and describing them to his little girl. She looked to be about 5.

I don't think the fans are going anywhere.