I’m in the process of revamping my website, so if anything looks a little off, please bear with me!
ETA: Looks like it’s up and running!
I’m in the process of revamping my website, so if anything looks a little off, please bear with me!
ETA: Looks like it’s up and running!
I have a new short story published under the flash fiction category for Abyss & Apex. So excited to be a part of their publication!
You can find “A Serenade of Strings” and other awesome fiction at their website.
Future general blog posts are forthcoming.
I haven’t really commented on the whole fiasco with the Hugos this year. I’m not a big name writer, and I haven’t been as involved in the fandom while I fight cancer. So, I don’t have a stake in the awards in the simplest sense – I’m not nominated for anything and I haven’t lobbied on behalf of anyone who did make the official nomination list. The only stake I have is in the overall Hugo’s integrity, which I believe we all have a stake in.
As I’ve read, watched, and listened to various points of view –I refuse to call them “sides”–I’ve reached the following conclusions:
It’s my pleasure to have Abner Senires as a guest on my blog today. So without further ado…
First off, I want to thank Kerri for hosting me for today’s book blog tour stop. And now….
A few years ago I was listening to a podcast (sadly I can’t recall which one) and heard one of the panelists say cyberpunk was dead genre so don’t submit anything cyberpunk.
Over the past couple of years I’ve noticed that many sci-fi/fantasy literary agents have listed almost all subgenres in their “wish lists” except cyberpunk.
And looking at the shelves at Barnes & Noble, the only cyberpunk books I see are the subgenre classics like Neuromancer or Snow Crash.
So is cyberpunk really dead?
There are those who posit cyberpunk has transformed into post-cyberpunk. According to this definition (via Wikipedia), post-cyberpunk stories continue to focus on social implications within a post-third industrial-era society, such as a ubiquitous datasphere of computerized information and cybernetic augmentaion of the human body, but without the assumption of dystopia. Still others have said that we already live in a cyberpunk world so the genre, as speculative fiction, doesn’t work.
I’m of the opinion that cyberpunk has morphed into what I’d call “near-future noir.” It’s basically our world, just fast forwarded two or three decades. We still drive cars. We still watch TV. We’re still on the Internet. But maybe the cars drive themselves or they fly. Maybe we watch immersive, 3D TV. Maybe we connect directly to the Internet through a data plug in the side of our head. Maybe we can replace a bad leg with a robotic prosthesis or a new biological one cloned from our own cells.
Not yet Star Trek.
But not quite the present.
That’s the “near-future” part.
The “noir” part comes from the focus on the underbelly of society. Those people who live and work in the darker places of the city. Thugs. Gangsters. Rogues. Con men. All portrayed in half-shadow. Some bad. Some not so bad. Morally gray.
We’ve seen movies like this: Minority Report. Dredd. Heck, even the recent reboot of Robocop.
And even television (briefly) gave us Almost Human.
This is the world I write about in the Kat and Mouse stories. Kat and Mouse are mercenaries operating outside the law, in that underbelly of society. They live in the typical near-future urban jungle of steel and glass towers, forests of neon signs, and perpetually rain-drenched streets.
And the sky is always the color of a television tuned to a dead channel.
See? Not dead.
Just morphed. But when you really get down to it, when you strip away the label “near-future noir,” I’m really writing good ol’ cyberpunk. Cyberpunk with an adventure story flavor.
So the big question: why write in a seemingly “dead” genre?
Because it’s fun.
Because I like blending modern and possible future tech. Because I like the idea of plugging your brain into the Internet. Because I like the idea of cybernetic body part replacement and augmentation. Because I can use my knowledge of contemporary weapons and weapons use.
And because I like adventure stories.
I see myself much in the same mold as someone who writes sword and sorcery. Taking elements of a fantasy world and crafting a fun adventure tale from it. In this case, I’m taking elements of cyberpunk–the look, the tech, the setting–and using it to write an adventure story.
At it’s core, I’m writing escapist fiction. There’s no exploration of the social implications of technology typically inherent in cyberpunk and post-cyberpunk stories.
I’m writing about car chases, gun battles, and walking slowly away from that explosion behind you.
That’s why I’m writing cyberpunk.
Dead genre?
No.
Still alive, I say.
AUTHOR BIOAbner Senires writes cyberpunk pulp and probably drinks far too much coffee. He lives just outside Seattle, WA with his wife and a pair of rambunctious cats.
WEBSITE: www.AbnerSenires.com
BLOG: blog.AbnerSenires.com
TWITTER: @abnersenires
KAT AND MOUSE, GUNS FOR HIRE: PAYBACK
Things are heating up for near-future female mercenaries Kat and Mouse as they tackle even more hair-raising jobs for shadowy clients and run afoul of terrorists, freedom fighters, hired assassins, a Japanese crime syndicate, and warring punkergangs. And smack in the middle of this, an enemy from the past is back and wants revenge on the duo.
Now these two sassy sisters-in-arms must fight back and survive…and still get their jobs done.
Available from: KindleSmashwords/epub
Update: This story has been claimed by ALYAHsOurVictoryCryLovesIslanders.
If anyone else needs a story in a pinch, please let me know ASAP and I’ll try my best to help.
Original Post: I’ve been reading the controversy about GISHWHES participants and several published authors. I can’t speak for any of the authors out there, but if they choose not to participate that is their right and their business. Time is precious, and most writers have a full plate as it is. Multiply that but hundreds of requests and I’m sure I would be overwhelmed, too. Please don’t harass them.
I do hope that there are some authors that can participate. It’s fun and silly and harmless, and I fully support the craziness that ensues. I’d like to help, though, so I’ve written a little story of 140 words. It’s a wacky little thing that doesn’t take itself seriously. Now, I write science fiction, fantasy, and historical, and have been published through small presses. I don’t know if that counts, but if it does, anyone can use it for their scavenger hunt. The story is below. Good luck!
Another tangle of vines twisted through the brush. Before he could act, it fell with an unceremonious thump.
Her Majesty lowered her blade. “I do believe you’ve managed to get us lost.”
“It’s here, look.”
The elusive Elopus hovered before them, tentacles whipping outward, its huge trunk twisting toward the sky.
“Excuse me.” Misha said. “Can we get a photo?”
It blinked.
Misha and the Queen snapped a picture and trekked out of the jungle. Definitely getting into the books on that one.
“At least this is better than that dreadful Yeti. I can still smell the kale on its breath.”
Misha nodded. “So, what’s next?”
“Loch Ness, perhaps?”
He grinned. “To the kilt-mobile!”
Do you have a manuscript who is alone, desperately hoping to find the perfect certain someone?
Maybe manuscript matchmaking is for you!
All joking aside, you should check out MS WishList. It’s a collection of hashtags detailing what various agents and publishers are looking for in a manuscript. Who knows, maybe you have written a story that fits an agent’s desire.
Aside from a list of agents’ wants and needs, it’s also a great general resource on what works for queries and what doesn’t, and how the publishing process works.
I’ve spent the last year working on various projects and following the advice of “write what you love.” Still, I keep hitting roadblocks. Why? Why can’t I mentally get past these obstacles that are getting in the way of polishing my manuscript? Or allowing a new idea to flourish into an outline or plotted story?
Perhaps I am slower than the rest, but it finally dawned on me that I keep falling into another trap that many writers face: playing it safe.
Inspired by my friend Janet M. Carter’s post, I thought I would talk a bit about how my perception of writing has changed over time.
Finding your niche as a writer can be hard. There are so many pressures out there to conform. Follow the latest trends. Write what is popular. Who doesn’t want to be published?
With all these temptations pressing on you, it can be easy to lose your way and just write whatever you think will make people happy. Now, there’s nothing wrong with writing for money. There’s nothing wrong with writing popular themes or in popular genres. If you love it and your heart is in it, why not? Or hey, maybe you can write something you’re not passionate about, and it’s still amazing. There are writers who can do that.
I’m not one of them.
I find it problematic when you write without passion, and that’s exactly what I’ve tried to do in the past.
I’d find a call to submissions and think, hey I can write that! Not surprisingly, I would fail miserably.
Sometimes a call or a trend fits what I’m passionate about. What a great motivator! But more often than not, they aren’t compatible. Instead of chasing trends, I should be writing what I’m passionate about. It’s wasted time. Or maybe a stalling technique?
The past few months I have been focusing once again on my own style, my own passions, and you know what? I’m having so much more fun with my writing. My contemporary/urban fantasy novel rewrite is coming together better than I had hoped, and all I needed to do was to write to my passions. (And to learn to let go which is a whole different conversation for a different time.)
I know what I love. I love ghosts, monsters, demons, and angels. I love humor and drama wrapped up together. I know old cities and country, myth and history, folklore and urban legends.
I know I want to tell stories of people searching for who they are, who love each other, whether they are lovers or family or friends.
It comes back to that old adage: Don’t write what you know. Write what you LOVE.
It’s not a New Year’s Resolution unless it’s meant to be broken 😉