I have loved speculative fiction ever since I can remember. As a kid I was reading on a grown-up level by the time I was in fifth grade, so I was reading novels by Dean Koontz and Stephen King, Nelson DeMille, and a whole host of others. Not everything I read at that time was speculative fiction, but a large portion of my reading material was. I especially enjoyed the writings of Stephen King. They were dark, imaginative, and weird. And over the years my own writing has mirrored a lot of his style. It’s safe to say that King was a direct influence on my own creativity.
I remember writing my first speculative fiction stories in fifth grade. We would receive writing assignments, and I would write about aliens and magic. And often, I would be asked to read my stories in front of the class (a feat that was impressive considering how much of an introvert I was — and still am). It was one of the few things I could do that wasn’t instantly ridiculed by my peers.
Nowadays, I read everything I can get my hands on by Brandon Sanderson and John Scalzi. Sanderson is far and away my favorite fantasy writer. His worlds are all, for the most part, interconnected into his Cosmere, so events that happen in one novel frequently tie into events in his other novels. And every world has a different system of magic that is both creative and entertaining.
Scalzi, meanwhile, is my favorite science fiction author. His Old Man’s War universe is very accessible for sci-fi, and most of his stories move along at a breakneck pace. Every single one of his novels is easy to digest, and they’ll keep you entertained for house at a time.
I still have dreams of becoming a published author. I like writing speculative fiction. I like getting my imagination going about fantastic places and creatures. I enjoy dark fiction, where the story’s outcome isn’t always in favor of the hero. The more I write, the better I get at it, and it’s been nice to dust off the cobwebs recently and produce some new fiction, albeit very short stories. One of these days I’ll write something long enough to be published. I’m not in any hurry, though. There are other life things that have come before my writing, and those usually take precedence. But someday, I’ll be a published speculative fiction author, I can promise you that!
