Part of why I write the sort-of science-fictionish stuff
I write is that is how my brain works. Any tiny idea sparks into my brain, and
by the time I’ve thought about it, it’s grown mad scientist arms and time
manipulation legs.

But the other part is hoping to show people who don’t
usually read “that stuff” that hey, it’s fun, and if they like my stuff, they
might like more of the genre. My shining example of conversion? My friend K.

She was not a science-fiction person at all. When I
finished my first novel, though, she wanted to read it, being, as I mentioned,
my friend. I asked her if she was sure. It was a bit surreal, and though I
think of science-fiction as the sauce in which I cook the meat of my characters
(ok, that sounds kind of wrong, but I mean it in the way in which it’s an
accurate analogy and not in the way that sounds vaguely creepy) but some people
are turned off simply at the ideas.

She loved it. Not just because she’s contractually
obligated to, but she enjoyed the fun of the new filter on the world. When you
think about it, that’s all a genre really is, it’s a filter that colors the way
you tell a story. Based on her reaction to my first book, she asked if I
thought she’d enjoy The Time Traveler’s
Wife, a book I raved about to her. Before she read mine, I would have told
her I wasn’t sure, but afterward, I could offer her a solid yes. She adored
that book.

Her science-fiction world has now expanded to television,
she’s discovered “Eureka.” She loves that show as well.

Think of me as a taster menu. The science-fiction is
there, certainly, but so is the other stuff, you can eat around it, if you like
(and if you are still thinking of the sauce analogy above, then this post is
really disgusting. So stop thinking of it).

One of the best parts of the ebook revolution is that it’s
so easy, and so inexpensive, to try something new. Give it a sample, and you
might discover a new world(s) (and whole new category).