Why I write speculative fiction

If you look at the navigation bar below our header, you’ll see we’ve divided our debut novels into four categories: Dystopian, Post Apocalyptic, Thriller and Romance.  LEVEL TWO is a dystopian afterlife thriller with a fair amount of romance, so I wasn’t quite sure where to categorize it, though after consultation with my editor, I’ve decided to keep it under dystopian.

However, it’s fair to say that my novel isn’t much like other dystopians that have come before it.  But what it does have in common with its predecessors is the spirit of speculative fiction, the “what if” question that drives us to think outside the box. (The way I understand it, speculative fiction is a broad term for the more fantastical fiction genres and includes works that fall outside the more narrowly defined science fiction canon -such as alternate history, superhero fiction, fantasy, dystopians, etc.)  

What I find so fascinating about speculative fiction – and why I wanted to write it - is that strives to be cutting-edge and experimental, often breaking with traditional methods of storytelling and playing with conventions like narrative structure, voice, etc.

When I was plotting LEVEL TWO, it rapidly became clear that to tell Felicia’s story adequately, I’d need three alternating timelines – one in the “present” dystopian afterlife world with an action thriller vibe (cliffhanger chapter endings) and two in the “past” that would read more like contemporary realistic fiction (with a twist, of course).   A challenge, but the result was well worth it.  I hope you think so too!