Tag: sci-fi

I thought I’d stretch a bit and this time take a walk into another realm. Once again, I am genre hopping.

I found some of the stories I came across too far-fetched to even pretend they are realistic or possible. (This could be a huge flaw but that’s just how my brain works.) I need to be able to believe what is written is possible although the technology may not exist (yet).

But that still doesn’t answer the question, why sci-fi?

I have to be a bit of an ass and ask, why not? Also, it is freaking cool. Not to mention the uptick in Black women writing sci-fi. This discovery had me weak in the knees, and I wanted to delve into the genre even more.

For one birthday, I was given N.K. Jemisin’s How Long ’til Black Future Month?. I had never heard of this author so when I turned it over and read the back cover I saw a face that looked like mine. I geeked out much to the annoyance of my co-workers. That weekend Fifth Season on my bookshelf.

That gift as simple as it was, meant something. It was beyond the fact that my friend and co-worker apparently knew me better than I had originally thought. But it also gave me a sense of ‘you are a writer’; you can create your world and put onto paper whatever the hell YOU want. You can write science fiction too!

Simply because you are a woman that is Black doesn’t mean that you are confined to only write social justice pieces, although I don’t find anything wrong with that type of writing and greatly believe in its importance, but there are some of us that want to show off our talents and imaginations.

We are more than down-trodden individuals, we are lively and brimming with ideas, stories and we bring a different perspective to a world that’s overflowing with the same type of sci-fi/fantasy writer.

Some of us color outside the lines or just miss the paper entirely.