Speculative fiction is anything from fantasy to psychological horror to magic realism. It could be something as mainstream as a present-day ghost story to an alternate history. I chose the field of speculative fiction because it is one place where anything is possible if you write convincingly. I also think it's a good place to talk about social issues because when someone picks up a fantasy or sci-fi story, they are open to all possiblities.

"It is my sincere opinion that the number one reason people fail to complete a manuscript is fear. Fear of a publisher's rejection. Fear of ridicule by peers. Fear that the beautiful, perfect story in your head won't come out as perfectly on paper."
---Scott Haartman,
Black on White
My Short Stories My Novels-In-Progress

"Evening Intentions"
A woman is obsessed with her upstairs neighbor whom she has never met.

"The Search"
(finished 5/28/1998) A woman is determined to find true love by placing a personal ad on the internet.

"Spanish Queens"
A woman works through her fear of abandonment when she meets a man confused about his sexual identity at a latino drag queen show.

"Juno's Daughters"
The story of four women who find aliens in the strangest places and are asked to return the aliens to their homeworld.

"Born With a Crash"
Dakota finds that she has been given a strange psychic gift after being involved in a car accident.

"Wild Green"
Claudette meets a magical girl who comes to stay with her for a few days. Little does she know that the girl will help her rediscover the magic inside herself as she helps the girl become more human. Click here for a preview.

"Storm in Blake's Canyon"
Set at the turn of the century. Miss Katherine comes to the town of Blake's Canyon to teach. But when she is trapped with the town doctor, undertaker and store-owner, secrets surface and she discovers part of the town's dark history.

"Court Case Story"
Keeli finds herself in a court room with a woman she doesn't know, battling for the chance to raise the child she and her ex-lover had contracted. Her ex-lover, now in the body of a woman, had left Keeli just months before the birth was scheduled to happen. Why did he leave? Will she get the chance to be a mother?

 

ALL THE LINKS A WRITER COULD EVER WANT:
My Jester's Corner

 

More Writing Links:

Forward Motion
Holly Isle's page for writers. Great resources and articles!

For Writers
A great pure writing site! Lots of links and resources and info.

Pure Fiction
For all those fiction writers out there. Lots of beginning tips and resources.

Writing Classes/Courses:

4-Writers
Great site for classes! Some free, others you have to pay for.

Joanne Reid's Writing Page
Some free courses. Lots of links and info.

Steven Barnes
A free writing class.

Writing Exercises:

Hero's Archetype
Exercises based on _The Writer's Journey_ by Christopher Vogler. Excellent.

IRC Chats
Chats taken from IRC that are about particular writing topics. Very good!

Exercises
EXCELLENT! EXCELLENT! Lots of exercises here, including ones based on _20 Major Plots_.

Outline Your Novel
Here's an exercise to outline your novel in thirty minutes. Great!

This Dark Night
Speculative history novel about the fall of 200 angels in the time of Noah.

"Between the Wings"
Fantasy novel about the youngest of three sisters and how she deals with her deformity: being born without wings. Based on a painting by Dutch painter Sulamith Wulfing.

Middelaine
Volume 1 of a fantasy trilogy. Deborah has just lost her husband, the Keeper(High Priest) of Middlelaine. Now she must put aside her grief because the mysterious death of the King has forced her to lead the search for a new one.

The Myth of Memory (tentative title)
Vanessa wakes one morning and begins to suspect that her world isn't exactly as it has always been. When she discovers a magician has changed her city and the people in it, she has to decide whether the change is worth the cost.

Middlelaine Pre-Quel
Volume 2 in the Middlelaine fantasy trilogy. Devestated by war, The Arhen Clans and the White Earth Tribes come together to form a council and appoint a King and religious leader. Thomas Ironhands is being groomed for kingship but will his insecurities about his heritage and his love for Cassandra destroy his chances?

Charlotte's Story (no title yet)
A fantasy novel perhaps to become a part of the Middlelaine universe. Follows Charlotte and her stay at Raglan Castle as war breaks out. Rhys y Belaam is the traveling magician who tells Charlotte there is more to her than meets the eye.

Siobhan (no title yet)
Final volume in the Middlelaine trilogy. Siobhan sees patterns between people and places. Will her visions help her tribe to avoid war with Tsal's people? Will it destroy her son and drive away her lover?

Green Sun Burning
Book 2 of the Manmohini Trilogy. Philipa is a half-breed born of a philsopher father and an aristocratic mother. She has had to deal with prejudice all her life and wants more than anything to keep her business and her independence. But when the commoners rise up against the Sari, will she be forced to give up all that she has created for herself because she will be the mother of the rebel leader's son? And what has happened to the Sari? Are the rumors of alien contact true? Where did they go?

The Lifeforce Device
A Sci-fi novel set when Earth is disintegrating and people are looking for a way off the wasted planet. A new device has been created that, in theory, should supply the power needed to get a colony ship from Earth to the next solar system. But is the cost too great?

Oceanis
A sci-fi novel. Charla is a Principle Investigator for a philanthropic group who have funded research centers on the first discovered water-world, Oceanis. They send Charla in to investigate when they begin to suspect that an important discovery is being kept from the investors.

Delivering Justice
Sci-fi novel in three parts. Follows Chitra as she travels to several planets as a mediator for the Institute for Interspiritual Expression and her growing relationship with a strange entity.

Jan's Novel
The first in the trilogy of Manmohini. Jan is not quite a man in a country where the aristocracy is slowing disappearing leaving confusion and joy. But when he meets Nabekka, he discovers he didn't know himself as well as he thought. His dreams of a printing press and a place among the Freemen are put on hold while he helps the young Sari woman from danger.

TBA
Book 3 of the Manmohini Trilogy. The first book tells the story of Jan and Nabekka and the disappearance of the Sari ruling class. The second book follows the life of their daughter, Phillipa, but the mystery of where the Sari went remains. Book 3 follows Phillipa's son who seeks to make his own name in the world and ends up finding the answers to the mysteries his grandfather wondered about.

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If any of these links are broken, please email me. Thanks!