SHANNON MUIR’S THURSDAY THOUGHTS on THE PULP AND MYSTERY SHELF are observations from the site administrator on her writing life, or the industry at large. Anything Shannon Muir thinks about goes – check the blog on Thursdays!
Folks who have followed THE PULP AND MYSTERY SHELF since near the beginning likely are aware that the Friday SF & Fantasy features didn’t begin until this past January. This week’s post is for anyone who may have wondered how I feel I can weave them into a blog primarily noted for mysteries.
I used several criteria to make this decision. One of the top ones is that they are the others genres I also read and write, so I could easily still keep the blog within the same tone. Besides reading and writing in these genres, I also attend some conventions in those areas of interest – from attending San Diego Comic-Con International as a Pro the last 20 years (based on my work in the animation field related to these genres), or smaller but well known local cons such as LOSCON in Los Angeles. LOSCON proved very influential in going in this added direction as I met writers I wanted to feature as blog posts, but knew that if I just featured them on any day it would be jarring to the mystery readers. I do recognize a lot of the current billing is more YA dystopian, but that is based on what I am currently being offered; I am open to all types of science fiction and fantasy on THE PULP AND MYSTERY SHELF.
Another is that the reason “pulp” had been added to the name seemed to be waning. I started becoming active during a New Pulp renaissance of sorts, where there was a real push to get pulp style stories by modern authors noticed. While this hasn’t gone away, it has certainly plateaued. In the case of the blog, “pulp” now also encompasses celebrating genres defined by the birth of classic pulp magazines as well – which science fiction and fantasy are well known for falling under. Technically, one could say romance also would fit this definition, but THE PULP AND MYSTERY SHELF has a sister blog called SHANNON MUIR’S INFINITE HOUSE OF BOOKS that has ended up focusing in that direction, so romance and related genres are excluded where romance is the primary genre.
Do SF & Fantasy Fridays work for you? Would you prefer to go back to mystery, crime, and thriller exclusively at THE PULP AND MYSTERY SHELF? Please feel free to comment, though be advised the comments are moderated. I do publicly publish all valid comments.
Until next time…
