Comments on Simon Strantzas: And don't even get me started on "live" albums...

It's interesting that you use rock music as an ana...

2009-03-01T12:58:00.000-05:00

It's interesting that you use rock music as an analogy because I use the same one to describe my own work.

And, like rock music, the reaction of readers will depend largely on what they feel about your work as a whole. Just like there are some bands who have fans that don't like it when the band does anything other than what they are famous for, there are writers who are similarly trapped into one style or genre or whatever because that's what people like about them. Some musicians and some writers are able to produce material across the board, in many styles or genres, but it's near impossible to tell which fans will be cool with that and which will balk.

I like to think that my own small group of readers enjoy the wide variety of my work, and will likewise appreciate that fact when I start publishing novels, because I plan on writing in a variety of genres. My first novel is a literary suspense, and my second will be a comedic sf, the third a straight horror.

Some people have told me that the others won't sell to a publisher because writers are only allowed to publish in one genre for the rest of their lives. It's not true, of course, and I needn't mention the number of authors who write across genres, and even without using pen names. Besides, am I not supposed to even try? Should I shoot myself down because the first novel I sold happen to be, say, my horror novel, that I am now stuck writing horror for the rest of my life?

I don't think that's the case, and I don't think you'll have much worry about with the future of your own work. People read it because they like who you are as a writer, not just because of what you're producing. Why else do people pick up new books by favourite authors without knowing anything about the book itself? Because they are fans.

That's not to say there aren't instances when the fans don't like the new direction you've taken, but you can't ever predict that.

But you see, that's the thing: I don't know how cl...

2009-03-01T12:13:00.000-05:00

But you see, that's the thing: I don't know how closely the upcoming book will hew to what came before. To use your analogy: I don't know if the photos are even from the same country the first collection described.

I think the upcoming book is more "traditional" than what came before, so perhaps there will be a better shot at getting it noticed by the field at large. I worry, as is natural I imagine, that there will be disappointment from those who read the first book. Lucky I am then, I suppose, that so few were printed.

Simon:I recall the same fear (or sheer dread, as i...

2009-03-01T11:42:00.000-05:00

Simon:

I recall the same fear (or sheer dread, as it was in my case) that was stirred as the release of my second collection drew nearer. We all are wary of the "sophmore curse" ("Yeah, this guy's first book was hot, but let's see if he was just a one-book wonder.")

However, you are obviously referencing a specific issue in relation to your own fiction, namely the "unified" (for lack of a better term) impact of BENEATH THE SURFACE as compared to the seemingly less "unified" COLD TO THE TOUCH. I can't speak for anyone obviously, but I regard the situation as follows:

Your first collection introduced us to your worldview, your phantom view of the world. This introduction could not have happened with individual stories, no matter how many of them are published. This is a special phenomenon that occurs only after a significant number of one author's tales have been collected and presented as a whole. BtS gave us a bird's eye map of Strantzas country; a realm that only you could have created. It was wrought from your influences, your aspirations, and your life experiences.

CttT, by contrast, will likely be your way of zooming-in on some of the occupants and locations in this country. It might not feel as unified, either in style or theme, but this is natural. To put it another way, your first book was a photo album. Your second book will consist of individual photographs that highlight different aspects of your phantom country.

I think the substance of your work will surely outweigh any possible "lack of unity" in your next book.