This June we're talking genres for the Insecure Writer's Support Group

Hello all.

It's Insecure Writer's Support Group time, and the start of June, which here in Utah promises to be less soggy and perhaps more sunny than May (we got record levels of rain in May). I for one am looking forward to summer. However, the rainy May days did afford me time to curl up with a book or two. I suppose that my go to choice was Tiamat's Wrath by James S.A. Corey. This is the eighth book in the Expanse universe, and firmly rooted in space opera, which is a sub-genre of science-fiction. And yes it was a good read.

If you are unfamiliar with the ISWG (Insecure Writer's Support Group), you can read about it HERE and at the same time sign up for the monthly blog fest, which was started by Alex Cavanaugh.

June 5 question: Of all the genres you read and write, which is your favorite to write in and why?

It's easy for me to answer: speculative fiction. It's also what I like to watch as far as entertainment.

Why? Speculative fiction is fun. Godzilla movies are speculative fiction. The Expanse books and Star Wars and Star Trek and Game of Thrones are all speculative fiction. I crave my escapes from the reality of my life, and speculative fiction does that for me (and always has). Look...I realize that by saying this you may infer that "Mike's life may not be all roses." Well (spoiler alert) that's true and congratulations for understanding me. But on the flipside of this statement, at least I'm not hiding from anything. I know what my life is, and that my choices to a large part have landed me exactly where I am. As a philosopher once said, "It is what it is."

But while we are being honest let me at least say this: I think that most people's lives have pockets of misery here and there. It's unavoidable really. The reality of working at a job that seems unrewarding...or the day to day toils that bring us pain and feelings of unappreciation...or even the hype of getting to know a new person only to be disappointed by them later goes on and on forever for most people. And then there is of course other things like aging, loneliness, boredom, and just sheer exhaustion brought about by a 24-hour news cycle. Reality can be a real downer, and there's a lot in current events that can even be...should I dare say it...a bit depressing?

So yeah...my choice of reading AND writing isn't to delve into some expert's analysis of why our current president is cray cray. I already know that, and I'm not going to read about it in novel form. I'm not going to spend time trying to understand what made Michelle Obama. I'm not going to peel back the layers of whatever comedian decided to pen a memoir. I don't care about that stuff.

I spend my free time flying amidst the stars, exploring lands where dragons live, and slipping into the skin of someone whose direct actions can change the world for good or for ill. It's escapism, plain and simple. And I likes it a lot.