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It's Thanksgiving week here in the States. I just heard a sermon about being thankful at church on Sunday. So, in the vein of sharing an attitude of gratitude, I thought I'd share my thoughts about what is going right in Speculative Fiction with all of you. I'm actually thankful that the list is such a long one.
1.) I'm thankful for publishers like Baen Books, Chris Kennedy Publishing, Silver Empire and Superversive Press.
Why? Because Science Fiction does not, and never should, belong to the wokescolds. All of the above publishers put a good story before political correctness. I love the fact that I can pick up a book and be confident that I'll be reading something entertaining. Seriously. Pick up a copy of any of the Four Horseman Novels, or any Declan Finn series (he's on Silver Empire). Do it. Then pick up a copy of another one of the same series. You'll be smiling, because you'll know that something good is on the way.
2.) I'm thankful for indie publishing.
Independent publishing provides an outlet for a lot of works that wouldn't get out any other way. Not all of it's good, but a lot of it is. You can read about the good stuff here at Jimbo's. I love promoting the little guy, and I'm thankful that I'm able to do it. Read reviews first, but if you haven't tried an indie author do so. I know a few and they're all good people as well as being good authors. We've all seen the meme about supporting small businesses right? Well, supporting an indie author helps them a lot more than being the 445465465464654646464645546th person to buy a Steven King novel. I kid you not.
3.) I'm thankful that Science Fiction and Fantasy still matter.
I've been hearing for decades that Science Fiction was dead. I've heard claims that we're already in a Science Fiction future so there's no need to write about it anymore. I may have even read a Facebook post written by a published SF author complaining about how reality was making his job harder. I chuckled about it but it would appear to be true. However, until one of my grandchildren inhabits a distant star system, I'm going with the belief that we're not there yet.
4.) I'm thankful that geekery has reached such unbelievable heights of popularity.
Seriously. Marvel made twenty-two movies and they all rocked. DC has some unbelievably awesome TV shows. You can watch people play Dungeons and Dragons (and dammit, Blogger, I want my ampersand to work!) on Youtube. There are conventions all over the place. Seriously. When I was a kid (yes, they had kids then) Star Trek conventions were a new thing. There was no such thing as DragonCon. I remember a commercial coming on about a local ST con and my dad and I looking each other in the face and getting all excited because we had never heard of any such thing. It's not like that anymore and it stopped being just Star Trek a Loooooooong time ago. Speaking of which...
5.) I'm thankful for the passion of the fans.
Not only does the fact that people care about Spec Fic fuel the readership of blogs just like mine, but it makes it fun, too. I even enjoy being told that I'm crazy for promoting the new Star Wars movies. I mean, I'm probably the only person on the planet that enjoyed TLJ but whatever. I love the fact that fans will argue and debate things about the series. I find it a bit perplexing that people my age and older expect the new movies to feel the same way the old ones did when we were six, but that's on them. Keep caring folks. KEEP TREK vs. WARS ALIVE!!!!! (For the record, I'm a fence sitter, but don't tell my oldest that because she is Wars from now till the cows come home.) Oh, and that reminds me:
6.) I'm thankful for Fan Orgs like The Royal Manticoran Navy and The Mercenary Guild.
Feel free to holler out your org in the comments if you belong to something else, but those are mine. There is nothing better than sitting around with someone else who loves what you love and talking about it. There is nothing better than the feeling of camaraderie that is built with friends over drinks and debating the actions of your favorite characters. Seriously. Being in a Fan Org is an open excuse to have a mini-con that doesn't charge admission any time you can get your crew together. If you're a member of an org, find an excuse to have a gathering today. I'll be there in spirit if not in the flesh.
7.) I'm thankful for my gaming group.
Ok, so this one is a bit more specific to me than the others but hey, it's my blog. Not only do we get together once a week to do nothing but roll dice and eat snacks, but my oldest daughter is now a member. I get to spend more time with her now than I have since I divorced her mother and we both enjoy it. When she was younger, she used to complain about going to Daddy's house because it was boring. Now she asks what new spell she should pick because she just leveled up. Thank you geek culture!
8.) I'm thankful that there is still so much to come.
Seriously all. Think about it. Marvel is preparing a new round of movies. There is a new Star Wars due out in a few weeks (and who's coming with me to see it, BTW?). There is talk of another Star Trek movie in the Abramsverse. Streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime are producing new content all the time. The large publishing houses are losing their death grip on the industry and we're sure to see an upsurge in what we love from smaller presses because those presses have leadership that doesn't come from the wokescold land of academia. It's not over folks. It's just getting started. As Steve Miller once said, "Time keeps on slipping into the future."
Some products that were mentioned above are available at the links below. If you use my links, I get a small percentage of the purchase at no extra cost to you.
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