Spectrum of Speculative Fiction Blog Hop: Three Must-Read Science Fiction Short Stories

Hello, all! I'm very excited to be a part of the Spectrum of Speculative Fiction Blog Hop. My focus will be on science fiction short stories and, keeping with the theme, I am offering an eBook copy of my collection Short Stories to one lucky winner. Entering is easy: just follow my blog by entering your email address in the "Follow by Email" box in the sidebar to the right. I'll email the winner on Monday, March 11.

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From the very beginning, science fiction writers as a whole have produced some of the best work in the genre in the form of short stories. Some of the most popular and prolific fiction magazines of the twentieth century focused on science fiction and its speculative fiction brethren. Science fiction short stories launched the careers of many of the genre's greatest writers--Asimov, Clarke, Heinlein, Sturgeon--and while short stories in general seem to be slowly fading from public consciousness, with many mainstream magazines have reduced or eliminated their fiction section, science fiction short stories still enjoy a decent amount of popularity. There are three major print magazines and countless online magazines offering new fiction every month.

I think one of the reasons for the success science fiction has seen in the short story form is due to the very nature of the genre. Science fiction writers love exploring new and different ideas. When the answers to the "What if?" question that every writer asks spans the entire breadth of time and space and even cross over into parallel realities, it makes sense that the short story--which allows a writer to explore so many more ideas--would be a medium of choice.

For those who aren't too familiar with the long and fascinating history of science fiction, there is a book that everyone even slightly interested in the genre should read. It is called The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume I. First published in 1970, its goal was to present in one volume the very best short stories that science fiction had to offer. I've read through the entire collection and have re-read several of my favorite stories, and I would like to offer up just three of those as absolute must-reads.

"A Martian Odyssey" by Stanley G. Weinbaum

Isaac Asimov considered this story to be a work that changed the way all subsequent stories in the genre were written. It is, at its heart, a basic adventure story, but Weinbaum's imaginative descriptions of the life on Mars is both fascinating and delightful. I'm a big fan of Weinbaum, and if you enjoy "A Martian Odyssey," be sure to check out his other stories, most of which can be downloaded for free from Amazon or Project Gutenberg. More information can be found here.

"Nightfall" by Isaac Asimov

This story explores a very basic idea: what would happen to a people who experience true darkness for the first time? The planet of Lagash is located in a solar system with six suns. Approximately every two thousand years, the suns align in such a way that the only visible sun is eclipsed by another planet. The story is both fascinating and chilling. It explores what people--even alien people--are capable of when everything they believed to be true about their world is upended.

"Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes

I am not ashamed to admit that I cry every time I read this story. Unlike "A Martian Odyssey" or "Nightfall," it takes place on Earth and exposes a side of our society that we all know exists and, unfortunately, will probably always exist. Told from the point of view of Charlie Gordon, a mentally handicapped man, "Flowers..." follows the mental and psychological changes he undergoes after participating in an operation to make him more intelligent. If you have not read this story, I do not think it goes too far to say that it will change the way you look at the world, especially those who are different through no fault of their own. You can read more of my thoughts here.

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Don't forget to enter the giveaway by following my blog by email. And if you're interested in my other work, click on any of the banners in the sidebar to the right to read more about my books. Also be sure to check out the rest of the blogs listed below.

All the Best,
Michael K. Rose

New Release: The Human Body, a Psychological Horror Short Story

Hello, all! This is just a short update to let you know that I have a new story out called The Human Body. I think you will find it to be similar in tone to "The Tunnel" and "Pedro X." from the collection Short Stories.

The Human Body

The human body is highly resilient, but what happens when a man's own body decides to betray him? Ted, after struggling with weight issues his entire life, is about to find out.

This psychological horror short story contains language and situations which may not be appropriate for some readers.

Available at:

Amazon US

Amazon UK

and all other Amazon Kindle stores.

Is Your Novel "Long Enough?"

Books of Varying Lengths

As you may know, I've recently released Sullivan's War: The Complete Adventure. It collects three novellas (called Sullivan's War: Books I, II and III) which were released individually but make up one story line. Those novellas, usually priced at $2.99 apiece, have been selling fairly well. But The Complete Adventure's sales have been fantastic, selling in twelve days nearly as many copies as Book I, even though Book I's price was reduced to 99 cents near the beginning of the month.

I had suspected that I would see an increase in sales once I released The Complete Adventure, and here's why: I'd read long ago that many readers prefer to read only novels. They do not particularly care for short stories, and novellas? What the hell is a novella? The unimpressive sales of my collection Short Stories seems to support this idea. Even though Short Stories has a good number of positive reviews and I promoted it as heavily (if not more heavily) than Sullivan's War: The Complete Adventure, I sold nearly 7 times as many copies of Sullivan's War as Short Stories during July. And remember, Sullivan's War: The Complete Adventure was only available for the last twelve days of the month.

Now, I'm one who has always been a champion for short stories. I write them, obviously, and I even wrote a blog post called "Why I Love Short Stories." Another post I wrote as a guest on ME Franco's blog is called "Short Fiction is Dead?" In it, I propose that the eBook revolution will see a reemergence of shorter fiction. One thought is that a short story or novella can be published without the concern of making sure a "book" is of a profitable length. Now that printing costs are not a factor, any length can be a profitable length, assuming the story is sufficiently attractive to readers. Well, the three Sullivan's War novellas have been profitable, as have a few of the short stories I released individually. But my experience these past two weeks with Sullivan's War: The Complete Adventure has convinced me that full-length novels are going to be even more profitable. And while profit should not be a writer's sole consideration, it is unavoidable if one wishes, as I do, to make a living at it.

So is your novel long enough? What is long enough? The dividing line between novels and novellas ranges from 40,000 words to 60,000 words or higher. Will readers be "unsatisfied" with a 40,000-word novel? Does the word novella scare some people away? And what can one reasonably charge for short stories, novellas, short novels, long novels? I've been publishing my fiction for less than a year, and I'm still trying to work all of this out. But the sales of Sullivan's War: The Complete Adventure have convinced me that, for now at least, I should probably not focus on writing short stories quite as much. Novels are what readers want, and I have about a dozen novels waiting to be written. I just hope I can make them long enough.

What do you consider to be a minimum length for a novel? If you prefer novels over novellas or short stories, why? I'd love to hear any thoughts on this topic; just leave a comment below.

Best,

Michael K. Rose

Edit: Please read the followup to this post here.

SHORT STORIES Book Launch Events

Hello, all! I'd like to just take a moment to let you know about a few great events that are taking place to promote the release of my collection Short Stories.

1. There is a Goodreads giveaway going on through July 6. Enter to win one of two print copies available. LINK
2. Alexia Purdy has three Short Stories Collector's Packs (a card signed by yours truly and bookmarks) to give away over on her blog. LINK
3. Dale Herring of The Geekdom of Gore is giving away an ebook copy of Short Stories to whoever writes the best story using a line from Short Stories as a prompt. LINK
4. ME Franco is hosting me for a guest blog post entitled "Short Fiction is Dead?" Check it out here.

Finally, today (Sunday, July 1) is the last day for my Facebook giveaways. Friend me on Facebook and like my author page then keep an eye out on those pages for a chance to win. Full details and links here.

Short Stories has already received 5 glowing reviews on Amazon. If you would like to purchase an eBook version of Short Stories, it is available at the following stores:
Amazon’s U.S. Store: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008DWPEUS
Amazon’s U.K. Store: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B008DWPEUS
B&N's Nook Store: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/short-stories-michael-k-rose/1111753116?ean=2940014585989 

All Other International Amazon Kindle Stores are linked to from here: http://www.michaelkrose.com/short-stories

If you would like a signed print copy, order here:
http://www.michaelkrose.com/apps/webstore/products/show/3162997

For a limited time, all signed editions will come with a complimentary Short Stories Collector's Pack which includes a signed card and bookmarks.

Why I Love Short Stories

     Recently, I’ve been reading some blog posts and discussions about short fiction: short stories, novelettes and novellas.  In particular, these discussions have revolved around the fact that because of the e-book revolution, readers are once again embracing these much-maligned artforms.

     Of course, we all know that newspaper and magazine writers have been trying to announce the pathetic demise of the short story for a couple of decades.  Major magazines cut back or eliminated their fiction sections altogether and short story collections do not sell as well as full novels.

     I’m not going to go on about any of this, however.  Other writers who’ve studied all the data and have followed the trends can tell you about that.  I’m simply going to tell you why, as both a reader and a writer, I love short fiction.

1. Variety

     I love reading through the science fiction magazines and being able to completely switch gears between one story and the next.  Short fiction allows me to absorb different types of stories.  If I’m interested in a particular genre or sub-genre, short stories allow me to explore without committing to a full novel.  I can get just a taste to see how it coats my palate.  Reading a lot of short fiction also means that as a writer I can study many more plots, characters and ideas than if I only read novels.  These can feed my own work; I can expand upon an idea a short story just touched upon, or develop a character based upon a character I read in another story.  I know this sounds like stealing ideas but I’ll justify myself with two points.  First, all writers get ideas from the things they read.  An artful writer can take an idea and make it his own by giving it a unique twist.  You’ve heard the expression “There are no new ideas,” haven’t you?  It’s absolutely true.  Second, by reading many different stories, one is less likely to inadvertently be too inspired by any one story (and risk the chance of actually stealing ideas).

2.  Brevity

     Sometimes I just don’t feel like committing myself to a novel that’ll take ten or so hours to read.  If I want to do some reading without starting on another novel, short stories fit the bill.  They’re great for filling in those odd gaps of time while you’re traveling, waiting around for appointments, etc.  They also provide a nice respite if you find yourself in the middle of a particularly long or slow-going book.  As a reader of Henry James, I find this is often the case!

3.  Curiosity

     I've heard about a great book that everyone is raving about.  But there’s something about the reviews or the premise of the novel that gives me pause.  If the author has any short stories available I have a chance to try out his or her work and see if it’s right for me.  Or, sometimes I’ll just find a short story on Amazon and download it knowing nothing about the author.  Short stories allow me to do this without a large investment of time or money, in case that particular writer just isn’t my cup of tea.

4.  Audacity

     Short stories give writers a chance to explore, to try things that they might not if they felt they had to commit to an idea for a full novel.  Short stories allow authors to dabble in other genres and explore those weird, unsellable ideas without feeling as though they wasted two or three months writing a novel no one will buy.  But those stories are often the most interesting for those same reasons.  They are not “safe,” they do not fit the mold, they are not mainstream.

     As a writer this last point is of particular interest to me.  Not all of those weird story ideas will work, but those that did work I consider to be among my strongest pieces.  Unfortunately, magazine editors don’t agree!  This is one of the reasons I’ve embraced self-publishing.  In fact, one very short story I self-published called Sleep has become my most-rated work to date.  I also have a collection of three short stories called Inner Lives.  These are what I would call quiet, literary stories in the speculative vein.  I am quite proud of them but they won’t interest all readers and, indeed, did not interest magazine editors but they have been well-received since being released as an ebook.

     If you haven’t really given short stories a try I think you will find yourself pleasantly surprised by the quality and variety that is out there.  Here in this blog I have mentioned and commented on several short stories that I’ve read.  Give them a try and, if you like, have a look at my short stories as well.

Edit: I have now release a full, book-length collection of ten short stories called... wait for it... Short Stories. Read more about it here.

Related Content:

Inner Lives: Three Short Stories

Sleep - A SciFi / Psychological Horror Short Story

Three Short Story Recommendations

Review: "Requiem Duet, Concerto for Flute and Voodoo" by Eugie Foster

Review: "Tomorrow's Dawn" by Milo James Fowler

Review: "Ten Speeds at the End of the World" by Guinevere Robin Rowell