Am I Branching Out? Not Really.

Since the release of Wraith and the Revolution, I’ve been asked several times about the “shift” from fantasy to science-fiction in my writing, and each time, that question has caught me completely by surprise.

The fact is, I haven’t “shifted” or “branched out” from fantasy at all. Sci-fi has always been in my blood, and is the first genre I ever wrote anything in. Wraith just happens to be the first time I’ve published in the genre. But I never considered that some people might perceive this as a departure from fantasy. That couldn’t be farther from the truth.

 I’ve written a little about where Wraith first started and I’ve spoken about it a couple times on various livestreams or podcasts, so I won’t go into much detail here. The short version: Wraith and the Revolution initially began its life when I was 13 years old, and was originally titled The Space Bandits. It was the first novel-length story I ever wrote (and The Space Bandits will never be published. I’ve borrowed and transformed so many of the characters from that story for Wraith that it wouldn’t be worth the time. It’s also not publication-worthy. I was 13. I don’t think I need to say anything more.)

I moved on from The Space Bandits to its sequel (Wraith won’t be getting a sequel; it really is a standalone.) Then I shifted my focus to what eventually became The Relics of War, which is an epic fantasy series.

After that, I dabbled in a number of stories that were never finished. Some were related to The Relics of War, some eventually led to The Caein Legacy, others might be resurrected at some point if I feel like delving back into urban fantasy. I tinkered with some other sci-fi stories along the way too, many of which also contributed to Wraith, but others were completely different.

Somewhere in the middle of that, I wrote Hunted, which I queried a little, then set aside for a full ten years before polishing and publishing it. Hunted is my only published urban fantasy, but I was working on an unrelated urban fantasy series featuring werewolves and a man who could see ghosts. I never finished those stories, and I don’t know if I ever will… But I might revisit them one day. We’ll see.

Looking back at all of my unfinished projects, there are just as many sci-fi works as there are fantasy. I didn’t see publishing Wraith as something different or new for me, but rather, an extension of what I’ve always done.

And while I’ve stated that Wraith is a standalone, there will be more stories set in that universe coming your way eventually. One is part of a secret project that I should be able to talk more about later this year, and I have an outline for something else. (Another fact about me: once I have an outline, it’s almost a sure thing that the story will be written someday. I don’t know when exactly, but it’ll happen eventually.)

So have I “branched out” to sci-fi? In my mind, the answer is a firm no. It’s always been part of my portfolio. 😊