Pulp Fiction Writer

When I was a kid I grew up reading science ficton from the so-called "Golden Age", comic books ranging from Thor to those romancy comic books, fairy tales and big fat books on mythology.

See, there wasn't the plethora of fantasy novels that are avalable today. Weren't even that many science fiction novels for that matter. Neither of those genres was as"cool" back in the day as they are now.

So, I"m still amazed when I go to Borders or Barnes and Nobles and see all those shelves full of fantasy and sci-fi novels.

I bring this up because I was having a conversation with my brother the other day about facing facts.

One of the facts I've come to terms with about myself is that I write what could probably be called pulp fiction. Meaning it's straight up genre fiction.

I don't even pretend that what I write is "literary" I like to read and I want to write about larger-than-life characters who are thrown into over-the top-situations.

Now, I have to admit that I do have a M.A. in English and I did spend a couple of years learning literary theory, a lot of which, thank God, I've forgotten. But being a graduate student did affect me as a writer because, at least back then, genre fiction was pretty much looked down upon.

For example, while in grad school I took a creative writing class taught by a very well-known writer of literary fiction.

Nope, I'm not going to mention her name.

Anyway I wrote and turned in a story about a woman who learns she's a werewolf. The story was passed out to the class and the instructor's comment was that this was the kind of story you would find in drugstores or at bookshops in airports.

Trust me, she did not mean it as a compliment.

But, you know what? I'd LOVE to have a book of mine in a drugstore or at an airport bookstore.

So, yeah, I write genre ficiton or pulp fiction or whatever you want to call it. Erotica, fantasy, science fiction, mystery.

And I"m damn proud of it!

Ciao!