Literary Live and Let Live

I am full of virtue. I have managed to wrangle some of MY work under control. Six more employee evaluations to write this weekend, and I am ready to register and roll next week.

I’m having a lot of fun posting pictures of great shoes. Without further adieu,

I’m loving these little olive and brown darlings. These also come in an attractive black and red. I see these with a nice 30s or 40s frock. If you have suggestions, I’m up to having my vintage bell pinged as well.

BTW, regrettably, I am getting no kick backs or discounts from Fluevog for bringing you their shoes. I am only getting the yumminess of looking at my favorite pairs of their shoes.

***

Recently, there has been a little backlash about too much steampunk. Well, yeah. And while we’re at it, at some time or another, there’s been too many vampires, too much high fantasy, too many zombies, too many classic novels mixed with some sort of monster trend, a lot of fan fiction about books that copyright has expired on, and a whole lot of paranormal romance featuring women’s torsos on their covers.

Because at one point or another, these things have sold, what happens is the publishing industry banks on more of these selling. And truth to tell, some people can’t get enough of a certain kind of thing.

Yet, at the same time, publishers are looking for the next gamble, the next thing. What’s a writer to do? What’s a reader to do?

What you always do. Writers, write what you want to write. Readers, read what you want. Writers, don’t worry about popularity or commercialism. Readers, walk away from what you don’t want to read, no matter how tired you are of its effects around you.

And in this way, we respect pluralism and make the world a nicer place.

I hear those that are concerned about a sort of colonialism implicit in the punk. Well, could be. Could also be an UNPRECEDENTED OPPORTUNITY to rewrite the fake past future. Um…yeah, not too sure about that sentence, but I think you get what I’m trying to say. The responsibility falls to us to read and write the kind of books we want. They can’t publish ’em if we don’t write ’em. Let’s get down and be pluralistic in an informed kind of way.

Which is not to say they won’t publish ’em. But that’s the same in any case.

***

So, perhaps too much ado. I mean, this could have been my anti-zombie rant. I can’t stand zombie books. Not apocalyptic steampunk zombies. Not tender romance set against a zombie backdrop. Not intermixing zombies with Jane Austen. And these are all real books I’ve read or been exposed to in the last year. But rather than ask the why of zombies, I respect your right to produce and consume zombie fiction. You equally respect mine to not touch it ever again, and scratch my head over it.

With the exception of Amanda Feral, who is a zombie queen bitch goddess.

Relax. Go write. Preferably a non-colonial steampunk novel with a sexy vampire fighting side-by-side with Victor Hugo’s Quasimodo against zombies in the French sewers. Esmerelda can get some knives and the obligatory tramp stamp, and turn out to be a transported high fantasy elven princess.

Catherine

Author: Catherine Schaff-Stump

Catherine Schaff-Stump writes fiction for children and young adults. Her most recent book, The Vessel of Ra, is the first book in the Klaereon Scroll series. She is currently working on its sequel, as well as penning the middle grade adventures of Abigail Rath, monster hunter. View all posts by Catherine Schaff-Stump