From Hugo Gernsback in the mid 1920s to today modern science-fiction has grown encompassing a number of fields, styles, and literary approaches that in some case are rather inaccessible to readers who are not extensively read in the genre. This is not necessarily a bad thing. The field, any field, grows at the bleeding vanguard edges not in the safety and comfort of what has been well established and explored. Stories that challenge notions about reality itself and what it means to be human are exciting frontiers for SF and we need them to expand our horizons.

Science Fiction also needs new blood, new readers and we can rarely entice them into the genre if the only selection available require a deep experience in the field. There must also be science-fiction stories that are inviting to new readers. Stories that people without experience in the genre can relate to and enjoy.

One of the persons who read my novel Vulcan’s Forge wrote me to share that she rarely reads SF. It is not her genre but she thoroughly enjoyed by book and found it difficult to put down. As an author that of course is very pleasing to hear but it has also made me realize that I want to write accessible science-fiction. I know my limitations both in imagination and in literary devices means I would do poorly trying to be the vanguard of the genre. There are many authors I admire and enjoy who are so much better at it that myself that I can leave that area of the genre to them. I’d be happy to be the sort of writer that can invite and introduce new people to this style of literature that I adore.