Geeking Out About New Fans

Kenny Soward is the author of the fan-loved Gnomesaga fantasy series, but gnomes are not the only thing he likes to write about. Kenny has recently tried his hand at another of his passions, urban fantasy, and as he tells us in this week’s Geek Speaks…Fiction!, it gave him a whole new set of things to geek out about.

Venturing into a new genre can be quite an exciting time for an author, or it can be a stress-inducing nightmare. Although I sense writers are becoming more and more willing to try new things, many consider writing in varied genres career suicide especially right out of the gate. So I knew writing my latest book, Galefire, might set me back a bit.

Then again, I was already all over the place with three epic fantasy books and two weird west novels, so I supposed trying out something new (again) wouldn’t be such a stretch.

What finally crushed my fear was the realization I had an opportunity to write for a target audience I didn’t know I had. Let me explain. I realized that while I interacted with a lot of people via social media about movies, TV shows, and books, only about half of those people were into epic fantasy. Far less than that were interested in gnomes. And knowing some were curious about my stories but not enough to purchase a book they’d might lose interest in simply because of the subject matter, I was instantly struck with a sense of intense focus and determination to make Galefire a reality with them in mind.

The marketing experts out there might groan a collective, “duh,” but I didn’t have the experience in marketing when I started Gnomesaga in 2001 and certainly didn’t understand how much the epic fantasy world had changed since I read Dragonlance ages ago. I didn’t know about grimdark, and I only learned through Gnomesaga reviewers exactly what epic fantasy readers expect to see–paired with the realization I may not be that kind of writer after all. It doesn’t mean I won’t venture into epic fantasy again (I have so many ideas for future Gnomesaga books and novellas) but for now I thought it might do me some good to branch out a little bit and experiment before writing the next six books.

The idea I’d be writing for my old and new friends struck a nerve of excitement in me. Plus I’d also be merging some of my favorite things…dark fantasy, magic, a touch of horror, as well as working out some of my snarky social commentary through Galefire‘s protagonist, Lonnie.

Publishing Galefire under my Broken Dog Press gave me a chance to delve into hybrid publishing and try out some things on my own, which is something I think every author should think about. It doesn’t hurt to learn how to gather editors, artists, and promoters around you. You have to do a lot of your own promotion even if you sign with a major publisher, unless you’re one of the few at the very top of the pyramid, so it’s good experience.

Given the positive responses over Galefire thus far it seems I made the right call with this one, and I can’t wait to finish the sequels.

That’s what has me geeking out these days!

Kenny Soward grew up in Crescent Park, Kentucky, a small suburb just south of Cincinnati, Ohio, listening to hard rock and playing outdoors. In those quiet 1970s streets, he jumped bikes, played Nerf football, and acquired many a childhood scar.

Kenny’s love for books flourished early, a habit passed down to him by his uncles. He burned through his grade school library, and in high school spent many days in detention for reading fantasy fiction during class.

By day, Kenny works as a Unix professional, and at night he writes and sips bourbon. Kenny lives in Independence, Kentucky.