ANNOUNCEMENT: Sky Forest Press

What I've Been Up To The Past Few Months
My internet presence since June has been a little spotty because I've had business plans taking up my brain space. After being disappointed in a number of TV shows, movies, and books I've consumed this year, I realized that one way to fix seeing the same kinds of stories in fantasy and sci-fi over and over again was to help get new ones out there.

So Sky Forest Press was born! A little prematurely, which is why I'm still hard at work on the planning side of things, specifically the financials. While I have a ways to go, I'm optimistically hoping for an official launch in January 2017.

Why You Might Care
If you're a fan of fantasy and science-fiction books, you might also be disappointed with the lack of diversity in these genres. I'm starting Sky Forest Press to help publish books with inclusive protagonists and casts. I'm especially interested in female protagonists, since, outside of urban fantasy and YA, they're largely underrepresented in speculative fiction, but because SFP believes representation in fiction is important, we'd like to see diversity of all types: female characters, characters of color, LGBTQIA characters, characters of different body sizes, characters with disabilities, characters who struggle with mental health issues, and more.

Proof I'm Serious
I gave up my book-buying habit for this. An avid reader who thinks adding books to my collection is therapy, I haven't bought a book since July 29th and don't intend to buy another until 2017 all so I can save up money for SFP. How's that for serious?

Support Sky Forest
If you're interested in seeing Sky Forest Press come into being, a little support could go a long way. I'll be releasing a few of my own works in e-book and/or print version over the next few months. At least half the profits will go directly to SFP start-up expenses. And I'm now offering editing services for fiction manuscripts in the fantasy, sci-fi, young adult, romance, and mystery genres. You can also help by just spreading the word!

Want to Get Involved?
I can't do this alone! If you're an author with diverse spec fic and are interested in publishing with SFP, let me know about your manuscript. Submissions won't open until SFP's official launch in January, but I'm always on the lookout for new books.

If you're a reader or have questions, check out the website, and follow SFP on Twitter and Tumblr. Expect more content closer to 2017, but we'll be around answering questions.

If you're interested in being a beta/sensitivity reader or in getting advance copies in exchange for reviews, send us an email.

If you're an artist interested in providing cover illustrations, send us an email.

(Please keep in mind that because of the nature of a micro-press and because we're still starting out, we may be unable to offer much in the way of compensation for beta readers or artists.)

You're Gonna Call THESE Ghostbusters

Last Friday, I saw Ghostbusters for the third time, and even though my coworkers all laughed when I told them and my mom said it wasn't good enough to see more than once, I'm not ashamed of that fact. The only other movie I've seen three times in theaters is The Force Awakens, and I think it's easy to see the common thread.

Before The Force Awakens came out, the advertising often featured Finn wielding Luke's lightsaber. That was cool in its own right because Mace Windu is the only black Jedi I can think of off the top of my head and he wasn't a main character. However, I still found myself passing signs and going, "When will girls get to be Jedis?" (Ahsoka is great, but I'm tlking about strictly the movie universe here.) So when I sat in my seat on December 18th and watched the force awaken in Rey, I got goosebumps.

That feeling was the same one I got in Ghostbusters (all three times!) when Erin popped the Stay Puft Marshmallow balloon with her Swiss Army knife, when Abby stood up to everyone who wanted to tear them down, when Patty came through with her knowledge of the city's history after all her non-fiction reading, and when Holtzmann took down a dozen ghosts in style and in slow-mo. Each one brought something wonderful and weird to the table. I grew up wanting to have adventures. I still want to have adventures. It's why I love to read and write and travel. So getting to see four women having adventures and saving the city was not only fun but special. "Be the protagonist of your own story" is a lot easier when you've got some kick-butt examples!

Plus, although I get overly worried about the world, I realized that when my nephew gets a few years older, I could introduce him to this movie and he won't think it's odd that it's about four women, and that's pretty darn awesome.