L.C. Hanson Interviewed by Awake at Midnight
From the interview:
There are not a lot of hard sci-fi books written for kids. Given the popularity of the Star Wars & Star Trek franchises, why do you think that is?
Great question. Kids have wonderful imaginations and love hard sci-fi be it mutants in Marvel Comics and X-Men or aliens in Star Wars, Star Trek, and Guardians of the Galaxy. However, the agents I’ve spoken with at writing conferences left me with the impression that due to changes in the publishing industry, publishing houses are reluctant to take a chance on something new, especially niche genres.
It’s becoming a copy-cat industry whereby most publishing houses only want what has been tried and tested. I think that’s why we’re getting so many franchise re-boots and superhero movies. There are of course exceptions like Unwind by Neil Shusterman and The 5th Wave by Rick Yancy but those are more YA. All the more reason to get kids to read Indie authors.
What books influenced your love of the speculative fiction genre?
I developed an appreciation and fondness for speculative fiction when I was studying English at the University of Rochester. Poetry classes introduced me to the power and limits of the written word. I enjoyed reading William Carlos Williams and Walt Whitman. Poetry led to the ability to better appreciate classics such as Moby Dick, Canterbury Tales, Tolkien, CS Lewis, and Poe. But I really enjoyed The Island of Dr. Moreau.