A Small Band of Renegades: The Spirit of the SFR Brigade

Several years ago when the SFR Brigade was first forming as an idea, a handful of us tossed around some ideas for a motto. As a joke, I suggested "A Small Band of Renegades Terrorizing the Romance Genre." Except it wasn't really a joke. The Romance industry as a whole seemed to view Science Fiction Romance as one big fat oxymoron, and its writers and authors as orbiting the outer fringes of the acceptable definition of "Romance."

And then came Avatar, and with its millions of fans, renewed hope that the Romance audience now saw the wonder and mystery of love stories set in space, imaginative places or futures that someday might exist.

With the formation of the SFR Brigade, a new sector of Romance began to speak with a group voice of its own. We never expected it to be an easy journey, but with three generations of readers who grew up with Star Trek, Star Wars and now Avatar, and with an audience who employs constantly evolving technology and communications as an everyday part of their lives, maybe our time as a subgenre is nigh.

You've probably heard about Sherrilyn Kenyon's keynote speech, even if you weren't at the 2011 RWA Keynote luncheon in person or haven't read the recap in her Facebook notes. Our own Diane (Paula) Dooley summed up her experience in one beautifully concise statement:

Perseverance...thy name is Sherrilyn.

Ms. Kenyon's words were a tremendous inspiration to hundreds of writers, a not-so-subtle reminder to keep our eye on the goal, no matter the obstacles, the pitfalls...the rejections. Don't accept "no." Don't hear it. Don't see it. Keep striving.

In the words of a beloved Firefly captain, "Keep flying."

In the words of another often-quoted commander, "Never give up. Never surrender."

But there was something else Sherrilyn Kenyon said in the midst of her speech that made my ears perk and my imagination snap to attention. These were her words:

"We have a paranormal genre today because a tiny handful of us carved it out when it didn’t exist. We proved it was viable and we opened the doors for many others and I am proud to be a part of that."

Isn't this exactly our goal with the Science Fiction Romance subgenre? With great writers like Linnea Sinclair, Anne McCaffrey and Lois McMaster Bujold having blazed the flightpath, we, an under-read, underdog collective are determined to make Science Fiction Romance the NBT. To reach out to both the hearts and minds of our readers.

Keep writing, Brigaders. Keep creating your amazing stories that take readers to other worlds, other times, other dimensions, other futures.

Keep entering contests. Keep submitting. Keep pitching editors and agents.

And keep reading, reviewing and promoting great SFR.

Just like our web site motto, we are indeed Conquering the Universe, One Story at a Time.

Now that our space shuttle program is coming to a sad and regretful close, there may be no time like the present to reach for those distant stars, and to take our characters and readers there with us.

Better to explore the cosmos in our imaginations than not at all.


The First Rule of Flying by Captain Mal Reynolds (Firefly)

What's New on the SFR Brigade Web Site?

We done a bit of remodeling on the SFR Brigade web site!

The "About Us" and "History" pages have now been moved under the Home page as subpages.  You can still see and access them by clicking on the Home page link at the top of the site where you'll see them listed as sublinks. The adjustments have helped de-clutter the top link bar.

New page!  Under the "Members" link, we've created a "Regions" page so members can see other Brigaders according to their area, what organizations they belong to, what their interests are, and what events they may be attending.  This is a work in progress, so if you haven't yet checked into the REGIONAL ROLL CALL forum thread, please add your information and we'll include you on the Regional page when we do the next update.

There are several active threads on the SFR Brigade web site forums including:

Brenda Novak Auction: An Opportunity for the Brigade?

Is Your SciFi/Fantasy Available on Kindle?

RomCon 2011 - Denver

Come join the discussions or start your own thread with a new topic.  Everyone is welcome.

On the News page, we have a Report on the Australian Disaster by Kylie Griffin

Should we also raise the subject of sponsoring a Cover Art Contest again?

Please feel free to add your comments to these news topics.

Lively Discussion About SFR

We have a fabulous discussion going over on the SFR Brigade web site forums under the Shout Out! thread about SFR advocacy and the challenges facing SFR writers and authors. 

Hop on over and join in with your thoughts and comments.  Oh, and be sure to click Page 2 to see all the posts.  http://sfrbrigade.webs.com/apps/forums/topics/show/2621849-shout-out-

Brave, New Web Site

Attenion Brigaders:

We're in the process of sending out invitations to all members for the new SFR Brigade web site:

http://www.sfrbrigade.webs.com/

We're now performing a mass mailing to all members, so if you don't receive an invitation in your email, please post in the comments below and I'll send you another, or come to the web site and fill out an application to join (you can find the link on the navigation bar at the top of the site).

The web site will not replace our main blog, but will help reduce traffic and allow the blog to become more of a showcase for content, release announcements, book launches, etc. where the site can serve as a communication base for and between members.

Please note that our Weekly Recaps (SitReps), Incoming Transmissions and other features will be moved to the web site going forward. This is also where we'll share news and exchange information regarding the upcoming RWA event, contests, submissions, et al.

During the week of May 17 - 21, we're going to ask that posts be put on hold so that we can focus on the PUBLISHERS' SHOWCASE, however, the web site will still be available for any news, chat, discussions, etc. during that time.