Speculative Fiction
I have loved reading for as long as I can remember, and began writing as soon as I could pick up a pencil. The books and stories I loved the most growing up were those that taught me something and those that let me explore imaginary worlds. As it turns out—those are the type of books I like to write too.
My speculative fiction is based on an Earth of the future—an Earth that has been shaped by extreme climate change, cosmic disasters, and mass extinctions, including the near extinction of the human race. Survivors refer to it as terra laesa, the injured Earth.
What is Speculative Fiction?
The incomparable Robert A Heinlein was first recorded as using “speculative fiction” as a genre term in The Saturday Evening Post as a subset of Science Fiction. In his 1947 essay on the subject, he described these stories as:
“[N]arratives concerned not so much with science or technology as with human actions in response to a new situation created by science or technology, speculative fiction highlights a human rather than technological problem. “
Robert A Heinlein
The definition of speculative fiction has broadened somewhat since Heinlein gave this definition, however, and now encompasses fantasy, supernatural, and alternate history stories as well. Penny’s work is inspired and informed by scientific discoveries that take a fantastical turn in the author’s imagination.