See this and more at https://www.patreon.com/AllenSteele/posts/worlds-of-allen-165592313
Greetings, and welcome to the place for becoming a Patreon supporter of Allen Steele … who happens to be me, in case you’re wondering. As for who I am … well, let’s start here.
I’m a science fiction author whose many novels and stories have been published around the world and who has received a great deal of recognition, including the Hugo, Seiun, and Locus awards. If you want the full rundown, check the bibliography on the Worlds of Allen Steele website. I’ve also received the Robert A. Heinlein Award for my writing about space exploration, which is the major subject of most of my work, although I’ve also written about time travel, oceanography, artificial intelligence, robotics, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, and other speculative issues. And this gets us a little closer to the point.
You see, I’ve been a freelance writer since February 1988, when I left my previous career as a newspaper reporter and investigative journalist just a week after my 30th birthday to pursue a new career as a science fiction author instead (further details are in my bio, also on the main website). That’s been my sole occupation ever since my first novel, Orbital Decay, was published in 1989. I don’t teach, create computer games, work in the high-tech industry, run a bookstore, or have any of the other jobs writers often do for a living. Because I don’t do anything else (or tried to but discovered that I’m not much good at them), my sole source of income is writing novels and short fiction … hard-SF in particular, which is challenging because of the amount of research and development involved, but more satisfying than, say, producing fantasy novels about sword-wielding cats.
Let’s put it this way. The next time you see a movie or TV show which depicts a SF writer as someone who lives in a country mansion or a luxury high-rise condo, drives an Italian sport car, travels by private jet, and regularly dines at four-star restaurants, remind yourself that you’re watching something about as plausible as an astronaut on the Moon opening his helmet to light a cigarette.
When I hear from my readers, whether on my Facebook page or by email (you can drop me a line at steeleallen@hotmail.com) or at bookstore readings or science fiction conventions, some of the things I often hear are “keep up the good work” and “don’t stop what you’re doing” and “glad there’s still a few guys left writing real science fiction.” Which is very complimentary but also getting hard to do, at least without support. And since MacArthur Foundation and NEA grants don’t often go to SF writers — the actual figure is somewhere between 0 and 1, I think — I’m having to do something I’ve long tried to avoid: ask my readers to step up and help me.
ALL SUPPORTERS WILL BE ACKNOWLEDGED IN THESE FORTHCOMING BOOKS, REGARDLESS OF THEIR LEVEL OF SUPPORT!
Regardless of what you’re able to do to help, thank you for buying and reading my work over the past many years. I hope you’ll consider this humble request for assistance and that you’ll participate through Patreon.
Sa’tong- qua, Allen
Even if you can contribute one time only, you’ll join the roster of people whose generosity has helped me continue as an independent full-time writer.
If you support me now, you’re helping me write:
Coyote Hegira — The sixth book of the series and the first new Coyote novel in fifteen years.
How the Galaxy Was Won — Subtitled A Critical History of Space Opera, this nonfiction book will be an in-depth study of science fiction’s first and long-lived sub-genre from 1898 through 2020.
The next Captain Future novel — A new Captain Future novel, the seventh in the ongoing series of updated adventures featuring Edmond Hamilton’s classic space adventure hero, is tentatively planned.
More about each of these efforts is available for the first level of patronage.