It has been suggested that I ought to do background posts on all of my stories that have been accepted (in venues other than here, obviously). Partly because it gives readers an insight into my thinking and partly because the person who suggested it is a completist.
So, without further ado, here’s some background on Beaumains, a stand-alone science fiction short story.
Publishing Details
Beaumains was published in 2011 by Crossed Genres [External Link] in issue 36 of their first iteration. As Crossed Genres doesn’t keep short stories up indefinitely, this story is no longer available online.
Inspiration
As mentioned before, I grew up reading fairy tales and folklore – and I’m including myths and legends like Arthuriana. My Beaumains is very much based on the Beaumains about Sir Gareth, the youngest of the Orkney brothers (discounting Mordred), and has a lot of parallels. However, it’s space opera rather than fantasy or historical.
I was also tring for a Noir feel – not so much because I love Noir (I enjoy it but I wouldn’t be able to discuss it) but because there has been an explosion of Noir short stories. This may relate to the explosion in first-person Urban Fantasy but, either way, it seemed like an interesting challenge to take the plot of Beaumains, throw in some new technology, put in a couple of twists, and see what happened.
ASIDE: If you’re after a read of some noir short stroies, Fox Spirit Books [External Link] are putting out some really good series of anthologies with K. A. Laity being chief word-wrangler / editor.
Spoiler Notice
Just in case anyone wants to actually talk about Beaumains, it’s best not to read any comments below unless you’re prepared to read any spoilers.