Hey gang! Today we’re going to talk to S. K. Falls, another of my writer-pals and a truly versatile and talented lady. I asked her to talk specifically about dystopian fiction, since that’s a genre you don’t see ’round these parts (meaning: my blog) all that often. 

Hello, Sandhya! For those who don’t know, Sandhya is one of my fellow Spellbound Scribes and another member of #teamawesome! Welcome to the blog!

Thank you, Kristin! I’m so excited to be here. 😀 Always happy to assist a fellow Scribe and #teamawesome solider…er, member.

Tell us a little about yourself and your work.

I’m the author formerly known as Adriana Ryan, so I wrote World of Shell and Bone, a science fiction dystopian. 🙂 I’ve also written bits of romance and urban fantasy.

 What made you decide to write dystopian fiction?

The idea struck me and didn’t let go. I absolutely loved the concept of a futuristic North and South America where females supposedly were given all the power. Of course, that’s not quite how it works out…

 What types of stories does a dystopian setting make possible?

Stories that are ultimately about hope, I think. You have this horribly dreary world with (usually) militaristic regimes, and then all it takes is one person or a small group of people to completely change that.

 What audience do you think dystopian attracts? How does that alter the types of stories you tell and characters you write?

I think dystopian fiction attracts people from all walks of life. With YA titles like the Hunger Games, we’ve attracted youth and those young at heart (wink) and with adult titles like The Road or The Handmaid’s Tale, we’ve attracted those who like literary fiction.

How does dystopian affect the stakes for your characters and your audience?

Characters have to be plunged into horrible situations before the audience can feel truly bad for them, I think. At least, that’s true for me as a reader of dystopian fiction. I don’t want to see something bad happen that could happen in my life today. I want the story to take me beyond, so that I can really sit back and say, “Wow. That sucks. I’m so glad my life isn’t that bad.” It also sets the stage up for the characters to do truly amazing things as the story progresses, to change the courses of their lives.

Why do you think people love to read dystopian fiction? What effect does it have on its audience?

I think, like I said above, that people like to see how bad things could really get. It helps us to peek over that fence to the other side in a safe, contained manner. We can escape to a dark place, but we know we can always come back. And when a character triumphs in such a hard situation, it helps us feel like we can triumph in all our hard situations, too.

For fun, what is your favorite genre to read? Why?

This changes all the time. Currently I’m loving memoirs and biographies because it’s a great place to learn more about my favorite subject—psychology.

How can readers reach you?

Website: http://www.skfalls.com

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/skfallssc

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/authorskfalls

Thanks for stopping by!

Thanks so much, Kristin! 🙂