The updated edition of Journey Between Worlds was published last week, and I'm really excited about the publicity it has been getting. The original (1970) edition was enjoyed by girls who were interested in space and science fiction, but it didn't reach many of the other readers for whom I intended it -- those who didn't start out with an interest in space. My aim was to arouse that interest!  I believe that what new generations think about the expansion of humankind beyond one small planet is vitally important to the future, so I hope to counteract the all-too-common idea that space matters only to astronauts and scientists. Journey Between Worlds is about an ordinary girl who finds that Mars is not as different from Earth as she thought it would be -- people are pretty much the same everywhere, and if you fall in love, where you're living is not the most important thing on your mind.
 

But in libraries, the original edition of the book was usually placed on the YA science fiction shelf, where girls interested in love stories rarely found it. This edition is getting reviews at romance websites, which should attract a much larger audience. Librarians, please shelve it with teen romance!  After all, it is unlikely to appeal to the kind of science fiction fan who wants fast action/adventure or weird aliens, and the girls who like other types of science fiction will probably be looking for romances, too.

The whole issue of genre labeling is something that has always bothered me.  I do not see why every novel that happens to be set on another planet has to be marked "science fiction" and viewed as something apart from other fiction. (Well, I do see why -- it's for marketing reasons -- but I don't like it.) One reason I chose to write for teens was that this separation is less firm in the YA publishing field than in adult publishing; the same editors handle all teen fiction regardless of its setting. All my novels are enjoyed by people (both teens and adults) who don't usually read science fiction, as well as by those who do; I often hear from such people. And I should add that my goal is not to "turn them on to SF," with the idea that they should "progress" to more esoteric books, as some science fiction fans assume.

In my opinion, good fiction should appeal to as wide a range of readers as possible. And if it is good, it should not matter if the story takes place in today's world, a past era, a future era, or a wholly imaginary fantasy world, any more than it should make a difference whether the characters look and act just like people of our own culture.  The feelings of the characters, their reactions to their experiences, are what count. Certainly many readers prefer some settings over others, but this is a choice for them to make, not some rigid system of commercial categorization that artificially narrows the choices offered to them.

I hope that Journey Between Worlds will be read not only by Mars enthusiasts, but by people who may not have thought much about the future before -- and that it will encourage them to view it hopefully.