Coming Soon: Expanse

And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters” (Genesis 1:6 ESV).

Expanse. Defined, it means “an area of something … presenting a wide continuous surface,” such as an expanse of sea or forest. Another definition is an uninterrupted space or area, a wide extent of anything. In the Bible, the Hebrew word raqia is derived from raqá, which can mean either spread out or a visible arch in the sky, a firmament (ref: BibleHub.com).

If you’ve read this far, you may be wondering why I’m writing about the word expanse. No, I’m not about to preach a sermon about heaven or creation. But, the word expanse is an important part of Scrivenings Press. All the Speculative authors are smiling because they’ve probably figured it out by now.

As one who writes and enjoys reading Dystopian and Fantasy fiction, I understand that there’s a vast difference between those genres and romance. Sure, a speculative story may have a romantic thread, but the genre doesn’t quite fit into the romance mold. The genres are separated. Like heaven and earth are separated by the great firmament. The expanse.

When I spoke with a couple of our speculative authors last week, the subject of imprints came up in conversation. Would there be a separate imprint for the speculative line? To be honest, I hadn’t thought about that. But they’re right. Our speculative line needs to be its own thing. Its own entity. Yes, those books will fall under the publishing umbrella of Scrivenings Press, but they will have their own imprint. The name of that imprint is EXPANSE. Soon that brand will have its own logo and a mini-website.

I brainstormed and researched a number of ideas for the imprint name. Some I liked. Others I discarded as quickly as they popped into my head. I wanted something with a spiritual meaning but not something so religious as to scare away crossover readers. When I thought of the word Expanse, I knew it described something otherly, elsewhere, beyond.

Many speculative stories have deep spiritual lessons but are often told in a way that plants seeds of the Word without blatantly “Bible-thumping.” I have faith that our speculative authors will carry out that mission through their stories.

Speculative authors, welcome to the Expanse!