A.B. Potts
Think of the big names in science fiction, and who do you have? Gene Roddenberry, Isaac Asimov, Douglas Adams, Jules Verne—yes, they do seem to be, predominantly, men but that is changing and, amongst the peace and tranquillity of the Shropshire countryside, a new science-fiction author is rising—and she's a woman!
By day, Anni Potts can be found hunched over a desk with a calculator and a set of ledgers, but by night she transforms into the science fiction writer, A B Potts.
"I write as A B Potts because I don't want people to pre-judge my writings based upon my gender. I was afraid that men and boys may not want to read science fiction written by a woman. Science fiction is still generally revered by many to be a male thing. They don't think a woman can write sci-fi, but they can and they do."
She laughs and continues, "My books are not the traditional girly type things my mother would approve of. They are action-adventure, sometimes a little raunchy, sometimes a little bloody. They are made of the stuff that great sci-fi is made of."
But, whilst Anni may be newly published, she is not new to writing.
"I've been dreaming up futuristic stories since I was five years old. When I was seven I wrote my first science-fiction story about a time-traveller, but it was 1971 and my aging English teacher didn't approve. British adults weren't very appreciative of science-fiction back then—they were having a hard enough time coping with the concept of Star Trek!"
Despite this setback, Anni continued to write but only for pleasure. Now, she has decided to go the whole hog and publish. Her first book 'IMPERFECT WEAPON' has just been released as an eBook on both Smashwords and Amazon.
"I'm absolutely delighted. A lot of hard work has gone into this, to produce a polished novel for people to enjoy. Writing a book is not just about writing. You need a whole team behind you—a proofreader, beta-readers, and people who will tell you honestly when something doesn't work. I've been really lucky in finding those people."