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Audible Episode #90 Steve Southard – The Seastead Chronicles, Ocean-Born Sci-Fi & Worldbuilding
In this episode of Miles Beyond the Page, host Michelle Miles welcomes science fiction author Steve Southard to discuss his unique brand of ocean-based science fiction and his latest collection, The Seastead Chronicles. Drawing inspiration from his service in the U.S. Navy submarine force, Steve imagines a future where humanity colonizes Earth's oceans, creating floating "aqua states" complete with their own cultures, conflicts, governments, and histories.
Steve shares the inspiration behind The Seastead Chronicles, a collection of interconnected stories spanning nearly eighty years of life at sea. He explains how the project evolved from short stories into a much larger fictional universe, discusses his plot-first writing process, and reveals why he loves the excitement of drafting but finds revision to be the most challenging part of writing.
Michelle and Steve also explore immersive worldbuilding, from designing detailed maps to creating a custom collapsible globe of his fictional world. They discuss lessons learned from co-editing Twenty Thousand Leagues Remembered, the realities of publishing with small presses, marketing as an introverted author, and practical advice for writers on persistence, handling rejection, finding their own creative process, and focusing on what truly matters instead of worrying about doing everything "the right way."
🎧 Join Michelle and Steve for a fascinating conversation about science fiction, worldbuilding, writing craft, and building an author career one story at a time.
👉 Don’t forget to subscribe for more author interviews and creative conversations on Miles Beyond the Page!
ABOUT STEVEN R. SOUTHARD:
Steven R. Southard writes science fiction, and dabbles in other genres. Read his new short story collection, The Seastead Chronicles, where characters grapple with the difficulties of living on and under Earth’s oceans. His short stories appear in over a dozen anthologies, including Tamarind literary magazine, Spring Into Scifi (2025), and The Science Fiction Tarot. He co-edited the anthologies 20,000 Leagues Remembered and Extraordinary Visions, Stories Inspired by Jules Verne.
WHERE TO FIND HIM:
WHERE TO FIND HIS BOOKS: