Genre Talk—So What is SPECULATIVE Fiction Anyway?

I was talking with a non-publishing friend a while back, and she asked me what kind of book I was writing.  I told her about my science fiction series and my Steampunk series. Then I said, “Actually the short answer is I write spec.”

At her blank look, I corrected myself. “Speculative fiction.”

If anything her look got more confused, and I realized she had no idea what I was talking about when I said speculative. So I took the opportunity to explain the term to her.