5 Gold Nuggets

The topic this week is “Five things you wish you would see more of in the genre you write in.”

Let me just say, whoever’s idea this was is awesome. I write Urban Fantasy. I read Urban Fantasy. I breathe it. And I swear sometimes I live it too. Er … don’t ask.

Urban Fantasy is quite controversial these days. It’s currently the number one subgenera of Fantasy and is so huge, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was promoted to its own genera anytime soon.

If you write UF, you’ve most likely noticed the conflicting advice from agents and publishers. For example, are vampires still in? The entire world seems to be split right down the middle when it comes to pro or con vampire characters. FYI I happen to know a number of agents that said “Yes, we still take vampires, but please, no more angels!” When I saw this, I was like “What? How did angels come up?”

Anyway, as an avid reader/writer of the genera, I’m very excited to present what I think Urban Fantasy needs more of (in no specific order):

1. Male main characters. While I have absolutely nothing against female main characters, it would be nice to get a guy’s perspective once in a while. I know the majority of UF readers are female, but come on. Men can make good mc’s too. They can be emotional and fall in love. They can grow into a hero. Actually, I rather prefer male mc’s because men have a very real and witty sense of humor. They’re often stubborn and take a while to change for the better. When they fall in love, they fall hard and become super protective of their loved ones. Aren’t those the perfect features for an exciting main character? I think so.

2. Kick-ass female leads. I am sick and tired of all the “Bella’s” out there. All the whiny, delicate, damsels in distress that you can take out of the story and the novel would be that much better for it. I hate it when a female main character says anything along the lines of “please don’t fight for me, you might get hurt. I’m not worth it.” UGH. I have no problem with the girl starting out weak – but she had better develop into a toughie by the end of the book/series. For once I would like to see a female mc say “I’m going to kick some serious butt with you.”

3. Uniqueness. I don’t care if your novel is about vampires or werewolves (or angels! Haha). But it had better be unlike anything else I’ve already read. I do not want to see a vampire version of Harry Potter or an angel/demon version of Twilight. I want something entirely new.

4. Following the actual definition of the genera. I’m not quite sure when everyone started confusing Urban Fantasy with Paranormal Romance and Horror. The three genres are completely different form each other. In case you’re wondering:

• Paranormal Romance = Romance with one or more paranormal main character (think Twilight or The Black Dagger Brotherhood.)


• Horror = Monsters trying to kill you (not love you).


• Urban Fantasy = When the main plot is centered on the troubles of living in an urban society (crime, pollution, racism, etc) and contains fantasy elements such as magic or creatures of myth (such as the Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris).

Do any of these definitions reflect the current market trends? Nope. Can one mix romance and horror into an Urban Fantasy? Absolutely. But it would be nice to see a successful UF that is true to the original definition of the genera once in a while.

5. Plot. This ties in with #3 a little bit, but is more specific. I noticed that most UF is very character driven, and that’s fine. Heck, I’ll be the first to admit that I am very character driven myself. But I often feel like too many UF novels lack enough plot depth. I seriously believe that if an author took a little more time to develop the plot arc of an urban fantasy, it would push the genera from “short commercial fiction” into a more classic, more successful, well-written piece that will out-live the current fads. For sure, it would set the author apart from the countless cookie-cutter pieces out there.

6. Word Count. Okay, so the title of the post says FIVE, but I just had to touch on this. Before I begin my rant about word count, though, let me warn you: Do Not take this one to heart. Word count is extremely important, and I’ve had to learn that the hard way (imagine a rejection letter that says “we were truly excited about your manuscript and wanted to sign you, but we decided not to because your word count is too high. Yup).

However, I’m often disappointed by the low average word count in Urban Fantasy, and I say this strictly as a reader. Why can’t there be long drawn out plots in the genera I love? Why can’t there be Epic Urban Fantasy? After all, UF is a subgenera of Fantasy; a genera that is often written in ‘epic proportions’.

My love for a longer story actually extends to all genres, as it seems that agents, publishers, and the general market is set on forcing writers to write shorter stories with shorter chapters. Long, drawn out descriptions, character background, novels spanning the life of the main character, are all things of the past that somehow died in the 90’s and I think it’s a shame. I remember reading paperbacks that were a few inches think in my childhood. Now most fiction – short of literary fiction -  comes to a stretching halt at a mere 300 pages. Tsk tsk.

Don’t get me wrong, I understand the necessity of mastering the craft. Knowing how to write concise sentences, grab the reader with compelling action, and submerge them in tightly woven subplot is very important. But what about the art and delight of getting lost in a story that makes you use your brain? I feel it is lost, replaced by books written for a society that doesn’t really like to read.

Sorry for ending this on a depressing note. When I’m published and a tad more popular, I will have to write an ‘Epic Urban Fantasy’ for you all. *Wink*

What about other readers out there? Do you agree or disagree? Do you have something you’d like to add? I’d love to hear your thoughts on the subject. I’m sure there is no shortage of opinions.

Book Reviews: C.J.’s choice is Urban Fantasy

Welcome to our new theme!  Big thanks go to Wendy, our computer guru in the group, who worked diligently through illnesses to improve the layout and overall look to better match our style. Kudos!

This week starts off our first in reviewing books. Our goal is to have some book reviewers join the team permanently to either re-post reviews they’ve already done or to post new ones in our weekend spots. If you're interested, please contact us.

I’m reviewing Carole Nelson Douglas, who is by no means a new author but was new to me when I discovered her Urban Fantasy series, Delilah Street: Paranormal Investigator.



I've read all three books in the series, but will focus today on the first one, Dancing with Werewolves (Juno, October 2007, 394 pages).  Here is what Publisher’s Weekly had to say in its starred review:

“While the millennium revelation in this fantastic first of a new paranormal series might not be a shocker for urban fantasy fans—i.e., vampires, werewolves, witches and zombies come out of the closet after Y2K—Douglas (Cat in a Red Hot Rage) handles the premise with such spectacular style, it feels fresh. Delilah Street, who was only 11 in 2000, is now 24 and works for WTCH, a Kansas TV station, as a paranormal investigative reporter. When Delilah angers an undead coworker and is demoted, she moves to Sin City in hopes of finding a possible blood relative seen on CSI Las Vegas V. She gets a job with Hector Nightwine, the show's producer, and falls in love with Ric Montoya, a former FBI agent who finds corpses by dowsing. Douglas spices the action with fabulous characters: Quicksilver, Delilah’s protective dog; CinSims (Cinema Simulacrums), dead celebrities recreated via science and magic; the oldest living vampire in Vegas, once a famous aviator; and Cocaine (aka Snow), a devilish albino rocker. Readers will eagerly await the sequel.”

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It’s written in a first-person, past-tense style, has a strong heroine with a unique background and supernatural skill set. The world building that Ms. Douglas weaves into the story is seamless and well done. I was transported into her Vegas of the near future and loved her new angle on zombies and their potential uses.

She creates a very likable character in Delilah and I found myself drooling over Ric. The romance is a subplot in this book to the action and adventure, and it never overshadows the plot.  Every element—be it mystery, fantasy, action or romance—blends well and keeps you turning the page.

Dislikes: I felt the cover, and the ones following in books two and three, fell short and did not represent the excellent storytelling.  They looked a little cheesy, and thankfully, the intriguing book jacket was what pulled me in and prompted me to buy.

Book two ramps up the action and starts a story arc that concludes in book three, but I had a hard time getting through the third book. Perhaps it was my own life and the things I’ve had going on, but the direction Ms. Douglas takes the story with the new fantastical elements of an ancient Egyptian culture of vampires living under Vegas since before the pilgrims, left me with too many fantasy angles to juggle and a story that was, at times, hard to follow.

Overall rating on Dancing with Werewolves: 4/5 stars

Overall rating on series: 3.5/5 stars

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Mystery, or Paranormal Suspense. Anyone out there who’s read it? I’d love to hear your take!

Updates: Most all of you following the blog know I've recently obtained representation from agent Kristin Lindstrom.  As of Friday, my full MS for Vampire Vacation has been sent to seven New York publishers.  I'll keep you posted on the results once I hear something.



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Is Dark Rural Fantasy a Subgenre?

I’ve already mentioned a few times that my novel is a mix of fantasy, horror and comedy, but those are the main literary genres. What about all those subgenres out there? Where does it fit with those?

I hadn’t really thought too much about subgenres until I read …What is Dark Urban Fantasy over at All Things Urban Fantasy, coincidentally the week before writing this post. Read it and you'll find there is no clear description for this subgenre, but the author provides some great examples that lead me to believe The Courier could fall under dark urban fantasy. Still, I wanted to investigate further, so like the author, I ended up on Wikipedia.

Starting at the top of the list, with the historical genre, I found speculative fiction as a subgenre. One of my favorite short story categories to read. There are aspects of distorted history in my story, and book three may have some time travel in it. Check that one off as a possibility.

Science Fiction? Well, cyberpunk may fit because my protagonist, Barry, is a computer genius, although he doesn’t get to use his skills in book 1. Who knows where it might take him in future books…evil laugh.

Am I boring you yet?

I know I was bored until I happened upon:

Splatterpunk—a term coined in 1986 by David J. Schow at the Twelfth World Fantasy Convention in Providence, Rhode Island—refers to a movement within horror fiction distinguished by its graphic, often gory, depiction of violence and "hyperintensive horror with no limits.”

Cool!

The book cover to the right was written in the 1920s though. Have to say that Story of the Eye is one of the grossest stories I’ve ever read, but still one of my favorite books. I aspire to write romance as well as Georges Bataille, although there's not much romance in my series!

Considering I've just segued into horror, add ghosts and occult. Enough said. Wrap it all up in dark comedy and you have The Courier, except I still haven't settled on a subgenre for fantasy.

Most of the first two novels in The Courier series are certainly dark and fantastic, but primarily set in a rural area of Colorado. Not until the third novel does Barry return to Denver. So is there a dark rural fantasy category? Why did they throw in urban anyways? It's not like all the evil characters in the world would flock to the cities. For all we know, cattle mutilations could be the work of vampires and zombies, and not aliens.

And now, back to the true purpose of this post. How do I write in all these genres and subgenres? Well schizophrenia runs in my family. But seriously, folks, our lives could never fit into one genre, so how could the stories we tell fit into one?