tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4869527318255268135.post704808802162917421..comments2023-07-30T01:32:13.498-07:00Comments on Jodi Henley: An uber-long post on fantasy...and other stuffAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14553958040386480998noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4869527318255268135.post-70557491134567148402009-12-23T15:33:12.816-08:002009-12-23T15:33:12.816-08:00Thank you, Jen :)
I don't know, Eva. I'd ...Thank you, Jen :)<br /><br />I don't know, Eva. I'd just write it the way you have it. There are conventions for set sub-genres, but they're always changing. I mean, look at the whole Bradbury and Heinlein thing. They both came out of the same time and place, targeted the same market, and were both called sci-fi. But looking back, The Illustrated Man and Starship Troopers are as far apart as you can get and still be in the same overall genre.<br /><br />Bujold said it best (I bought Dreamweaver just so I could cut that piece out and stick it on my whiteboard)<br /><br />When I was writing the Warrior's Apprentice, I asked two trusted professional level cps for suggestions, and one suggested I cut the entire beginning and start with the action of Beta Colony, thinking I was writing standard space opera. The other had a totally hostile view of Bothari and wanted a different version of his death. Trying to be a good reviser, I rewrote, sat back and twitched for days. Then tore them out and put back my first version. <br /><br />The fundamental substance of a book, if you are writing a real book, in your own blood, is not optional.<br /><br />...er, I can pretty much quote that from memory.<br /><br />The Warrior's Apprentice came out as sci-fi and was recently reclassified as YA. No clue why. It's "not" a YA in any way shape or form. Maybe because Miles is 18-ish in the story.<br /><br />But...what Bujold meant was, you write for yourself, because in the end you're the person who has to live with these people. You know deep down inside, what needs to be in your book.<br /><br />If you're thinking about the whole fantasy aspect, it's all sort of bubbling to the surface anyway. :)<br /><br />Give it a shot and see what happens. If you don't sell, you can always do revise and resubmits later. :)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14553958040386480998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4869527318255268135.post-39916881441867128262009-12-23T13:02:43.351-08:002009-12-23T13:02:43.351-08:00Ohh I love Daemon. I think I need to read it again...Ohh I love Daemon. I think I need to read it again-- soon. <br /><br />OK, So if I were to pin my series I'm writing by you it's a dark fantasy. Which is pretty accurate. I'm also thinking of cutting the first hundred pages of heroine's journey so I can get to the hero and make it a romance...but I know that romance readers WILL cross aisles so maybe I should just write the damned thing as it is.<br /><br />My problem is tht I don't dabble with the fantasy crowd. They scare me. I read it, but I know of none of its conventions like I know romance. <br /><br />I really just want to write the book and not think about market. <br /><br />I remember th term slipstream fiction being tossed about a few years ago-the whole paranormal/fantasy/UF/elements thing kind of reminds me of that. Authors are just making the best darned Dagwoods out of it all.Eva Galehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08834856467514439544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4869527318255268135.post-85487443820004893232009-12-23T11:03:35.929-08:002009-12-23T11:03:35.929-08:00I love the way you break things down.
Frankly, I&...I love the way you break things down. <br />Frankly, I'm no good at classifying genre. So, it's always nice to have someone do it.<br />Awesome post.Jennifer Leelandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06984802219973478954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4869527318255268135.post-14701943512211051352009-12-23T00:24:21.343-08:002009-12-23T00:24:21.343-08:00Hailey, you see the way my replies and blog posts ...Hailey, you see the way my replies and blog posts are. I don't just write posts, I write Norse sagas with a full-on Valkyrie chorus.<br /><br />I agree with you about the Black Jewels (one of my favorites series) Not really a romance, but more like a four protagonist set of character arcs with one protagonist having a little more "air" time. :) Daemon has got to be one of my favorite characters.<br /><br /><i>I have referred to books as having an “urban fantasy feel” and gotten some strange looks out of it because the content doesn’t mesh with standard UF fare.</i><br /><br />I get that all the time. I say things that make sense to me and totally throw other people for a loop. You just have a different way of looking at things. People who can see the why instead of the current what are always uncomfortable to talk to. It's like you're skipping B to get to D :)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14553958040386480998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4869527318255268135.post-73451676580459152052009-12-23T00:17:12.336-08:002009-12-23T00:17:12.336-08:00Interesting question, Ilona.
I bought Magic Bites...Interesting question, Ilona.<br /><br />I bought Magic Bites when it first came out because I’m always looking for something new. I like it because the world was built “just” for Kate, in almost the same way Liz Williams built her sideways Singapore for Inspector Chen. More fantasy, than urban fantasy and a lot closer to the old Turtledove alternate histories.<br /><br />Lots of urban fantasies are integrated into a known setting, like the Dresden Files and the Signs of the Zodiac. Chicago and Las Vegas. Real and recognizable. And I know that sounds like I’m stating the obvious, but it’s to point out you’re different. There just wasn’t/isn’t any way to sell you better. There used to be a big argument about classification (and probably still is) in the bookseller world. “If something isn’t one or the other, you need to find that one sentence selling tool people can connect with.”<br />And that goes back to people’s prejudices. People who shop in the sci-fi/fantasy section “only”, tend to shy away from things shelved in romance, although romance readers will browse sci-fi/fantasy, and urban fantasy readers probably won’t pick up a straight fantasy, which is why cover art is so important.<br /><br />I’d say On the Edge is close to a lot of things. "Almost" a paranormal, but not quite. A little bit of Anne Bishop’s Belladona series, a little bit of Sookie Stackhouse, a little bit of Butcher’s Summer Knight (love that bit in the Wal-mart), and a little Rob Thurman, which pretty much takes it all over the place.<br /><br />It'd work as a paranormal, because the boundaries in paranormal are broader and there are some similarities, but it can’t be “called” a paranormal without alienating your core readership, although I suspect booksellers are cross-shelving it in romance.<br /><br />I think...what is really throwing people are the love scenes which push it close to paranormal for the people who read them and confuse the hell out of the people who don't.<br /><br />In a lot of ways it has the same problems Sharon Lee and Steve Miller had with their Liaden series. It’s not one thing or the other, and the correct genre label hasn’t been invented yet that will make all the readers happy. It took years for them to reissue the first Liaden books, because it took that long for the general readership to catch up with it bending the genres, but now it’s got a cult following and isn’t compared to anything but itself.<br />I’d say, On the Edge is simply “you”, and sooner or later someone will find a label, but it’s still a ways off.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14553958040386480998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4869527318255268135.post-25281040775727542392009-12-22T20:58:21.832-08:002009-12-22T20:58:21.832-08:00This comment has been removed by the author.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14553958040386480998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4869527318255268135.post-88967644265195187902009-12-22T20:26:04.690-08:002009-12-22T20:26:04.690-08:00This comment has been removed by the author.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14553958040386480998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4869527318255268135.post-14235110589508967182009-12-22T12:02:11.121-08:002009-12-22T12:02:11.121-08:00“Tramp-stamp fantasy” lol
Great post, Jodi! Thank...“Tramp-stamp fantasy” lol<br /><br />Great post, Jodi! Thanks for taking the time to address this topic. <br /><br />First off -*face*palm* <br /><br />I can’t believe I never noticed your point about tone. I have referred to books as having an “urban fantasy feel” and gotten some strange looks out of it because the content doesn’t mesh with standard UF fare. <br /><br />What I meant was the tone sets a reader up with the same expectations. In UF, you expect action, a little bit of grunge, possibly sex, though the romance part is optional. <br /><br />(I have to admit, I measure UF with my Harry Dresden yard stick. Harry’s problems with women are legion, but I admire him for wanting a relationship instead of indulging in mindless humping in every book just to fill the romance-that-isn’t-a-romance quota.)<br /><br />I have only been reading romance for about the last two and a half years or so. Before that, I was strictly hardcore mystery/crime.<br /><br />So, when I stepped onto the romance scene, paranormal was established as its own genre. It’s the reason I picked up my first romance title and the reason I keep reading them. I love vamps, weres, and demons. Sexy and dangerous, they are classic hero material with all the extra bennies like fangs and wings. Then you have mating bonds, a way to ensure your man can’t get away. lol <br /><br />See, in my mind, I always equated “fantasy” with LOTR type material. It wasn’t until I sent my last book to a beta that I heard, “You write dark fantasy.” I thought, really? I thought it was paranormal. She bought me the Black Jewels series and said, “No, really, you write dark fantasy.”<br /> <br />I hadn’t considered the line between fantasy and para being quite so thin, or that the defining factor was whether or not there is a definite romance. That makes a whole lot of sense. The Black Jewels had romance, but it wasn’t the central focus in a lot of ways. It was more of the heroine’s personal journey being enriched by Daemon’s presence.<br /><br />You’ve definitely given me something to think about with this spin on genre. I was almost sold on labeling myself as a fantasy author, but my work is always character driven and focused on my h/h. <br /><br />Maybe I can claim to be a paranormal romance author after all. *g*<br /><br />Also, one day, I promise not to write a novella length blog reply.Hailey Edwardshttp://www.cairinehouse.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4869527318255268135.post-46853622196976263192009-12-22T09:28:31.408-08:002009-12-22T09:28:31.408-08:00Very thoughtful post.
Our second series, ON THE E...Very thoughtful post.<br /><br />Our second series, ON THE EDGE is set in a no-man's land between two dimensions, one ours, the other magic. It has a heroine who uses lightning and lives in this no-man's land but works in our dimension as a cleaning woman. It also has deep south country setting, complete with Wal-Mart and fast food places, sword-wielding wizard nobles, shapeshifters, necromancy, and a strong romantic element.<br /><br />:( <br /><br />Classifying it is a pain in the butt, and so where would you put it?Ilonahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04109197726156394852noreply@blogger.com