Watcha Readin'?
I just finished Mark Del Franco's Unshapely Things and loved it. I posted a brief review on my blog: http://burlesqueofthedamned.blogspot.com. I haven't totally embraced the dual blog thing so my LJ is neglected and thin.
My point: Mark's book is probably the first I've read that I considered Urban Fantasy (I consider my own to be horror-comedy). That's not to say that I have a lot to compare it to. Before I started his book, I'd only read Bitten by Kelley Armstrong and Julie Kenner's Carpe Demon, they seemed to be urban fantasy, but one came off as overly literary, and the other while enjoyable was so light that I barely remember it (I just finished it on Wednesday). I think Christopher Moore is totally an urban fantasy author, but I never see his name in the lists. My experience with the fantasy genre is limited to a brief interest in the Riverworld series back in high school.
A question: Do you think it's necessary to read your own Genre in order to write it well?
I'm of the opinion that reading a lot of good fiction is more important than sticking to your genre. What is it that Stephen King says? ** steps away from the keyboard to search for On Writing ** "You have to read widely, constantly refining (and redefining) the work you do." This is particularly true of the genre bending that goes on in Urban Fantasy. We could probably come up with twenty or more subcategories. Look where our books are shelved (General fiction, Mystery/Thriller, Horror, Sci-fi/Fantasy, YA, YA Fantasy, Children's, Historical, Romance, Paranormal Romance). We infiltrate and draw topics from every corner of the store.
It's time to rise up!
Genre coup!
My point: Mark's book is probably the first I've read that I considered Urban Fantasy (I consider my own to be horror-comedy). That's not to say that I have a lot to compare it to. Before I started his book, I'd only read Bitten by Kelley Armstrong and Julie Kenner's Carpe Demon, they seemed to be urban fantasy, but one came off as overly literary, and the other while enjoyable was so light that I barely remember it (I just finished it on Wednesday). I think Christopher Moore is totally an urban fantasy author, but I never see his name in the lists. My experience with the fantasy genre is limited to a brief interest in the Riverworld series back in high school.
A question: Do you think it's necessary to read your own Genre in order to write it well?
I'm of the opinion that reading a lot of good fiction is more important than sticking to your genre. What is it that Stephen King says? ** steps away from the keyboard to search for On Writing ** "You have to read widely, constantly refining (and redefining) the work you do." This is particularly true of the genre bending that goes on in Urban Fantasy. We could probably come up with twenty or more subcategories. Look where our books are shelved (General fiction, Mystery/Thriller, Horror, Sci-fi/Fantasy, YA, YA Fantasy, Children's, Historical, Romance, Paranormal Romance). We infiltrate and draw topics from every corner of the store.
It's time to rise up!
Genre coup!