Are aliens the next hot book trend?
When I was a kid, my dad belonged to a group of "UFO" enthusiasts who investigated local sightings. He interviewed people who claimed to see UFO's or aliens. Once there was a sighting at a campsite near Placerville, CA, which wasn't that far away so my parents packed up us kids (ages 10, 9, 6, 5) plus the family dog Sandy and we went camping. We had splash wars in a river, chased lizards and went hiking. But no sign of aliens. The only strange moment was when my youngest sister vanished for a while...but she returned. (That inspired my book OH, NO! UFO with Llewellyn, where the little sister is kidnapped by an alien, which could be considered wish fulfillment for some siblings ).
As a kid, I remember deciding that I believed UFO's were real because it just seemed logical that more things were possible than impossible, even those that seemed impossible. Disclaimer: believing does not mean I want to meet one. No, thank you.
Still the topic of aliens has continued to intrigue me, at least in fiction. So I wrote a YA about a clique of aliens in high school which landed me a top agent. I felt very hopeful that teen aliens were going to be the next popular topic. But so far other topics --zombies, vampires, werewolves, mermaids and steampunk -- are buzzing with popularity. I can't wait to read LEVIATHON and MAGIC UNDER GLASS.
So maybe I was wrong about aliens gaining fictional popularity. But lately aliens seem to be invading the movies and TV. Like ALIENS IN THE ATTIC, TV mini-series remake of "V" and an upcoming animated twist where we're the aliens on another planet, PLANET 51. As for YA novels, there are a few with aliens that are cool, like Stephanie Meyer's THE HOST, Annette Curtis Klause's ALIEN SECRETS and for a lighter creep-fest there's THE TRUE MEANING OF SMEKDAY.
BELIEVE IT OR NOT: About 5-7 years ago, in the midst of research for my psychic series THE SEER , I never missed an episode of Montel Williams with famous psychic Sylvia Browne. On one show Sylvia announced to the audience that aliens were real, non-threatening and living among us. She hinted that some may actually be in the audience. And she predicted they would be proven to exist in 2010. At the time that date seemed far away....
Is it more than a coincidence that science fiction movies/TV are gaining popularity? Will aliens be the next hot trend in books, too? And what about real life? Is there some larger reasons, synergy or fate, going on here?
Of course, supernatural topics aren't the only popular trend in TV. Let's not forget GLEE...love that show!
If aliens do show up more fictionally or otherwise, I hope they can sing and dance. Now that would be cool.