Other than fame, what do Rowling and Meyer share?

So I'm on the CSUS English E-mail list. I received an e-mail from the list service concerning a high school boy who was writing a paper on Twilight. I think I over responded to the question: "Who spread the word?" (about Twilight, that is).

I made the case that it needed nothing. And as I built my argument, citing the history of the industry, I found out...well, that was market analysis. And now, creepy as it is I can see why Twilight was a hit. Just by looking at the trend.

Wanna know why?

Fantasy has always had vampires. We share them with our Horror brethren, and get the creeps from them. Then in the early years of this century Paranormal Romance boomed. And it didn't boom small. It took over the romance genre so rapidly that Harlequin released an imprint, Luna that shook up the Fantasy genre.

Meanwhile, fantasy authors began reverting to YA. When Harry Potter exploded onto the scene, YA exploded with fantasy. Classic Fantasy novels were reprinted with YA covers and stacked on YA shelves. Harry Potter, despite its overtones of high fantasy, occured in the modern world. Which is a trait Urban Fantasy shares. A lot of paranormal romance shared the same traits.

And Laurel K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series which bridged horror, fantasy and erotica got popular in the early 21st century. (Related to the complicated nature of Anita's relationships, perhaps?) While Hamilton began publishing her series in the early nineties, during the prior ascension of then-named "dark fantasy," she didn't see popularity until the rise of paranormal romance.

Lastly, novels with conservative ethics have made a comeback. Christian writers can write in any genre and as long as they have moral overtones...they can be hosted in Christian bookshops. And novelty shops, like Christian bookshops, are the only types of independent stores that stand a chance anymore.

When Meyer came along, she bridged all of these popular areas. The time was just right for her. Rowling had opened urban fantasy to the YA-reading crowd (children and adults alike) and taught the publishers that This Stuff Sells.

So her first book hit the shelves in '05. By the release of her 3rd book, popularity had increased to insane levels.

Luna books published urban fantasy that bridged paranormal romance, pulling those readers into other genres, and the heady mix produced the modern industry. Hachette, the publishing group under which Twilight was published, saw so much success that last year (I think, look it up :P) they opened Orbit. A SFF imprint that is really putting out some interesting things. So maybe Twilight IS making the world better for us.

Though where Twilight falls on the spectrum, is clearly as a "YA Romance with horror/fantasy and christian themes." Yes, I know she is Mormon, but honestly, all conservative religious ideologies share more in common than they differ in. And I'm more concerned with the marketing slant than the "truth" of her value-origin. The marketing slant and the behavior of the readership is related. For something to be this successful, not only does the marketing have to work, the audience has to be there...lying in wait....and they were.

Read more »

Posted in: genre fiction,market analysis,Twilight

And So We Blog ...

Welcome all to the new SWS blog! We intended to host a variety of topics here that will further our mission. Current Bloggers will be Melissa Kuhl, Erica Procopio and myself (Drea Moore).

SWS is open to all writers and writing groups. Currently our member groups focus mostly on Science Fiction and Fantasy. We have one poetry group -- and I will see if one of their members would like to represent their corner and add a bit of diversity to this space. Other potentials are posts by our "artists," as SWS seems to have an abundance of writer/artist members and even more artists hovering on the periphery and supporting our larger group.

On Thursdays I will share opinions on the industry and the writer: Perceptions of SFF, e-books, self-publishing and what it means for the writer bewildered by the options. We're in the middle of interesting times and often panic and cynicism follow when, in fact, opportunity is rising.

First I wish to address the opinion of Fantasy Literature in the larger literary community. As mentioned at fantasyliterature.com/giveaway/thoughtful-thursday-all-i-need-to-know/ the escapism in fantasy fiction is often discussed as "only for children." I have read my share of literature and don't understand how classic lit is less escapist than fantasy. Often times the characters live in other eras or places I haven't seen that are as real to me as completely fictitious location. The only difference is the extent to which the author needs to generate "back story."

Even in the stories that take place in my own back yard, the characters are either neurotic or idealized to the point that the familiarity of location is the only thing linking me to the book. The shared history, environment, references to what is already known ground the unrealistic into the believable and encourage suspension of disbelief. The goal is the same.

What does escapism do in fantasy? It allows Reader to ignore the social messages Reader does not believe in, but manages to squeeze in that exposure nonetheless. While literature aims to stress the bounds of thought, so too does fantasy fiction. I must argue that the only difference is that one has to grow acclimated to different history, cultures, languages and references when reading fantasy. Mystery, Horror and Romance do not always require this ... but then I write fantasy and am a SFF fan. I have seen non-genre Readers stumble and fall apart around a fictitious word. Such imaginary settings are likely the reason such Readers get the idea of escapism. Reader following this pattern misses the familiarity in the imagined. Advocating that writers should write what they know fails to see that behind the veil of imagination we all write only what we know. All fantastic fiction is a reflection of this society, in some fashion. Be it relevant issues of sexism and oppression, family or power; the fictionalized setting allows for the exploration of these issues in a space removed from the loaded politics of modern America.

Besides, where is the line drawn between genre and literary writing? Where would you draw it?

Read more »

Posted in: California writers,escapism,fantasy,genre fiction,literature,sacramento Northern California,Science fiction,sylvanopolis,writing