Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Back to our regularly scheduled program...

Stupid trolls! *mutter mutter grumble grumble* Thanks for the peroxide, Viv, totally got it out. I kinda smell like a hospital room now, but hey...at least people aren't crying  and turning green when I walk into a room anymore. *wink*

So...boring ol' me has come here to blog and enlighten your world. *snort* You'll find my blogs generally tend to be silly, kooky, and mostly uninformative. That said, I love writing blogs. I love being silly and hopefully entertaining you for a few minutes out of your day.

A little about me first. I write Urban Fantasy and here lately have even ventured into the scary, sometimes gag inducing world of first crushes, homework assignments that leave you sick to your stomach because you have absolutely no idea how to make a winning science project, that cute boy that totally doesn't see you today, but you keep praying and hoping that tomorrow will be the day  he opens his eyes and says, "Hi, how you doin?"

I'm talking about the always perversely fascinating world of YA. A.K.A. Young Adult. I've written 1 book out of a projected 4 or 5 series called: Chaos Time. I'm currently trying to convince NY that I'm pretty freaking awesome and sell my book for oodles and oodles of money. I'm thinking Stephanie Meyer success would be quite nice, thank you very much! *g*

Until that day comes..., I'll toil away and live in a world where I'm the ruler of the universe and all must bow down and worship at my throne of wicked cool!

But I'm cranky.

Why you may ask, because I'm worried. And when I worry, I get cranky. What could I possibly have to worry about..well the fact that I always seem to miss the party.

Apparently there's a buzzword among the industry getting agents and editors all hot and bothered.


Geek! Yeah, you know the nerdy guy with the pocket protector and tape wrapped around his B.C. glasses.

*huh*

Thanks a lot Diary of a Wimpy Kid!

For years the queen bee of books were:


Urban Fantasy/Paranormal.

Now I'm looking at both pictures and I gotta tell you, I'm way drawn to UF. The imagery is gorgeous. And there's just a plethora of ways to interpret a picture like this. Is she angry? Sad? Do mechanics really work on your cars looking that hot? *snort* Okay, so they might stretch the bounds of believability, but the thing is if I have 10 bucks and a choice between a nerd and a shape shifting mechanic that fights crime on the side, no question...crime fighting mechanic everytime.

Surely I'm not the only one who feels that way. And judging off the article I read, I'm definitely not in the minority. See I didn't tell you the whole story.

It was one article mind you, highlighting a minor demographic (if you consider European agents/editors a small minorty *snort*) that they are beyond sick of peddling paranormal. In fact, they're so sick of it that they're refusing to even sign new authors who write in those genres. Regardless (and here's the kicker) that the genre is still selling like gangbusters.

Hmm...

Umm...

Wha?!

That sounds counterproductive to the bottom line, making money. Which is what I thought the business was all about. Catering to the needs of the readers. If the readers still want UF's who are we to say, "No, you're wrong. That's not what you want at all. Trust me, it's all about the geeks."

Which leads me to another thought...have you ever heard a song on the radio and thought, "Gosh, what a stupid song. I'll never like that one." But after three months of walking into stores and hearing that song on constant rotation, walking down a sidewalk and hearing little girls humming along to it, you start catching yourself singing it while cleaning and slowly what sounded so stupid (Justin Beiber) you're suddenly wondering, "why did I hate that so much before? It's not all that bad."

If agent/editors force us to read nothing but geeks will it eventually turn into..."UF what? Para who?"

And maybe it's just a case of sour grapes on my part because I love UF/Para I cannot imagine writing a book without it. Could I incorporate a geek into the story line? Sure? And I have, especially in my YA's, but I don't want to make them the main protaginist's, because...it's my world, my rules, my way. That's why. I want to write how I want to write, but will that come back to bite me in the butt?

Thankfully American agents/editors don't seem to be taking such an extreme stance on that and hopefully they never will, but it definitely got me thinking and wondering if I've wasted my oppurtunity to enter the market in the genre I love.

Then again, self publishing is definitely a viable option. Of course, that's a topic for another day. ;)

On that note...

Peace!

2 comments:

Vivienne Westlake said...

Hi, Linda. Welcome back and glad the baking soda and peroxide was useful.

Here's my thought on the Euro editors saying no paranormal. Judging from a Brit I dated, European thinking is a bit different than over here. Of course there are the people who like the same things we like - the heavy action stuff, crime dramas, paranormals, the fun stuff that distracts you from a hum-drum job and a boring routine. But then there are a lot of European intellectuals who like to challenge the status quo, who like to have things that are unique and different just BECAUSE it is different or seems erudite. So they oppose the commercial and the popular and seek their entertainment on the fringes. I think it's a rebellion against the popular, against the masses, in search of something new and avant garde. That old idea of "art" over "money" and capitalism. Not to say that either is better or that one form of art is more intriguing than another. They're just different.

So write it your way, baby! With all the lovely urban fantasy mechanics who fight demons and crime on their off hours.

You have such a funny, quirky, and twisted sense of humor and I think a lot of today's teens do too. So there is an audience for you out there. Keep going!!

Linda Adams said...

*Mwah*

You're so awesome, Viv! ;)