Paranormals
Does it have a biting chance to endure?
I was incredibly surprised last Tuesday. I was, generally, minding my own business browsing the all-too-narrow isles of the local Barnes and Nobel when I overheard a squabble in the next isle over. A young couple was debating their upcoming purchase and the validity of the genres each of them liked. Now, while I wanted to tell them to buy both books, I was intrigued by this concept that each week they went to the bookstore, one got to buy a book, then they shared it. The young man had a straight fantasy (Since I seriously doubt this couple will read my genre page I can name titles. The book he had was A Clash of Kings, by George R. R. Martin (book II in The Song of Fire and Ice series, book I is A Game Of Thrones. Book III A Storm of Swords, and Book IV is A Feast For Crows). This is epic fantasy stuff. Fantastical, engrossing, the kind of tale you beg the gods that the author will not die before the next one comes out.think
J.K. Rowling and Harry Potter. I cannot fault his taste in reading, I have the entire series (both J K Rowling and George R R Martin), but he seemed a bit put out by her choice. Heros book IV in the Laws of The Blood Series by Susan Sizemore . There was a bit of a debate and then he said, "Paranormal. That's just a fad. It will be here and gone. Fantasy is here to stay."
Ok. Color me surprised and a bit confused. How far from fantasy does paranormal really stretch?
This is the thought that plagued me on my long trip home, so I thought to sit down and look into some of the top sellers in paranormal romance. During my searching I found fantastic elements, fantastic writing, and compelling stories. I also discovered that although buying and marketing is cyclic, paranormal is not a "fad" and is indeed an notable part of the literary industry. Yes, there seems to be a surge in the acceptability, but a large contributing factor to this is how far science has come and also how much society had opened and embraced the unknown, hence paranormal.
Because you know I can't resist, look at the past few year's top grossing movies: Gothika, The Grudge, Exorcist, The Ring and the list goes on. How about the new one coming out White Noise ? There is obviously mounting interest in reaching beyond, just as there has been with the Sci Fi industry. There is more out there than we see, than we know. Think about M. Night Shyamalan's huge success with Signs and The Sixth Sense.
If you are one of those who have been hesitant to step into the paranormal world, come on, take that leap. I dare ya. It could be fun.
Cynnara has Elementals. Deb Stover and Karen Marie Moning have time travel and oh so handsome men (sorry my comments). Sherrilyn Kenyon with her Dark Hunters, WereHunters and so on. Christine Feehan with her Carpathians and the Jaguar peoples.
Tina Wainscott is a bit harder to pigeonhole with a people she has created, but her new novel What She Doesn't Know brushes evil and chills the spine! Angela Knight's Jane's Warlord is still garnering smoking reviews. Lori Handeland's Hunter's Moon is a mesmerizing werewolf saga.
Other fantastic vampire, werewolf, witch (that is they write about witches.not are them.you never know-sometimes I have to clarify) writers are: Amanda Ashley, Jacqueline Lichtenberg , Mandy M. Roth, Laurel K. Hamilton, Maggie Shayne, Jean Lorrah, Katie MacAlister,
Megan Sybil Baker aka Linnea Sinclair might actually fall more into Sci Fi, but I loved The Accidental Goddess so much, I had to include her. More authors who fall under paranormal I enjoy:
Kristina O'Donnelly
Sylvie Kurtz
Victoria Chancellor
Julie Miller
Saranne Dawson aka Pamela Lind aka Saranne Hoover
Linda O. Johnston
Shelly Laurenston
Lynn Warren
Thanks for stopping by!
Article Written by Izzy
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