I’ve heard the proclamation from NY that the paranormal is ‘dead’ before. The first time was back in the ‘90s when the first three books of my “Midnight” series caught the beginning wave of the vampire romance craze. The genre was so new booksellers didn’t know what to do with the books. MIDNIGHT KISS was mistakenly shelved as horror (of course with that green guy on the cover I can’t say I blame them!). With Anne Rice leading the charge (of course we know Anne Rice’s books aren’t romance!), authors like Lori Herter and Maggie Shayne stirred up a feeding frenzy. Publishers snapped up anything in which “What’s your blood type?” replaced “What’s your sign?” until quality suffered for the sake of quantity. And just like that, the paranormal was buried beneath the sheer volume of bad books, and from its ashes a desire for the Inspirational took wing.
But readers who LOVED the genre didn’t go away. They just started looking elsewhere for their preternatural fix, turning from the Big Six publishers in New York to a new trend of small presses, starting with ImaJinn Books, to feed their need.
We know how the story goes. Bam, the Twilight books and suddenly everything as sparkly again as younger readers sunk their teeth into the genre. This time the popularity of the paranormal became a monster that consumed the industry for decades. Editors demanded preternatural elements, looking for that new blood (translated to mean Blockbuster) to keep the tide high. Shifters, Steampunk, gargoyles . . . you name it, they were crazy for it. And then a little piece of Twilight fan fiction buried even the best paranormal authors with the insatiable lust for any shade of gray. And the word from New York was change to writing bondage-crazed billionaires if you want to stay under contract. No paranormals need apply.
But those who LOVE the paranormal didn’t give up on the books they wanted to read. And again, they turned from New York in search of what they couldn’t get enough of, this time within the realm of Indie authors. Great paranormal reads still flourish, they’ve just gone underground. And because I don’t want to write what I don’t like to read, I’m not willing to wait for that trendy tide to turn back to walks on the dark side of romance.
My first Indie title, REMEMBERED BY MOONLIGHT is a paranormal romance filled with all the things I adore in the genre: larger than life tortured hero, kick @ss heroine, sizzling romance and heart pounding action. And I’m happily working on the next book in the series. Because there’s a hunger out there for the books I love to write. And I’m proud to feed it.
Clever, cool and preternaturally lethal, Max Savoie is leader of a secretive shape-shifter clan, heir to a mobster’s legacy, and the love of New Orleans’ top cop . . . but he can’t remember any of them. The only way to recover his past, and his rightful place in the arms of the woman who risked all to save him, is to surrender to a mysterious visitor who could use him as a weapon against all he’d loved.
Happily-Ever-After . . .
After rescuing her mate from his ruthless captors in the North, hard-hitting Detective Charlotte Caissie is now painfully vulnerable—a stranger in his eyes . . . and in his bed. The key to his memories is locked in a tortuous past. To reclaim the strength of their passionate bond, Max must learn to trust her enough to face that darkness at her side before the threat it hides exposes the secret Cee Cee carries.
Is never smooth.
When an investigation into grisly deaths in an underground Shifter fight club points to more than just dangerous clan rivalries, Cee Cee enlists Max’s help to find a traitor in their midst while there’s still time to turn a deadly invading tide. But the cost of saving their treasured future may mean sacrificing his past. Especially when the enemy they pursue . . . might be Max, himself.
“Every delicious word Nancy Gideon puts on the page exhilarates with a sensuous ferocity. Hopelessly addicted.” — Darynda Jones, NY Times Bestselling Author
6 comments:
I guess I will never understand the way publishers chase after the next trend instead of giving readers what they've shown they want. Just like when westerns fell out of favor. Yet I knew plenty of readers who still wanted to read them. At least now authors have the choice of indie publishing! Thank you, Nancy, for always being an inspiration.
What Lucy said - plus the fact that by the time most people chase down the next 'must have' genre, and start to write for it, the books are already passé. Bottom line, as we've all been told before - Write what you love, the rest will follow.
We all know that we can't count on "big business"to give us what we want or need any more, my friend. Glad that high quality writers like you have gone "indie" and taken the strong paranormal in this new direction. I'll never tire of reading a great paranormal romance full of passion and possibilities!
The opportunity of indie publishing has given readers an extended choice of genres to add to the conventional publishers' lists. Readers will always buy the books they love to read. Top-notch writing is imperative in both instances and I, for one, am happily waiting for more of Moonlight with Max, Nancy!
Great post and very inspiring! I know for one I'll never tire of paranormal!
I'm glad that the report of paranormal reading's death is not true... I love it! And I love your books... in fact... I think I have the one with the green guy on the cover!
Post a Comment