genre

[Amanda Church]

Was just wondering, after looking around the site, how many people chose their genre, or did it choose you?

I know for myself, I have always had an interest in the paranormal, especially the sweeping, romantic notion of it. As a kid I would sneak my mother's old gothic romances (like Victoria Holt) and the first books I can remember ever buying and rereading were the Sergeanne Golon Angelique series. I loved these books because they were like a Beauty and the Beast tale with a strong female lead (rare in those days) and all kinds of action and adventure.

The first story I ever wrote (I think I was 10 or 11) was about a ghost who possessed people who walked in this small-town cemetary. I've always had a fascination with vamp/shifter stuff but could never find a book that told it the way I wanted it told, which is why I started writing in that vein (no pun intended).

[C. M. Clark]

wow, I don't think I would go that far. Maybe cut pictures for a magazine or copy pictures from the net... but to buy stuff. Wow.

[Lavender]

I often have more than one WIP in progress. At times, there seems to be a line up of characters waiting to be heard so I always have brief paragraphs or character sketches in the wings.

I didn't set out to write romance, but my local critique group tells me it's dominant in everything I write. I wasn't aware of this until they told me.

[Di Franz]

Oh, me too! Thank you for letting me know I'm not alone!

[Nadia Lee]

I chose my genre. :)

[Amber R]

I think I came at it from both ways.

They say to write what you know, what you love and what you read - so here I am. Of course, I have a YA fantasy-Adventure, an adult High Fantasy and am in the process of researching for a Urban Fantasy.

I guess they all run along the same lines when you get down to the basics :)

[Di Franz]

I believe that wholeheartedly. I, for one, read voraciously. And write because there are so many stories in my head. I want to share them, yes. But more importantly, I want to get it down so I can read it.

I have never thought that what I write would sell. Until Laurel Hamilton started putting out her Anita Blake series. Whew! My heroine! She broke the market for horror that swerves into the paranormal romance genre and back again at a whipcord pace. And stirs in thriller/mystery just for spice.

I have to wonder, really, if she writes from her own desire to read vamp/shifter stuff no one else was daring to write? I also wonder if I have the guts to actually ask her....

[Amanda Church]

LKH really did break ground. As much as Anne Rice did in her time, though I think I would credit Hamilton with putting contemporary UF and paranormal romance on the map, so to speak.

I hear she was at DragonCon this last weekend and the lines were endless to see her.

[Ashley Hill]

I actually had no clue what I was writing when I started my novel -- which I'm calling urban fantasy at the moment, until I figure out what the hell else it may be. I do know that I love a paranormal/fantasy story when the fantastic elements are an afterthought. They exist, sure, but they're not the basis of the world and they're not really that big a deal. I think there's some romance in giving the real world just a touch of magic.

That was the kind of story I wanted to write, and what I want to continue to write, so I go with it until I find something else to write about.

[Kristin Gillenwater]

As a kid I would read any book that had talking animals or magic in it. I think 'growing up' into paranormal certainly makes sense looking at my history. I also like suspenseful, scary stuff...big fan of science fiction and things like "Twilight Zone" or "Lost."

I started out writing more women's fiction/romance, but found that my ideas all involved either a paranormal or sci-fi type bent to them. Now I'm trying to figure out if I'm classified as 'urban fantasy'?

[Michelle]

The notion of something other had always interested me even when I was a kid . I guess I became fascinated with the occult ,supernatural ,paranormal (whatever you wish to call it ) because my parents would always tell my siblings and I ghost stories . My interest only amplified when we had moved into my current house when I was 6 and had discovered century old skeletal remains ,and that we had incorporeal guest in our house ( not to mention I grew up with the notion that my father could read palms, had prophetic dreams and that black cats are the best .) .All that spurred me on at an early age to read everything about the paranormal . I collected dozen of books by the age of 13 about ghost ,demons, witches and supernatural creatures that were supposed true accounts .Then I had stumbled across Circus of the Damned by Laurell K. Hamilton in a closing used discount book store and the rest,as they say, is history . I have been addicted to urban Fantasy ever since.