The Next Big Trend...maybe

Hey there, and thanks to Beyond the Veil for the opportunity to post today. Hmm, a whole empty post just waiting for insightful words...sorry, you're going to get what's banging around inside my head instead. :)

I wanted to talk about the Next Big Trend. Why, you ask? Because I know what it's going to be, I lie with a straigt face. Okay, no. I don't know, but I'm always looking, as is every other writer out there wanting that edge.

Several years ago, no one knew that much about vampires. Then along came Anne Rice, and suddenly vampires were hot, sensual, sexy. Years later, Christine Feehan introduced her world of the Carpathians, Sherrilyn Kenyon gave us the Dark Hunters, and many other wonderful vampire stories were born.. However, recently it seems as if the paranormal market is gluttoned on vampires. While some readers are reading them, high on the transfusion of blooddrinkers, I'm about done with the genre myself. It was all I could do to pick up JR Ward's series, the BlackDagger brotherhood, and now I'm hooked, darn it. And I'm not putting down anyone who writes about vampires--not at all. It amazes me that for a well-known niche in the market, so many original stories are still written about the vampire. Heck, the other day I read the back of a book that tied vampirism to the Chupacabra.

Then of course, there are the books on shapeshifters, fae and Scottish warriors. The shifter books are still hot, more in electronic than print, I'd say. So many Scottish historicals have stayed the course when other historicals have fallen from the market. And the fae seem to pop up in every new book that has a collaberation of paranormal characters. Seems you can't have a world full of vampires and werewolves and witches unless the fae get in there too. And ever since Sherrilyn Kenyon made it big with gods and goddesses (sorry if I'm crediting her with too much, but I noticed this trend after her books came out), a lot of books appear with gods and goddesses, from Greeks to Romans to Celts, in the mix. If it seems like I'm down on these books, trust me, I'm not. My sad, empty little wallet can attest to such.

The problem, as I see it, is that authors tend to love what they read and want to emulate it. And so we have a bazillion books on vampires, werewolves and witches, gods and faeries. So where have all the ghosts gone? The traditional paranormal ghost story has all but vanished. So maybe that's going to come back. Or how about extra sensory perception, ESP, as a paranormal bend? Elloras Cave has created a new line/joint publisher called the Lotus Circle, which will focus on metaphysical topics. What about our friend, the historical? While Regencies and Victorians are still big, how about our good ol' buddy the Western? And last but not least, my favorite genre, futuristic/scifi romance. Personally, I can never find enough great futuristics to satisfy me, which is why I love writing them. Still, I'd love to see more at my local bookstore.

A big thanks to the world of epublishing for at least breaking the mold and letting new and interesting ideas flood the Internet. Funny how NY keeps adding more erotic romances and paranormals to their lists when the epubbing world has been doing it for years.

And now that I've thoroughly spilled my guts, I'm going to wind down and let you, gentle blog reader, think about what you'd like to see from a publisher the next time you're looking for a good book to read.

Chow!!

Marie
www.marieharte.com
Experience the paranormal, the future, and the fantasy of romance
A Scorching Seduction, now available from Samhain