21 January 2008

Spec Romance & The Marketplace

Please permit me to show off my latest cover. Ain't it great? The cover is for the print release of my first two Sons of Amber stories, which will be coming out from Phaze in March.

Okay, now that the eye candy portion of this post is done, let's talk about the book market a little. One of my last posts on this blog was about trends in the marketplace. Judging by my experience, paranormal is still very hot, yet the other speculative romance genres are beginning to make headway, much to my delight. My anecdotal evidence of this is the success of my recent paranormal ebook release, Sweeter Than Wine, and the plans being made by my publisher and booksellers for the upcoming print release of Hara's Legacy. (It will be be displayed on endcaps in both Borders and Waldenbooks for a few weeks after its release. Wow!!!)

Frankly, I've been amazed at every turn by the response Hara's Legacy is getting. I remember only a decade ago, when I first tried to sell the idea of a futuristic romance, the bigger publishing houses all rejected me. I stopped writing for a good long time, thinking I'd never be able to tell my kind of stories to the world. Now, it seems, the tide is turning. Although I believe it's still easier to give new ideas a shot with smaller publishers (why I chose to go this route), it seems the larger publishers--and book sellers especially--are starting to take notice of the readers' response to new and innovative storylines.

I think this is a win-win scenario for both writers and readers. Less cookie-cutter plots with the same old characters because big publishers want books that are "just like" something that was successful for another house. More choice for readers with more authors out there and smaller publishers taking chances on innovative works. All in all, it's a good thing for writers like me, and my friends here on BTV. Speaking of which, you may notice some changes around here (not sure if I'm supposed to mention this yet or not) in the coming weeks as we expand our coverage to include other speculative romance areas and more amazing authors. Stay tuned! Exciting things are afoot!

Bianca
Come over to The D'Arc Side... www.biancadarc.com

6 comments:

Sela Carsen said...

I'm a big spec-romance fan. Futuristic and sci-fi romances are always big hits. The Crimson City series that Dorchester put out was really unique.

Bianca D'Arc said...

I agree, Sela. I read one or two of those. Still, spec romance has been few and far between until the past few years with the advent of epublishing. I'm glad there's more of it now and possibly much more to come!

Anonymous said...

Spec romance can be great fun! I'm so glad the market has opened up for them. One author I keep meaning try is Linnea Sinclear who seems to have hit it big.

I'm sure it will be cool to see Hara's Legacy on display. I won't, alas, because I live in Canada.

Jody W. and Meankitty said...

I looooooove sf romances, whether they're heavy on the sf or heavy on the romance. Linnea Sinclair's work IS very good, Jorrie :). Her balance between romance/worldbuilding is quite solid.

Jody W.

Sela Carsen said...

Not to mention, Linnea is a fantastic person. It's kind of a bonus that her writing is so good!

Bianca D'Arc said...

You know, I have one of Linnea's books on my HUGE TBR pile. ;-) I really look forward to reading it once I get my head above water as far as edits and contracted works go. Writing really cuts into my reading time!