This topic is top on my mind right now because I have a romantic comedy releasing from Carina Press next week. Bang in the middle of my two medieval scottish romances - Betrayed released last year and The Devil of Jedburgh releases next February.
I'm throwing a pre-launch party on my blog this week, giving away party bags of the book and Amazon gift vouchers, so please stop by to join in the fun :):)
Right, back on topic... While I was scrutenizing my reading experiences, I realised that many of the historical authors I read tend to genre-hop to suspense/thriller rather than straight contemporary. Maybe that's just me and I need broaden my reading circle, lol. Maybe it's a natural co-habiting genre because many historical romances do contain suspense elements - there's nearly always a dastardly villian ready to kidnap or torment the heroine.
So, my random thoughts on this...
One of my all time favourite historical romance authors is Judith McNaught, but until a year ago I'd never read any of her contemporaries. Then my mother sent an old contemporary of hers my way, Remember When, and, oh gosh, I really couldn't get into it. I do want to try her widely acclaimed novel, Paradise, and hope for better luck.
I can read Julie Garwood across the board, no matter the genre, I love this woman.
So, I guess, I fall into the category of not automatically following authors across genres, but I do like to give them a try.
One real win for me was Karen Marie Moning. I absolutely love her Highlander series and, because of this, I dipped my toes into the paranormal genre (which I'd been avidly avoiding). But I love her so much, I was willing to give her Fever series a shot, and oh boy - she got me well and truly hooked not only on her Fever series, but on the entire paranormal genre.
I'd love to hear your experiences and thoughts of following authors across genres and if it worked out for you.
5 comments:
Claire, I don't mind the author genre hopping, if the stories are as good in either genre. I'm also not a fan of "series" books - I adore Karen Marie Moning's Highland books (oooh, Dageus!) but I haven't even bothered buying or reading any of her Fever books for that reason. One of my favourite romance authors, Lynne Graham, is also starting to tell one couple's story over 2/3 books - I hate it!
Judy, South Africa
I don't mind genre-hopping at all. If I enjoy a writer's style, I'll follow her anywhere. Patricia Veryan, for example, wrote Georgians, regencies, and World War II romances, and I loved all of them. (Okay, they were all historicals, but still...)
Good luck on your new release!
I don't read any one specific genre, so it wouldn't occur to me to raise my eyebrows when authors do different things. Some authors, like Iain Banks change their names when they do, but I suppose it's because I'm more interested in the writing than the author loyalty. I'll try a favourite author if they try a new genre, but sometimes there's no guarantee that they'll be able to pull it off.
Congrats on your new release!
I don't know about switching genres, but I have sometimes been disappointed in the past when the writers of my favorite series switch to a whole different series/world that I just don't get sucked into. It's so weird because it's the same writer - shouldn't I be pulled in no matter what they write?
Judith McNaught, me too! I just love her stuff and she inspired me to take the plunge and cross genres.
Your blog party sounds like great fun. Make sure you remind me because I'd love to join in. x
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