Fantasy Book Club discussion

Hi, fantasy fans.
Have you noticed that in the last decade or two, many non-fantasy writers have been adding fantastic elements to their fiction? The trend is on the rise, and I'm not talking about magic realism. A few well-known examples:
- Jayne Ann Krentz - a romance writer - wrote a series of Arcane Society romances and series of Sci-fi romances (under the pseudonym of Jayne Castle)
- Jennifer Crusie & Bob Mayer – she a romance writer, he a thriller writer - wrote Wild Ride, where demons caper around an amusement park
- Sophie Kinsella – a chic lit writer - made a quirky, imperious ghost one the characters of her Twenties Girl

The list goes on, but why? I have given it some thought but I can’t come up with one reason. Several possible reasons are below:
- Our lives are becoming too digital
- No secrets or adventures left on the planet (except Survivors and the like on TV), so the writers resort to magic
- It’s more fascinating to find stories in the fantastic and the bizarre than to dig in the dirty laundry of families/politics
- There’s too much real danger, and the writers want to distract the reader and themselves. The fantastic monsters are not as frightening as the real dangers of AIDS and cancer, terrorism and wars. Fantasy provides the much needed escape from reality.
- Often, the fantastic elements in fiction are more real and much more colorful than the mundane. Demons in Wild Ride (see above) are definitely smarter and more fascinating than the novel’s human characters. They hold the story together. And I remember Kinsella’s ghost better than the novel's human protagonist.
After centuries of pragmatism, do we finally let our imagination run free?

What do you think?
Any more examples?

Olga, I think all of the points you made are valid for this trend. I think that there are some other factors too. Here's some points I thought of:

-One obvious reason for authors to switch into the paranormal/magical genre is because that is what is selling and trending for readers. And from what I here, that's what writer's agents are looking for.

-I think that the trend for readers to want this springs back to the rise of the vampire literature. You walk into a bookstore and tell me every aisle doesn't consist of at least 20 vampire novels. But this generations vampire novels are alot different than what original deemed a 'vampire.' These new vampires have feelings and their abilities are endless. Since this trend, the urban fantasy/romance novels have because increasing popular to read. It only makes sense that people would want to move on to another 'fantasy' related genre because it doesn't take too long for some people to get tired of the same stuff (not all people, but some). They have thus moved on to zombies, demons, witches, ghosts, or other mystical creatures.

- I also think that readers are reading more of these novels because of the economy (at least in the US). We all are struggling and working hard, so that makes life harder to deal with. These mystical books are a release from that and even authors too. Reality can be escaped and who could blame anyone for that every now and then. =)

- Going back to why authors are trending to use some fantasy elements in their works...I honestly believe that authors now, more than ever in the history of the written word, have less constraints on what they can and cannot write. They don't hide away from 'taboos' or things that 'aren't proper' anymore. They write what they want, this gives them full control over their material. And with these fantasy elements they have endless creative possibilities to turn old creatures or myths into something different and wilder.

Ashley. I agree with you on all points. But often, when a mainstream writer, even a good one, turns to the fantastic, the results are worse than when the pros do it. For example, I love Jennifer Crusie but I think the book where she and her co-author make demons part of their plot, Wild Ride, is probably the worst she has written so far. I just finished a review but I'm reluctant to post it. Don't want to thrash one of my favorite writers. Everyone is entitled to a blunder once in a while after all.

I might have to read Wild Ride...I enjoyed Agnes and the Hitman.

But going back to your point, I think that it might go back to:

1. Sales
2. Being the 'cool kid' on the block

With the advent and popularity of ereaders...people used to get picked on or shamed because they wanted to read the latest Anita Black or Mercy Thompson book on the metro. Now...now we can read what we want, where we want. That is rather seductive. And equals spending more and more money on books.

Add to that the fact that Romance is one of the most widely read and most widely sold genres out there...then add in a bit of monsters for the PNR/UF crowd...and if you do it right, you have a gold mine.

MrsJoseph. You make it sound so simple,as if it all comes down to money. In the end, it probably does. :))
If you're a writer, your name is only known IF your books sell. Everything should leads to sales.

Olga wrote: "MrsJoseph. You make it sound so simple,as if it all comes down to money. In the end, it probably does. :))
If you're a writer, your name is only known IF your books sell. Everything should leads to..."

I think it often does lead to sales. If this was only happening here and there - I would attribute it to artistic experimentation. But when googads of authors try the same thing? I smell a money train.

Olga wrote: "Ashley. I agree with you on all points. But often, when a mainstream writer, even a good one, turns to the fantastic, the results are worse than when the pros do it."
I fully agree with you on that.
And I think MrsJoseph has hit it on the head, it's pretty much about the money, even with best selling authors. And when it's just for the money, the results of the book can be quite poor because the author's heart isn't all in it and they aren't used to the material they are handling.
Then again, maybe the author just wants to test the waters somewhere else. We all can get bored of writing/ reading the same thing for a long time.