Genre Blocks brings together a librarian and an author to discuss specific genres from two deeply involved but different perspectives. Kim Harrison, author of The Hollows series, teamed up with librarian Leanne Ellis to discuss Urban Fantasy.
The conference program quotes Wikipedia's explanation of Urban Fantasy as “a subset of contemporary fantasy, consisting of magical novels and stories set in contemporary, real-world, urban settings -- as opposed to traditional fantasy set in wholly imaginary landscapes.”
Urban Fantasy comes in two flavors. In an open setting, magic or paranormal events are commonly accepted, as in Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse novels. In a closed setting, magical powers or creatures are concealed, as in Harry Potter or Twilight.
A common trait of Urban Fantasy is a first person female protagonist. These characters frequently, to quote Ellis, “kick ass and don't take any lip.”
As the name indicates, the stories are set in urban locales. The culture of that urban area sets the tone for the story and offers a unique way of presenting situations and conflicts. Supernatural creatures may come in many shades of good and evil and distinctions between each side may be subtle. Leanne Ellis noted that in more modern novels, the protagonist has a strong sense of good vs. evil and right vs. wrong and faces the perilous challenge of deciding between the two.
The genre comprises a cornucopia of supernatural creatures from vampires and werewolves to faeries and sprites. Different authors may have different ways of presenting the worlds they create, but any paranormal system has its own set of rules. Even when those rules don't go hand in hand with traditional rules (for example, vampires that come out in the sunshine and sparkle), a good author will provide the reader with what they need to believe that their system works.
Ellis gave readers advisory suggestions for the genre: readers who enjoy fiction that possesses a magical or mythic view of reality, like Alice Hoffman's books, might make a comfortable shift to Urban Fantasy if they can appreciate a well built fantasy story as well. Similarly, books that combine mystery, sexual tension, and humor like Janet Evanovich's series may be a good introduction to Urban Fantasy which prises those same elements.
Ellis provided a long list of recommended reading, which I will omit, but the names that seemed to come up the most were:
War for the Oaks by Emma Bull (this was essentially the first book in the genre and is essential reading for the genre)
Borderland by Terry Windling
The Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher
Two resources for the genre that Ellis recommends are Romantic Times, which reviews romances but has a section devoted to Urban Fantasy; and the website Urban Fantasyland : http://urbanfantasyland.com/
During the second half of the panel, Ellis interviewed Kim Harrison about her books, which I transcribed as best I could below:
Where did Rachel come from?
Desperation. It started as short story and took over. I wasn't big on urban fantasy at time and when I was writing it, I thought it should be fantasy... I had no idea Urban Fantasy would explode like it has. I just brought it together in a way that worked for me... I fell in love with the characters. It was something magical, but with the girl next door.
Did you come up with Rachel and work the world around her or did the world come first?
I used to think the world came first, but as I watched my writing style develop, I realized that it's the character that comes first. I just start with a name and an attitude, put them in a situation and see how they react. It's like when you sit down with a person for the first time, you get to know them and go from there. It's definitely the character that comes first.
As you write, do you find you go places you didn't think you'd go?
My writing style is based around the plot. I will spend two weeks writing out the plot, then write the dialog from there. But I never write out the relationships. The relationships evolve on their own... which can get me in trouble because at page 200 some of the little things don't work out and I have to re-write my plot.
Why vampires and werewolves, why did you include those beings?
A lot of that came from early reading; I loved the Sci Fi greats and things like The Blue Book of Fairy Tales, The Red Book of Fairy Tales, and The Brown Book of Fairy Tales. They were huge and I felt good when I was reading them. It was often the same fairy tale told different ways. Another influence was Ray Bradbury. He wrote about monsters in one book and they were right downtown. I read it and thought to myself, “How powerful, as a writer.” I try to bring the monsters in. I don't see them as vampires, I see them as the dark side of us.
Audience Q+A:
Do you ever get feedback from the Wiccan community?
I used to get quite a bit when the books first came out. Most were along the lines of “are you Wiccan?” and “Where do you get your research?” I'm not Wiccan, but I've learned from the Wiccan community who has contacted me that lot of my magic is organized the same way that Wicca is, which I found kind of interesting.
You're very popular in prison libraries, possibly due to six inch heels on the cover. You don't handle covers i assume?
No no. Actually, the majority of my readership is female between the ages of 19-45. Because of the cover design, male readership is growing by leaps and bounds. I get a lot of firemen and a lot of cops as well.
What started the Clint Eastwood connection?
I really like characters that CE plays, especially in his westerns. A loner coming in that can take care of town's problems but not necessarily eager to do so. But he does so in a just way, though not necessarily legally... I like that kind of character. Another reason is marketability. If a reader goes into a bookstore and asks for “that urban fantasy book with the blue cover” it's not much help, so if they tag onto the fact that it's got a Clint Eastwood title, it's easier for readers to get the book they're after.
Rebecca Krznarich, Reference and Adult Services Librarian, Whitman Public Library
Showing posts with label fantasy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fantasy. Show all posts
Friday, May 8, 2009
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Genre Block: Fantasy
As an avid fantasy reader, who's fallen behind on her fantasy reading, this was a great workshop to get a heads up on whats out there that I need to catch up on.
The speakers include: Susan Fichtelberg, the children’s librarian from Woodbridge Public Library. She’s also an author the author of Encountering Enchantment: A Guide to Speculative Fiction for Teens, published by Libraries Unlimited. She also contributed to the Continuum Encyclopedia of Young Adult Literature.
Bonnie Kunzel, who is a youth services and adolescent literacy consultant for the New Jersey state library.
Finally, we had Author Elizabeth Haydon, who’s works include Rhapsody, The Assassin King, and The Thief Queen’s Daughter.
One of the points brought up is that readers of fantasy don’t care how old the protagonist is. Adults read Harry Potter, kids read Lord of the Rings.
Some of the books covered were:
The Smoke Thief is the first of the new series about a race that can turn from human to dragon. The smoke thief is the first book, and it combines romance, adventure, and mystery.
The women of the underworld series by Kelly Armstrong has strong women that are supernatural creatures like werewolves and demons.
This is a long standing theme with many writers like Kelly Armstrong.
Jim Buitcher’s Dresden Files, is like Sam Spade if he was a wizard. Mystery and magic mixed together. Fantasy Film Noir. A very weird but excellent mix.
One of my favorites is the Thursday Next series, which is a mix of fantasy, sci-fi and detective stories. A world where if you have the original copy of a book you can enter it and change the book. Literary detectives have to keep this from happening, and Thursday Next is one of these detectives. There’s a spin off series to this called the Nursery Crimes series.
The Tales of the Ortori are set in an alternate world based on ancient Japan. This series is by Lian Hearn. This is a fantasy series that appeals very heavily to fans of anime and manga.
Heir to Seven Waters by Juliet Marillier is a fantasy series for teens and adults based on the fairy tale, the seven swans. Her YA series that starts with Wildwood Dancing, is a retelling of the 12 Dancing Princesses with vampires.
Terry Pratchett writes the Diskworld series, a fantasy series that is full of bizarre humor and satire. He is called “The fantasy worlds Douglas Adams” and it’s a well earned title. For folks that loved Hitchhikers Guide for the Galaxy, this is the series to grab.
Sarah Zettel’s series that starts with The Sword of the Deceiver is about an outcast lighthouse keeper’s daughter who is recruited to save an alternate world and finds her own power.
After the review of the fantasy series, Elizabeth Haydon spoke. She talked about librarians. “You folks were the internet before there was an internet” she said. Librarians, Miss Haydon says, are a guardianship of all human knowledge.
The value of librarians is reflected in her books, where a dragon in the next book she is about to publish, the dragon is a librarian.
No one really knows where the fantasy genre is going exactly. Hollywood is obviously using a lot of fantasy, with the Lord Of The Rings and Harry Potter. It’s wonderful, but can backfire and turn readers off of the genre. Subtle fantasy stories are coming out now, mixing more elements into fantasy.
Women too have been changing the genre as well. Many of the changes in fantasy are being created by women. Everyone from Mary Shelly to J.K Rowling, have made huge leaps in the genre.
She spoke about how many realistic fiction like “A Day No Pigs Would Die.”, are sad books that seem to reinforce the idea that life is hard. Fantasy helps to give kids a way to suspend disbelief. She spoke on fables, myths, and fairy tales, and the fact that they are a vital part of literary history. They teach kids to hope, to try and be bigger than they are. Sci-fi was what inspired scientists to try for the space, and get there.
“Fantasy fosters inspiration” She said.
She spoke about not writing to teach, but writing to tell a story. But she says she gets much feedback that she inspires them to see something different, or better themselves. She looks for the people that are most in need of the release and fun of fantasy. Soldiers, inmates, etc, all enjoy her work and find it inspiring. She spoke about being humbled by the idea her work can change lives.
Good messages, one could say morals, show up in an author’s work almost on their own. Things come into an authors work when they write with an open heart, she says. She calls it “Channeling”.
Elizabeth Haydon is a very powerful speaker, who talks about giving people the ability to dream and to hope through reading and fantasy. I’ve never personally thought of fantasy exactly in that way, but when she spoke of that idea it became very clear. A funny, and very caring woman, having heard her I am really eager to get a hold of her work.
You can find more information on Bonnie Kunzel at http://www.bonniekunzel.com
Elizabeth Haydon’s website is at http://www.elizabethhaydon.com/
Susan Fichtelberg’s site can be found at http://www.encounteringenchantment.com/
-Sarah "The Dyslexic Librarian" Hodge-wetherbe, Springfield Public Library
The speakers include: Susan Fichtelberg, the children’s librarian from Woodbridge Public Library. She’s also an author the author of Encountering Enchantment: A Guide to Speculative Fiction for Teens, published by Libraries Unlimited. She also contributed to the Continuum Encyclopedia of Young Adult Literature.
Bonnie Kunzel, who is a youth services and adolescent literacy consultant for the New Jersey state library.
Finally, we had Author Elizabeth Haydon, who’s works include Rhapsody, The Assassin King, and The Thief Queen’s Daughter.
One of the points brought up is that readers of fantasy don’t care how old the protagonist is. Adults read Harry Potter, kids read Lord of the Rings.
Some of the books covered were:
The Smoke Thief is the first of the new series about a race that can turn from human to dragon. The smoke thief is the first book, and it combines romance, adventure, and mystery.
The women of the underworld series by Kelly Armstrong has strong women that are supernatural creatures like werewolves and demons.
This is a long standing theme with many writers like Kelly Armstrong.
Jim Buitcher’s Dresden Files, is like Sam Spade if he was a wizard. Mystery and magic mixed together. Fantasy Film Noir. A very weird but excellent mix.
One of my favorites is the Thursday Next series, which is a mix of fantasy, sci-fi and detective stories. A world where if you have the original copy of a book you can enter it and change the book. Literary detectives have to keep this from happening, and Thursday Next is one of these detectives. There’s a spin off series to this called the Nursery Crimes series.
The Tales of the Ortori are set in an alternate world based on ancient Japan. This series is by Lian Hearn. This is a fantasy series that appeals very heavily to fans of anime and manga.
Heir to Seven Waters by Juliet Marillier is a fantasy series for teens and adults based on the fairy tale, the seven swans. Her YA series that starts with Wildwood Dancing, is a retelling of the 12 Dancing Princesses with vampires.
Terry Pratchett writes the Diskworld series, a fantasy series that is full of bizarre humor and satire. He is called “The fantasy worlds Douglas Adams” and it’s a well earned title. For folks that loved Hitchhikers Guide for the Galaxy, this is the series to grab.
Sarah Zettel’s series that starts with The Sword of the Deceiver is about an outcast lighthouse keeper’s daughter who is recruited to save an alternate world and finds her own power.
After the review of the fantasy series, Elizabeth Haydon spoke. She talked about librarians. “You folks were the internet before there was an internet” she said. Librarians, Miss Haydon says, are a guardianship of all human knowledge.
The value of librarians is reflected in her books, where a dragon in the next book she is about to publish, the dragon is a librarian.
No one really knows where the fantasy genre is going exactly. Hollywood is obviously using a lot of fantasy, with the Lord Of The Rings and Harry Potter. It’s wonderful, but can backfire and turn readers off of the genre. Subtle fantasy stories are coming out now, mixing more elements into fantasy.
Women too have been changing the genre as well. Many of the changes in fantasy are being created by women. Everyone from Mary Shelly to J.K Rowling, have made huge leaps in the genre.
She spoke about how many realistic fiction like “A Day No Pigs Would Die.”, are sad books that seem to reinforce the idea that life is hard. Fantasy helps to give kids a way to suspend disbelief. She spoke on fables, myths, and fairy tales, and the fact that they are a vital part of literary history. They teach kids to hope, to try and be bigger than they are. Sci-fi was what inspired scientists to try for the space, and get there.
“Fantasy fosters inspiration” She said.
She spoke about not writing to teach, but writing to tell a story. But she says she gets much feedback that she inspires them to see something different, or better themselves. She looks for the people that are most in need of the release and fun of fantasy. Soldiers, inmates, etc, all enjoy her work and find it inspiring. She spoke about being humbled by the idea her work can change lives.
Good messages, one could say morals, show up in an author’s work almost on their own. Things come into an authors work when they write with an open heart, she says. She calls it “Channeling”.
Elizabeth Haydon is a very powerful speaker, who talks about giving people the ability to dream and to hope through reading and fantasy. I’ve never personally thought of fantasy exactly in that way, but when she spoke of that idea it became very clear. A funny, and very caring woman, having heard her I am really eager to get a hold of her work.
You can find more information on Bonnie Kunzel at http://www.bonniekunzel.com
Elizabeth Haydon’s website is at http://www.elizabethhaydon.com/
Susan Fichtelberg’s site can be found at http://www.encounteringenchantment.com/
-Sarah "The Dyslexic Librarian" Hodge-wetherbe, Springfield Public Library
what's new in fantasy
Wow! What's new in Fantasy was great! and what's new in fantasy is lots of really exciting looking materials. I can't wait to start using these folks recommendations to get caught up.
We heard from Bonnie Kunzel - check her website:
www.bonniekunzel.com
and Susan Fichtelberg - check her website, too:
www.encounteringenchantment.com
The gave us a brief overview of the history of the fantasy genre, which really started with Tolkien, and which has gained renewed popularity recently with the advent of the Lord of the Rings movies, and the whole Harry Potter experience.
According to these women these are some of the best of the new:
Shana Abe - shapeshifting dragons!
They say, fangs & fur are in!
Kelley Armstong - werewolves, vampires, witches, demons, etc. Strong women & humor!
Kristen Britain's High King's Tomb, is adventure & shadow men - it's extraordinary!
Bujold's Sharing Knife series is essentially a May/Dec. romance at heart
Jim Butcher's Dresden files are Sam Spade with magic
David Gemmell's incredible Troy trilogy, which was finished by his wife after his death is a non-stop action/love story - very engrossing
Both of these women recommended and loved Elizabeth Haydon. She has a great series, The Symphony of Ages - The Assassin King is the latest. Has romance & time travel. We heard about a testimonial from a middle school boy who says this is the best fantasy ever!
Both also loved Juliet Marillier - she's fabulous! She bases her books on Grimm's tales.
George R R Martin - "The American Tolkien" wrote Ice Dragon which is recommended for5th grade and up.
Sarah Zettel has a series with a lighthouse keepers daughter in WI - She is an outcast and has magical powers but doesn't know. It's a rich, engaging series with a strong protagonist.
Following these wonderful recommendations, we heard from Elizabeth Haydon. She
talked about her love of librarians - she says they were "the internet before there was one."
She has a book Dragonslayer coming out in July.
Ms. Haydon is a strong advocate for the fantasy genre. She feels the emphasis on realistic fiction needs to be tempered with fantasy. Fantasy provides nutrients for the soul. It allows us to learn to dream. It gives us the imagination to allow for possibility and hope, and fosters inspiration.
She doesn't write to teach a lesson- she feels that is arrogance. She is just telling a story. But her mail has shown she has inspired people. There is a "pecking order" to who she responds to first when she hears from her fans. 1) Soldiers in the armed services in other country 2)Those who are incarcerated 3)children 4)those for whom English is a struggle - these are the people most in need of dreaming.
She strongly urged everyone to let publishers know what you want and what you like. They need that input to know which genres to keep and grow.
We heard from Bonnie Kunzel - check her website:
www.bonniekunzel.com
and Susan Fichtelberg - check her website, too:
www.encounteringenchantment.com
The gave us a brief overview of the history of the fantasy genre, which really started with Tolkien, and which has gained renewed popularity recently with the advent of the Lord of the Rings movies, and the whole Harry Potter experience.
According to these women these are some of the best of the new:
Shana Abe - shapeshifting dragons!
They say, fangs & fur are in!
Kelley Armstong - werewolves, vampires, witches, demons, etc. Strong women & humor!
Kristen Britain's High King's Tomb, is adventure & shadow men - it's extraordinary!
Bujold's Sharing Knife series is essentially a May/Dec. romance at heart
Jim Butcher's Dresden files are Sam Spade with magic
David Gemmell's incredible Troy trilogy, which was finished by his wife after his death is a non-stop action/love story - very engrossing
Both of these women recommended and loved Elizabeth Haydon. She has a great series, The Symphony of Ages - The Assassin King is the latest. Has romance & time travel. We heard about a testimonial from a middle school boy who says this is the best fantasy ever!
Both also loved Juliet Marillier - she's fabulous! She bases her books on Grimm's tales.
George R R Martin - "The American Tolkien" wrote Ice Dragon which is recommended for5th grade and up.
Sarah Zettel has a series with a lighthouse keepers daughter in WI - She is an outcast and has magical powers but doesn't know. It's a rich, engaging series with a strong protagonist.
Following these wonderful recommendations, we heard from Elizabeth Haydon. She
talked about her love of librarians - she says they were "the internet before there was one."
She has a book Dragonslayer coming out in July.
Ms. Haydon is a strong advocate for the fantasy genre. She feels the emphasis on realistic fiction needs to be tempered with fantasy. Fantasy provides nutrients for the soul. It allows us to learn to dream. It gives us the imagination to allow for possibility and hope, and fosters inspiration.
She doesn't write to teach a lesson- she feels that is arrogance. She is just telling a story. But her mail has shown she has inspired people. There is a "pecking order" to who she responds to first when she hears from her fans. 1) Soldiers in the armed services in other country 2)Those who are incarcerated 3)children 4)those for whom English is a struggle - these are the people most in need of dreaming.
She strongly urged everyone to let publishers know what you want and what you like. They need that input to know which genres to keep and grow.
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