Winged Effigy: Urban Fantasy

Showing posts with label Urban Fantasy. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

What Current Supernatural Species is in Fashion?

HAPPY AUGUST! In the land of Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy, and other works of speculative fiction we've had the vampire inundation, the werewolf takeover leading to a slew of were-creatures, then witches, mermaids, aliens who become vampires, faeries, immortal Knights Templar, dragons, demons, and even, this past year, vampire angels. Now I am seeing angels everywhere. Well, I am not seeing angels like at the store or anything, we have meds for that. I am however seeing them on my bookshelf quite often.

I don't know if this is an actual thing that's happening. I have heard people say that this or that kind of "supe" is the new vampire. But then another vampire series starts or continues and we're all over it. What do you think? Is there a new supe in [book]town? What do you think it is? Or do you think it's just a phenomenon of "seeing angels everywhere."

Painting update: The flower scene is slightly ahead. Look for a new painted post in a few days.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

GENRIFICATION

POCKET AFTER DARK SCREEN CAPTURE

Has anyone ever wondered why some publishers use one taxonomy to place books into categories like Urban Fantasy or Paranormal Romance but online book retailers do not use the same lexicon? For example, big six publisher, Simon and Schuster on their Pocket after Dark site helpfully uses Urban Fantasy. Now look at Amazon or B & N. Do you see Urban Fantasy? Random House offers a listing for Fiction & Literature/Fantasy Genre with Urban Life and Paranormal as two of many sub-genres.

I imagine it's a question of semantics. But, my preference is that things are called what I think they should be called. That's kind of like thinking that people in all countries should speak English, but it would make buying books easier for me.

AMAZON.COM Screen Capture

Barnes & Noble
Screen Capture

Avon Romance a Harper Collins Imprint divides up their category into sub-genres, one of which is Paranormal. They also have a Time Travel heading. But Harper Collins uses Fantasy categories that don't include Urban just General and Contemporary.

There are people who believe that the categories are quite set and well defined with minimal cross over. I have read posts about this but cannot point to one. I don't think I believe that simply because I don't see it being identified consistently through out the industry. As soon as it were to be "absolute" it would be railed against, hated and denounced, or, somoeone would invent a new genre that just didn't fit into the definitions, like Insect Characters Mystery Thrillers. That will be a new one!

Saturday, April 7, 2012

Know Your Demon: Succubus versus Incubus

Jon Stewart (Image via RottenTomatoes.com)

A really flattering photo of Dick Cheney, Vice President
of the United States (ret)
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

For a long time I was confused about Succubus versus incubus. This confusion began before I got so deeply involved in paranormal literature with THE DAILY SHOW and Jon Stewart. He used to call Vice President Cheney, President Bush's "Allergic to Light Succubus Sidekick." Now, I adore Jon Stewart and think his show is one of the most vital things in the political media. It's unevenly done, but I think it is generally the kind of comedy that highlights the truth no one wants brought out. But, as much as I may dislike Vice President Cheney's policy, I do believe he is male and as all of us who read PNR or Urban Fantasy know a succubus is a female lust or sex demon/ghost. A male sex demon or lust daemon is an INcubus. Therefore Cheney could not have been a succubus but may have been an, In,...no, no, let's not go there. There's nothing that would put me off romance faster than that image.*

Here is Wikipedia's definition: An incubus,..., is a demon in male form who, according to a number of mythological and legendary traditions, lies upon sleepers, especially women, in order to have intercourse with them. Its female counterpart is the succubus.... Religious tradition holds that repeated intercourse with an incubus or succubus may result in the deterioration of health, or even death.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incubus

Succubus (Photo credit: aa7ae)

It's probably no mystery that it is easier to find images of sexy succubi than incubi with the whole men being more into visual stimuli thing. And, there's that whole men controlling art for centuries thing too. In fact, lest women be enticed to congress with incubi, it is pretty recent they are depicted as sexy at all. Before then, they were the stuff of nightmare, not dreams.

* I have no ill will towards Cheney, he is recovering from very serious surgery and I wish him a speedy recovery.