Week 6

Assignment # 1:
USA Today's Happy Ever After has a nice mix of author interviews, and recommendations. I liked that the reviewers came right out and said what they liked about each book they reviewed. For romance readers, this would also be a fascinating website since it has many interviews with popular romance authors. As someone who doesn't read romances, this helped me come to know some of the authors better.

Assignment #3:
Regency Romances--I looked at the fan site Risky Regencies, which I found through the Regency Chapter of the Romance Writers of America's website. This seems to be one that updates frequently. Many of the posts are from the authors themselves, allowing fans to comment and interact with their favorite authors. They also have a lot of helpful links for fans--some for websites about the Regency time period, others to review sites. This really intrigued me. I don't read regency romances like the ones on Risky Regencies, but I am a fan of books written during the Regency period, like Jane Austen. So I was fascinated to see how important information like Regency dress was to these readers.

Some noted Regency Romance writers are Julia Quinn, Georgette Heyer, and Mary Balogh. Appeal factors of the genre are the characterization and the setting. Much of the discussion on this website surrounds the heroes and heroines of the novels. As well, there is a heavy focus in terms of external links on the page about the Regency setting and learning more about it.


Medical Thrillers--I found the fan site Science Thrillers through a google search. The website has a number of reviews, as well as contests for fans to win copies of upcoming books.These fans seem to be excited about the medical science behind the books they're reading. There's a fair amount of discussion about the actual science on the website. The buzz seems to be divided between the science behind the books, and excitement for upcoming titles. There's also a lot of posts tagged under "like Michael Crichton," meaning fans like sharing the titles they find similar.

Three important authors in the subgenre are Michael Chrichton, Robin Cook, and James Rollins. Medical thrillers are appealing first because of their fast pace. Fans also enjoy them because they are filled with suspense. These readers also enjoy the medical details in the books.

Urban Fantasy--The fan site, All Things Urban Fantasy, is very excited about anything with a paranormal element to it. Their tag line is "Where para is normal." There are a lot of upcoming titles that they are excited about, they have frequent posts with titles, reviews, and giveaways for upcoming books. There really does seem to be a mix of things that these readers are excited about given the range of titles on the fan site. I found this website through a search for urban fantasy.

Three big authors in the urban fantasy subgenre are Patricia Briggs, Kim Harrison, and Nalini Singh.The hallmarks of this subgenre are elements of the paranormal, like vampires and werewolves, and fast-paced, action-packed plots.


Mash-ups--A series like Deborah Harkness All Souls Trilogy could be considered a mash-up of contemporary fantasy and time travel, though set in modern day, witch and vampire travel back in time find out the truth about a magical manuscript.

Diana Gabaldon's Outlander meanwhile could be seen as a mash-up of historical, historical romance and time travel. Claire Randall accidentally travels back in time, and ends up living in Scotland during the Jacobite Rebellion, where she meets Jamie Fraser, who eventually becomes her love interest.