the young adult genre. whether its
as a writer, wondering what the next
"hot" new thing is or as a reader. vampires
seem to remain strong (i admit anne
rice had me at lestat on this one) as
well as dystopian novels thanks to
The Hunger Games success.
below are three young adult trends.
what would you like to read more about
within paranormal books? be it young adult
or adult? what paranormals have you read
lately that seems trendy and you enjoyed?
mermaids :
fallen angels :
faeries :
and last but not least, i'm thrilled to reveal my Fury of the Phoenix cover with a small blurb from the harpercollins catalog!
Cindy Pon’s debut novel Silver Phoenix was called “fluid and exhilarating” in a starred review from Booklist, and Meg Cabot called it “an addictive gem.” In this companion novel, seventeen-year-old Ai Ling—her powers stronger than ever—stows away aboard a cargo ship in order to protect devastatingly handsome Chen Yong during his quest to locate his father. Masquerading as brother and sister, Ai Ling and Chen Yong face demonic predators on the ocean voyage, but their biggest threat comes from the kingdom of the dead. Part supernatural page-turner, part love story, and altogether stirring, Fury of the Phoenix further heralds the arrival of Cindy Pon as a stellar author of paranormal romance and fantasy.
Fury is out 3/29/2011 and i'm working hard
on revisions now. i'm very excited!
22 comments:
first! =)
i love demon's myself. sarah rees brennan's demon's lexicon and demon's covenant being favorite reads.
also really enjoyed lisa mantchev's eyes like stars and perchance to dream, theatre inspired fantasy.
i found both very well written and original!
Lovely cover, Cindy. At what an awesome blurb! Definitely on my must-read list.... if I can keep my daughter from pinching it, LOL.
We both loved Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. It's been described as "a lush, Southern Gothic". Wonderful!
Mmm. Trends. All we can say is keep 'em coming, because we love 'em all!
Congrat Cindy!!!! Can't wait for the sequel!!!!
I totally loved TLC's Forgive My Fins(and I know she's already got a sequel on the way)!!!!
I also, totally agree with Maree--
Beautiful Creatures was so good--it felt familiar and different at the same time.
I'm feeling in kind of a witchy mood right now, hoping for something from L.J. Smith or Cate Tiernan, but in general I love all the paranormals.
I might be a little hesitant on angels though, because I had a hard time getting into Fallen--I'm on the fence, because there were some really good parts, but I was really disappointed that we never got a full backstory, even at the end--because the main character wasn't able to remember all her past lives without detrimental repercussions--So I got to the end and felt frustrated and cheated instead of satisfied.
A big trend right now seems to be sequels, which I kind of like, because I get more of my favorite authors and favorite characters--And even though there can be an overall arc, I really think each book needs to be able to stand on it's own--Which is my problem with Fallen, I think it leaves too much to be answered by future books.
I'm 35yrs old and LOVE LOVE LOVE YA
I especially loved Hush Hush and Fallen and cant wait for both of the follow up books in these series.
Angels are the best and throw in a little demon and i'm there!!!
I'm a big fan of paranormal romance and urban fantasy but have really found that young adult novels rock (i pre read alot for my 12 year old daughter!!)
Thanks for the great blog:)
Cath (New Zealand)
I'm really not sure I want to be in a trend. Unless I'm THE book and the others get compared to me :)
Beautiful cover!
I know there are trends, but I think the more variety out there the better. I have been attracted to angels/demons and what not cause there hasn't been much out there and what I have read has been good.
Sounds great Cindy!
I like all paranormal really, though I read a lot more of vampires then anything else. I do enjoy a book with a mix though. Kim Harrison's The Hollows does a very good job with mixing, she's got just about every paranormal creature in those.
@ nymfaux; I was a bit disappointed at the end of Fallen too and I hate that because I enjoyed the rest of the book. There's been a couple YA novels that I've read that were like that. It's like, that's it? But I'll check out her next one Torment, might make up for the end of Fallen. =)
Hope everyone has a great day, Happy Friday Eve!
I will read Fury, but know that I loved the original cover for the first book much better than the new ones.
I think Fallen Angels because they are similar in the theme of Vampires but have a different twist
alex, i love my original cover too. it is stunning!
i think blogger ate my original post. hoorah for all the YA love! i havent read every book i listed here. but i did read Beautiful Creatures and love the different setting and goth feel definitely. am really looking forward to Beautiful Darkness!
i think there's a lot of exciting things happening in YA that many adult readers would enjoy if they gave it a try.
I still love basically anything paranormal. Mermaids and fallen angels are my favorites, though!
I love them all! Sometimes I think one subject best but then I seem to 'overdose' on it and need a change. I love the ones that are kind of on their own as well like Eyes Like Stars and Perchance to Dream by Lisa Mantchev and Beautiful Creatures by Cami Marcia and Margarette Stohl. So many great books, and yes, I love them all!
And your book looks/sounds great! Can't WAIT for the release!
I've loved vampire paranormal fiction for a long time. (I even wrote about it for the Pop Candy blog on USA Today earlier this week!) But, I read a lot of other YA and adult paranormal romance/urban fantasy, including many on your list. I've got some of these on my request list with the local library (as well as your book). I don't know how to feel about angel books -- they seem like a retread of vampires (brooding, beautiful and dangerous) -- while faeries seem to be pretty ever-present (I read the Holly Black series years ago). But, the jury's still out on mermaid books -- we'll see if I like Forgive My Fins once I get it from the library!
lorena, awesome you are reading so widely in YA. i really love mermaids so am definitely curious about this new trend. i'm looking forward to reading the mermaid books!!
Oh, I love mermaids... but I'm not telling why. :)
I think I'll add Ballad and Lament by Maggie Stiefvater on here too.
I LOVE your hardback cover of your first book, Cindy. I wish they didn't change it. Can't wait for the second book. :)
Wouldn't it be cool to be the one who STARTS the trend? I try not to think about current trends because by time I get a project done it will have changed by then. As far as reading, I like to jump around usually, but sometimes I get on a kick and read everything I can find on a particular theme. I'm finding demons fascinating right now, but I also love YA and adult books involving the Fae.
Beautiful Cover Cindy!
@Crystal--that was totally my reaction!!!
@Cindy, I'm glad you mentioned your cover--I know how personal they are, and didn't want to say anything--It IS a beautiful cover--but I still don't see why they couldn't use an Asian girl on the cover, especially since they're covering half her face anyway!
I think it's a little sad, but if it means more people will be reading your kick-a** books, then that's what matters, because the story is what counts!!!
Congrats!!!
melisa and nym, believe me, i love my original cover. i think it's stunning. and so does my publisher. they gave it to me, afterall! i'm grateful to reach a wider audience, i hope, with the repackaged paper back and sequel. (it will have chinese details on the jacket and my own brush art as chapter headers!)
and believe me, i know what it's like to be writing against trends.
i can only write what i am passionate for, and it happens to be chinese inspired historical-like fantasy. with demons and my own version of zombies. and of course #cuteasianboys. haha!
and i don't think that the authors who happen to be a trend wrote to that trend either. many take years to get published. sometimes, these things just happen. every writer does what works for them!
@Cindy can't wait to see your brush art in your book--that's such a great tie-in!!!!--And I loved the ones you put up on your last post, they really help carry the mood!
I'm really enjoying the fallen angels because right now I'm reading Thomas Sniegoski's The Fallen and absolutely loving it. Hush, Hush has been on my list to check out for a while as well.
nym, thank you! i love doing brush art! it's free therapy for me. =D there is some calligraphy in Silver Phoenix as chapter headers but i'm hoping to do art for the sequel.
john, it's great to see a guy who loves paranormal!
Yikes. I tried to post earlier and couldn't.
Cindy, Love your post! Hmmm, trends. For me, the trend that I've most enjoyed probably isn't a trend at all, but I love it when YA books have a strong, literary voice. I really enjoyed Ash and The Forest of Hands and Teeth.
Looking forward to seeing you at Comic Con!
=)
Post a Comment