Please welcome guest blogger MARY ANN LOESCH. Mary Ann is an
award winning fiction writer whose novel Nephilim
was published by Lyrical Press Inc. You can learn more about her at www.maryannloesch.com or visit her
blog, Loesch’s Muse.
The Fun of Cross
Genre Writing—All Things Dark and Dastardly
I love reading mysteries or watching true crime shows on
television. I admit to a horrible addiction to Dateline and 48 Hours Mysteries. My husband calls me an armchair detective, and
when I notice myself analyzing the latest crime stories on the news, I have to
agree with him. I’m crazy for the
mystery!
But I don’t write in the mystery genre. I’m an urban fantasy, horror, speculative
fiction writer all the way. If it goes bump in the night, it’s because of a
werewolf, vampire, or psychotic angel (yeah, they’re out there!) It’s never
because of some husband cashing in on insurance fraud or vengeance from an
angry wife. Of course, I think there is
often an element of mystery in urban fantasy, horror, or even science fiction.
It’s only the characters and the supernatural elements that make it a different
genre.
When my writing group, All Things Writing, decided it was
time to put together an anthology of our short stories, we weren’t sure how well
that would work. Comprised of Steve Metze,
Kaye George, and myself, All Things Writing is a mix of
eclectic people with a strong love of the written word. The challenge was that none
of us write in the same genre! The only thing we could see that linked our
writing was the need to write short stories that had dark elements. Very dark.
Sometimes even dastardly….
Viola! From that darkness came our anthology, All Things Dark and Dastardly. A
collection of thirteen short stories edited by the delightful Ramona DeFelice Long, this book is a
fun walk down a very twisted path of prose. With titles like Finger in My
Soup, Aliens vs. Fat Bastard, and Balls,
the All Things Dark and Dastardly
book provides the reader with a cross mix of genres that we hope will intrigue
and cause a page turning frenzy. Each
story is a little taste of urban fantasy, horror, mystery and even science
fiction with a common link of unsettling darkness.
The process of putting together an anthology can either make
or break a writing group. After all, you have to commit your time and energy
into editing, meeting deadlines, and agreeing on the promotion plan. Luckily, I
can walk away from the experience feeling like I’ve grown as a person and as a
writer. Because of our desire to write in the differing genres, I’ve had the
opportunity to study my fellow writers' genres of choice a bit closer. I think
that is something many authors could benefit from! Observing Kaye and Steve’s
work taught me how to edit manuscripts other than my own, provided
invaluable writing techniques, and made me think about tweaking some of my
processes. I’m not ready to sit down and write a mystery novel yet, but I can
see it in my future.
Hmmm…but then again, it might need to be enhanced with a
witch or two. Maybe a banshee. They never get enough play in stories these
days…
You can purchase your copy of All Things Dark and Dastardly at Amazon or by visiting our
website All
Things Writing.
3 comments:
I think it's a mistake to stick to one genre only, too, Mary Ann. Most of my work is mystery, but other elements seep in, even in one of the stories in this volume. I read everything--eventually I'll probably write lots of different genres. And I had fun learning about your writing and Steve's too, putting this together! Many thanks to Ramona for strengthening my work!
Cross Genre has always been interesting for me. I write it and read it.
Patg
It's a fun collection...well, except for the scary parts.
It was my pleasure to work with these daring writers.
Post a Comment