by Veronica Scott
Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to look into the future and know what the hot trends were going to be in the scifi romance field? Especially if you were trying to write to market?
I do a New Releases report every week on my blog, and have
been doing it for well over a year now, and through that lens I can kind of see
the trends as they develop, if not in advance.
Because of the sheer volume of new releases I look at in three genres
every week – SFR, PNR and FantasyR – and the many sources I use (including
authors sending me information) I do get a feel for what may be ‘hot’ soon.
Reverse harem stories for one. I’ve been seeing a gradual increase in the
number of them across all genres and in fact just interviewed some RH authors
for my USA Today Happy Ever After platform. Definitely a growing favorite with
a lot of readers.
Dragon shifters – I saw that one coming and sure enough,
every week I have more and more dragon-themed stories. There are certain
authors I watch (my little trade secret) and I have no idea how they figure it out, but if one of them
suddenly starts releasing novels with a purple penguin shifter hero (to be
ridiculous), I’ll know that’s the next hot place to be if you’re trying to
write to market. In all honesty, I think the dragon craze may have been helped
by the popularity of the character Daenarys Targaryen, Mother of Dragons in the
‘Game of Thrones’ TV series. Always a good idea to pay heed to what’s being
presented and getting a lot of buzz in the movies and on TV.
Time travel is on a slight uptick…hello, ‘Outlander’….and
probably also due to many really well done historical programs which are
piquing reader interest in past times.
I’m seeing a new trend right now, of using the standard
tropes from category romance – secret babies, billionaires, stepbrothers, fake
fiancées and on and on – and just moving them bodily over to the SFR and PNR
genres. And putting all those key words right into the title!
I hear whispers that cozy SFR will be next and when you
figure that formula out, let me know because I want to write something that can
have one of those adorable cozy covers! I do think the Ilona Andrews Innkeeper
series could almost fall into this category. It’ll be interesting to see how
‘cozy’ gets redefined for scifi romance if it happens.
And I’m betting on the continued popularity of fairy tales
and the whole “marry a prince” trope, thanks to Harry and Meghan.
I don’t write to market, as it happens. I write what I write
– that’s what my Muse presents to me to put on the paper (or into the computer)
and what I enjoy reading the most as well, so I’m only an observer of these
specific trends. The nice thing about being independently published is that if
I did want to try to jump on a hot trend, I have the flexibility to do so and
get a properly edited book out in 4-6 weeks, versus the much longer timetable
at a trad pub house. And once established, a popular subgenre like cyborg
romances tend to remain favorites with readers for a long time and as they
evolve, creative authors think of new twists and fun developments to keep the
stories fresh.
What trend do you see coming? Or wish would take off with readers?
There was fortune telling of a different sort in my most recent
scifi romance, The Fated Stars, with
my hero Samell being an alien empath held captive and forced to deliver fake
fortunes while he was actually spying. Here’s a short excerpt from the book
where Samell and Larissa, my kickass space mercenary heroine, are discussing
what he does. The conversation is taking place mind to mind, in a dream. Samell
is speaking
“The most venerated
legends of my race are about warriors and priestesses, and the noble deeds they
accomplished together. Rarely, if ever, do the stories feature a priest and a
female warrior, although we’ve had many famous women fighters in our history.
You intrigued me, Larissa Channer, on many levels.”
“You can cut the
flattery—it doesn’t work on me. Better men than you have tried.”
He surveyed her from
head to toe with open admiration. “Their loss.”
“I’m gonna wake myself
up in a minute, if you continue this chatter. Or touch me again without my
permission, even in a dream.” She took a deep breath because despite her stern
warning, she was craving his touch and wanted to run her hands freely over his
body. Her attraction to him was scary in intensity, so unlike her. “Stick to
the facts.”
“As you prefer. I told
you the truth—I’m a prisoner and Kinterow forces me to do his bidding. I
extract information from certain minds, as the controller commands. I deliver
meaningless ‘fortunes’ to anyone who enters the tent, based on what my power to
read emotions tells me the person most wants to hear.”
“So you’re a
telepathic empath.”
“You can categorize my
gifts from Thuun as you wish.”
“Why did you lie to
the sheriff? Why didn’t you take the chance I gave you?” She couldn’t keep the
bitterness out of her tone. “You let me take big risks for nothing.”
“I’m one of many
kidnapped from my world. Kinterow threatened the lives of the others if I said
anything but what he commanded to the sheriff. He says he holds many Tulavarran
imprisoned.”
“Did you ever consider
he could be lying?”
Samell leaned closer.
“He also threatened to have you killed in the prison if I disobeyed.”
She snorted. “I’d like
to have seen him try.”
The story:
Larissa Channer, a tough no-nonsense mercenary in the
Sectors, is celebrating success on her last job and a big bonus, with no
slightest thought of taking on another assignment anytime soon. Out for a night
of carousing with her friends at a third rate carnival on a backwater planet,
she walks into the tent of a fake fortune teller and finds herself confronting
the most intriguing man she’s ever seen. But something’s wrong, ominous
currents lie beneath the surface of their encounter and Larissa can’t leave
well enough alone.
Samell, a powerful, high born empathic priest, has been
kidnapped from his own primitive planet along with a number of his people, and
sold to the shady operator of an interstellar carnival. Kept enslaved,
pretending to be a fortune teller while forced by his captor to steal
information from the minds of all who come before him, Samell despairs of every
breaking free.
Until Larissa walks into his tent and he recognizes the warrior
who might mean the difference between life and death.
The situation becomes dire when Larissa and Samell come to
the attention of the Shemdylann pirates who kidnapped him in the first place
and the deadly Mawreg, aliens who threaten the Sectors. Can she save herself
and the empathic alien noble, and derail the Mawreg plot against the Sectors?
And will the soldier end up with her prince when all’s said and done?
“SciFi Encounters” columnist for the USA Today Happy Ever
After blog
Veronica Scott grew
up in a house with a library as its heart. Dad loved science fiction, Mom loved
ancient history and Veronica thought there needed to be more romance in
everything. When she ran out of books to read, she started writing her own
stories.
Seven time winner of the SFR Galaxy Award, as well as a
National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award, Veronica is also the proud
recipient of a NASA Exceptional Service Medal relating to her former day job,
not her romances!
She was honored to
read the part of Star Trek Crew Member in the audiobook production of Harlan
Ellison’s “The City On the Edge of Forever.”
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vscotttheauthor
Great post. I agree with you -- there are certain trend-spotter authors who always seem to be ahead of the curve. You're in a good position to jump in early!
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