Loose Change

I grew up reading romances and I get the conventions and the genre. It’s a bit harder for me to get into SF or fantasy, etc. although I did read them as well (I read everything back in the day.) I like my paranormal light – that is, the world makes sense to me in everyday terms and the paranormalness is simply woven into what I’d understand.

(M: Light paranormal -- this from the woman who's M/M Weres like to chase each other down and have nasty buttfucking barely consensual sex. Ignore Treva. She has no clue what she’s talking about.)

I love detailed characterization. I realize I’ll put up with a lot if I love the characters. Plot is still important because if my characters are stuck doing nothing -- or worse, doing something that makes no sense -- I stop reading.

Something else I’ll read for is an author with a clear voice. Authors with very distinct voices tend to have readers who either love or hate their work, but those who love the voice will follow that author through almost any story.

But enough about what I like. Our readers have definite preferences but their preferences can change in the course of a few weeks or months. It’s not a secret that many of our readers like m/m or ménage, and I/R in all genres is still a hit. Intense m/f relationships are important to the market. I have a feeling readers are looking for something else now that the economic climate and mood of the country has changed. It still has to be hot – very hot – and there will always need to be a focus on the primary relationship in the story, of course. I’m thinking our readers are looking for more traditional comfort reads with romantic plots they understand. (M, on the other hand, sees readers gravitating toward work with a more raw, edgy feel. But while the jury’s still out on this one -- one thing’s for sure. Give readers characters they can fall in love with, and they’ll be back for more.)

Treva Harte
www.loose-id.com

Margaret Riley
www.changelingpress.com