This is an epic love story between a Zombie named Zelda and a Vampire named Victor, set in Victorian England. They use steam-powered jet packs to travel around since the streets are teeming with hungry, lusty vampires and zombies who want to drink their blood and eat their brains (and totally make out with them any chance they get). They are of course, angst-ridden teens whose only goal in life is to listen to sad music and die their hair black. Zelda and Victor meet in an interesting turn of events, when all the adult vampires and zombies banish the teens to a desolate, bomb-ridden, nuclear wasteland because they are just too angsty and dramatic all the time. The teens must fight for their lives, whilst fighting each other (and making out) all the while trying to make a life for themselves (because who wants to go back to their parents??). Thrown together by chance, Zelda and Victor must determine what they want more- to stay with their own kind and live separate zombie and vampire existences , or throw away their un-lives and popularity for a chance at true love.VZESFN is about 150,000 words and I'm about halfway through. What do you think?
Okay you caught me...I really didn't write a book like that. And I don't plan to. Want to know why? Because by the time I write that book, find an agent, sell it, and get it published, all those trends will be gone and something new will be in it's place. (plus it totally sucks big time- who wants to date a zombie? Ew.)
That's why every agent, every author that's ever been published, and every editor say don't write the trends! Because by the time you do, they'll be fizzled out. Vampires are totally yesterday, Zombies are already on their way out and although Steampunk is getting up there, it'll lose its ahem...steam, by the time I get it out.
Soo....Just write what you love, and what you are passionate about. If it happens to be a trend, do it! It just better be so darn stinkin good that agents will be knocking down your door for a chance to represent you. It better be fresh. Because they get HUNDREDS of queries a day for vampire, zombie and ghost books. They are over it. Done.
I love fantasy. Particularly YA fantasy. I think that genre has been pretty steady- it has had its ups and downs, but I think there will always be room for some kind of fantasy. I hope there will, because that's what I plan to write. That's my niche. I LOVE to read it and have since elementary school. I can't see myself writing anything other than fantasy, but don't quote me on that of course. I could slip into the magical realism or paranormal if I think of something that will blow the socks off Ms. Meyer or Ms. Rowling. Or at least blow the socks off their fans enough to read it.
What do you think the next trend will be? Are we going to go completely away from paranormal and into say, mysteries for teens? Or are there going to be more genre-blending like VZESFN? If you are going to write the next trend, don't think about what it might be and just write it. Maybe your book will set it off.
