Guest Post: Genevieve Ching, Author of the Soulkeepers Series

Are you a reader who only partakes in a specific genre? Do you require romance? Do you fawn over fantasy? Hone in on horror or the spine-tingle of a thriller? If you consistently look toward a specific genre to turn your pages, you may be missing out.

Genre is a slippery thing. While I would consider The Soulkeepers Series to be magical realism, that specific sub-genre boils up to fantasy or paranormal on the young adult shelf. I'm not sure either of these labels captures what my books are, although paranormal comes close. I've had people label my first book as a thriller and others suggest it was literary. The Soulkeepers has also been listed in the mystery category on some websites. Weaving Destiny, the second book in the series, has a powerful romantic arc but I wouldn't categorize it as a romance.

The truth is that my work is cross-genre and if you like any of the categories listed above, you will probably connect with those elements in my story. But to sell a book, authors like me choose the category they think will help the highest number of appropriate readers find their book. For me, that's young adult fantasy, sci-fi, and magic. I struggle with this genre label because I think the work is appropriate for a much wider audience. Certainly my readership, which is comprised of a sizeable number of adults in addition to my YA audience, is as eclectic as the content of my books.

A few years ago, I read a review of Twilight by Stephenie Meyer that said, "The precision and delicacy of Meyer's writing lifts this wonderful novel beyond the limitations of the horror genre to a place among the best of YA fiction." Really? Horror genre? Is there anyone left out there who would consider the Twilight series horror?

It just goes to show you that every great book, on some level, crosses genre barriers. I'm not saying genre is worthless. We need genre as much as we need lines on a map to show us what country we are in. But, as readers, we also need to keep an eye out for those titles that successfully cross borders. 

So, next time you are browsing for a good book, challenge yourself to search outside your usual genre. Take a chance on something new. You might be surprised what treasures you'll find.




G.P. CHING
gpching@gmail.com
www.gpching.com
www.TheSoulkeepersSeries.com
www.DarkSidePublishing.com