What's the first thing that comes to mind when I say...

Status
Not open for further replies.
Mr. E

Mr. E

Super Member
Registered
Joined
May 11, 2007
Messages
84
Reaction score
25
Location
Foraging in the wetlands
..."Supernatural Thriller"?

Ghosts? Vampires? Any pre-1990 Stephen King?

Is there room in there for good old fashioned demons and/or angels? Or are they perched on their own sub-genre branch farther up in the tree?

Help!
 
Sassee

Sassee

Momma Wolf
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 25, 2007
Messages
2,267
Reaction score
449
Location
Thataway
Website
sasseebioche.blogspot.com
I saw "super" and immediately thought Superman.

But... demons are fun! :)

Dictionary.reference.com says:

–adjective
1. of, pertaining to, or being above or beyond what is natural; unexplainable by natural law or phenomena; abnormal.
2. of, pertaining to, characteristic of, or attributed to God or a deity.
3. of a superlative degree; preternatural: a missile of supernatural speed.
4. of, pertaining to, or attributed to ghosts, goblins, or other unearthly beings; eerie; occult.

–noun
5. a being, place, object, occurrence, etc., considered as supernatural or of supernatural origin; that which is supernatural, or outside the natural order.
6. behavior supposedly caused by the intervention of supernatural beings.
7. direct influence or action of a deity on earthly affairs.
8. the supernatural,
a. supernatural beings, behavior, and occurrences collectively.
b. supernatural forces and the supernatural plane of existence: a deep fear of the supernatural.
Click to expand...

So yes, demons and angels could fall under that category.
 
Robyn

Robyn

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 26, 2007
Messages
276
Reaction score
8
Location
Texas (for now)
Website
www.rgporter.net
after last night An American Haunting.. but honestly.. go for it w/ Demons.. went to a conference this weekend and most of the publisher's that spoke were looking for books that had demons and the such in it.
 

Jack Nog

Brain-farts are useful too.
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 2, 2007
Messages
379
Reaction score
50
Location
The Looney Bin
Robyn said:
went to a conference this weekend and most of the publisher's that spoke were looking for books that had demons and the such in it.
Click to expand...

Well Hot Damn! My WIP happens to be about possession. SWEET
 
Michael Dracon

Michael Dracon

Urban Fantasy Geek
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 9, 2007
Messages
267
Reaction score
14
ccarver30 said:
LOL Dean has the best lines ever. Too bad last week was the season finale! :( Hopefully it comes back in the fall...
Click to expand...

Supernatural was also my first guess.

And yes, it is confirmed, they will be back for season 3!:hooray:
 

BarbJ

Super Member
Registered
Joined
May 7, 2006
Messages
700
Reaction score
155
Always room for demons and angels. The reading public's attention may have wandered away for a moment, but it will return. People like the basic good vs. evil motif, and you can't get more basic than the fallen/unfallen supernatural beings.
 
CheshireCat

CheshireCat

Mostly purring. Mostly.
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 27, 2007
Messages
1,842
Reaction score
661
Location
Mostly inside my own head.
Mr. E said:
..."Supernatural Thriller"?

Ghosts? Vampires? Any pre-1990 Stephen King?

Is there room in there for good old fashioned demons and/or angels? Or are they perched on their own sub-genre branch farther up in the tree?

Help!
Click to expand...


According to my agent, there are two different "branches" currently in the paranormal/supernatural tree. The most common -- to the point of glutting the market, at least in some editors' eyes -- contain the more fantasy elements of the supernatural/paranormal, like vampires and werewolves, witches, wizards and other "magical" beings.

The second branch, and what I hear is more common in thrillers, are the slightly-eerie-and-definitely-not-ordinary elements that include psychic abilities, hauntings, science-gone-wrong, and stuff like that.

Some editors certainly are drawing a distinction between magical-supernatural and it-could-happen-supernatural; the trick is to figure out where that line is with the editor/house/line you're targeting.
 
underthecity

underthecity

Finestkind
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 13, 2005
Messages
3,126
Reaction score
768
Location
Near Cincinnati
Website
www.allensedge.com
CheshireCat said:
The second branch, and what I hear is more common in thrillers, are the slightly-eerie-and-definitely-not-ordinary elements that include psychic abilities, hauntings, science-gone-wrong, and stuff like that.
Click to expand...

Thanks for adding this. My book falls into this category. There is no magic or vampires. But there are psychic abilities, hauntings, and plenty of science-gone-wrong. And boy, science goes very wrong in this one. ;)

allen
 
CheshireCat

CheshireCat

Mostly purring. Mostly.
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 27, 2007
Messages
1,842
Reaction score
661
Location
Mostly inside my own head.
underthecity said:
Thanks for adding this. My book falls into this category. There is no magic or vampires. But there are psychic abilities, hauntings, and plenty of science-gone-wrong. And boy, science goes very wrong in this one. ;)

allen
Click to expand...

Sounds interesting. IMO, there are too many of the fantasy/magical books out there right now; I've been in this business long enough to be fairly sure that cycle is winding down, mostly because, as always, too many publishers jumped on the bandwagon and glutted the market. (Not talking about Fantasy here, but thrillers/suspense novels with paranormal/supernatural elements.) The psychic/haunting/science-gone-wrong branch isn't nearly so overloaded with fruit, so the good stuff has a better chance of getting picked.

So to speak. :)

I mean, a girl can mix her metaphors, right? Bandwagons and ripe fruit?


I think I'm brain-dead. Which means it must be Friday.
 

AJ Clare

Don't get me started
Super Member
Registered
Joined
May 23, 2007
Messages
76
Reaction score
10
First thing that comes to my mind is Henry James' 'The Turn of The Screw', but allegedly nobody is buying those kind of old school scaries anymore. More fool them, I reckon.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.