From Our Blog
As I turned to face the thousands of options lining my library’s shelves, I asked my librarian, “How do you pick which books to read?” I hoped that she might tip me off to a trade journal or confirm the importance of word-of-mouth recommendations.
Her neck blushed pink before she paused and leaned toward me. “To be honest? I read books based on their covers.”
A nervous laugh seemed to indicate …
A Deep Dive into Fantasy Fiction
Finding the exact origins of the fantasy genre can be as elusive as defining its boundaries in today’s marketplace.
While it was once an add-on to the realms of science fiction and horror, the popularity of fantasy fiction, with all its variations, continues to grow. Oprahdaily.com touted 2022 as a “spectacular year for fantasy fiction.” A January 2023 Publishers Weekly article noted that adult…
For the Thrill of It!
Thrillers are the third-ranked fiction genre, according to Bookscan. On the Kindle side, K-lytics ranks “Mystery/Thriller/Suspense” third as well, with thrillers leading the category. As of August 2021, analytics firm The NPD Group, which owns Bookscan, said, “The evergreen staple of summer reading, thrillers make up nearly one in eight adult fiction books sold.”
That said, the market overall s…
Crafting the Cozy Mystery
Cozy mysteries have been popular since the days of Agatha Christie. Readers enjoy these stories that are a subgenre of the traditional mystery. Detective stories, police procedurals, and courtroom dramas also fall under the mystery umbrella. In a traditional mystery, there’s a murder that must be solved. Missing persons or theft are other possibilities, as long as they present a puzzle for read…