Guest Post: Karly Lane on Genre Fiction

May 5, 2016 | Second Chance Town RRP $29.99

A real treat today! Prolific and bestselling Australian author, Karly Lane, has stopped by to talk about how she found her niche. And in breaking news… this week her latest book, SECOND CHANCE TOWN was the top selling Australian Rural Fiction title! A hearty congratulations from LOVEthatBOOK, and a big thank you to her for her making time in her busy schedule to visit with us here on the blog.

GENRE CONFUSION by Karly Lane

Until I began writing seriously, with the aim of hopefully, becoming published, I didn’t even know what a genre was. In fact, that first year of writing was a very steep learning curve for a lot of things, but as I was sitting here trying to decide on a topic I wanted to write about, the whole genre thing came to mind.

Books get put into categories; Thrillers, SciFi, Mystery, and the list goes on. But all of these genres have sub genres, and sometimes those sub genres have sub genres, and pretty soon you end up with a whole lot of confusion when you try to explain what genre you write.

Which leads me to a question I get asked a lot, especially when it comes to appearing on panels at writer’s festivals and being introduced by speakers. What genre do you write? Well, there’s a number of possible genres I fall under.

Possibility one –  Women’s Fiction. This would cover my books, after all, they usually are predominately about women and their journeys. However I hesitate to use this title because as I soon discovered after releasing my first book, I actually have quite a few male readers who write to tell me how much they love the stories too. So I don’t think Women’s Fiction does my readership any favours by excluding men.

Chook lit? Roo lit? Chick lit? Apart from sounding like names of baby animals, these have all been genres used over the last few years, as well. Admittedly it is supposed to be a bit of tongue in cheek, and it does suggest the use of farm animals and wildlife to a certain degree. But a lot of authors detest these genre labels and in all fairness they don’t really give a huge indication of what other topics the storylines may entail. After all, not all of my books have cranky chooks in them… well okay… chooks do feature rather heavily, but not always!

Romance? On the surface, this could also be a realistic genre title. My stories do center around romance, but there’s usually other complex relationships weaving throughout the story as well. Sometimes it’s a cross generational relationship between a mother and a daughter, sometimes between grandmothers and their grandchildren… sometimes between a man and his motor bike (don’t judge. Hugh from SECOND CHANCE TOWN is very attached to his motorbike!)

So you see, even though my books have all of these elements in them, there’s not just one genre that completely describes everything they contain. Which is why the safest title I’ve found is usually Rural Fiction. Or, even more accurate, Australian Rural Fiction. At least this way it lets readers know the story will be set in a rural town.

However, I’m thinking maybe I should go with something like… Karly Lane; Rural, chook lit, women’s fiction, romance, author…

Maybe it’ll be a whole new genre!

ABOUT SECOND  CHANCE TOWN 

Suspenseful, pace-filled and packed with romance, Second Chance Town is a gorgeous new novel from the bestselling Karly Lane, about a single mother doing her best to support her teenage daughter.

Single mother Lucy Parker loves the quiet historical charm of her hometown of Bundah. Raising her teenage daughter Belle can be challenging and, in a small town where everyone knows everyone else’s business, it’s even more daunting than usual.

Newcomer Hugh Thompson is determined to put his chequered history behind him. Excited by the potential he sees in Bundah, he buys a rundown pub with big plans for a fresh start. But not long after Hugh’s arrival, a spate of teenage drug overdoses starts to divide the locals and there are whispers they might be connected to the reclusive new publican who has a somewhat dark and mysterious past.

When Belle suddenly starts hanging out with the wrong kids and experimenting with alcohol, Lucy becomes fearful that drugs will be next. The very last thing she needs is for a man like Hugh to come along and disrupt her life. But it seems fate has other ideas . . .

Suspenseful and romantic, Second Chance Town is about fulfilling your dreams in life and love.

ABOUT KARLY

Karly Lane lives on the beautiful Mid North Coast of NSW in Australia. A certified small town girl, she is most happy in a little town where everyone knows who your grandparents were. Karly is the author of several bestselling novels, including POPPY’S DILEMMA, NORTH STAR, MORGAN’S LAW, BRIDIE’S CHOICE and TALLOWOOD BOUND.

You can find out more at www.karlylane.com