Favorite Genres with Author Mandy Fender | Guest Post

I am the thirty-year-old woman who walks into the library or bookstore and heads straight for the YA section and I have absolutely no shame in that. Anyone else with me? Sometimes the teens will look at me, but I just smile and keep browsing the awesome adventures before me. There is just something about YA authors and their writing styles that I love. It also helps that the content is cleaner in YA, not always, but most of the time.

So if I had to choose my favorite genre within YA it would be the dystopian category. Writers who dare to share their views, thoughts, and themes on the end of the world intrigue me. Needless to say, I LOVE the popular ones such as The Hunger Games series, Divergent Series, and The 5th Wave series (I know, I know a little cliché but I can’t help it). I devour Rick Yancey’s writing but one pet peeve of mine is cursing. I hate it. I do not cuss, so to me, cursing is not normal and adds nothing to the story. And it seems Yancey loves to add it in, which I have to say, does hinder my overall reading experience. I mean, when you can use any word or even make up your own words there is no need for the ridiculousness of curse words. Okay, rant over.

And since it seems the majority of these books are being made into movies I ask:

Movie or Book for these Dystopias?

My answer: Book…always the book. I read Maze Runner and then watched the movie, the book wins for sure, then I watched Scorch Trials without reading the book and was so surprised. I mean, where did the zombies come from? I must read the book. Another example is The Giver. I actually watched the movie first then read the book and still liked the book better. Dystopian books make good movies but can never compare to the original writing.

I have also recently found incredible Christian YA authors. Nadine Brandes’ Out of Time series is amazing. Angie Brashear is a fantasy author whose series Legend of the Woodlands is incredible. The Anomaly series by Krista McGee is a must read for Christian dystopia readers. And I really want to read books from Tricia Mingerink and Jaye L. Knight, I hear great things about their books! There are so many more Christian writers than I realized. My horizons are being broadened in the Christian market and these are the books that I will pass along to my daughter who loves to read! I am so thankful for Christian publishers and writers!

At the end of the day, I am really all over the place with my reading because I also love biographies and books based on true stories. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand remains one of my favorites. Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers also holds a special place in my heart, so really if the story has meaning to me I am going to cherish it. I am looking at you, C.S. Lewis. I love his work and his heart to share the gospel through it. Works that live on show the power within the written word. It’s simply wondrous.

Books give life to something within me that I can’t quite explain. It opens my imagination and makes me want to create, write, and inspire. As a writer, I understand the hard work that goes into creating an entire world where characters must reach an audience beyond the surface. I like characters who are real and raw, who grow within the story.

Writing isn’t easy but reading a good book is. When my writing stresses me out, I turn to reading because it reminds me it is possible to create something beautiful, you just have to be patient and put in the work.

Keep reading and keep writing!

Mandy Fender

--> Mandy Fender lives in the great state of Texas with her family and mean-mugging bulldog, Ziggy Zoo. She has authored two Christian non-fiction books, Beautifully Broken, and Pretty Little Truths. Her debut novel Defier: The Girl Who Stood is a Christian Dystopian and is the first book in a trilogy. Book two, Sparrow, will be released July 2016. Mandy’s short story Samara of Shalocke was picked up and published by Epifiction. She also writes for the Broken, Beautiful, and Bold Blog, and has a monthly inspirational article in the Westside Sol, a local newspaper.

She would love to connect with you!
Website: Mandyfender.com
Twitter: @mandyfender11
Facebook: Mandy Fender

Defier | The Girl Who Stood
by Mandy Fender

A YA novel inspired by Christian bravery.

When her faith makes her a target, Lennox Winters must leave everything she knows behind and face the harsh truth of what her world has become. The raised scar on her chest reminds her she still has a purpose, but is her purpose worth the sacrifice? With a new Regime taking over America and imprisoning Christians, she must decide what is worth fighting for.

They said her faith would be the death of her, but her faith made her alive.

Back Cover:
Seventeen-year-old Lennox Winters is no stranger to loss. She’s lost her parents, her home, and is in constant danger of losing herself. As she struggles with what to believe, she encounters Christ in a way that she cannot ignore. Kept alive by her newfound faith and accompanied by her loyal best friend, Lennox bravely emerges into a world at war on a quest for the truth. Only after Lennox has journeyed through perilous territory, eluded biologically altered predators, and overcomes the most intense of challenges does the real work begin.

What's worth standing for?

Purchase: Defier

::WINNER::

Last week's winner for Delores Liesner's book Be The Miracle! is...

Rachel D. 

Congrats Rachel! I'll be sending you an email :)

Honest Thoughts: What's in a genre?

March is my Exploring Genre's month and I'm so excited for it! I've got some awesome guest posts lined up but I've also got some thoughts about genres--who knew?

First off, what is genre anyway?

Well, as someone who loves to sort and organize things (particularly books...) I get it. We need to be able to categorize books. I mean, what would a library be without categories? Or Barnes and Nobel without their little section signs? You get the point...but I've realized the rational, sorting portion of my brain is in direct opposition with the creative "what if" side of my brain.

Obviously, anymore, there large exceptions to the broad genre categories. In romance alone you'll find Romantic Comedy, Romantic Suspense, Historical Romance, Contemporary Romance...and well, you get the idea. I like this because I feel like it opens up the playing field of sorts. It breathes room into the "anything can happen" possibility of a book. But, sometimes, there's some big resistance--especially from those who are dogmatic about their preferred genre and don't like to see it "profaned".

@createexploreread

But there have been some unlikely genres that have gotten crossed successfully. Like Amish Zombies From Space by the talented Kerry Nietz, the sequel to his Amish Vampires in Space. Or like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, which is super popular right now. (And can I just say the movie was awesome? Matt Smith as Mr. Collins = brilliant). Then there's the slightly less drastically crossed genres like Ted Dekkers Hacker or Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles that combines well-known fairy tale stories set in a futuristic world. Hum, I guess that's still pretty dramatic...

By nature writers are creative and inventive, it's no surprise we like to "blur the lines" where possible. 

But what's in a genre--really? I mean, how important is it that you can categorize a book? I've found myself feeling stifled. What if I want to write a romantic suspense that involves super powers? Or what if I want to have a mysterious/thrilling romantic comedy? I'm sure there are examples of books with this so obviously it's been done ;-) But, in all honestly, I don't like the fact that authors often get pegged into a genre and they get stuck there.

I know, I know, I hear you all--but "Insert My Favorite Author" writes "Insert My Favorite Genre" so well, I don't want to read anything else by them! That's fair. I get that way with some authors too and find that some authors write a particular genre better than anything else (that is, if they branch out at all). Also, there's the fact that the publishing world would say "Pick a genre and stay with it" (most of the time). But...but...my creative mind rebels.
 

I realize I'm not "every author". I don't pretend to speak for them, but I will speak for myself saying that I love a lot of genres. Personally, I'd be happy to write Science Fiction, Romantic Suspense, Dystopian, Historical, Fantasy, Romance, and even a few combinations of the above :D Alas, I'm afraid I may need to be pegged into a genre for a time...It's not the worst thing and as a reader I appreciate being able to understand what I can expect from an author...but it still feels limiting.

Like Shakespeare's quote, we pick up a genre because we like it, but I have to wonder if we're missing out by limiting ourselves. In the world of self-publishing I think there are more options than ever to break out and to "name" what we write just a little differently. Then again, there are categories for a reason too. *sigh* What do you think, dear readers?

It's your turn for Honest Thoughts: How important are genres to you? Do you like a book to stay within a specific genre or do you like it when they "cross" into other genres? What's your favorite genre? What genres would you like to see "crossed"?