Vampires Rule! Syndicated post from @FatimaLacoba
Only a couple of days ago I posted a funny little story on here about some of the less-than-responsible behaviour of P-platers on our roads - with apologies to all the responsible teenage drivers out there. And originally I planned to post a blog once a week, so this one is a bit premature. Let me explain.
Recently I attended a writers festival, here in Sydney, and like many other hopefuls I thought to enter the bloody arena - the 'Pitching Session' - where trembling and fearful new authors face the cold-hearted, stony-faced rulers of the literary world - the Publishers!
There they sat on an upraised dais, overlooking the rest of us, like the Roman emperors of old, ready to cast us to the lions of obscurity if they didn't like your nervously delivered pitch, or, woe betide! you actually dared to glance down at the piece of paper in your hand that contained your carefully written speech. Obviously, you're meant to memorise your three hundred word pitch and deliver it seamlessly, not just to them, but to an audience of other hopefuls expectantly watching to see how you'll survive before they decide to attempt the same.
Anyway, something one of the publishers said, angered me. 'Please present all your pitches, whatever the subject, but if it's about vampires, don't bother! We're after the next best thing.'
It was impossible to miss the collective gasps and horrified moans around me; hear the scrunching of paper as some threw their written pitches away. One person actually got up and walked out.
Such was the effect of one publishing deity's words!
And it shouldn't be like that!
Now, to me that pronouncement was like waving the proverbial red flag in front of the bull and I was about to take it by the horns - so to speak.
When my turn came, I strode forward, head held high, smiled at the 'dais of death' and bravely proclaimed that my manuscript was about - vampires! Being a mature adult, I resisted the urge to poke my tongue out at them, at one in particular. But, I did defend my position; told them I've been a vampire fan since first reading Bram Stoker's 'Dracula' when I was seventeen. Over the years my appetite for anything vampire has only increased.
If anyone cares to check some of the best-seller lists, who's up there but fabulous writers like Maggie Shayne with her 'Wings In the Night' vampire series. Together with Tanya Huff, Nalini Singh and Mary Janice Davidson, they rule the bookshelves. Even crime fiction divas like Tara Moss have embraced the genre. Her 'Pandora English' series is a page turner. I can't wait for 'The Skeleton Key' to come out.
There's a ready market hungry for more such literature, not just because of its current trend but also for its cult following. And I believe it's one of those genres that will always have a reader base. Like its namesakes, vampire genre will never die!
Having said that, I sat back down with the applause from the audience ringing in my ears.
Needless to say, not one publisher approached me after that, BUT, a few days later, one of them emailed me and asked for some sample chapters. I'd made an impression!
Have a coffee on me!
