Week 6

Assignment 1:
I kind of did this in the last post. I've been looking at Fiction Affliction regularly.  It's a weekly listing of new releases, but what is really great is that it has a lot of subcategories of SFF titles, all of which are annotated so I get some idea of what they are about or why people would want them.  There are so many sub-genres within the broad category of SFF, so this is especially helpful.

Assignment 2:
The chart is really interesting.  I would have liked to have seen the connections between genres fleshed out a little bit more--maybe showing how they connect and readers who like one might like the other rather than keeping them as separate pods.

Assignment 3:
Goodreads is making it so much easier to learn about a genre and what fans are excited to read.  I think that's the community-based nature of it.

Cozy Mysteries
http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/GenreCats/Cozy_Traditional.html
Cozy mysteries are most often written in series that follow the adventures of amateur detectives. They contain no sex, violence, or gore.  Also, they all seem to have cutesy and/or craft-based titles.  Popular authors include: Agatha Christie (Miss Marple, Hercule Poirot), Nancy Atherton (Aunt Dimity), and Donald Bain (Murder, She Wrote). New titles include: Cross-Stitch Before Dying by Amanda Lee, Gone with the Woof by Laurien Berenson, and Words with Fiends by Ali Brandon (Cat + bookshop!).

Zombie (horror) fiction
Zombies are hot!  Wait...that sounds icky.  Zombie fiction is making a come-back. With the popularity of The Walking Dead, Warm Bodies, and World War Z, there is plenty of demand for all things zombies right now.  Popular authors include Max Brooks, Robert Kirkman, and Justin Cronin.  While I was searching, I found http://www.sfsignal.com/, which is a fanzine with lots of book reviews. They are interested in all things zombie, including a new BBC show I'd never heard of called In the Flesh.  Their reviewer really loved Peter Stenson's Fiend (July 2013), and now I really want to try it!

Steampunk
I've only dabbled a very little bit into Steampunk, so I thought I'd learn more about it.  Steampunk is usually set in the Victorian era but includes a focus on machines/technology.  There are also often paranormal elements.  Popular authors include Gail Carriger (Parasol Protectorate series), William Gibson and Bruce Sterling (The Difference Engine), and K. W. Jeter (Morlock Night).  This site had some helpful background information: http://www.steampunk.com/fiction/.  I also found this Time article on steampunk in popular culture interesting.  Popular new titles include to be Bronze Gods by A. A. Aguirre and The Executioner's Heart by George Mann.

Mash-ups:

It's a very weird mix, but Amish Horror Fiction is here!  Leanna Ellis's Plain Fear series does what I would have thought impossible.  Amish + Vampires.  Forgiven, the third book in the series, will be published in August.

Post-Apocalyptic + New Adult + Motorcycle Club.  Yes.  With the popularity of Sons of Anarchy, a new subgenre of Romance about motorcycle clubs seems to be developing.  What could be better than pairing it with not 1, but 2 other wildly popular subgenres.  I give you Stephanie Tyler's new series beginning with Defiance.