Fantasy for grown-ups

[RK-Summers]

With the advent of Game of Thrones, something has been nagging at the back of my head for a while. How does one distinguish between grown-up fantasy and children's fantasy?

Some books blur the line between childrens and adult, books like Harry Potter and... *shudder*... Twilight... but how can we make sure that the books we publish will be read by the intended audience?

Thus, we come to my question. My synopsis stands thus:


The promises of faeries are fleeting. In Albion, Thomas Rhymer must expect the unexpected, and prepare for what is not there.

When Thomas Rhymer's sister is kidnapped the night before her sixteenth birthday, he seeks the help of an old pagan woman, who tells him the secret of a place he never knew existed, the land beyond the bridge.

With the help of a faerie called Thistledown, Thomas sets out into Albion to rescue Gwen. But along the way, he discovers the truth of his heritage and embarks on a new quest to set the captured Faerie Queen free and stop the war that rages since her imprisonment.

Now he fights to save not only his sister, but the fate of Albion itself.

But the Dark Prince of Tricksters has no intention of relinquishing his power, and is determined to stop Thomas from rescuing Queen Mab from his clutches.



Alright, so his sounds quite child-friendly, right? There are faeries, a nice safe quest, a nice innocent name for the hero and his best friend (Thomas and Thissy? Almost cutesy)... but then we begin to read, and we find a world full of death, swearing, rape, forced marriage, deceit... it's all a bubbling crucible.

My worry is children are going to see this book and believe it to be a lovely bedtime tale of faeries and pixies. WRONG. Yes, there are faeries in it, but that doesn't mean they're nice. What are your thoughts?

PS, I'm sorry for the long post, this being only my second post on the site.

 

[topazfire]

I think it sounds like a fantastic synopsis! Once you have a great story, people of different ages will be drawn to it. Have faith that your agent, or publisher, or the independent bookshop owner etc, have enough knowledge about the book to put it in the right section of the store in the first place (assuming that you are hoping to have it physically published vs e-book). I work with a girls youth group, age 9-12, and am amazed at the variety of difficulty, genres and maturity level of content that they read. Some are still in Babysitters Club mode while others have already read Hunger Games and The Hobbit (so proud of them!).

It sounds crazy, but you might also have to rely on the parents to make sure that their children are reading material that is appropriate for their age and level of development. I remeber being shocked to find out that my 13 year old cousin was reading the Jack Whyte Dream of Eagles series which has more than one detailed sex scene and lots of gore and swearing (Roman Britain). He just shrugged it off - though his father was not impressed that the mother had let him get into those books so young...

The image on the front cover as well as the back cover blurb will also capture certain audiences while turning off those that may not find it to be what they are looking for. Write the story that you love and others will love it too

 

[TWErvin2]

Two cents to add to the discussion: The age of the protagonist can have a large impact on the audience for a novel. In general, teens prefer to read about teens or near teens.

 

[Reaver]

I think that just on the synopsis alone, I'd definitely read it! Sounds like a great story. As far as who should and who will read it, well, there's not much you can really do about that can you?

I have to agree with topazfire, here. Just go for it!:biggrin:

 

[RK-Summers]

Thanks, guys!

I had hoped for some sensible answers and thank you for the kind comments on the synopsis I worked my bum off trying to perfect!

I agree with topazfire with the issue of letting parents decide what should and shouldn't be read by their children.

And as for the age of the protagonist, Thomas is 21 for the majority of the story. It's a typical 'coming-of-age' tale, wherein he attempts to 'find himself' and other pretentious nonsense

 

[Graham Irwin]

You could always have an imprint on the book that says "An Adult Fantasy"

Wait, that wouldn't be good. It would get a paper bag over it. You could always have "Intended for Mature Audiences"

Also, kids can handle a lot. Ever read any Roald Dahl?

 

[Kelise]

It can also have something to do with the complexity of your writing style. Harry Potter is an easier read than Lord of the Rings, and so forth.

 

[Steerpike]

Many adults like to read YA or Teen novels. I liked the Harry Potter books. The vast majority of Twilight fans I know are in their 30s and 40s.

As far as going in the other direction, with children reading adult works, I do not believe that is your problem as an author. That is up to the parents of the children. My parents let me read anything I wanted, regardless of the subject matter, from as early an age as I can remember. Other parents are more restrictive in that regard. It is up to them. I'm a little more restrictive than my own parents were, and I read Twilight when my daughter wanted to read it (at age 12), because I have friends who are writers are vampire/paranormal romances and they are extremely graphic. Of course, Twilight didn't turn out to be that way so I said "fine."

But the point is, the issue of whether kids can and should read your book isn't really yours to decide, in my opinion. I wouldn't worry much about it. If you have a traditional publisher, they'll decide whether to market it as YA / Teen or adult fantasy.