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HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Maria V. Snyder is so hilarious—she always says she’s: “the most famous person you have never heard of.”
Is she right? She’s a New York Times bestselling author of 23 fantasy and science fiction novels, and two short story collections.
You’d THINK you’d know of her right? (And knowing you brilliant Reds and Readers, I bet some of you do.)
But in book world, we always talk about timing. There’s a time for everything, and sometimes there’s a wrong time, and there’s also the perfect time.
Because about 24 years ago, Maria started writing “romantasy.”
Look at the Times Bestseller list now—FULL or romantasy. (And our amazing Jenn is right in the midst of that irresistible genre field.)
Every genre has its history and its journey—and Maria Snyder is certainly part of ramantasy’s origin story.
THE JOURNEY TO ROMANTASY
First off - thank you so much for inviting me to write a blog for you! I’m truly honored.
I started writing back in the mid 1990s when my job as an environmental meteorologist failed to satisfy my creative side. I wrote a bunch of cheesy science fiction short stories that weren’t published. (Astonishing! I know!)
Then, I started writing my first fantasy novel, Poison Study because, at the time, the fantasy genre was dominated by male authors, with male main protagonists.
Female characters were always side characters and many were in need of being rescued.
Fantasy stories were also very traditional, following the fantasy conventions set by Tolkien. I wrote Poison Study because I was so tired of reading those novels. I wrote a book I wanted to read!
I had a difficult time finding an agent, and, after 40 rejections, I sent the manuscript to publishers. The rejections rolled in. The traditional fantasy publishers at the time: TOR, DAW, BEAN, ROC, Del Ray, etc. passed on it (17 in total!). I was told there was not enough political intrigue, not enough setting details, not enough authentic language for a medieval fantasy (I never said it was set in medieval Europe), too much romance.
Running out of publishers, I almost put the story in the proverbial trunk, when I learned Harlequin started a new imprint called LUNA Books. They were actively seeking fantasy stories with strong female protagonists and romantic subplots. Poison Study fit right in and was accepted in 2003. Poison Study was released October 2005 (the same month/year as Twilight).
LUNA Books was the original publisher of what is known today as Romantasy (a portmanteau of romance and fantasy genres).
Unfortunately, they were about 15 years ahead if its time.
After two years of publishing Romantasy titles, LUNA pivoted to publishing only Urban Fantasy titles, which was the hot new trend. LUNA held on for a few more years, but eventually went to imprint heaven.
Fortunately for me, Harlequin moved my titles to their MIRA Books imprint and continued to publish my titles. Until the Dark Lord…er…HarperCollins bought Harlequin and I was dropped. Yes, lots of tears, but I’m extremely lucky that I have a group of loyal and supportive readers who have followed me on my independent publishing journey.
Fast forward to 2024 where Romantasy is the hot new trend. Goodreads has added a new Best Romantasy category to its yearly Choice Awards. Authors like Jennifer L. Armentrout, Sarah J. Maas, Travis Baldree, Scarlet St. Clair, and Rebecca Yarros are hitting the bestsellers’ list with their new Romantasy releases.
Why is it so popular? Remember when I said Poison Study came out the same time as Twilight? Well, those avid readers of Young Adult books have grown up. They still love romance with fantasy, but they are adults now and want books with more adult themes and spicier sex scenes.
The beauty of Romantasy is there’s a wide gamut of stories and fantasy characters with all levels of spice. There are no limits. No one is saying you can’t write a reverse harem because of old fashioned genre conventions.
As one of the older Romantasy titles, Poison Study (and its sequels Magic Study and Fire Study) is having a resurgence. Two book box companies, FairyLoot and The Bookish Box, have published limited special editions with pretty sprayed edges. MIRA Books has updated the cover art for my first three titles so it matches the Romantasy trend. The audiobooks were rerecorded and released for world wide distribution. Plus they are actively promoting my books. Yay!
Will Romantasy’s popularity peak? Will another hot new trend come along to dominate the market? Of course! Like everything in publishing, it’s cyclical. However, in this era of independently published authors, there will always be a wide variety of books for readers to discover!
Thanks again for inviting me! See you in another 20 years! 😉
HANK: Isn’t this fascinating? What do you think, Reds and Readers? Are you part of the romantasy wave? (or—is it more than a wave?)
