Blending Genres

By Laura Hogg (Guest Blogger)

Hello, thanks for having me here, Lisabet! Being a musician and a writer, I often like to compare the two art forms. They have so much in common. I played music even before I ever wrote my first poem or story, back when I was a kid. It was the ‘70s, and disco was big. I went roller-skating (not roller-blading, lol) once a week at least, and living in the beautiful, mountainous Colorado, my dad used to take us on trips to the mountains all the time. Oh, to visit those crystal lakes or have fun walking around the really cool, charming little mountain towns…and during the drive up, my sisters and I would play with our dolls while listening to the wonderful music our father popped into the car’s stereo. Typically, it was either rock or classical.

I grew up loving both genres. Mozart or AC/DC. You name it; I liked both. As a teenager in the ‘80s, big hair and all, as a listener, I gravitated toward the bands that were influenced by classical music. The great guitarists of the heavy metal genre back then were often classically trained, and one could sometimes hear 18^th century progressions incorporated into their complicated guitar riffs or the beautiful keyboard solos—

Sadly, as not a wildly talented musician myself, I attempted to insert the classical influence into my own rock songs, but my keyboard and guitar parts were very simple in comparison.

As a writer now, I love blending genres. I think crossing over from one to another often brings amazing results. So many writers are great at this! It’s fun to pick up a book and read two, or even three favorite genres at the same time. Combining historical with paranormal or sci-fi comes out in my time-travel series, Romeo vs. Juliet, and I try to think of different ways to blend others in my new work. I wonder how many people like to write or read crossover books.

My latest book, Why, My Love, is the second in my Queen Nayda series. Why, My Love is soon to be released with Eternal Press. This book doesn’t blend genres like some of my previous work has, but totally different things have influenced it.

The heroine, Nayda, in this book is a queen in a post-apocalyptic world. She wields a sword, as does her warrior husband, so this story is classified in the fantasy genre with romantic elements, set in the near future. However, Nayda was a spy before the war broke out, and in this book she has to go back to her covert activities.

Here is a little blurb:

What will a queen do to win back her man and her country? Nayda, a warrior queen, and her husband rule over a small kingdom in a post-apocalyptic world doing the best they can to rebuild their city and bring prosperity to their citizens.

A European queen visits and creates chaos. She goes to war with Nayda and takes her crown, and, under strange circumstances steals her husband. Now Nayda must return to her espionage ways. Her missions are extremely dangerous, even more so than battle, where she can at least see the sword coming.

Soon to be out from Eternal Press: http://www.eternalpress.biz/book.php?isbn=9781615721399

Laura lives in Colorado and has various stories out with different publishers. They range from short stories to full-length novels. Most are romance. Laura likes to write historical, some sci-fi, and paranormal, especially time travel fiction. Her links: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?ref=profile&id=62648343 http://twitter.com/lovebooksmusic http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B003F977GI http://traveltheages.blogspot.com/

http://www.myspace.com/l_hogg

Thanks again, so much for having me! I’d like to know if others enjoy blended genres or not. Take care, and happy reading and writing. -Laura