Imagine going into a bookstore or library with no clearly-defined
sections. The task of locating a book you like would take on nightmarish
proportions. Books, music, and many other art forms are broken down into
genres, so we can locate the type of reading material we love.
When I began writing The Moses Conspiracy, genre didn't
enter my mind. All I knew was I had a novel to write. After a few years of
dealing with craft issues, I started hearing things like, "What genre is
this?"
Editors and agents all had an opinion. To my horror, one
person labeled it, "Sci-Fi." This genre evoked scenes with aliens and
spaceships, which definitely did not fit my book.
Others labeled it, "political, futuristic, or
fantasy." I decided if anyone was going to categorize this book it was going to
be me. So, I began presenting it as Christian Speculative Fiction because it
takes place in 2025 and presented a what-if scenario.
The problem with this designation was the staggering number of sub-genres under it. My publisher decided to label it futuristic/fantasy
for the various outlets.
In fact, The Moses Conspiracy is a cross-genre work. It's
futuristic, but also suspenseful. It's a mystery and has some Amish characters. In
my opinion, a lot of people could relate to this book and enjoy the various
elements.
Let's face it, our lives are not segmented into genres.
People interact with various ethnic groups and face challenging life
situations. It's one reason I read many genres. Think about all those new
synapses growing in my brain when I open to different reading material.
I'm curious. What are your thoughts about reading/writing
different genres or cross-genre works?
