Getting it All Straight…

So it occurs to me that I really ought to figure out a nice, quick way to answer people when they ask “So what is your book about?”

The truth of it is, I still feel like a bit of an ass talking about it…not because I’m ashamed of it – but I’m still that uncool kid back in high school. When people ask that question, I get the feeling they’re hoping I’m going to give them some sort of “literary” answer that they understand. (And maybe I ought to just come up with a nice elevator pitch or something. “Rebel Without a Cause meets Sound of Music”?) Most of them aren’t genre readers – not even fantasy/sci-fi that I could at least strike out some common ground with. Sure, they’re excited I’m getting pubbed, but mention the word Faery and suddenly I’m relegated back to “dork” status.

Usually I just mumble something about it being a smutty Urban Fantasy and that’s okay. But then, sometimes there are questions.

“Does it have vampires? Is it like Twilight?”

“Well, I mention them. That is, they exist in the world, but I don’t have any as main characters.”

“Werewolves?”

“Actually, there is a bit-character who is a werewolf, but it’s not really about him either.”

“What’s an Urban Fantasy?”


“It’s a Fantasy story, but set in the real world. You know – like Buffy or Supernatural or whatever.”


“But you don’t have vampires?”

“Actually, um – no. But you see there is this incubus-“

“What’s an incubus?”

“Ah. It’s a sex daemon.”

*cricket*

“Yeah, it’s smutty-romance thing.”

“Cool. You going to quit your job?”

*facepalms*

So, erm. Yeah. Definitely need to work on my sales pitch a bit, I’m thinking.