Full disclosure: I don’t. So far as I’m aware, no one does, although I wouldn’t be too amazed if someone did. I mean, fine, whatever floats your (pirate) boat. Zombies and pirates deserve love, too.
My point is more one of narrow genre boundaries – and the fact that some writers will say, “I write zombie pirate romance” (or whatever the category might be). I see this quite a bit, and it often leaves me baffled. That’s all you write? I’m sure there are infinite variations to explore in there, but it seems very restricting to confine yourself.
Perhaps it makes sense if you make a reputation as a writer of a very particular genre – and your readers then expect more of the same. Perhaps some people simply love to explore one very specific niche, ploughing a similar furrow over and over.
I’m afraid that’s not me. I take great delight in flitting between science fiction, fantasy, literary fiction, thrillers, steampunk – and all points in between. If you’re a reader and you’re only interested in one of those, my apologies. There’ll be books of mine that you may not be interested in. Personally, though, I can’t imagine being restricted to only one “sort” of book, either as a writer or as a reader.
What do you think? Do you like to read around, or do you prefer books in one particular genre only?
As a reader and writer, I love to dabble in all genres. It’s not easy to market that way, but I don’t like to be restricted to one sort of story. There’s just too much to live and explore!
Thanks! It’s certainly true about the marketing, but I agree – exploration is good!