It’s possible that I’ve whined in the past about the standard Urban Fantasy novels I find in the bookstore. I might maybe have gone on about how the formula is tired, I’m not interested in reading about another crime-fighting, ass-kicking, half-demon-slayer-with-a-chip-on-her-shoulder, etc.

They have their place, but I kept wondering why I couldn’t find anything similar to what I was creating. To what I wanted to read. Because yeah, I like my supernatural elements character driven and high-action is more interesting to me when it’s on the big-screen. (And yes, I will ignore all sorts of bad story-telling, acting, and writing for a pretty, high-action movie.)

And if you enjoy those stories, that’s fantastic. I don’t have a problem with them, they’re just not for me.

The problem I was having was ‘good writers read’. And hearing advice like ‘you should be able to compare your work to similar stories in the same genre’.

I have to say, that’s had me depressed and stumped for many, many moons. Because I couldn’t find anything that was similar to the stories I’ve written. I was starting to wonder if I was writing to a non-existent market. Was I really the only person who wanted to see stuff like this?

I’ve seen the light and I’ve found my answer. I don’t even know how I stumbled on this. I’d heard the author’s name before, and I’d seen her YA books in stores, but I never picked one up because I really didn’t need to read another YA vampire book. Yeah, I’m judgemental like that. I suspect they’re actually very good books.

But somewhere, at some point last week, I think it was a sale link someone posted on Twitter or something, I decided to download ‘Succubus Blues’ by Rachel Mead. Honestly, I never would have given these books a second glance because the covers…and the genre they get grouped into…and the whole Vampire Acadamy association (once again, not based on anything except my aversion to trends).

But I’m hooked. The voice is amazing. The story is well-written and exactly what I’ve been looking for. There are some aspects of the characters I’m not so fond of…but they’re still solid, well-rounded characters.

Since I got my phone, I’ve downloaded a lot of books for the kindle app. I see something that’s just come out, it’s only $1-$3 and I don’t think twice about going and grabbing it if it sounds even semi interesting. I’ve only finished a couple of those books so far, including one that was very big in writer-blog land just a couple of weeks ago. I’m sorry, I got to chapter 3, it was time to go to sleep, and I never felt compelled to go back.

But Succubus Blues…I got to the next chapter last night and told myself ‘just one more’ at least three times before my eyes protested and made me put the phone away.

Anyway…I’m just super psyched to see that there are books like this out there. And now if I ever have to compare my work to someone else’s, I can say “readers of…might enjoy…” And I have a new author to devour until I’ve picked the stories apart to the point where I can predict the next book ^_~ (And also, this probably means I’ll be reading the Vampire Acadamy books)

Whose writing have you discovered recently that felt like a lightbulb going on over your head?