Are any of you writers? :D

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I think I've heard that those books aren't very good. I'm starting to get tired of vampire romances actually - they have to be really good for me to keep reading them. That being said, I think I'll avoid Vampire Kisses ^.^

I don't generally go for romance novels. They really aren't my thing... teen versions or otherwise. I prefer books with depth to them. Strong female characters not afraid to be alone, and a plot separate from love. I don't mind of there's a sub-plot of romance, as long as the main storyline is complex and/or causes me to think. Mindless never really was something I gravitated to.

I'm like that too That's one reason I prefer middle grade (for ages 7 to 12) over young adult (for teens) as a reader and as a writer. With young adult, everything gravitates around relationships, romantic or otherwise - with middle grade everything gravitates around the plot. YA is typically romance driven, MG is typically adventure driven. Middle grade tends to have more depth to it and is generally more well written than young adult, mainly because middle grade writers can't rely on mature topics to sell. Mature topics usually don't sell to the majority of 7 to 12 year olds you see, so middle grade writers have to rely solely on their skills as a writer. This of course doesn't apply to all YA and MG novels, but I've found it's generally true.

As far as my favorite reading material is, I used to read a ton of Stephen King, as he's regarded as the "King" of modern horror. His later stuff just didn't seem up to snuff compared to his older, better stuff, such as Salem's Lot, or Christine, so I just weened myself off of him. I especially hated It, as that book was so long and boring that it was a chore rather than a pleasure to read. I love stuff by H.P. Lovecraft, especially stories like [i]The Dunwich Horror, Nyarlathotep, and The Shadow Over Innsmouth (though if the truth be known, Lovecraft's baroque style would be unpublishable today). Also appreciated is fiction by Robert E. Howard, who, though known mostly for his fantasy (such as Conan the Barbarian), he was also a first rate horror writer, and many of his fantasy stories are very dark and horrific. But I especially love horror anthologies, like the old Years Best Horror Stories, that had been edited by the late Karl Edward Wagner, and horror fiction magazines, such as Cemetery Dance (which is still in existence - knock on wood), and magazines no longer with us, such as The Twilight Zone Magazine, Grue, and others.

-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer

Sorry, double post.

Last edited by Kraichgauer on 19 Feb 2013, 2:31 am, edited 1 time in total.

The only horror I really read is Edgar Allan Poe ^.^ (He counts as horror doesn't he? I don't even know XD) I love Edgar Allan Poe! My favorite stories by him are The Fall of the House of Usher and The Black Cat. I have a huge book with all of his stories, poems, plays, letters, everything! It's so awesome!

Christopher Pike is regarded as a teen writer, I believe, but he's one of my favorite writers. Him, and V.C. Andrews. I've had some tell me V.C. Andrews was a romance novelist, but people that say such things tend not to have read any of her books. I'm not toooo crazy about the novels that have come out in the years after her death, though. The ghost writer(s) fail to capture the darkness of her stories, and they shy away from a lot of the subjects V.C. Andrews was well known for... like the Flowers In The Attic series.

Poe was most certainly the granddaddy of horror fiction! Both H.P. Lovecraft and Stephen King owe Poe a tremendous debt.

-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer

I love Edgar Allan Poe. I don't think he was so much a horror writer as he was a writer of the darker side of human nature. The Tell-Tale Heart and The Black Cat are two of my favorites of his (aside from The Raven, of course)

I don't think I've read anything by those authors, I'll have to check them out My favorite authors in the young adult section are Shannon Hale and Jessica Day George. They've written both young adult novels and middle grade novels, and I've read everything by both of them ^.^ I love fairytale fantasy I also quite liked the Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini, but he seems to have been heavily influenced by Lord of the Rings (in my opinion anyway). I'm a huge fan of Lord of the Rings I've read The Hobbit and I'm currently reading The Fellowship of the Ring

Last edited by SakiHeart on 19 Feb 2013, 2:40 am, edited 1 time in total.

Hmm, you're probably right about that ^.^ The Tell-Tale Heart is another good story of his I like The Raven, but it's actually not my favorite of his poems (though it's kind of like a poetic story rather than an actual poem). My favorites of his poems are Dreamland, The City in the Sea, The Haunted Palace, The Valley of Unrest, and A Dream Within a Dream

Poe's writing is fantastic! I tend to like really dark, creepy stuff (under which the anime D.Gray-man and Vampire Knight and the cartoon Invader Zim certainly fall, though I think only D.Gray-man is classified as horror). I'd probably like horror too, but some of it scares me too much XD

Getting scared is the point.

-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer

Unfortunately my scare tolerance is pretty low haha XD I wish I could handle it better! The scariest movie I've seen is The Others, which isn't all that scary actually (especially once you reach the ending) ^.^ D.Gray-man tends to be more creepy than scary (though it certainly has its moments) which is why I can handle it more. The scariest writing I can handle is Edgar Allan Poe, which is also more creepy than scary for the most part. I can usually handle the more mild versions of horror (I tend to really like suspense, creepiness, and dark movies/TV shows/books/etc).

Indeed, I am, among other things. I have a masters degree in creative non-fiction. My writing can best be described as some mixture of cultural anthropology and personal experience. I do confess, though, that I am a literary snob, and I have little interest in reading anything for the sole purpose of entertainment. I seek a better understanding of the world I live in. I'm the same way in my television and movie viewing. I just watched the last episode of Downton Abbey this evening, and I can't find any sane reason to account for this. I am vastly interested in popular culture, mostly the 20th century variety, say post WWI through the 80s. I have had some unique encounters in this regard, including, meeting Andy Whorhol. Please anyone, contact me at any time. I live in the South, aka a cultural void.

I'm fascinated by anthropology! I'm currently in college majoring in linguistics (which is a field of anthropology). Culture is fascinating! I write fantasy novels, and tend to do a LOT of world building particularly in the area of culture and language. I love creating a new civilization and pondering on all the factors that go into it.