Genre Musings

& a couple updates!

Hello hi everyone! I would say happy new year, but —

So instead, I wish you a happy Tuesday! First, I have some updates I want to share with y’all. And then, I’ve got some thoughts on genre in regards to the future of my career, and I thought I’d share those thoughts with you, as you’re a huge part of that future!

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I will no longer be attending Romantasy Bookcon 2025 in Los Angeles.

I hate to do it, but I gotta!

After attending my first event like this back in October 2024, I had to do some math and soul searching to decide if it was something I wanted to invest the time, money, and energy into. Unfortunately, the answer was: No.

This year my priority is becoming a full-time author, and while for some authors these events are a huge way to network and make money, I find that it’s just not my vibe. That’s not to say I’ll never attend a convention again, but for now I’ll be prioritizing very small events like solo signings, local panels, virtual events, etc.

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Attend my Swallowed launch event on February 1st!

I’m so excited and proud to announce that I’ll be celebrating the launch of my upcoming botanical scifi horromance novella, Swallowed, at Smitten Bookstore in Ventura, CA! I’ll be joined by the incredible Karina Halle in conversation about scifi horromance, botanical smut, and all kinds of nonsense!

You can purchase your ticket here!

I really hope to see some of y’all there.

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And now for some self-indulgent musings on genre!

One of my big goals for 2025 is to write full-time. And with that goal comes the consideration of writing as a job, as in (yuck yuck ew ew) profitable. So initially, when I decided I wanted to get to a place where I could quit my day job, my plan of attack was twofold:

1. Write romantasy novels as a main source of income; and

2. Write scifi horror novellas for fun and personal enrichment.

What I’ve come to discover after a lot of brooding and self-reflection while listening to Enya full blast is that I’m totally burnt out on romantasy as a genre. It used to be my absolute favorite genre, and it still is (in theory), but if you look at the current publishing landscape for even a second you’ll see that romantasy is incredibly crowded. A lot of people are making money in that space. But because of the over-saturation of similar works, it’s almost impossible to stand apart and get noticed.

Ironically, while trying to stand out and get readers to notice you, you also have to adhere to a whole slew of strict genre conventions and tropes. Which isn’t to say there’s no room for unique or new perspectives, but let’s be real, most of the huge romantasy books do follow established genre conventions.

None of this is to talk shit on romantasy. It’s huge for a reason! It’s to say that I’m tired and grumpy, and that genre just doesn’t spark excitement for me anymore. Even more, I know that I’ll never write the kind of book that blows up in romantasy (i.e. long series with detailed world building). I’d always be flying under the radar, chugging out mediocre standalones just for money. Which isn’t what I want.

TL;DR: I’m not deluded enough to think I could make it big in romantasy without sacrificing my joy of writing.

But I am deluded enough to believe I could make a name for myself in scifi horromance.

Am I hoping to ride my own coattails in the wake of Thrum in the coming years? Yes. But I also found a love and excitement in this genre that I haven’t felt in romantasy for a long time. I feel confident in scifi horror. I have more fun, and I feel free to make weird choices that, while celebrated in scifi horror, might be condemned or picked apart in romantasy. I don’t feel weighed down or constricted by tropes in scifi horror. I feel like the point is to push the envelope and be fucking weird with it.

So listen, maybe I’ll ultimately flop in scifi horromance! Maybe Thrum was my only “hit,” and I’ll have egg on my face in a year when everyone despises Swallowed. But as of now, my gut is telling me that scifi horror/horromance is the way forward for me. I truly see a fruitful career on that path, a fulfilling one, whereas I don’t in romantasy.

And like, hey, these are all just thoughts! Thoughts while my head is full of smoke from the LA fires! They may mean nothing. But I also believe in manifesting, so maybe… maybe something good will come of this.

So, I’m going to put my energy into the genre that makes me happy and has served me the best so far. Here’s to 2025, year of the scifi horromance!

Meg x