A genre hopper is someone who reads books in different genres. Perhaps a science fiction book one week, a romance the next, a private eye novel the third.
As both a reader and a writer, I’m a hopeless genre hopper. I’ve written books in SciFi, Paranormal, Memoir, and even Self Help. It’s not a great business strategy, because readers who are genre-loyal might not follow along and check out my newer books. But I don’t write books to make money (if I ever figure out why I write books, I’ll let you know).
My worst transgression is coming up: Conclusive Evidence. It’s a legal thriller—no spaceships, mind reading, de-aging, or prison escapes. Sorry about that!
It’s a good story, though, and several beta readers have told me it’s my best—I hope you’ll take a look (coming in March). I expect you’ll find that my books are quite similar to one another—if you like one, you’ll like the others—despite the genre differences. I was worried that Conclusive Evidence didn’t have enough humor in it, but my beta readers set me straight. When I read through it one final time, I found myself laughing a lot (that’s right, I crack myself up).
Next, I’ll be back to either an Eric Beckman book (The Mind-Reading Prisoner) or an Alex Booker book (The Extended Stillness). Here are my ideas:
The Mind-Reading Prisoner
Eric has always said that if he doesn’t keep his mind-reading ability secret, the government will lock him in a basement and try to figure out how his special talent works.
Well, that’s precisely what will happen at the start of this book. Perhaps Viviana, Cosmina, and Samuel Ticknor will have to find and rescue him. I enjoy writing Samuel Ticknor because he has this 1800s way of speaking. Maybe I’ll make him a point-of-view character.
I’ve got some good plot twists in mind. Unfortunately, the following book idea has also wormed its way into my brain:
The Extended Stillness
This will be an Alex Booker story, but with a twist. It starts when a deadly virus spreads throughout the world. Alex Booker is the only person left on Earth … or so he believes.
This will give me plenty of opportunities to write fun adventures, and to some extent it will be similar to the first part of The Universe Next Door—the part where Jake, his grandmother-in-law, and his German shepherd must survive in the wilderness.
I’ve even got an idea for the cover:
I was thinking: Can I have humor in a world in which almost everyone has died? The answer is: Of course! I’ve been watching a few episodes of The Last Man on Earth, and they’re hilarious. My book won’t be that goofy, but there will be some laughs.
I’m having trouble deciding which book to write next.
Soon, I’ll tell you about something funny/scary that happened to me. Here’s a teaser:
Until next time,
Al
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Al Macy, Author 