What does it mean when a book that seems to be almost universally dismissed as drivel by many in the publishing industry is probably the greatest driving force in the hottest genre on the market today? I'm no expert, but I'm guessing it means that, somewhere, all those smart industry people are kicking themselves. If you're not sure which book I'm referring to (I know--there's so many that could fall into this description, no?), than I'll give you some hints:
- It's about vampires.
- It's set in a high school in the Pacific Northwest.
- If you have a teenage daughter, granddaughter, or niece, chances are they expect you to get them to the movie theater on November 20th--with gaggles of their giggling friends.
- If you have a middle-aged wife, girlfriend, or sister--ditto.
- If you're a twenty-something young professional woman--ditto.
"Who's the next Stephenie Meyer?"
and
"Is this the next Twilight?"
Which is pretty amazing, when you think, again, that almost a dozen agents passed on this book, as did--I'm sure--a number of publishing houses before Little, Brown took a chance on it.
But really, what we're asking is how do we tap into the energy that is being expended on Twilight? How do we harness Meyer's readership to create our own bestsellers, that spawn movies and merchandising and frantic fans screaming their lungs out because the guy who played Cedric Diggory happens to be a smoldering hunk of manliness (or so people have told me...)?
And so Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy became the genre's soup du jour (if you're unfamiliar with those two terms, go here). Yes, obviously authors have been writing about sexy vampires and werewolves for years before Twilight (it's hard to think that Meyer wasn't, in fact, influenced by these writers), and to great success. Laurell K. Hamilton and Kelley Armstrong were both writing bestselling paranormal fiction long before Twilight made the scene in 2005. And, of course, successful shows like Buffy, the Vampire-Slayer had a devoted legion of fans beginning in the early 1990s.
But, for the most part, those books and shows were relatively unique to the marketplace, not nearly as ubiquitous as they are today.
Twilight changed that.
First, by being Young Adult. Anita Blake is great, as are the Otherworld books, but it's pretty safe to say that most parents wouldn't be super-happy if their children read one of those books. But with Twilight, not only does Meyer refrain from the sexual interactions that make up a part (and my contention is that it's a big part) of paranormal romance's appeal, but she also provides younger readers with a readily identifiable protagonist: an angsty, teenage girl. And what does a teenager like more than seeing that other people have the same problems as them--and that, in the end, their "problems" ultimately lead them to hook up with the hot, mysterious guy who also happens to be a vampire?
Second, and again going with the fact that the novels are YA, Twilight was instantly accessible to adults, because who doesn't have some memories (repressed or otherwise) of high school? The books are also incredibly fast, easy reads. While I think most adult readers (those who read more than ten books a year) do try to read novels and nonfiction that can occasionally challenge them and make them think, I believe the vast majority of people want their books to solely be entertainment. They want the quick fix that things like television, movies, and the Internet provide. And although there's plenty of paranormal romance that is quite well-written, it still remains, for the most part, fairly light and fun.
It's immersive, it sucks you in, and you find yourself getting a vicarious thrill at seeing how the characters are going to get to the happily ever after. In this sense, Twilight is the ultimate page-turner. Even I--who didn't come away completely satisfied by the experience--read it in one day. Oddly, for all the discussions I've ever had about Twilight with colleagues, this is the part I think most of us tend to overlook:
Of course they're guilty pleasures, but they are, for millions of people, pleasures.
And now we're playing catch-up.
Go to a bookstore these days, and you'll see hectares of books about supernatural romantic liaisons. They may not all be about vampires, but they're all over the place--and in any number of sections: Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy, and even straight-up Fiction. Because, let's face it:
Sex sells.
Vampires are sexy.
Vampires sell.
Would authors like Patricia Briggs, Keri Arthur, and Lara Adrian be bestsellers without Twilight? I mean, they're all great storytellers, but, is it a coincidence they all got started with their big series after Twilight? I'm not implying that there is cause-and-effect here (I'm sure many such books were acquired by editors before Twilight was published), but I do believe they were caught up in the moment, and this couldn't have hurt these authors find their way into the hands of readers (and, ultimately, the bestseller lists). Twilight didn't breed the paranormal romance genre, but it was certainly instrumental in fostering an environment for the genre to be so successful.
Now take a look at television. I have to believe that True Blood, Being Human, and The Vampire Diaries were almost certainly developed and produced with Twilight in mind (consider that Charlaine Harris has been writing Sookie Stackhouse books since 2001).
And, of course there are movies. The Vampire's Assistant springs immediately to mind, but so, too, does the independent film Let the Right One In. Granted, the latter is much more of a horror movie than a paranormal romance, but the key to the movie is the relationship between the little boy and little girl, and I wonder if it would have been as popular if the public consciousness hadn't already been geared towards the ubiquity of vampires.
So, say what you will about Twilight--its mere cultural presence is something to be reckoned with. If Malcolm Gladwell was writing this article, more people would probably read it. But, more importantly, I think he would recognize that Stephenie Meyer is the tipping point for what has been the present and--as I see it right now--the immediate future of where fantasy (and to a point, even science fiction) is heading. Just like you couldn't escape that Celine Deon song from Titanic, you can't escape these novels.
And, for good or for ill, they've changed the genre.
