Why not call it horror?

Cross post with mariminiatt.com

You will notice I call my current novel a dark, urban, fantasy. Why didn’t I call it horror?  Because as a horror fan, it did not scare me. I know a couple of readers got scared, but I still would not call it horror.  Some might for one reason. Vampires.

Unfortunately, now a days, putting a vampire in the story doesn’t guarantee it’s a horror story. Think of the two biggest vampire fictions out there now; Twilight and the Dead series (aka True Blood). Would you seriously tell someone to watch or read them because of the horror? No.

My vamps are more traditional. They can be frightening, so why not call it horror? Because there are no scares. Well, not a lot. I wanted to tell the story from the vampire’s side. So what they might do would be horrific from the human stand point. To them it’s just part of their unlife. Why should it be such a dilemma to ingest blood, when that is what you were made to do? Only a human would find it disgusting.

I have a few horror stories, shelved away for future use. Another vampire story, a ghost story, even kicking around the idea of a mummy story, too.  Those are more horror because I focus on the fear.  Fledgling focuses on adjustment and acceptance.

And even though two of the characters end up a couple. I will not call it paranormal romance either, but that is a whole other blog topic.