Modern American Fantasy Suggestions

Frapalino

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Apr 13, 2005
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Denton, Texas, United States
I have been working on a kernel of an story idea for a long while now that involves some blues musicians traveling America and having fantastical adventures. I'm in a bit of a rut and I'm in need of some inspiration.

I can't seem to find much modern american fantasy. Most likely it exists, I just don't know what it is. Actually, there is a lot of modern set fantasy fiction out there but it seems like it is all for tweens. Twilight, Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, and the other similar works aren't what I'm looking for. I want some stuff that is written for adults and preferably has adults as main characters. Stuff that is set in current day America, or some place that is similar to it. I'd like to stay away from horror, as the genre ain't something I connect with. I've done some simple Google searches and all that comes up is the stuff we've all heard of and stuff I have already read. If I add adult to the Google search, all that comes back is crap romance novels.

Some of the works I've liked and are thematically similar to what I am trying to create:

Neil Gaimen and Orson Scott Card seem to be the two best selling writers who are comfortable writing in this setting and I've read most of their stuff. Dresden Files is a pretty good example of what I'm talking about. I read a book about a guy who's wife died in child birth and their daughter ends up being Hell's guardian and she had giant black dogs, that I really enjoyed, I think that author has some stuff I'd like checking out, but I can't remember his name. I'm sure Stephen King has written a few things I'd love. I've read the Dark Tower series and Salem's Lot, the latter is a near perfect example of what I am talking about, despite the horror aspect.

Anyway, I've got quite a few solid reading suggestions from UC before and I figure y'all might be willing to help. Thnaks.
 
don't just throw out the whole romance genre cuz its romance, some of the best action and fight scenes that i've read were written by romance authors.

what type of urban fantasy are ya looking for? wolves, vamps, fairy's, fae, witches, magic, greek, roman, egyptian, cults, angles, demons, ect.....


something like the Kate Daniels Novels by ilona Andrews?

or the Dark Hunter series by Sherrilyn Kenyon? (love the dynamic of this world she created)
 
If you can get your hands on copies, Mercedes Lackey did two urban fantasy series: The SERRA-ted Edge series and the Diana Tregarde books. The SERRA-ted edge books deal with modern-day elves who race cars (there's an actual reason behind all this), and includes the titles Born to Run, Wheels of Fire, and When the Bough Breaks. Each books features a different cast, but the racing aspect runs through all the titles. I think you can download e-book versions from the Baen website. There's some romance involved, but it's not the main focus of the plot, especially Born to Run.

Diana Tregarde is a witch who works with the police to solve unusual crimes. Titles in this series include Burning Water, Children of the Night, and Jinx High. It's been a long time since I read any of these, so I don't remember how much of a romance angle there is to the series.

There's an anthology called Mean Streets, which features urban fantasy novellas and short stories by Jim Butcher, Kat Richardson, Simon R. Green, and Thomas E. Sniegosky. If any of those stories interest you, all of the authors have running series you can explore.

Tomorrow at work I'll take a walk through the stacks and see what else if available.
 

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