Favourite Sub-Genre Poll

[Daniel Hatadi]

Up now on the front page is a question I've been meaning to ask for some time now, and it could be almost as controversial as the recent sexiest writer poll, but I've always been interested in having a breakdown of member's tastes on Crimespace.

It's not exactly scientific, but don't fret too much over your answer. Rather than racking your brains over your all time favourite, I'd like it if y'all went for the sub-genre you're enjoying the most right now, thus the inclusion of the words 'At The Moment' in the poll title.

And for those of you that haven't noticed, I stopped doing the 'Post-Of-The-Month' poll due to much lower numbers of votes. I'll try to come up with more exciting and general polls more regularly, so's all you crime kiddies can have a bit of clicky good fun with 'em.

If there are any glaring omissions in the sub-genres, let me know, but I do want to avoid going into the detail of separating cat / cooking / crochet as sub-sub-genres. There are already plenty of answers to choose from.

[Patricia Abbott]

And what about a book like Lovely Bones. Is that crime fiction at all? She veered away from that classification on NPR yesterday. But I would say yes. If a crime is a major component, isn't it crime fiction? I'd say it's literary crime but crime.

[Julie Lomoe]

Interesting to see that I was the first to vote for the "medical/forensic" category. Not very auspicious, as I consider the book I'm almost finished editing to be medical suspense. If I'd voted for the "suspense" category, maybe I'd feel happier about the outcome, and more optimistic that people would want to read it. Still, my vote accounted for 3% of the total - it's good to know my opinion is so influential.

[Mary Reagan]

I can't believe I'm the first person to vote for PI novel.

[Daniel Hatadi]

I only just added that option, based on getting slapped with it in this thread. :)

[Mary Reagan]

Well that makes me feel a bt better. Thanks.

[Daniel Hatadi]

It's pretty dumb of me not to include it, seeing as I wrote an article for Crimespree a while back called 'Is The PI Novel Dead?' Maybe I can blame it on the removal of caffeine from my diet.

[Mary Reagan]

A lack of caffeine is a definite detriment. I know I'm never at my best before one or two Diet Cokes. If I ever write a book, it needs to be sponsored by Diet Coke.

[Daniel Hatadi]

I'm trying to convince my body that the anti-oxidants in iced green tea can substitute for caffeine, but it's just not working. Oh well, I'll have to rely on my good old Circadian rhythms.

[Sandra Ruttan]

Or that your subconscious concluded the PI novel really is dead. ; )

[Daniel Hatadi]

That, and the fact that I'm not writing one any more. Out of sight, out of mind? I'm just so self-centred. Typical writer type I guess.

[Peg Herring]

I'm doing a series of library talks on mystery sub-genres, and I can attest to the fact that it's hard to categorize a lot of books. Some authors I contacted surprised me by categorizing their books differently than I'd thought of them. (BTW Louise Penny calls hers cozies.)
To add to the confusion, publishers have tried to rev up the "excitement factor" by calling books thrillers that are simple mysteries. Add to that the trend of throwing a bit of humor, suspense, crafting, and /or paranormal into every story to try to grab some agent's attention, and it becomes hard to pin anybody down.
Still, we categorize so we can talk about what we like, and I'm currently into private eye novels. I'm enjoying Mike Black's PI Ron Shade at the moment.

[I. J. Parker]

Okay, I finally figured out what poll and where. Went and voted. Police procedurals. As my agent points out: I shoot myself in the foot.
As for what genre a book may be called: sometimes agents and editors decide that. As for me, I'm inclined to call everything simply "novel" in the future.