This Writing Life: Why I Read (and Write) Urban Fantasy by Justin Gustainis

The genre (or sub-genre, or whatever the hell it is) of urban fantasy appears to be hot right now. That pleases me, since, on more than one occasion, I have been known to commit urban fantasy. It didn’t start out that way, honest. I was just writing the kind of stuff I like to read, and then somebody came along and put a label on it. I’m tempted to have a T-shirt made up that reads, “I did urban fantasy before urban fantasy was cool.”
As I understand the term, urban fantasy refers to fiction set our world, with one or more important, paranormal, differences. Thus, it’s our world, except vampires are real; or, it’s the society we live in, except some people can do magic, and so on. I can’t really explain why urban fantasy has become so popular (and I’m hoping the market doesn’t collapse under its own weight, as horror did twenty years ago), but I can tell you why I read (and write) it.
I enjoy urban fantasy because it occurs in a context I already relate to, which means that 1) suspension of disbelief isn’t as great as you need in, say, high fantasy, and 2) urban fantasy can effect you (whether the effect is fear, tension, excitement, or whatever) more quickly and profoundly, precisely because whatever’s happening occurs in a world I already know. I don’t need to imagine another planet that resembles Medieval Europe, minus the dirt and disease. What I’m reading (or writing) could be happening down the street, if only the last house on the left contained …. well, fill in the blank yourself; that’s half the fun.
I like urban fantasy because it’s almost real. And the “almost” makes all the difference – all the difference in the world.
Gustainisis the author of three paranormal fantasies, including Black Magic Woman (January 2008) and Evil Ways (January 2009), both from Solaris Books. More about him can be found at http://www.justingustainis.com/.

Related posts:

1. Ask the Bloggers: Aidan’s (Re?) – Ruminations on ‘Urban’ Fantasy
2. @SciFiGuy.ca: Urban Fantasy & Paranormal Book Cover Video
3. Ask the Bloggers: Urban Fantasy and the Next Big Subgenre
4. This Writing Life: James Maxey
5. This Writing Life: John Marco on STARFINDER