A Second Stab...

In a book store I came across the book on the left there, Wuthering Bites.

I guessed at what it could be and to quote Laurie Anderson Oh boy.  Right again.

I am not condoning this book, nor am I condemning it.  But I'm not going to read it.  Why?  It's just not my thing.

In case you didn't already figure it out, Wuthering Bites is a spin on Wuthering Heights, with vampires.  It seems everyone's favorite gypsy boy has a little more than Bronte originally bargained for...

...and as I've said in this post, I'm done with that particular creature of the night.

To reiterate, I've nothing against this book.  I actually think it rather clever.  It's a nice bit of mind-jumping.

So why am I bringing it up?  Just to point out that there really does seem to be a "genre" of as I call it "second-hand writing" that's reared its head recently.  Look at Seth Grahame-Smith's popular 2009 novel Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.  Or Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters by Ben H. Winters also published in 2009.  Granted, these are referred to as 'mash-up's but either way it's borrowing from cherished authors.  Less humorously, let us not forget Gregory Maguire's Wicked, which spawned a series of books to present other histories of the Land of OZ.

Naturally, I have interest in this "genre," having written a continuation of the adventures of Peter Pan based on the remaining notes of Sir J.M. Barrie.  Not to mention (thank you, paralepsis) an interquel to bridge a gap in the story.  I also have another novel which is a retelling of a fairy tale and it has spawned what will be a quadrilogy.

Anyway, well wishes to Sarah Gray on her insightful use of a character's existing history to breathe a fresh take on a cherished classic.  Thanks for helping bolster the business of "second hand writing."