Guys - Why YOU should support paranormal YA writers

Ladies, if you will pardon us for a moment, I'm speaking to the guys here. If you must listen in (like I'm going to stop you), please keep the chatter down so the guys will pay attention.

Why should we, as healthy, red-blooded guys promote and support the legions of ladies who write paranormal YA books (face it, it's mostly ladies, though I respect the guys who buck the tend)? Don't kid yourself, I can sense the collective eye-rolling and ball-scratching. After all, we're guys. Sparkly vampires make us cringe, even though we have never read Twilight or watched any of the movies. (Even those who went closed their eyes.)

But having duly noted your disdain, I want to tell you, we still need to support these ladies. I mean, even aside from the hot profile pics. (I won't name names, as I'm a happily married guy and want to stay that way, but if I were less discrete? Kiersten White, Wren Emerson, and pretty much every other paranormal YA author I follow. See what I'm saying?)


Let me be sexist and put it in terms you might better understand. Who's the guy who replaced LeBron James on the Cleveland Cavaliers? Right. I don't know, and I live in Cleveland. But whoever that guy is, he has to pull on the shorts and jersey and go out there and get his ass whupped day after day, knowing that no matter how well he does (if he ever does), he's still just the guy who replaced LeBron James.

Now, think about the ladies writing paranormal YA. You see what I'm getting at. They may write better than Stephanie Meyer (who, by the way, rocks the profile pic herself and has 48K followers though she has only tweeted twice). They may have better paranormal characters (e.g., nasty witches for Wren Emerson totally bewitch the pants off angsty vampires and werewolves). But even if they sell up a storm, even if they top the charts as indie writers, or go on to win traditional book deals and have their books in all the libraries... they're still just the authors who arrived on the paranormal YA scene after Stephanie Meyer.

Remember the guy who replaced LeBron James and buy a paranormal YA for your favorite little lady, be she wife or daughter or mistress or neighbor. Tweet about these ladies, and like them on Facebook. They need it. They deserve it. (Besides, those profile pics. I mean, yowza!)