TREND TALK
Many big-name chick lit authors turned to their paranormal side this year. Paranormal chick lit has always been popular, from Shanna Swendson's Enchanted Inc. series and Erin McCarthy's Vegas Vampires novels to MaryJanice Davidson's Undead series and Mindy Klasky's Girl's Guide to Witchcraft books. But 2009 was the year the traditional chick lit authors joined the party, perhaps influenced by the rising popularity of vampire romances, led by Stephenie Meyer's mega-selling Twilight series. Mind you none went the vampire route - instead staying safely in ghost and afterlife territory. Sophie Kinsella introduced a ghost in the form of great-aunt Sadie in her very popular Twenties Girl. Ghosts also made their appearances in Cally Taylor's acclaimed debut Heaven Can Wait, when the heroine chose to become a ghost to stay with her true love, and in Lynda Simmons' Getting Rid of Rosie, about a ghost trying to get between her husband and ex-BFF. In Marilyn Brant's According to Jane, the ghost of Jane Austen is on hand to dish out romantic advice. Marian Keyes also introduced a mysterious presence which watches over the residents of a Dublin apartment in her recently released The Brightest Sky in the Star. The afterlife is explored in Claudia Carroll's If This is Paradise, I Want My Money Back!, Sally Koslow's The Late, Lamented Molly Marx and Erica Orloff's Freudian Slip. There was also Sally Anne Morris' ghoulish romance Trick or Treat while Jennifer Crusie, Anne Stuart and Lani Diane Rich combined to write Dogs and Goddesses about three women who discover that their dog trainer is an ancient goddess. The trend is set to expand into vampires in 2010, with Meg Cabot reportedly working on a humorous take on Dracula with her next adult release Insatiable; and Julie Cohen's Nina Jones and the Temple of Gloom where the heroine suspects her neighbour is a vampire.
