Friday, September 19, 2008

Americana Music Awards

The 9th annual American Music Festival and Conference is being held this week in Nashville. Last night, DH and I attended the American Music Awards at the historic Ryman Auditorium.

In a front-page article in today’s Tennessean newspaper, writer Peter Cooper calls Americana music genre-blurring. Click here for the article, including a list of winners.

In the romance writing community, we are told to stick within the rules of the genre. It is hard for a first-time author to find an editor willing to take a chance on a cross-genre book. One of my favorite books, Outlander by Diana Gabaldon was labeled as a time-travel/adventure/romance/historical fiction on the book’s debut.

When genres blend, whether it’s a mixture of alternative country, folk music, blues, and rock ‘n’ roll on stage, or a novelist mixing different storytelling traditions between the pages of a book, sometimes different is better. Sometimes it’s pure magic.

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