Just before Christmas I received an email informing me that Amazon Kindle had ranked my novels #1, #2, and #4 in their Top 10 list of Rock and Roll Mystery Novels. It got me wondering about the overall popularity of rock fiction. So I did a little research to get a feel for what is happening within this subgenre.
I realized that a few mainstream fiction authors, such as Carl Haaisen and Nick Hornby had written popular rock novels. In my opinion, Hiaasen’s best was “Basket Case.” Most of you probably know of Hornby’s “High Fidelity,” which was made into a film starring John Cussack. I hadn’t realized that Jackie Collins wrote “Rock Star” and Salmon Rushdie received high praise for his rock novel, “The Ground Beneath Her Feet.”
I was aware that fellow rock novelist, Susan Helene Gottfried, keeps a list of Rock Novels on her website, West of Mars. A quick count told me she lists over 275 rock novels on the site, and has reviewed several. A little more digging revealed that there are several subsets to the subgenre: 80’s Rock, British Rock, Punk Rock, Alternative Rock and even Sci-Fi Rock each have several titles to choose from in the world of rock fiction.
What’s the appeal of rock fiction? It offers insights into the life of the musician as well as some of the unique experiences that fans merely glimpse when viewing a rockumentry. Nonfiction approaches to the lives of musicians traditionally attempt to normalize the lifestyle by playing down the difference between the stars and their fans. Rock fiction takes the opposite approach. It focuses on those differences as they relate to the story being told.
As a writer of rock mysteries, I attempt to expose the reader to experiences that don’t make the television gossip shows. “Rock & Roll Homicide” gets into the issue of creative control; “Rock & Roll Rip-Off” has revealing scenes at a multi-band practice facility; and “The Concert Killer” gets into everything from backline techs to the wannabe groupie point of view. All of these elements fall within the confines of mystery reader expectations as they relate to fair play with clues. The difference is that the detective is a former club musician, and all of the cases in the series relate to the rock music industry.
The same principles hold true for rock fiction written in other genres. Romance readers have certain expectations, as do Horror, Sci-Fi, etc. The differences are the characters and the situations they find themselves in as a result of being professional musicians. While the main purpose of novels is to entertain, most readers report enjoying novels that teach them something they don’t know about the real world. Rock fans who also enjoy reading get the best of both worlds with rock fiction.
So, who is reading rock fiction? About four months after “Rock & Roll Homicide” was released, a national newspaper wrote an article about it based on an unusual demographic profile the received from MarketWatch. It said that half of my readers were traditional mystery fans who were over 40 years old. The other half was 18- to 35-year-olds who rarely read books. A little digging revealed that many of these readers were given the book after their parents or grandparents had read it, in hopes of generating an interest in reading. The article inspired a library book tour that I did in 2010 to help parents get their non-reading adult children into a subject that would hold their interest long enough to complete a book. The feedback from participants was very encouraging.
If you’re over 40 and love the rock experience but no longer have the time or desire to go to a show, rock fiction may be for you. If you’re an aspiring musician who wants to know more about the lifestyle than what is shown on MTV, rock fiction may be for you. If you’re an avid reader who likes to learn about unique aspects of life, rock fiction may be for you. With e-readers exploding in popularity and many titles priced around $2.99, it’s easy to find out if this subgenre rocks your world.