I have been candid in my struggle with classifying The Malignancy into a single genre. It's not that it is just so special that you can't box it in. I think that if I went around saying things like that, then I would be completely succumbing to my nagging pride. Yet it has
emerged as a significant issue for me to solve. Is it historical fiction? Yes, kind of. Is it sci-fi? Not really. Is it a romance novel? Now, with this last one, I find myself in a particularly precarious position. There is romance, and it is no small part of the book. Yet the romance story arc is merely supplementary to the overall story. The point of The Malignancy is to highlight the character development of Ashton as he navigates through his guilt and grief. It is supposed to shine a light on the crushing weight of self-hatred that people can feel after suffering from a traumatic event.
Of course, everyone knows that romance sells. If I wanted to, I suppose I could have surrendered my dignity and written some smut. I did not, but it gets fairly spicy in certain areas. I'm not afraid of using crude language, but I don't want to write something trashy or something that will distract from the story that I am trying to tell. Don't get me wrong though, smut has its place. I would never disparage a fellow author, even a smut author. However, I don't think that The Malignancy needed that.
So, what can you expect? What kind of romance are we talking? My book is full of dark, sarcastic humor. The romance and the characters involved are all reflective of that general mood. So if you like back-talking, morally grey, and deeply cynical people then you might like the type of romance in this book. You might like the book overall. If not, then there are still other redeeming qualities found within the pages. You might be able to discern those qualities from the information already available to you via previous blog posts and the book description. However, I will continue to post more about the various details and selling points of The Malignancy.
I considered touching upon some romance tropes but I decided against it. I'm sure that I used some subconsciously, but I don't know which ones. Perhaps you readers can tell me. The Malignancy is a bit of a weird story. Hopefully people will be receptive. I do think that ultimately readers will be able to root for Ashton and his lover. Teen love, so fragile and passionate. Especially in the case of Ashton. He can bond with her in so many ways and they have that shared knowledge of grief, even though their situations are completely different.
This romantic arc doesn't take place until well into the book. Like I said earlier, it is an important component but it is merely secondary to the main purpose of the novel. So, no, I don't like it when The Malignancy is classified some sort of dark historical romance, even if that's partially what it is. The Malignancy is more than that, at least in my eyes. If that sounds pretentious, maybe that's because it is. But this is my creation and I can be as pretentious about it as I want, so long as I maintain grounded in other matters of discussion.
Thanks for reading!
Liam
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