The talk about Romantas and Comic-with He did not put the crowds early at six in the morning (although, like all, he filled in his room), but he did bring several tens of readers and readers who came to listen to the interesting reflections of a trio of outstanding authors of the genre. A good symbol of what the genre of the Romantasy: It does not occupy holders, it is not the convention center of conventions like this, but Sell thousands and thousands of copies outside the media radar, captivating along the way more and more followers.
In the Comic-with Malaga We had the opportunity to attend a talk with three of the most important authors of the genre in Spain: the very young Lucia Cerezo, author of the saga ‘Phoenix and Dragon’, and the most experienced parente and Selene Pascual, authors of about twenty works such as ‘paper petals’ or the series ‘Time Keeper’, almost all of fantasy but not all strictly all strictly. Together they raised a somewhat demystifying approach to the genre.
Iria makes it clear when he appears: “We have been writing fantasy, fiction and romance and sometimes, why not? Mixing all those subgenres.” And he adds: “When we started publishing, we already wrote fantasy with his romance touches. When we were more girls and we were fans of ‘Memories of Idhun’, nobody described him as Romantasy, but clearly If ‘Idhun memories’ was published today, what would it be called? Romantasy. “
With this, they make it clear that the mixture in “more or less balanced” parts of fantasy and romance, as it was agreed to define Romantasy in the start of the talk, is a label that defines a style, but that has always existed. “The themes have not changed, but the way the themes are being appointed,” says Selene. But he also recognizes that tastes are transforming: “Yes, it is true that there has been a boom of a type of fantasy that puts romance in the center of the plot, now today it looks more than the romance carries the plot and that the romance eats the fantasy a bit.”
I would be parente It tracks the origin of the term and awarded a completely industrial origin: “It is a label that is born from the publishers, from Bloomsbury, which is the one who published Sarah J. Maas.” Commercial maneuver or not, all agree that this new genre has managed to vibrate at a frequency that many readers were looking for. Iria and Selene summarize it with their own experience: “Our book that fits the most in the Romantas and is ‘Papelos de Papel’, a story in which the romance prevails about the rest, of a girl and a boy who live in different worlds and that communicate through a book. It was a bit of the allegory of what we have ever dreamed of when we take a book and think that we would like to be part of him.”
They are also aware of the importance that networks have had in the dissemination of the term. Selene says that “following the pandemic, people were at home without knowing what to do, and decided to talk about books with people who liked the same genres. The ‘Romantasy’ began to be used, and it grew until they acquired their own category.” However, the networks have a darker side, and it puts the Spanish authors in the background. According to parente, “the books in English Many times they come with marketing already done. Because when you see a new book in stores, you say, ‘Buah, I have seen it and have recommended it 7000 times in Tiktok and I have left 7000 videos, I’m going to buy it.’ “
The problem of labels, they recognize, is that “fashions change from time to time”, and the categories can also be a trap: Selene states that it has noticed a certain tendency to “Tropification, that is, I have to add three certain tropes to my book or if it will not be sold. “The genres have always used clichés, but there are many who” seem now to be mandatory. If the girl does not put the dagger on the boy’s neck, it’s wrong. If it is not a enemy to loverswe are not interested “, and that can be more a restriction than a welcome novelty.
But all are very clear about what the attractiveness of this genre is supervent. Lucia states that “many readers seek evasion, and Romantas and gives you this, a fantasy world, a love story that, if you want, allows you to read and evade. But also, if you prefer, you can make a deeper reading, you will usually have a political background, something that speaks to you of the real world and everything that is happening and that somehow gives you hope.” And there they give in the nail: “I think that Romantas and also has this basis of hope, that you can have a better world, and somehow people want that.” And Romantas and gives it, beyond labels.
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