Welcome to our All About Sub-Genre Series in which we discuss the ins and outs of various corners of the broader fantasy market. 
Today we have guest host Jenelle Leanne Schmidt to tell us about the High Fantasy Subgenre

High Fantasy

High Fantasy is a genre that is fairly difficult to pin down. Readers will often disagree on whether or not a particular book fits into the “high fantasy” category, and to some, it is considered to be more a badge of honor given to certain excellent stories within the overall Fantasy label than an actual genre in and of itself. 
However, despite all that, there are at least ten objective elements that are required for a book to even be considered for the High Fantasy label.

1. It must be set in a fantastical realm other than our own planet Earth. Although there is some leeway on this, as the world could be parallel to our own, or connected in some way to our own, or even set in the extremely distant future of our own in some fantastical, post-apocalyptic sort of scenario.
2. There is often a coming-of-age element and/or a quest of some kind inherent to the story and the main characters.
3. High Fantasy - as opposed to epic or romantic or various other fantasy genres - deals with different non-human races, the most common of which are Elves and Dwarves.
4. High Fantasy almost always contains magic of some kind and to some degree.
5. There is a strong theme of good versus evil woven throughout the plot. Usually there is some sort of Dark Lord who is attempting to take over the world and must be stopped by the hero characters.
6. The technology is generally no further along than the medieval/middle ages era.
7. It almost always consists of a multi-volume work: a trilogy or longer, which allows for a vastly complex plot and a high cast count.
8. The realms are generally kingdoms ruled by a monarchy of some sort.
9. The villains generally employ some sort of evil non-human races to do their bidding: orcs, goblins, trolls, deep gnomes, drow, and the like.
10. There is almost always a dragon somewhere in the story.

Of course, since most High Fantasy is held up to the standard of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, the nature of discerning whether or not a certain novel or series can indeed be labelled as “High Fantasy” is somewhat subjective. Just because a novel contains several or all of the above items does not mean that everyone will agree that it deserves the moniker. These elements can help narrow it down, however.
So, if you are interested in a story that allows you to adventure through amazing realms set in a medieval era with a large cast of heroic characters for thousands of pages in an epic battle of good versus evil, then High Fantasy is definitely the genre for you!

About Jenelle Leanne Schmidt
Jenelle is a rare and elusive creature known as an "author." She enjoys wandering in the woods, opening doors in search of hidden passageways, and carrying on animated conversations with those strange and invisible beings known as "characters."
Connect with Jenelle on Twitter
and Facebook.

If you are looking for some high fantasy novels to try out, we recommend these ones from the Fellowship's shelves:

​Welcome to our All About Sub-Genre Series in which we discuss the ins and outs of various corners of the broader fantasy market. 
Today we have guest host Elise Edmonds to discuss the finer points of Young Adult fantasy. 

Young Adult Fantasy

Young Adult (YA) Fantasy is a subset of fiction written for a teenage audience. As a general rule, characters in YA Fantasy are aged between 13 and 18, and the storylines focus on typical teenage experiences. YA Fantasy is identified by its characters and the issues they face, rather than by the situation. So, for example, you can have YA urban fantasy, YA steampunk, or YA adventure fantasy, etc.

Typically, YA Fantasy will contain some or all of the following themes:

Coming of Age – This theme involves dealing with the changes that life throws upon the characters in the transition from child to adult. This can involve taking on adult responsibilities, career choices, character growth, development of magical powers or skills, and realisation that the world is not as straight-forward as previously assumed.

School/Training – This theme deals with learning experiences and how teenagers take their places in the adult word of work. Many YA Fantasy books are set in schools or training institutions, or involve apprenticeships or first jobs.

Love/Romance – First love is a theme often explored in YA Fantasy, combined with learning to deal with brand-new romantic or physical feelings and the development of relationships.

Independence – Characters making their own way in the world is a key theme. They can no longer depend on the adults around them and must learn to stand on their own two feet. Often, adults are written out of the picture or take a back seat, in order to allow the teens to work things out for themselves.

Adventure/Quest – As a counterpart to the character arc, the YA Fantasy hero or heroine will often either fall into adventure, or have some kind of goal or quest to complete. They will be assisted on the way by their friends and mentor figures. YA Fantasy tends to be strongly plot-driven, and the plot progression and lessons learned on the way allows the teen character to develop and change by the end of the novel, whilst providing an exciting scenario for the reader.

In my own YA Fantasy novel, Where Carpets Fly, a teenage girl leaves her family to live in the big city and take magic lessons. She is thrown into an adventure when she takes an unexpected voyage to a neighbouring country, and everything proceeds to go wrong. Throughout the story, she learns magic, has to deal with difficult situations on her own, and also has a romance; so I combined all the elements above in my story.

So, if you enjoy exciting worlds and adventures mixed with the trials and tribulations of teenage life, YA Fantasy is the genre for you.

About Elise Edmonds
Elise Edmonds is a new writer from the South-West UK. Reading and writing have always been her doorways into another world—a way to escape and spend time walking with wizards, flying with fairies and dealing with dragons. By day she is a finance professional, and in her spare time she pursues writing as a creative outlet, to put the magic back into everyday life. In addition to reading, Elise enjoys watching movies, playing the piano, and going to Zumba classes. Her greatest loves are God, her husband, her family and friends, and her two beautiful cats.
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Welcome to our All About Sub-Genre Series in which we discuss the ins and outs of various corners of the broader fantasy market. 
Today we have guest host Lisa Rector to discuss the finer points of romantic fantasy. 

Romantic Fantasy

Romantic fantasy is for you if you like a light, character driven, more traditional fantasy plot, which includes two characters who find themselves drawn to each other, even if they start out as enemies. During a character's journey to develop powers and overcome trials, romance will ensue with bits of tension. The hero or heroine will undoubtedly be fighting some inner battle that makes them bulk at the chemistry with the other character until they slay their inner demons, save the world, and realize there is room in their heart to love. 

Romantic fantasy might not be for you if you prefer paranormal fantasy or epic fantasy. Romantic fantasy doesn't have the usual tropes of vampires and werewolves. Usually romantic fantasy novels are set in a high fantasy world, and an ultimate goal, besides love, is sought. Love is just the icing on the cupcake.

Here are a few examples taken from my novels.

In Master of Lies, Ahnalyn fights a personal battle within herself while facing an outer conflict with the villain Lord Caedryn. Along the way romance ensues with Aneirin, but if the romance was left out, the main plot would continue.

Fantasy with romance.

In The Two Masters, the novel follows two protagonists, who end up being each other’s antagonists. Einion and Rhianu are both fighting against their competing powers of light and darkness. Take out the tender feelings they have toward each other, and the internal conflict would still be there, but the novel wouldn’t be as juicy.

Fantasy with romance.

In Master of Time, Catrin and Meuric end up back in time. They end up on a quest to learn the way back home while saving a local village and the first dragon egg. Their feelings of hatred toward each other change, but take out their budding romance, and the main plot would still work.

Fantasy with romance.

See where I’m going? Fantasy with romance woven in—in a completely different world, making it also high fantasy. So here’s where I say, if you like fantasy elements intertwined with romance, but don’t like the hefty world building of epic fantasy novels, romantic fantasy novels are right up your alley. They are light, but emotional reads.

About Lisa Rector:
Lisa Rector is a Maryland native and can't imagine living anywhere else. She married her high school sweetheart for time and all eternity in the Washington D.C. Temple after she fell in love with his endless sense of humor. Lisa enjoyed a short stint as a labor and delivery nurse before becoming a stay-at-home mom for her two beautiful daughters. In addition to her new-found love of writing, her passions are her faith in Jesus Christ, gardening, and yoga. Her favorite delights are decadent homemade cakes, cookies, or brownies—never store-bought.
Connect with her at https://lisarector.blogspot.com

​Beauty's Gift (Once Upon A Princess, #4) 

​by C. S. Johnson
Rating PG
In the fourth and final part of the saga, Rose knows the time has come to risk everything. Along with her friends, she prepares to face Magdalina, the wicked ruler of the fairies, and fight the battle of her life - the battle for her freedom, her kingdom, and her heart. 

​Luminous

by CJ Brightley, WR Gingell, March Secchia, Intisar Khanani and six more! 
Rating PG 13
Dare to step into lands of myths, magic, and monsters, because there is light to be found in even the darkest of places.

​Mystery of Asgina Lake

by Caren Rich 
Rating PG 
Small town, big trouble.

​Forgotten Crown

by Kara Jaynes
Rating PG 
Glacia hadn't meant to fall in love with the silver-haired boy. It just happened. But Silvan wields magic, which is forbidden in Glacia's society.

We had a LOT of fun with #DragonWeek. One of our big events was our Readers' Choice Dragon Poll. We started off about a week before #DragonWeek, asking our followers to nominate their favorite dragons. We had an excellent response. In fact there were so many that instead of forcing our readers to choose 1 dragon out of the 30+ nominees, we broke it down into three categories for final voting:
Favorite Movie Dragon
Favorite Book Dragon
Favorite Indie Dragon (dragon not from an IP under a major publishing house and/or studio)

Here are our results:

This poll was handily won by Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon. 
Toothless is a loyal friend with a LOT of character, so we're happy to celebrate his win!

This race was a 

This poll ended up in a three-way tie! We then brought the top three dragons to our Closing Ceremonies and asked the participants to vote for their favorite, but with it being so close, we're going to feature all three here.
Starting with our third place poll winner: 

About Albinonix!
Three hundred years before the events of Mercy's Prince, a young Albinonix participated in the first Covenant made between the great dragons of Levathia and the humans which had invaded their shores, claiming they were escaping persecution in their own land across the great sea. Though most of the dragons were skeptical the humans would keep their part of the treaty, Albinonix believed in the integrity of the human leader, Alden. And even though some humans later tried to renew the war with the dragons, Albinonix continued to believe that not all humans were evil.

Albinonix is now about four hundred years old, Chief of Dragons and the largest of their fire-breathing species. His scales are blue-green, and he is ninety feet from nose to tail with a forty-five foot wingspan. A sentient creature, he can speak mind-to-mind with a few gifted humans, and though he desires peace between dragons and humans, he is a formidable enemy.
You can meet him in Mercy's Prince

About Cricket!
Cricket comes from a world where dragon eggs can be bought in packs at toy stores. Most hatch into short-lived mayfly dragons, but occasionally an egg produces a special pet-sized dragon, a Sparker or a Steamer, for instance. 
However, when dragon lover Cora's egg hatches into a muddy-brown dragon who makes a peculiar "chirping" sound, she's not sure what to think. She's never seen a dragon like Cricket. 
What Cricket turns out to be changes Cora's world forever.
You can meet him in Cora and the Nurse Dragon.

About Gnaw!
Gnaw is a sarcastic young dragon with a hidden agenda. When he moves into a cave near the home of an infamous dragon-hunting king, his hope is to draw the king into a battle and settle a score. 
However, he doesn't anticipate Shannon, a young healer and scholar who wants to avoid anyone being eaten by dragons. An unusual friendship forms and Gnaw finds himself looking forward to visits from the talkative Shannon.
But Gnaw has a secret which might put them both in danger.
You can meet him in Dragon's Curse, book one of the Dragon and the Scholar Saga.