What the heck is Edgy Fiction?

In our inaugural blog post, it made sense to take a closer look at what we’ve called ourselves … The Edge. 

We called ourselves The Edge because, as a group, we write edgy fiction. 

But what is edgy fiction?  Well, for one thing, it is, now I come to think about it, hard to define.

Line up our books and you’d probably struggle to find many points of similarity.  Some are aimed at the ten plus age range, some at fifteen plus and all the points between (and above – why not?).  Some have male protagonists, some female.  Some have love stories, some don’t.  Some are set in contemporary England, some else-where or else-when …

Our books don’t naturally cluster into a clearly defined genre.  This isn’t a blog about ‘paranormal romance’, ‘psychological chiller’, or ‘dystopian fiction’ although some of us fall into these categories (and some don’t).

 

So what is similar about our work?  Why on earth would we think we do fall into a natural group?

What does edgy mean?

Well, you can have ‘an edgy look’ which is modern, contemporary or fashionable

Our books look good, if I do say so myself; we have scored some really great cover art.  But that can’t be all there is to edgy fiction. 

Is edgy fiction modern?  Well, yes, in a way.  But then everyone writing now is technically ‘modern’ and I would categorise plenty of less contemporary writing as ‘edgy fiction’, look at Wuthering Heights for instance.  That’s not modern, but I’d be able to debate that it was quite edgy.

I would argue that edgy fiction has to have a fresh feel to it.  It doesn’t necessarily have to be completely new, but it should have a unique voice, or original tone or approach. 

Then there’s the other side of edgy which is also key to writing edgy fiction.  Edgy can be feeling uncomfortable, tense, unsettled, unsure … the ‘on the edge of your seat’ sort of edginess. 

Then what is unsettling?  It can be horror in the classic sense of the word – why not?  But it should really be something that makes the reader stop and think and carry on thinking for days afterwards.  Perhaps even read on with the light on.  Maybe it makes the reader put the book down for a little while, because the ideas dealt with in edgy fiction are uncomfortable but never boring.    

Edgy fiction encapsulates both of these definitions.  Edgy fiction is fresh, but unsettling.

And that’s what we write at The Edge.  We’d like to think we’re unique voices dealing with issues; everything from hope and redemption to the nature of good and evil, to things with a more specific focus such as immigration or child abandonment.

Our books are fresh and unsettling, gripping and thought-provoking. 

We’re edgy.

Do you dare to read us?

(Bryony Pearce, author of Angel's Fury)

A few related questions for the authors of The Edge:

Q1. Have you always written edgy fiction or do you have other work (perhaps in the back of a drawer) that might fall into a different category?

Q2. What do you think makes your work ‘unsettling’?  What are the key issues that are touched upon in your book or books? 

Q3. What made you decide to deal with these issues and were you nervous about choosing to use these issues in your fiction? 

Q4. Can you give us a quote from your most recent book?  Something that perhaps highlights some of the issue you deal with?

Q5. When is your book available for readers to buy?