I forgot yesterday when I posted that I would be blogging here again today that it’s my turn to do the deed at Blogging in Black. So if you want to know what’s on my mind today, head on over. I’ll meet you there.
Archive for the 'reading' Category
12
Jul
Got Cliche?
As I’m working on my own paranormal series, I was interested in story elements/characterization stereotypes. In other words cliches that I wanted to avoid. I have a couple of articles posted on the website regarding romance cliches, but damn if there don’t seem to be more in fantasy.
For me this bears a bit of irony since of the two genres romance is the more restricted. In fantasy you can make your own world in ways you can’t with romance. You can go to the past, the future, a parallel world or one that exists only in your own mind. You can have a love interest if you want, but you don’t have to. You can have a happy ending if you want, but you can also be a bleak son of a bitch if you desire. Your characters can be shape-shifters, vampires, invisible pixie-like ‘droids if you want them to. So why so much conformity?
Part of the reason, I’m sure, is that unlike pure fantasy, fantasy publishing exists in the real world where what is expected to be a success tomorrow is the thing that was a success yesterday. The mantra tends to be give me exactly what I had yesterday, except just different enough not to incite cries of plagiarism. I mean how many versions of The Incredible Hulk do we really need.
I think it’s also true that people write what they’ve seen and liked and thought they could put their own spin on. Hey, the Bard of Avon did it. His Romeo and Juliet is based on another work Romeo and Giuliet (I think that’s how it was spelled, but it’s been a long time since I took that Shakespeare course). To the Elizabethan (and other minds) the true merit of a story was not its originality by the skill the author showed in telling their version of the tale.
vs. 
Same couple, different centuries?
Given the recent spate of remakes of previous works everywhere from the movie theatre to the bookstore to Broadway, it appears the do-over is de rigeur.
So that begs the question, what to steal and what to leave behind? Here are a few websites to help you decide. Each features cliches to avoid.
What cliches do you hate seeing in science fiction/fantasy/paranormal works? What would you like to see more of? Inquiring writers want to know!
Today I am so pleased to have Niambi Brown Davis as our guest blogger today. Niambi’s debut novel, From Dusk to Dawn is out now from Parker Publishing. Niambi is one of my students from way back so I can vouch that her writing is simply delicious.
Niambi has written an appreciative note titled There Are More of Us to all the wonderful folks that helped paved the way in helping her get her book published. She will also be dropping in during the day to leave comments, answer questions and find out who and what you want to pay forward. Additionally, check out her blog to find out how you can enter to win tour prizes including the beach bag created by main character, Ayo, FREE BOOKS and a few other wonderful prizes. Click links to visit Niambi’s website and blog.
There Are More of Us…
As part of the Against All Odds Virtual Book Tour, I should be blogging about my debut novel, or something related to my book. But for good reason, I need to take a necessary break. You never know who or what you will meet on the journey to publication. Years ago, when I first joined the online literary world, I came across some skirmishes that could take their title from the movie “There Will Be Blood.” And on the same road, I encountered potholes, detours, a few wrecks and the carcasses of manuscripts that should never see the light of day.
At that same time, I was told by some that it was a closed world to a new writer - authors were unwilling to help, holding their information close to the vest in order to keep the competition at bay. Now, unless I am living in a parallel universe or just plain old Pollyanna, nothing could be farther from the truth - at least in my experience. At first, I was hesitant to ask a question of authors whose names I had seen on the best-sellers list; or editors and publishers of magazines who had already made a name for themselves in the literary community. But one day I ventured out with a few paragraphs and received praise tempered with advice. It was the beginning, but most definitely not the end of a great willingness by many to help a newbie get a foot in the door. One phone call led to an invaluable critique. Another to a long-term writing opportunity. And still another to information on the inner workings of the publishing industry. I would be remiss if I left out the sharing of names of editors and agents. From all of this came my debut “From Dusk to Dawn.” To say I am grateful is an understatement. And I will take my cue from another movie and “Pay It Forward.”
Whenever she would talk about the triumph of good over the not-so-good, my mother would say “there are more of us than there are of them.” As usual, she was right.
Today’s discussion questions:
When was the last time you experienced a random act of kindness…when you least expected it?
When was the last time you paid something forward? What was it?
In honor of May being Mother’s month, what’s the best piece of advice your mom ever gave you?
ABOUT Niambi Brown Davis:
Niambi was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and raised on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. She and her family lived for many years in Washington, DC and for three and a half years, made the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago their home.
She has written for Bronze Thrills, True Confessions and Black Romance Magazines. Niambi indulged her passion for sailing and travel by serving as publicist for the Black Boaters Summit and as a member of the National Association of Black Travel Writers. A script for her first digital novella has been accepted and published by Arrow Publications, LLC. Presently, Niambi writes for Travel Lady Magazine.
Aside from travel and writing, Niambi is an avid reader of historical fiction, and deeply involved in tracing the history of both branches of her family tree. Her day job is running the business of Sand & Silk / Soleful Strut, her own line of handcrafted bath and body products.
I hope you will give her work a try,. You won’t be disappointed.
Recently, we had an addition to our family. My younger sister and her husband adopted a baby girl, Christiane. So, of course we have to have the baby shower and of course, the author and kindergarten teacher in me demands that the new baby must have a book. My choice–Love You Forever by Robert Munsch. I don’t know an adult who can get through this book with a dry eye. In fact, when I was in Barnes and Noble looking for it, another woman, obviously a mother by the child glued to her hip, said, “Oh my children love that book. They say, read us the book that makes you cry.” That’s what I did. I read the story to my mother and sister in the store and the three of us ended up weeping like lunatics in the aisle. Is there anything as cathartic as a public, communal tearfest? I don’t think so.
Anyhoo, I was quite proud of myself presenting my new niece and her parents with a worthy tome–until I read this article in PW. Apparently there are some folks who find the book creepy and detestable. I never would have guessed, despite the mother in the story baring a striking resemblance to Shirley MacLaine’s character in Terms of Endearment (emotionally anyway). There are some who suggest that Munsch wrote the book as satire, but that strikes me as the protest of one guilty of mawkishness and lavish sentiment, and well, you’ve got to tell them something.
Oh, well. I’ll go on loving it and you can judge for your own self, but next time I feel the need to indulge, I’ll stay out of Barnes and Noble.
Recently the New York Times announced its list of the 50 best mystery writers and most of the folks I know went, “huh?” I’ll admit, I’m late to the table reading mystery. I can’t say I’d picked up anything beside Christie or Hammett and only because I had to for school. That is until a few years ago. Then I couldn’t get enough.
But I still have to wonder how they came up with this particular list. Did they stick a bunch of names in a hat and pick out the first 50? And who came up with the cheesy descriptors??? But let me ask you–do you agree with this list? If not, who would you kick off? Who would you add?
1. Patricia Highsmith
Rule-breaking master of amorality
2. Georges Simenon
The Trojan horse of foreign crime-writing
3. Agatha Christie
The original Queen of Crime
4. Raymond Chandler
The most profound of pulp writers
5. Elmore Leonard
The Dickens of Detroit
6. Arthur Conan Doyle
Creator of the ultimate hero-and-sidekick team
7. Ed McBain
Thrilling writer of snap-and-crackle dialogue
8. James M. Cain
Godfather of Noir
9. Ian Rankin
Edinburgh’s gritty crime laureate
10. James Lee Burke
American spinner of bleakly lyrical tales
11. Dennis Lehane
A tender craftsman with a tough centre
12. P.D. James
Prolific and cerebral grand dame of British crime
13. Dashiell Hammett
The man who dragged murder back into the alley
14. Jim Thompson
Revered creator of corrupt cops and sociopaths
15. Sjowall and Wahloo
The mother and father of Nordic crime
16. John Dickson Carr
King of the “locked room mystery”
17. Cornell Woolrich
Tortured pulp novelist known for Rear Window
18. Ruth Rendell
Criminal mastermind of unparalleled breadth and depth
19. Ross Macdonald
Raymond Chandler’s hard-boiled heir
20. James Ellroy
The most literary of American crime writers
21. Charles Willeford
Aficianados’ favourite who is ripe for a break-through
22. Dorothy Sayers
Lord Peter Wimsey’s witty creator
23. John Harvey
The man behind the jazz-loving Nottingham cop Resnick
24. Wilkie Collins
Godfather of the detective novel
25. Francis Iles
Pseudonymous writer of radical plots
26. Manuel Vasquez Montalban
Intellectual gourmand whose fiction mapped Barcelona
27. Karin Fossum
Norway’s foremost cold-climate crime writer
28. Val McDermid
Influential author of high-grade “Tartan Noir”
29. Edgar Allan Poe
Mould-setter for the modern sleuth
30. Derek Raymond
Hard-drinking, hard-writing British crime legend
31. George Pelecanos
Energetic, music-loving social crusader
32. Margery Allingham
Golden Age sophisticate who can chill or charm
33. Minette Walters
Unflinching chronicler of humankind’s dark side
34. Carl Hiaasen
Rapid-fire satirist of Miami vices
35. Walter Mosley
A bold American voice, not afraid to tackle race
36. Reginald Hill
Playful creator of British favourites Dalziel and Pascoe
37. Michael Dibdin
Late, great ironist who investigated Italy’s corruption
38. Patricia Cornwell
Shrewd pioneer of gruesome pathology
39. Scott Turow
Legal thriller-writer famous for Presumed Innocent
40. Dick Francis
Former jockey and king of equestrian intrigue
41. Edmund Crispin
Elegant and accomplished Oxford plotter
42. Alexander McCall Smith
Scottish Professor whose Mma Ramotswe has won hearts and minds
43 Andrea Camilleri
Italy’s foremost crime export
44. Harlan Coben
Mature metroplitan stylist loved for his twisting plots
45. Donna Leon
American explorer of the Venetian underworld
46. Josephine Tey
Acute 1940s author whose books describe the danger of love
47. Colin Dexter
Former classics teacher who found fame with Morse
48. Nicholas Blake
C. Day Lewis’ crime-writing foil
49. Henning Mankell
Swedish novelist with a bleak take of modern life
50. Sara Paretsky
Spirited creator of feminist sleuth VI Warshawski
22
Apr
Keeping it real
I think I’m in love with Lee Lofland’s blog The Graveyard Shift, particularly the last entry on “getting it right” in crime fiction posted by literary agent Scott Hoffman. He’s discussing why writers should strive to know what they are talking about, with both agents and the general public. You can read for yourself what he says about agents, but as for readers, here’s my favorite part.
Well, readers of crime fiction like to feel smart. To the extent that you can debunk closely-held myths in the course of your writing, agents, editors, and ultimately readers will love it. If you can tell readers how things REALLY happen—as opposed to the way they look on TV, it will give your work a feeling of authenticity that’s often missing in crime fiction (and nonfiction.)
That’s always been my goal in writing crime fiction–to show what I know that the reader doesn’t without making them feel foolish for believing everything you see on CSI.
So, I end by asking you the same question as Mr. Hoffman does his readers–whast are your bugaboos and pet peeves about crime fiction (or even reportage of true crime)? What story line could you do without ever seeing again? Fess up!
I had planned to write a rather frivolous post about the hunks on Dancing with the Stars today–until I happened over to Dear Author. The day’s post about the trivialization of serious issues in romance intrigued me, since this has been a criticism of mine about the genre since I first started reading it. In romance, tragedy is often nothing more than a plot device to get the hero and heroine to a certain place in the story, without adequate consideration of what real impact such experiences have on people.
This is how the post starts out:
A legitimate criticism of romance as serious literature is it’s often cavalier treatment of important life topics. Too often, war, separation, human indignity, are treated as plot devices, conflict mechanisms, and not given the attention and treatment those important issues deserve. How many romance books are thought provoking? How many challenge your personal concepts of right and wrong? How many portray multi hued individuals as both heroic and villianous? Surely within the umbrella of the romance genre, there is room for these books.
I can’t argue with anything that is said here, which does not mean, in my opinion, that no romances deal with important issues head on, but, in my opinion, fewer than should do. In other words, if you’ve got a protagonist recovering from a bad marriage, missing child, breast cancer, rape, whatever, or you’ve got a character who’s a soldier or cop, nurse or counselor, they experience life in particular ways that are often glossed over rather than exploited properly for the verisimilitude of their story.
This to my mind doesn’t mean every story has to be heavy or heavy handed. However, if you’re going to bring up the heroine’s unkind personal history, or whatever, let the effects of it reverberate in her life on a deeper level than making her wary of the hero’s attentions. Almost any serious event injected into a character’s life produces a constellation of effects. These can be explored even if you do it in a less than grave way.
I know that I had a hard time writing my hero for Soldier Boys. The story was supposed to be light and airy, so I kept it that way as much as I could. However, the guys a freaking marine sniper, and after reading even minimally about these guys and giving him the background that I did, I knew I couldn’t divorce the story from the realities of the ongoing war and keep it in any way beleivable. So I didn’t. The result is a deeper story, I hope, even though it is also really, really hot. I’ve got my fingers crossed that it works.
But I also don’t think that romance is alone in glossing over serious events or issues. The more suspense and mystery I read, the more I become aware that every genre has its way of trivializing that which it isn’t prepared to deal with. Ever read a sex scene in your average testosterone-filled thriller? Either it’s one of those wham-bam- excuse me while I come, ma’am, deals where it’s over in two seconds (doesn’t say much for the hero if you ask me) or it’s the sappiest bit of crap that no romance writer could get away with in a million years.
The truth of it is, there is room for shades of gray in every genre: true exploration of the human psyche and human emotions in every genre; contemplation of right and wrong and just in every genre and when we gloss over it or exploit it not for what it is but what we want it to be, we do both ourselves and our readers an injustice.
05
Oct
Tagged
I have been tagged by Elizabeth Mahon to participate in the latest book meme going, so here goes:
Total number of books: Unfair question. I have books on my bookshelves three deep. I have boxes of books I never unpacked after my last move. I have cartons of kids books for teaching. I’m not doing all that counting. Suffice it to say, we are at the point where the hubby and I are buying up stock in shelving companies.
Last Book Read: I’ve always been a much bigger reader of non-fiction than fiction. I am currently reading African Spirituality by Anthony Ephirim-Donkor. Very interesting. Love the matrifocal worldview, thank you.
Last book bought: A great big book on mythology. I can’t get enough of this stuff.
Five meaningful books: In no particular order, here are:
Harriet the Spy- I thought I was young Harriet, writer-to-be. I went on Harriet-like escapades until my mother found out. All I can say about that is, ouch!
Romeo and Juliet-No, not the bard’s but Marchette Chute’s children’s version. It inspired both a love of great literature and great love stories.
Unknown Harlequin Presents-representing the first yet forgotten romance novel I read. I might not have remembered the plot, characters or author, but I was hooked on the genre.
To Kill a Mockingbird -beautiful story that is still one of my favorite books
Spellbound-sorry to throw one of my own in there, but it’s the one that started it all for me. I’d started that book when I was 16 and working on it for all those years was a defining thing for me.
And so I’m tagging A C Menchan, Bettye Griffin, Chicki Brown, Gwyneth Bolton and Caridad Piniero.
I tooled over to Murderati today hoping for a little blood and guts commentary but got sidelined by a post about sex–not too surprising. Whether sex (the explicitly described variety) belongs in mystery is an age-old debate. Some like it; some don’t. Some like the way some people do it but not others.
Me personally, I enjoy writing romantic suspense and also reading it. I like the suspense dark and the sex hot, hot, hot. Other than that it seems a waste of time. If the sex isn’t urgent, you may as well go out and catch a criminal instead–or commit a crime, depending on your pleasure. I don’t have any problem with gratuitous sex in a regular romance. My motto for writing them is get them in bed as soon as possible, as often as possible. In romantic suspense it has to fit. No making out in the back of the surveillance van that leads to the criminals getting away while you are nookying it up, or whatever. More than I want to read about character’s sexcapades, I want to like them and respect them. Please don’t have them doing stuff that is just plain stupid. But under the right circumstances, have at it.
Well, thats my take on it anyway. I’ll end by asking who do you think writes the best sexy crime stories?
25
Jun
Gumbo Comes to the Bronx
Figuratively speaking y’all, though I wouldn’t mind if it did. I’m talking about Roux in My Gumbo author Kim Robinson. Kim is making the rounds of the blogosphere promoting her book. Kim asks the following questions.
Now that I am speaking at churches about my past and how I survived it I know that I am doing what I was put here for and there is only one person who can judge me, but I have gotten some mixed comments from a lot of people and I would like to ask some of your opinions.
Scenario – You meet an author at a literary convention and you sit and dine with her, laugh and talk and you find her to be a really personable individual. You purchase her book, not really knowing that it is her life story. You take it to your room and start reading it find out that she was a Madam, call girl, drug dealer and addict for over a decade. Now she is helping others and telling her story all over the country and she has written about it, not holding anything back.
How has this knowledge changed your opinion of that person?
I’d be interested in a discussion of Kim’s scenario, but also what readers think of authors when they meet them. What turns you on? What turns you off? Whatever?
Let’s hear from you. Then if you haven’t already, please visit Kim at www.kimrobinson.com. You’ll find her Roux most enjoyable.
