Archives

Can a Genre Die?

May15
Courtesy of Wikicommons

Courtesy of Wikicommons

My little corner of the writer’s world was all in a tizzy last week after an article published at Dear Author that suggested that the Historical Romance genre be allowed to die.

Oh horror!

Of course, when you read the article you see that what the author of Dear Author was getting at is that right now there are just so many Regency novels out there with plots that feel stale and recycled, that it’s time to move on to something else. I believe her argument is that if Historical Romance has nothing more to offer than Regency after Regency, everyone will get bored and go home.

Compounding that problem are the cringe-worthy reports from some of my author friends that the traditional publishing agency is caught between disinterest in signing new authors who write Regency, but being unwilling to take a gamble on non-Regency authors, especially new authors, because Historical Romance in general just isn’t selling right now. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule, but from what I’ve seen this seems to be more true than not. Continue reading →

Talking with Constance Phillips about Resurrecting Harry

May9

Constanc Phillips - SMToday my special guest is a fellow writer and friend of mine, Constance Phillips. I read and enjoyed her first book, Fairyproof, and when I heard that her second novel was out, a delicious story about none other than Harry Houdini and his wife, Bess, I couldn’t resist asking her to come by to talk about it.

So Constance, tell us a bit about Resurrecting Harry.

Can Harry Houdini Escape the grim reapers hold to save the only woman he’s ever loved?

That is the sum of the story. Erich a reincarnated Harry Houdini charged with keeping Bess from falling prey to those who would use her for their own gain, and to save her from becoming obsessed with mysticism and talking to the dead.

There is a bit of a mystery going, but all-in-all it’s a story about the great love these two celebrities shared. Continue reading →

How NOT To Write A Series

May7

More often than not these days, it seems as though every story is told as a series. Whether it’s books, movies, or TV shows, series are the format of choice. And why not? Once you get hooked on a world, on the characters and storylines that inhabit it, you want to see more and more and more of it. And while some stories I’ve known drag on and on, the really good stories have you – oh, I don’t know – standing in line for hours and purchasing the seventh and final book of a certain series at 1:30am, then rushing home and reading it in one sitting so that no one spoils it for you.

BramwellBut I have also known cases where a series has been absolutely, completely destroyed by its writers. There are few things in this world that have made me angrier. Case in point: Bramwell.

I wouldn’t be surprised if you haven’t heard of it, but Bramwell was a fantastic, brilliant British TV series from the late 1990s about a woman doctor in London of the late 1890s. Let me tell you, this is one of my favorite series ever. It was complex and meaningful, full of interesting characters and insightful reflections on a world that was as rich and swiftly-changing as our own is today. If you haven’t seen this show you need to zip over to Netflix or Amazon and watch it.

BUT…. Continue reading →

2013 Book #3 – Writing the Breakout Novel, by Donald Maass

May1

So why has it taken me so long to read and post a book report about this book when the last book report was weeks ago? Well, it’s because this is one of the most juicy, rich, thought-provoking books on the writing craft that I’ve read in a long time! It was excellent. It also made me cringe and roll my eyes a couple of times. Why? I’ll tell you….

writing_the_breakout_novel

But I’ll only tell you a little bit at a time, because there was so much in this book that I need to read it again. And again. And then talk about each chapter individually. I’ll start out with telling you why every writer should read it. Continue reading →

What Writers Can Learn From Public Radio

Apr26

The local radio station that I listen to every day (WRTI in Philadelphia) is in the midst of its spring membership drive right now. That, of course, means hour after hour of the radio hosts going on and on about how I should pledge, how the station depends on me, and how the only reason they can say on the air is because of the support of listeners like me.

WRTI 60Well, I do pledge to the station. Every month, in fact. And I’ll confess, I tend to find something else to listen to for the ten days or so that it takes for them to reach their goals.

But then I started thinking…. Continue reading →