Did you ever wish that a writer you liked would slow down and write fewer books? I read a lot. One time I tried to use one of those book apps on Facebook and I didn't realize that it loaded my status every time I added a book to my list that I had read. It was actually kind of funny how my profile filled up. This thing was designed for the person who only reads one or two books a year. I can't quite imagine how many books I've read. I finished two this week, but it's usually a book every other week or so. I don't keep track. Maybe some day I'll make a list of the books I've read. Maybe not.
So this week, I was reading an author that I like. A lot. Katie MacAlister. She's the only romance writer that I read. She's funny, in the same way that Christopher Moore is funny. His book, 'A Dirty Job,' is one of my favorites and I love his series that includes 'You Suck.'
The book I just finished reading is 'In the Company of Vampires.' The beginning was great. I liked that the main character is a girl who is six feet tall and not model-skinny. I loved these three characters, Viking ghosts, that accompany her as well as embarrass her. They were a little over the top, but I realized that I'd like having characters in my life that were boisterous, a little pushy, and very loving. They were hysterical and somehow realistic. I imagined these three guys getting ready for a renaissance fair with MacAlister.
See, the thing that keeps me in a romance novel is how much I relate to the main character and what's going on around her. I like that MacAlister's heroine is clueless much of the time. Then there's this guy that loves her beyond all reason. I like that her settings are interesting and pretty thoroughly understood. I stopped reading Nora Roberts when I realized that she didn't know the difference between a semi-automatic and a revolver. I mean, if you're going to use a gun in a book, you should know how to put the bullets into it. Still, I liked Roberts' book 'Born in Fire,' because she managed to keep a decent Irish accent and her heroine was a glass artist. See, the details really do matter, people.
So I romped through MacAlister's book and got to the end late last night and fell flat on my face. The heroine finished her quest, became linked to her lover, everyone lived happily ever after, and 'The End,' right? What? I wanted my climax! Really, it was like a bad interlude where the guy is trying to just get the job done so you'll get ready for him already. (I do actually remember dating way back when and those guys were the worst.) I wanted the real thing in the book where there's a moment when you really think that something might fail. I wanted a resolution to the mom thing in this story. I wanted the creepy guy to go up in smoke. I wanted cheering and kissing all around. It really is hard to critique without telling you the ending of the book, but I'm telling you, those publishers told MacAlister to finish that book and start another one and she threw a faux-ending on it and called it good the way you would after six cups of coffee, when it's 4:30 am, your term paper is due at 8:00 and you still have to type the whole damn thing. I was left lying in bed, listless and unsatisfied.
I recently read on Katie MacAlister's blog that she has an ulcer. I can understand why. She's on this treadmill of publishing two or three books a year, managing e-reader versions, and all that goes with it. I feel kind of bad for her if her lifestyle is making her health deteriorate. I imagine that the life she leads at home is less like her books than it used to be. I hope she doesn't really need the money at this point because I want to give her some advice. If I met Katie MacAlister, I would tell her how much I love her books. I would tell her that her characters and her settings are great, that I want more of them. I would tell her that she's funny and can usually tell a story like nobody's business. Then, I would tell her to quit the romance novel business and play for a year or so at least until her health is restored. And I would ask her to write a book without telling any publishers about it. It should have those good characters and settings, but the main thing she'd need to do is write something that really meant something to her, a story that came from her heart. I'd ask her to take her time and make it just the way she thought was right, finished when it was finished and not before. And I'd ask her to never go back to being pushed around by a publisher again.
After complaining about all that, I'm going to start another one of Katie MacAlister's books.
Thank you for listening, jb
So this week, I was reading an author that I like. A lot. Katie MacAlister. She's the only romance writer that I read. She's funny, in the same way that Christopher Moore is funny. His book, 'A Dirty Job,' is one of my favorites and I love his series that includes 'You Suck.'
The book I just finished reading is 'In the Company of Vampires.' The beginning was great. I liked that the main character is a girl who is six feet tall and not model-skinny. I loved these three characters, Viking ghosts, that accompany her as well as embarrass her. They were a little over the top, but I realized that I'd like having characters in my life that were boisterous, a little pushy, and very loving. They were hysterical and somehow realistic. I imagined these three guys getting ready for a renaissance fair with MacAlister.
See, the thing that keeps me in a romance novel is how much I relate to the main character and what's going on around her. I like that MacAlister's heroine is clueless much of the time. Then there's this guy that loves her beyond all reason. I like that her settings are interesting and pretty thoroughly understood. I stopped reading Nora Roberts when I realized that she didn't know the difference between a semi-automatic and a revolver. I mean, if you're going to use a gun in a book, you should know how to put the bullets into it. Still, I liked Roberts' book 'Born in Fire,' because she managed to keep a decent Irish accent and her heroine was a glass artist. See, the details really do matter, people.
So I romped through MacAlister's book and got to the end late last night and fell flat on my face. The heroine finished her quest, became linked to her lover, everyone lived happily ever after, and 'The End,' right? What? I wanted my climax! Really, it was like a bad interlude where the guy is trying to just get the job done so you'll get ready for him already. (I do actually remember dating way back when and those guys were the worst.) I wanted the real thing in the book where there's a moment when you really think that something might fail. I wanted a resolution to the mom thing in this story. I wanted the creepy guy to go up in smoke. I wanted cheering and kissing all around. It really is hard to critique without telling you the ending of the book, but I'm telling you, those publishers told MacAlister to finish that book and start another one and she threw a faux-ending on it and called it good the way you would after six cups of coffee, when it's 4:30 am, your term paper is due at 8:00 and you still have to type the whole damn thing. I was left lying in bed, listless and unsatisfied.
I recently read on Katie MacAlister's blog that she has an ulcer. I can understand why. She's on this treadmill of publishing two or three books a year, managing e-reader versions, and all that goes with it. I feel kind of bad for her if her lifestyle is making her health deteriorate. I imagine that the life she leads at home is less like her books than it used to be. I hope she doesn't really need the money at this point because I want to give her some advice. If I met Katie MacAlister, I would tell her how much I love her books. I would tell her that her characters and her settings are great, that I want more of them. I would tell her that she's funny and can usually tell a story like nobody's business. Then, I would tell her to quit the romance novel business and play for a year or so at least until her health is restored. And I would ask her to write a book without telling any publishers about it. It should have those good characters and settings, but the main thing she'd need to do is write something that really meant something to her, a story that came from her heart. I'd ask her to take her time and make it just the way she thought was right, finished when it was finished and not before. And I'd ask her to never go back to being pushed around by a publisher again.
After complaining about all that, I'm going to start another one of Katie MacAlister's books.
Thank you for listening, jb
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