Genres or Authors

Do you read genres, or authors? I've always followed authors. If I find a story I like, I'll check out whatever else they've written, regardless of genre.

Admittedly, I read few new authors. I'm speaking of folks such as G. K. Chesterton, C. S. Lewis, William Heyliger, L. M. Montgomery, and George MacDonald. In their case, I consider the author to be the genre, in which no one else can write. My attitude is, "Surprise me!" Sometimes reading their lesser-known works can be disappointing, but often it's not.

Finding that kind of author is a pleasure, and I'm hoping to be that kind of author.

Romance

I've recently come to a conclusion regarding romance in my novels. I want to describe the friendship, camaraderie, and unity that exists in a true romance, not at the physical layer, but at the personal.

Sex sells, of course, but it's also been done. I can think of far fewer examples of romantic camaraderie. One such example is the Thin Man movie series, starring Myrna Loy and William Powell. They had a romance that was already "happily ever after". It wasn't the problem to be solved. And the banter and just plain fun between the two was a highlight of the series.

At the time, Hollywood was under strict guidelines about including sex in movies, and that restriction resulted in the classic screwball comedies. Writers had to rely on something other than sex, and romantic comedies became a thing of exceedingly enjoyable repartee between the actors (such as in His Girl Friday).

The dialogue made those movies, and I'm hoping to do the same. Of course, I won't have Cary Grant delivering my lines...

Chapter Titles

Folks may judge books by their covers, but I also judge a book by its chapter titles. As a young fellow, I'd look at the cover, of course, but we collected old books, many of which didn't have dust jackets or pictures on the binding. The title, frontispiece, and chapter titles were sometimes the only way to quickly judge a book by an unknown author. Good chapter titles drew me, but merely numeric chapters were an obstacle.

For example, consider the Messenger of the Black Prince, published by Thomas Mawhinney in 1928. Besides having a good story title, it boasted intriguing chapter titles such as these:

The King's Fool
I Am Attacked in the Woods
A Trickster
We Hunt the Wild Boar
The Silver-Hafted Dagger
The Highwayman of Tours
I Find a Companion
The Three Crows Inn
The Scrivener Disappears
The Scrivener Turns Traitor
The Defense of the Cave
The Abbot of Chalonnes
The Black Prince Again

And, of course, no classic juvenile fiction would be complete without at least one chapter title such as "Trapped!", "Escape!", "Pursued", or "Besieged".

The book did not disappoint.

In my own books, I hope to have equally interesting chapter titles. Perhaps they will be good advertising through ebook previews (since the table of contents will be visible for free). But even if they aren't, I still want to be able to read my chapter titles, and find the same indication of a good story I did as a young reader.

Pen and Parchment

I've added a new link, to the Pen and Parchment blog. It's by Nichole White, and like me, she's a new author writing Christian speculative fiction (scifi, fantasy, etc.). The projects she's working on are intriguing, and I'm looking forward to seeing the finished books.

I've only seen a few folks writing in this vein, by the way, and I'd like to see more.

Progress Report

Currently I'm working on four projects: SmorgaSword (a collection of sci-fi/fantasy short stories); Soft Stuff for Sysadmins (a technical pocket guide); Quest of the Incorruptible (a Christian commentary); and Beastlord of Underrim (a fantasy novel).

SmorgaSword is waiting on the cover art, which is nearly done; the Soft Stuff for Sysadmins is in the final editing phase; a working draft of the Quest of the Incorruptible is being reviewed; and I've completed a draft of the Beastlord of Underrim.

Here are the current sizes of the projects:

SmorgaSword: 26900 words;
Soft Stuff for Sysadmins: 1700 words;
Quest of the Incorruptible: 7700 words;
Beastlord of Underrim: 49000 words.

I've been working on one project for a while and then switching to another. Going back to something after leaving it alone for a while has helped.

Judy Bolton vs. Nancy Drew

Most folks I talk to about juvenile series have heard of Nancy Drew, the spunky girl detective who travels the world solving mysteries with George and Bess. I've only read the classic stories, but I enjoyed those.

Fewer people have heard of Judy Bolton, also a classic girl detective, but I enjoyed her adventures more. Nancy Drew has been called the perennial teenager, but Judy Bolton grows older in each story. Judy even marries an FBI agent.

The Judy Bolton series ran for thirty-eight titles, during much the same time frame as the original Nancy Drew series. Unlike the Nancy Drew stories, however, one author, Margaret Sutton, wrote the Judy Bolton adventures under her own name. The series might have continued past thirty-eight, but the publishers killed it because Sutton wanted Judy to have a baby. The publishers thought it would make Judy seem too old.

Few classic juvenile detective series had the main character grow up, and I don't know of a longer running one than Judy Bolton. I doubt there was a better.

Harry Potter

When I first became acquainted with the Harry Potter stories (via the movies, not the books), I was struck by the resemblance to some of my favorite classic series. Not the Lord of the Rings, Narnia, or George MacDonald, but rather the many college series from the early twentieth century.

Those followed a young man or woman through college, and sometimes saw them past it. While the stories weren't about magic, they had eccentric professors, sports rivalries, good friendships, and in some cases, exploits against criminal elements.

For example, the Betty Wales series (written by Edith K. Dunton as Margaret Warde, published between 1904 and 1917), contained the following titles:

Betty Wales, Freshman
Betty Wales, Sophomore
Betty Wales, Junior
Betty Wales, Senior
Betty Wales, B. A.
Betty Wales & Co.
Betty Wales on the Campus
Betty Wales Decides

The books relate each year of Betty Wales' terms at college, and then for a time follow her adventures beyond college. There's no arch villain to be defeated, but the stories are still fun.

Underneath the wizarding world, the Harry Potter stories thus seem a direct descendant of the classic juvenile college series. The framework is there; J. K. Rowling just added her own magic.