Discussions: Discuss CompletelyNovels

Harry Sivertsen replied in Plain Jane, ball and chain vs. Miss Skinny Big Tits - Is this the way to promote the novel?

Hi Howard,

Thanks for that but I am afraid that publishers create fashions, they tend to flood the market with a particular genre and reap whatever they can…then change tack when the reading public get fed up with the dregs of that particular genre. A few years ago that happened with history and all who write history are today feeling the pinch. Yes a few get through but mainstream and usually war orientated so the works can be read as an adventure novel as much as a serious study. In fact some historians have been complaining that they have to dramatise their works simply to get an agent to examine them…this speaks for itself doesn’t it…serious work is getting downgraded and the sound bite or its written equivalent seems to be the rule…or at least is heading that way.

What is so damned annoying is the presumption on the part of publishers that the reading public are simple enough to want such simplistic narratives…The answer, however, is simple, it is easier to market and push simplistic narratives…don’t ask people to think but have them accept…At least with novels complexity can sometimes be an asset.

Perhaps I am somewhat old fashioned but the quality of some works in the historical genre that I have seen over the past two decades would have ensured the same works would not have been published when I was much younger…too much fantasy portrayed as fact.

My works have actually been praised by some editors [ the chap at Penguin however made it plain that he would prefer Atlantis to remain mysterious and not such a prosaic story] but in any case, editors hands are tied by those above them and history is a non-starter at the moment…at least serious studies are, historical novels are ok…perhaps I should have turned all this into a novel…

Keep pushing is the motto but utilise patience…enough to drive one to insanity and end up as a patient…!!!

Ah well, London Book Show this month…my agent will be there and if the opportunity arises will try my works on at least one individual…

All the best

Harry

Gary Hurlstone replied in The Sand Mandala by Gary Helstone

Just found this discussion, connectivity a bit slow over here [China] but am holed up in a Wuhan hotel and plenty of time to browse around.

The old lady in question actually turns out to be the wife of a couple that lived alone in the mountains of Yunnan, until her husband died. He was the person that built the five thousand steps for her [actually based upon a true story] She was much younger than her husband, a situation that caused them to be driven out of their village because such relationships were frowned upon. She provides the clue that eventually leads the protagonist, Jamie, to discover a secret place that was the old couple’s home. Her husband still waits for her to return [the blind urhu player also mentioned in the first chapter]

So, for anyone that is remotely interested, the old lady’s gesture has, as Elizabeth rightly spots, quite a lot of significance.

Gary Hurlstone

Heidi Polk replied in What about this fishy little number?

I’d have to say that I think I like ‘Umm and Ah’ the best of all four stories (no worries, no spoilers here!)

I loved that Dickinson seems to really draw upon the mutable nature of water within her stories – it gives life and knowledge, it contains mysteries, it silences and conceals, it magnifies and distorts. I found it interesting to see how such a basic element of nature could be manifested and utilized in such a large variety of ways, especially when being in water and underwater seemed to contribute to that dreamy overall feeling behind the stories…

The same goes for her use of light and reflective surfaces (i.e. mirrors, windows, the water). The images of what (and who) can see and be seen are almost overwhelming (especially in ‘Ummm and Ah’), and led me to further thoughts dancing around the themes of barriers, the separation of physical objects, sight vs. sound, etc…

Michael McGlade replied in CompletelyNovel Launch Anthology

I liked the way the author controlled the story, made it so precise and ordered, much like the protagonist’s life had been, even reading it back felt a bit like looking at the instructions on a packet of sauce – the complete opposite of her reaction to her husband’s fling. Well done. Totally unexpected ending.