It's a genre that waxes and wanes in popularity, although dramatizations of kings and queens seems to be very popular at the moment. Historical fiction goes back to the first time someone tried to imagine what it must have been like when . . . In a way, the Illiad is historical fiction, because the... Continue Reading →
Oh John! Oh Marsha! Oh boy, is it a Romance?
Alma T. C. Boykin So, having failed to learn my lesson, today's topic is romance as a genre. That is, keeping in mind that genre is about marketing. Romance as a term goes back to before romance as a genre, and romances used to be adventure stories that might or might not include a romantic-love... Continue Reading →
The End
It’s All Coming To An End! No, not the world. . . . Well maybe the world too. One almost hates to check the news . . . and fears not to. But that’s not my problem, today. No, my problem is quite simple. My series is coming to an end. Not that it was... Continue Reading →
Banjo Fantasy
I've been meaning to write about this for some time, but this last week I was reminded I hadn't done it yet. Oops? I got distracted? So what, you may be asking, is banjo fantasy? Are there musical instruments and sprightly tunes? Not... always. There could be, sure. Or it could be a reference to... Continue Reading →
Trope-tastic Ideas
I’m on my first free morning in … weeks. Wee Dave is at a summer school day-camp function, and Wee-er Dave is out pushing over old ladies for candy money. Or something. Hard to tell, really. I’m gathering supplies for some basic automotive work, as well as continuing the build on the littles’ new beds.... Continue Reading →
Read, write, review–and not necessarily in that order
Once upon a time, in a forum far, far away, an aspiring author commented that they never read anything in the genre they wanted to write. There was the online equivalent of a gasp, followed by stunned silence. Then a lone voice asked this author why? Why didn't they read the genre they wanted to... Continue Reading →
On Covers and Cheating
The Internet is a glorious thing. Recently I was mourning the loss of a treasured paperback, an edition of Northanger Abbey dating from the heyday of the '70's Gothic romance. But all I really wanted was the cover -- the text was, after all, exactly the same as it is in my three other editions of the... Continue Reading →
Know Your Genre – Paranormal Romance
I'll admit, this post stems from a Facebook discussion I was part of yesterday. A friend of mine mentioned a "paranormal romance" he was reading and my first instinct was to yell, "It's not PNR!". The problem was that book is on this year's shortlist for a RITA as a PNR. Except it's not. Or... Continue Reading →
Knowing Your Genre
Years ago, Sarah somehow got me to admit I wrote stories. I'm still not sure how she managed it. It's a special talent of hers, something she's used on others besides me. Not only did she get me to admit I wrote stories and had for years, she managed to pry a chapter out of... Continue Reading →
On reading and listening and books in general
It's no secret that most, if not all, of the bloggers here at MGC believe that story is king when it comes to writing. We do our best to write stories that will pull our readers in and send them soaring to new places and times. We want our characters to be real people, not... Continue Reading →