tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327129601484697455.post3339065672782917317..comments2023-09-21T12:38:29.150+01:00Comments on The Pocketeers: The Morality of Pocket Novel World By Sally QuilfordThe Pocketeershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07124101740561917118noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327129601484697455.post-59486016598812332572012-05-18T22:15:25.636+01:002012-05-18T22:15:25.636+01:00Sally, Brucie is a hunk but not personally my &quo...Sally, Brucie is a hunk but not personally my "thing". :) Although the lengths he went to for his family in the Die Hard movies was admirable.<br /><br />Oddly, Maggie had more concern for my heroine Summer in my last MWPN Wombat Creek going barefoot and suggesting she at least wear sandals, than the fact that she was an unmarried mother with a 4 year old daughter.<br /><br />I agree with others in that I love a traditional and respectful romance. I realised the gist of my writing after a workshop at last years Aussie RWA conference when we had to devise a tagline for our own author image and PR. I eventually worked out mine is "Love for a life time" because that is exactly my premise for my own life and marriage, and what I assume will be for my characters' lives as well. When I write a romance novel, it is always with the background understanding in my mind that this couple are made for each other and will be together for life.Noelenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12189586588231645515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327129601484697455.post-71644624135422626412012-05-17T15:26:49.818+01:002012-05-17T15:26:49.818+01:00That's interesting, Rena. Have you thought of ...That's interesting, Rena. Have you thought of sending your latest pn to People's Friend? They like a gentler story, whereas Maggie does like a bit of swash and buckle.<br /><br />Your smuggler might have been alright if he'd turned out to be working undercover or something.Quillershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00148636009202550512noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327129601484697455.post-82839650014106162532012-05-17T12:48:24.055+01:002012-05-17T12:48:24.055+01:00That's beautifully done, Chrissie!That's beautifully done, Chrissie!Quillershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00148636009202550512noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327129601484697455.post-12347647698843250412012-05-17T12:47:21.871+01:002012-05-17T12:47:21.871+01:00Hi Soapfan. Actually twins is one of the taboos of...Hi Soapfan. Actually twins is one of the taboos of PNs and other womag style stories. It's probably because they've been overdone, though I imagine that a new take on the twins story would be welcomed. It's all in the execution.Quillershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00148636009202550512noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327129601484697455.post-658765895213976832012-05-17T09:34:17.692+01:002012-05-17T09:34:17.692+01:00Wow, Sally, what a lot you've covered here.
T...Wow, Sally, what a lot you've covered here. <br />Things are definitely moving on at MW. Maggie's just accepted my latest, complete with bedroom scenes. No descriptions of actual sex but as this quote shows, the results:<br /> >>> ‘Oh Jen, I’m in a terrible mess.’<br /> ‘Georgie .. What’s happened? Are you all right?’<br /> ‘No.’<br /> ‘What’s he done to you?’<br /> ‘Made me pregnant and now he’s run away.’<br /> ‘What do you mean? Run away?’<br /> ‘I told him and he was furious. Said terrible things like it couldn’t be his. Said “not again” and I don’t know what that means.’<br /> ‘Oh Georgie. I take it you are definitely pregnant?’<br /> ‘Oh yes. Test is positive and I’m still getting morning sickness. What am I going to do?’<br /> ‘You could go home. Whatever they say, your parents would take you back, without a doubt.’<br /> ‘I couldn’t. I can’t go back. Not like this. My father would be furious and never let me forget it.’<br /> ‘There’s the other solution of course.’<br /> ‘What?’<br /> ‘You don’t have to keep it.’<br /> ‘Don’t be ridiculous. I couldn’t. No, never. Whatever the problems, I couldn’t possibly get rid of it. No, I’ll have to find a way of coping on my own.’ <<<<<<br />Maggie liked the way I handled the bedroom scenes, "with tact". It isn't realistic in these times to think that nobody ever has sex before marriage but it doesn't have to be too detailed or describe the mechanics of it all. <br />Having said all that, I do think the romance always has to be there. The drama can have its place but we still need a bit of rose tinting.Chrissie Lovedayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10183822415068255476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327129601484697455.post-15602345130918611872012-05-17T01:02:03.811+01:002012-05-17T01:02:03.811+01:00Great post! As a reader of pocket novels, I know w...Great post! As a reader of pocket novels, I know what I am looking for. I already know that there will be a happy ending and no sex whatsoever. However, after reading many similar stories, this kind of structure begins to bore me and I have to read a total different kind of book after coming back to pocket novels.<br /><br />What the readers want are twists and surprises during the reading. And humour! Witty lines are very important. We don´t want boring couples. <br /><br />If you add a crime, a baby switch or an evil twin of the heroine is a plus!Soapfanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16974319534986998471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327129601484697455.post-50534630192140636532012-05-16T19:29:58.158+01:002012-05-16T19:29:58.158+01:00Sorry folks. Messed up first time!
Another wonderf...Sorry folks. Messed up first time!<br />Another wonderful post, Sally. Thank you.<br />The line between the racy and the milk sopsy, as far as My Weekly PNs are concerned, is a fine one.<br />In a past novel, when I involved my hero in smuggling (well it was 18th century Cornwall) Maggie said she was “shocked” and advised I steer him back to the path of righteousness.<br />My latest PN is a gentler story, which Maggie doesn’t feel is adventurous enough.<br />Striking the right balance can be such a tricky thingRena Georgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11520149404274102132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327129601484697455.post-6627355170874868912012-05-16T19:00:36.314+01:002012-05-16T19:00:36.314+01:00This comment has been removed by the author.Rena Georgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11520149404274102132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327129601484697455.post-80585522282321626012012-05-16T16:00:26.916+01:002012-05-16T16:00:26.916+01:00Great post Sally and a lovely picture of Bruce (I ...Great post Sally and a lovely picture of Bruce (I prefer him without the vest actually). I tend to veer away from anything morally challenging in PNs although I've had a main character in a modern day (not historical) who was illiterate, a suspected marital affair (which wasn't) and crime in the form of a burglary. I rather like the 'safe' world of the pocket novel and I know that's why many readers like them. I once asked a girl in a shop who was buying one what she liked about them and she said that other edgier storylines in books worried her and kept her from sleeping at night!Cara Cooperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15972751301677687055noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327129601484697455.post-36890179156116268802012-05-16T14:04:04.973+01:002012-05-16T14:04:04.973+01:00I have touched on both alcoholism and anorexia in ...I have touched on both alcoholism and anorexia in My Weekly PNs that were accepted by Maggie for publication. I tried to deal with them sensitively and they were problems for secondary characters, not the hero or heroine!<br /><br />I agree that the My Weekly plot lines appear to be becoming more modern and realistic and that's quite exciting for writing future stories.Carol MacLeanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17893946748914418193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327129601484697455.post-86252846056170847282012-05-16T11:57:07.728+01:002012-05-16T11:57:07.728+01:00I agree, Shauna, though sometimes publishers and f...I agree, Shauna, though sometimes publishers and film producers/tv executives treat readers/viewers as if they're too dumb to get the subtleties.Quillershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00148636009202550512noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327129601484697455.post-37724491760410789722012-05-16T11:56:20.407+01:002012-05-16T11:56:20.407+01:00It is a lovely market to write for, Rosemary. With...It is a lovely market to write for, Rosemary. With all the sex and violence on tv (not that I'm averse to watching either!) it's really nice to write stories that have a moral centre to them.Quillershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00148636009202550512noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327129601484697455.post-41902339342244632092012-05-16T11:55:15.316+01:002012-05-16T11:55:15.316+01:00Oh that's interesting, Patricia. One of the th...Oh that's interesting, Patricia. One of the things I discussed on the online workshop and in the face-to-face class was the idea of doing a trade off. That is, if you start with a seemingly outrageous scenario, keep working on it until it becomes less outrageous. In the novella I've had accepted by People's Friend (Our Day Will Come out in August) I originally started with the idea of someone slashing ladies' stockings. Realising that was too sexual and violent a crime, I played with the idea for several days before deciding on having the criminal stealing the stockings off lines. It put a distance between the perpetrator and his or her victims.Quillershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00148636009202550512noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327129601484697455.post-77165723964620080422012-05-16T10:29:14.126+01:002012-05-16T10:29:14.126+01:00We asked Maggie about the following: Our two main ...We asked Maggie about the following: Our two main characters are in a situation where it would be sensible for them to share a bed simply to keep warm. We have put one of them in a sleeping bag, but it is quite near the beginning of the story where they don’t know each other very well. Would that be acceptable or not?<br />Her reply was: I feel that if something is well written, then almost any outrageous scenario is possible. If you make it fun then that is fine. If you think there is a hint of eroticism going on then I just wouldn’t bother with the scene at all, because it just raises questions we don’t want to answer.Patricia Keysonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14082225991760220713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327129601484697455.post-46492908778659718922012-05-16T09:29:36.663+01:002012-05-16T09:29:36.663+01:00Fabulous post, Sally - thanks for highlighting the...Fabulous post, Sally - thanks for highlighting the differences. I love escapism of all kind (and those old films) so maybe this market would suit me fine! Must finish a possible storyline I'm working on, now that you've motivated me again.Rosemary Gemmellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09311840205603508422noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327129601484697455.post-82919648659734975802012-05-16T08:07:20.090+01:002012-05-16T08:07:20.090+01:00Excellent post Sally, and I think your advice abou...Excellent post Sally, and I think your advice about subtlety in writing is a great point for any type of writing - make the reader think rather than handing it to them on a plate. As a reader I find that far more satisfying.Shaunahttp://www.shaunabickley.comnoreply@blogger.com