tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post1798815357147284637..comments2023-11-22T06:35:25.251-05:00Comments on POE'S DEADLY DAUGHTERS: Fiction with a MessageJulia Buckleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270211923343731659noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-91508083809967108772012-01-05T18:40:55.684-05:002012-01-05T18:40:55.684-05:00I totally adore John D. McDonald and Carl Hiaasen ...I totally adore John D. McDonald and Carl Hiaasen and will definitely look into all of the authors you mention in this post. <br /><br />--BrendaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-17258883514270047152012-01-05T18:24:45.156-05:002012-01-05T18:24:45.156-05:00Sandy, I am one who didn't like the last Barr ...Sandy, I am one who didn't like the last Barr book but I haven't stopped reading her. I don't think she was preachy in the book, but in the last couple of books she as just taken the series in a very different direction. Much less "park and outdoorsy stuff" and more societal problem stuff.<br />And so there is a new book coming and I have it on hold at the library, but I carynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06761365713102858135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-9562123751605764262012-01-04T20:11:13.243-05:002012-01-04T20:11:13.243-05:00Denise Mina is one of my favorite writers. Her lat...Denise Mina is one of my favorite writers. Her latest book, THE END OF THE WASP SEASON, is phenomenal. Her books are about people. She shows society and its problems through them and their personal and professional lives.<br /><br />One former favorite writer I've had to stop reading, at least temporarily, is T. Jefferson Parker. These days he's writing exclusively about drug trafficking Sandra Parshallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17403144248962124138noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-40995746112200243692012-01-04T17:59:21.160-05:002012-01-04T17:59:21.160-05:00If we're breathing, and paying attention to th...If we're breathing, and paying attention to the world around us, we have opinions on social issues. So should our characters, I think. Denise Mina comes to mind as a writer who beautifully integrates the political and the personal.Anita Pagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06542864159416870373noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-45824892152192541772012-01-04T13:39:55.123-05:002012-01-04T13:39:55.123-05:00Morality tales are all well and good, but it's...Morality tales are all well and good, but it's the sort of thing Lewis Carroll very rightly parodied in the Alice books.<br /><br />The story is central. Everything you write <i>must</i> be in service to the story. If the message (the "moral") does not do this, major revision is in order -- or the elimination of that message altogether.--Mario R.JJMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13404985455733545060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-20744743197421213172012-01-04T12:46:13.537-05:002012-01-04T12:46:13.537-05:00I would agree crime fiction is a place that social...I would agree crime fiction is a place that social issues can and do give people a chance to present differnt views of issues...great post!Abigail-Madison Chasehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11387615810760802067noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-31216270490061872442012-01-04T12:37:13.546-05:002012-01-04T12:37:13.546-05:00Great post, Sandy! It's very interesting to se...Great post, Sandy! It's very interesting to see my fellow authors' comments. I agree with CJ's remark that above all, in fiction, we're telling stories. Still, when some of our characters have strong opinions on political or environmental topics (even if we, as the author, don't happen to share them), I think this does potentially narrow the book's audience. I have at Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04621456133569017574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-65165414500776379412012-01-04T12:35:26.632-05:002012-01-04T12:35:26.632-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Christopher Grahamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09257784747888630511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-82270937546704220652012-01-04T12:10:53.846-05:002012-01-04T12:10:53.846-05:00And, Sandra, Chinatown and one other movie, Clockw...And, Sandra, Chinatown and one other movie, Clockwork Orange, were the only two I have ever seen that really, really sickened me. I hated them, no matter the message behind them.Dianehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14500345360900905162noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-67698551711308576682012-01-04T12:08:25.870-05:002012-01-04T12:08:25.870-05:00I'm with you on presenting sometimes difficult...I'm with you on presenting sometimes difficult issues for the public to face, but without being preachy about it. Maybe they'll be curious enough - after being 'entertained' - to do some more checking on their own. <br /><br />For me, whether or not I'm reading one such book will depend on what's going on around me at the time and my resulting state of mind. For exampleDianehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14500345360900905162noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-84808107880695016642012-01-04T12:06:34.469-05:002012-01-04T12:06:34.469-05:00Some great movies have featured social/political i...Some great movies have featured social/political issues. We remember Chinatown for the incest angle, but the story revolves around corrupt manipulation of water rights in southern California.Sandra Parshallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17403144248962124138noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-42608732476930095122012-01-04T11:56:38.439-05:002012-01-04T11:56:38.439-05:00The great film commedians have shown that humor ca...The great film commedians have shown that humor can make social justice messages palatable (Modern Times, The Great Dictator). I like a book with stubstance as long as I get an entertaining story and realistic characters, not a sermon and stereotypes. Save the long speeches for talk radio. Show, don't tell me about an issue. Readers seem to remember the comedy in my mystery novel, but Sally Carpenterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00068827626295000653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-41251791349985439912012-01-04T09:31:03.150-05:002012-01-04T09:31:03.150-05:00Remember the negative reaction to Nevada Barr'...Remember the negative reaction to Nevada Barr's depiction of child prostitution in BURN? A long string of scathing "reviews" were posted on Amazon, and I saw lots of negative comments on DorothyL too. Nobody was defending child molestation, of course. Most people said they're aware this happens, but they don't want to be reminded of it -- and they don't want to read Sandra Parshallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17403144248962124138noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-29224089074693239452012-01-04T09:18:42.337-05:002012-01-04T09:18:42.337-05:00The one thing I've found all authors who weave...The one thing I've found all authors who weave in social issues have in common is a determination NOT to be preachy. As a writer, this imperative has taught me a lot about revision.Elizabeth Zelvinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13944424094949207841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-26592512235752763822012-01-04T09:11:01.654-05:002012-01-04T09:11:01.654-05:00I like to "learn" something when I read....I like to "learn" something when I read. I trust authors to know their stuff and have often gone on to google and/or check out other books on a topic. But I have also quit reading authors because their crusade for some issue severely interupted the story while the author preached to the reader. And there has been at least 1 author I quit reading because the position on the issue pushed carynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06761365713102858135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-23091898761153787492012-01-04T08:47:07.590-05:002012-01-04T08:47:07.590-05:00Good grief!
Stories have conveyed messages since...Good grief! <br /><br />Stories have conveyed messages since Sophocles, Shakespeare, and the myths (not to mention the Old Testament). These works express ideas about the responsibility of government or our place in the natural order. Art always creates some form of order or logic, and that's an agenda, too.<br /><br />How can you tell a story that has no moral or ethical content? That'sSteve Liskowhttp://www.steveliskow.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-20072369956433966262012-01-04T08:42:39.283-05:002012-01-04T08:42:39.283-05:00I think social commentary definitely has a place i...I think social commentary definitely has a place in crime fiction, as long as it's integral to the plot and not too preachy. I've discussed integrated pest management strategies (minimizing use of chemical pesticides, using natural enemies, and so on) in my Orchard mysteries, but it's clearly relevant to the central, ongoing story line.<br /><br />I often find myself quoting Mary Sheila Connollyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05165644581595919711noreply@blogger.com