Hollywood vs the Old West

by Loretta C. Rogers/aka L. W. Rogers

As an author of westerns and western romance novels, and a lover of the old west, I am part of a western movie discussion group. Members are historians of the old West, authors of western novels, retired Hollywood stuntmen, and a few former cowboy actors, now retired.

 The recent chat centered around why doesn't Hollywood make western movies anymore. I'm talking about classic cowboy movies circa John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, Gregory Peck, Clint Eastwood, and even the more up to date actors such as Tom Selleck and Kevin Costner.

This question generated an abundance of comments which ranged from: it costs too much to hire horse and cattle wranglers, plus the expense of feeding the animals, to dealing with PETA. Another suggestion was the cost of shooting a western on location vs box office intake. 

While these are all legitimate thoughts, there were several comments about the demographics of today's movie-goers; specifically the age of average people who enjoy sitting inside a theatre with a bag of popcorn and soft drink. The general consensus was that Hollywood caters to teens, tweens, and ages up to 49. Thus, the explaining the popularity of movies with explosions, car chases, androids, vampires, werewolves, and other sci-fi, paranormal elements.

Obviously, several movie producers have a different opinion as to what constitutes a western. For example: Cowboys and Aliens, Hex, Django Unchained, and a movie slated for release May 2014, "Bone Tomahawk," starring Kurt Russell. Here's the synopsis: "Bone Tomahawk follows an outlaw who unknowingly leads a band of cannibalistic Troglodytes into the peaceful western town of Bright Hope. When the monsters kidnap several settlers, including a rancher’s wife, a small rescue party consisting of the injured rancher, the sheriff, his aging deputy and a strong-willed gunslinger, journey into hell to try and rescue them. They soon find themselves in dark unknown territories where savage inbreeds armed with the ultimate weapon leave no hope of survival."

Umm, cannibalistic Troglodytes, and savage inbreeds in the 1800's old west? This leaves me scratching my head as to the thinking of Hollywood movie producers. Perhaps there are viewers out there who are champing at the bit (pun intended) for the premier of this movie and its cloned relatives.

This brings me to the age demographics of movie-goers. Studios seem to forget that the 26 and under crowd is not the only audience. What about the over 50 crowd? In my humble opinion, it's silly when films are geared toward "niche" groups. People crave good films, so when there is one, people go to see it. The majority of the over 50's were raised on Western films. Heck, a lot of actors still want to do a Western, and for some, it was the reason they got into the business. There's plenty of room for all types of films, but there is no reason why the Western needs to be micro budgeted into unearthly realms which destroys the code of the old west, and suppresses an important historical period of our great country.

So readers, if Glen Ford, Audie Murphy, Ben Johnson, John Wayne, or any of the other great cowboy stars were alive, how do you think they would answer if asked: With all the wonderful Western novels enjoyed by today's readers, why isn't Hollywood interested in making authentic movies about the old West?

Georgette Heyer and the Cozy Mystery

I’ve been trying to clear out some of my overstuffed attic, which means going through bags and boxes of books. I’ve had hundreds of books pushed back in there, stowed when I had to move out bunches of them for a renovation of our home.

A set of books I found while going through all those books was a group of Georgette Heyer’s mysteries. I’ve only re-read two of them so far, Behold, Here’s Poison and Penhallow. And already I’ve been staggered by how incredible Heyer’s writing is.

 

Neither book is a traditional detective story, but both are bang-up mysteries. In Penhallow, the murder doesn’t occur until two-thirds of the way into the story, and we know who did it. We don’t know why or what the repercussions will be. In Behold, Here’s Poison, the book opens with the discovery of the corpse and proceeds like a detective story, until we realize that a character who appears to be the chief suspect may be something more than he seems and the police detective in charge of the case (who has appeared in other stories by her) may in fact be outclassed.

The plotting is interesting, though complex puzzles aren’t really Heyer’s style.  Both stories are centered around the murder of a family patriarch who also happens to be a nasty, reprehensible character, unloved and unmourned by the extended family he tyrannized. And each story pulls out its share of twists and surprises.

But what really sets her stories apart are the characters. Oh, my goodness, the characters. Both of the books I’ve read feature large casts, and in the first chapter or two it can be confusing to keep up with them. By several chapters in, though, she’s delineated those characters so well that you know exactly who each is.

Although it’s a given in detective stories that at least one of the players in the story secretly has murderous depths, Heyer masterfully shows that nearly all of her characters are more than they seem while maintaining an aura of mystery about them. 

One of the more important suspects in the murder in Behold, Here’s Poison is the widowed Mrs. Matthews, sister-in-law to the victim. In speaking about his will, she says:
“It is not that one wants anything,” she told them, “but one misses the thought for others. Consideration for people’s feelings means so much in this dark world, as I hope both of you remember always. I had no claim on Gregory, though since I was his brother’s wife I daresay a lot of people would disagree with me on that point. As far as actual money goes I expected nothing, but it would have been such a comfort if there had been some little sign to show that I was not quite forgotten.”

Mrs. Matthews is a spiritual person who attends church regularly, gives the appearance of being kind to everyone, and tries to be a peacemaker with her quarrelsome relatives.  She mostly says the right things, but occasionally lets slip some deeper feelings of resentment, even anger.  But is she a clear hypocrite or someone who struggles with her conscience in an effort to be a better person?  Or possibly even something deeper.  The character who is undoubtedly the sharpest knife in this cast (in more ways than one) calls her “clever Aunt Zoe” and maybe he’s right. We don't know and Heyer doesn't give a definitive answer.

It's part of what makes Heyer so riveting. She shows readers the surface of the characters and offers glimpses into what’s going on below the surface, but she doesn't offer any overt judgments on those characters.  In fact, even the murderers are themselves rather sympathetic, since she shows what drove those seemingly normal people to that extreme.

The most fascinating character in Behold, Here's Poison is at once the chief suspect and arguably the hero of the story. He's a haughty, arrogant, sharp-tongued man with a nasty tendency to disparage everyone. The person who likes him the best calls him an "amiable snake" and it's undoubtedly accurate. And yet, he's also intelligent, alluring and utterly fascinating.

We may not like all of her characters.  In fact in Penhallow, they’re pretty much all unlikeable. Yet we’re fascinated by them and even come to care for them as we learn what drives them. It's a heck of a trick to pull off!

Karen McCullough is a web designer by profession, and the author of a dozen published novels and novellas in the mystery, romantic suspense, and fantasy genres as well. She has won numerous awards, including an Eppie Award for fantasy, and has also been a four-time Eppie finalist, and a finalist in the Prism, Dream Realm, Rising Star, Lories, Scarlett Letter, and Vixen Awards contests. Her short fiction has appeared in several anthologies and numerous small press publications in the mystery, fantasy, science fiction, and romance genres. She has three children, four grandchildren and lives in Greensboro, NC, with her husband of many years. Her most recent release is the ebook version of A Gift for Murder, originally published in hardcover by Five Star/Cengage and mass market paperback by Harlequin Worldwide Mysteries.

Website: http://www.kmccullough.com

Blog: http://www.kmccullough/kblog
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KarenMcCulloughAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kgmccullough

 

 

 

Mark This Spot!

A "First Fridays" Artistic Interlude with Sofie Couch

It’s First Fridays, it’s February, and it’s my first official First Friday's post at Classic and Cozy!

So I thought I would lead you all in something pretty radical for a writer. Yes, today we dice and slice books. I mean, literally, we’re gonna dice-and-slice books. So get out your scissors, get out a couple of raggedy-taggedy books, and let’s get chopping and make some book marks.

First, remove the spines from a couple of old books. I promise, no books were harmed… well, actually, they were harmed. They were annihilated. But I didn’t pull anything off of the shelves of a rare books collection. In my hometown, we have an amazing recycle center and there is a special walk-in bin filled with books that local folks no longer want. They’re sad books. Books that are looking for a good home. Unfortunately, I got to them first.

Okay, so rip off those spines. If you’re a craft geek, like some of us, you have a laminator just laying around the crafting bench. Actually, book spines are a little thick for my baby laminator. They needed a little persuasion to squeeze through, so I took out the ol’ flat-iron – it doesn’t get out very often – and with a towel between laminate paper and iron, it works just fine! Don’t have laminate paper? No problem. Pull out a roll of packing tape (no heat).

With your trusty hole punch, put a little punch in the top of your book spine/ book mark.

Next, just add ribbon and voila! Now, you have only to grab a cup of tea and a good book, (might I suggest, KEEPING UP WITH MR. JONES?) and your trusty new book mark. Enjoy!

Sofie Couch (that's Sofie - with an "F"), has made a return to romantic comedy. If you were one of those readers who were looking for more books by that illusive writer, Annette Couch-Jareb, (CYBER BRIDE, 1999), she’s back… with a new writing name. 

Doing it yourself--or trying to---with Elisabeth Rose

 

I grew up on a farm with a Dad who could fix anything, do wood and metal work and knew about engines. My brother is the same. As a child I naively assumed men could do those things.

Wrong.

My husband’s idea of fixing something is to give it a whack with a hammer or stick it together with gaffer tape. Or throw it away. Once, he was doing the vacuuming and stopped to announce, ‘This thing doesn’t work anymore, it’s got no suck. We need a new one.’

‘Have you emptied it and checked the filter?’

‘No.’ Accompanied by an astonished expression.

Don’t get me wrong. He’s very good at other things—a top flight drummer and percussionist, a teacher, a great father, a good cook, does his own ironing now, and vacuums on occasion, including emptying out the dirt. We’ve been together about forty years — he’s my husband, my best friend and we laugh a lot.
As I write he is attempting to assemble a garden hose stand. The type that winds the hose up. We’ve been talking about getting one for ages to avoid tripping over loops of hose when we go out the back door. Today he came home with the thing in a box, which he put in the laundry.

‘I had to get this as well,’ he said. A short piece of hose to connect our hose on the winder to the tap. ‘It says here,’ he went on. ‘That this is an accessory. It also says a hose is an accessory. Why would you buy a hose winder stand if you didn’t own a hose?’

He then went off to read the paper. 

‘Aren’t you going to get it out of the box?’ I could see that box sitting untouched in the laundry for weeks. He’s newly retired, he has no excuse.

‘Oh, okay. I was waiting for the sun to go round a bit so I’d be in the shade.’ Of course he was. Admittedly it is midsummer and we’ve had a series of blistering days.

He took the box outside and opened it to reveal multiple plastic bits.

‘Oh no!’ Followed by a laugh.

In it came to the dining table and while I made coffee he began assembly.

‘This doesn’t seem to work. I don’t understand.’ Staring at the large sheet of instructions, then at the black plastic pieces.

Five minutes later. ‘Now I know! There are two versions. One with wheels and one without. 2691A and 2691B.’ Full steam ahead for a couple of minutes.

‘Come and look at this and see if it looks right.’

I went and had a look. He was on Step 1. ‘Aren’t there two parts here?’ It looked to me as though he had to attach a U shaped metal stand as well as the straight axle bit he’d successfully screwed on.

He held up two U curved metal things. ‘But which one?’

‘The one with holes in it for screws.’

‘They’ve both got…oh no they haven’t.’ He held it against the already assembled part. ‘How can it go on there? It won’t fit between the sides. I’ll have to take that bit off.’

I studied the plan.

‘Turn it up the other way and slot it into those.’

‘Right!’

I left him with coffee and a biscuit for brain food and went off to start writing this. I’d been wondering what to blog about and it dawned on me that the frustrating self assembly of purchases is something we can all relate to.

I bought a new desk for my writing room. The big flat box only just fitted in the car and it took both of us several hours to put together. It’d be impossible for one person. Apart from the struggle of getting it inside the house from the car (luckily we don’t have flights of steps), the pieces were too big to hold flat at the same time as putting in the screws. In an aside, my ninety two year old Dad cut down the shelves from my old computer desk and made a bookshelf for my new desk. He likes to keep busy in his workshop on little projects.

 

 

‘I think I’ve got it.’ Here he is in the doorway with the stand, winding the orange handle proudly.

Excellent.’ And it is.

He peers at it from different angles. ‘I can’t screw anything tighter. I suppose it won’t fall apart.’

We go outside for a test. A minor hitch when he thought the inner piece of hose was being flattened as he wound but no, water spurted forth on demand.

Perfect. There’s nothing like the satisfaction of wrestling with a do-it-yourself assembly kit and winning.

  

 

www.elisabethrose.com.au      Sweet contemporary romance

Let Me Dream

by Janis Susan May/Janis Patterson

It is both an honor and a privilege to be one of the lead bloggers on this brave new experiment called Classic and Cozy. And part of my delight is purely selfish. For years I have preferred to read traditionally – love stories without explicit or highly descriptive sex. For the same reason I love cozy mysteries – no hard-boiled police procedurals, no graphic descriptions of blood, gore or other assorted horrors, just brain-teasing puzzles of ordinary people dealing with extraordinary events. I had begun to worry that I was alone in my likes and prejudices, that the reading world had abandoned me just because I like my books to focus on the story’s action rather than sometimes far-too-graphic details.

None of that means, however, as some people seem to think, such books are bland or boring. I personally think it takes a great deal of skill for a writer to convey an idea or emotion without necessarily resorting to such erotic or gory lengths.

Now I am a grown-up, most of the time at least, and I know that falling  in love  will sooner or later involve sex,  and that murder in itself is a ghastly and usually messy crime. I don’t  have to be shown every splash and touch to get the idea. In fact, the visuals in my head -  for me, at least – may be more moving than the author intended. Murder is an inherently terrible thing; we don’t have to be shown every blow and blood spatter to know that. Sex is intensely romantic and personal, and what is inside my mind is so much more intense for me than any author could ever write.

I guess I just just don’t believe in showing the monster. As I’ve blogged and spoken about in several places, I once worked on a  rather cheesy horror movie. When the crew was putting a rather ghastly rubber monster suit  on a poor actor, an old gaffer snorted and said they were making a bad mistake. When I asked why, he responded that everyone was frightened by something different. To show this rubber-suited actor would  take their worst fears away. The best way to scare the most  people, he said wisely, was to suggest the monster, to show what it could do, and let the viewer fill in the blanks with what was most frightening to them. Instead of the film trying to scare the viewer, create an atmosphere where the viewer could scare himself.

It’s the same for books. Obviously we don’t have monsters in cozies or romance, but the idea is the same. We read books for many reasons – for escape, for pleasure, for learning, for just about anything.  Why should our reactions be shaped and confined  by the author’s vision  of what is scary or sexy? I know that no romance I’ve ever read, erotic or not, has ever come close to my imagination… or my memories.

As a reader I say, lead me, don’t force me. Let my mind be free to imagine my own perception of your path. Let me personalize the story in my head. Let me become a partner, an active participant in my mind. Let me dream.

Janis Susan May/Janis Patterson is a 7th-generation Texan and a 3rd-generation wordsmith who writes mystery, romance, horror, children’s and scholarly. Once an actress and a singer Janis has also been editor-in-chief of two multi-magazine publishing groups as well as many other things, including an enthusiastic amateur Egyptologist. Janis’ husband even proposed in a moonlit garden near the Pyramids of Giza. Janis and her husband live in Texas with an assortment of rescued furbabies. She can be reached through www.JanisSusanMay.com or www.JanisPattersonMysteries.com

The Best Kind of Happy Ending...

 I love  “happily ever after” stories. There is nothing like a happy ending! I love to write them, but I also like to read them. A good plot is important, but most of all,  I love to read about characters who become so real that I sometimes feel like talking to them.  They become a special kind of friend.  Have you ever had that feeling? Do you know what I am talking about?

In a good romance story, “happily ever after” usually means  those beloved people who have filled the pages find their way to loving commitment. They choose to love beyond the challenges or hurdles or life problems. I love when that happens.

In a good  romantic mystery story, “happily ever after” usually means that good has prevailed over evil, the “bad guy” has been contained, and the beloved people who were at risk are now safe (and in the best case scenario) ready to make that love commitment, too.  Those stories give me a fulfilled, happy feeling.

So as a writer, it is my hope that my stories, my characters, can do the same for my readers.  “Happily ever after” means a happy ending.  I love to hear from readers who tell me when that happens.

So imagine my surprise (and dismay) to recently hear from a reader from Iowa who wrote that ending my book had made her really SAD.  Sad?  NOT a “happy ending?”  I was stunned.

 The “failure feelings” descended.  I almost stopped reading the letter, but (with a nervous grimace)  decided to keep going, if only to see what I could make do better the next time.

I was glad I persevered.   She went on to say that she had truly connected with my characters. When they had committed to “happily ever after”, she had rejoiced. But they had become so real to her, that when she had reached “The end”, she felt dismal.  Dismal?

“In life and love, there are constant challenges and growth,” she wrote. “I just didn’t want the story to end. It wasn’t enough to see them commit.  I wanted to know what happened later. I honestly didn’t want to leave them. For me, it was a happy beginning, but a sad ending, because I didn’t want to say goodbye. Can you write more about them? And how about her friend?  And how about his immature buddies? Are they ever going to grow up?  I want to know.”

I felt so touched, and so affirmed by her words.  And I, too, loved those characters.

So this, I see, is where series come from. They come from happy beginnings, not just happy endings.  Who says we don’t listen to our readers? Thank you, dear reader. I don’t want you to be sad.  So I am working on the sequel. Keep your letters and comments coming!

How does an author make their characters so real that you just don’t want to leave them? 

SO YOU WANT TO WRITE A BOOK!

            Although it seems like another lifetime ago, I remember vividly the moment I decided that  I was going to write a book.    I had just finished reading another romance novel and I thought I can do this   I mean, I had been editor-in-chief of my school paper, won a writing award from the Courier News, and was infamous among by friends and family for writing short, entertaining stories about people I imagined were real.  How hard could it be to turn all that talent into a 300 page book?

            Over the course of the next few months, I sat down at the word-processor and banged out a story that spanned about 320 pages.  With absolutely no idea of what I was doing, I opened up the front cover of one of my favorite books, copied the address of the publisher from the inside pages onto a manila envelope, stuffed in the manuscript  and sent it off to wait for fortune and glory.

           

            Well that was on a Thursday.  By Monday it was back in my mailbox.   I figured someone at the publisher’s had made a mistake, so I put it in another manila envelope and sent it back out.  That was Tuesday.  By Friday it was back.

            Now it was a mystery.

            That Saturday I was attending my first professional writers meeting with Barbara Brenton, now a NY Times Best-selling author, back then a Harlequin author.  I had met Barbara in a bank in Hillsborough a week or two earlier and, while standing in the teller line, we got to talking and she spoke about this wonderful writers’ group and thought I should join..

            For some reason, a little voice inside my head advised me not to say anything about my “submission..”  so in a rare moment of sanity, I listened to it.

            After the meeting I knew why my manuscript had come back in record time.

            It was not formatted correctly, had no page numbers, no chapters,  no synopsis, no query letter, everyone but the kitchen sink had a role in the story and both the hero and heroine ended up dead.  Some romance, huh?

            I NEVER told anyone what I did – until now.

            While we all have heard the story about a manuscript written on lined yellow legal paper, in pencil, with coffee stains on the bottom with an editor liking it so much that she just had to publish it, and then it sold a hundred cajillion copies, the reality is that it doesn’t happen very often.   Maybe once in a hundred cajillion submissions.

In today’s tight market and with the advent of independent publishing, the competition for the available publishing slots, especially for first books, is incredible.  To give your manuscript the best chance for one of them, even before your great story gets read, you need to know the submission guide lines.  Or at the very least – have page numbers and chapters!

Seriously, though, sometimes there is a question niggling in the back of your mind but you think it is not relevant enough to ask.  Not true.  Here’s you chance.  Ask away.

I’ll answer the one you probably want to ask of me.  Yes, I did eventually get the manuscript in proper format and submit it correctly.  While it did come back with a rejection  letter, not in a few days  but rather in a more respectable few months, I was told that my greatest strengths were plotting and pacing.  So I went to every writer’s meeting I could attend and soaked up the information like a sponge.  And although that particular manuscript occupies a place of honor in the bottom drawer of my desk, I did get fifteen others published and am working on a new venture called The Sons of Lost Civilizations, a romantic fantasy trilogy that I hope to submit to the very same publisher who sent my first manuscript back on the first UPS truck out of New York

It was other writers who helped me get my stories out of my head and into print.   Now I’d like to help the published and hopefully unpublished in any way I can.