for quite a while i've wondered where i belong.
i'm not a mystery writer.
i'm kind of suspense.
when international thriller writers came along i was...thrilled. i thought i'd found my home.
but i actually think thriller is something that isn't so much a genre as it is a way to better define a book within a particular genre. political thrillers, mystery thrillers, science fiction thrillers, paranormal thrillers, literary thrillers. yes, they do exist!
where am i going with this?
for quite a while i've wondered if i don't fit a little more solidly in the horror genre.
and to validate that pondering, i get this fantasic review from
MAXIMUM HORRORS
I'm sorry. I realize it's hard for other readers and writers to really care about someone else's reviews, but I still had to share this.
" It all adds up to one helluva HORROR NOVEL, easily the best work I've read in 2006. Frasier is a master storyteller, really painting new Tuonela with rain swept streets and foggy twilights. Her character development of Stroud, the loveable Graham, and the heroic Rachel are building blocks upon which a great mystery can be founded. The vampire myth isn't completely overdone, just something that settles in your mind as you watch it unfold. Old Tuonela is something of which nightmares are built, with Frasier really doing wonders by creating a ghost town that was once home to a madman. The crime scenes are vividly described, really showcasing Frasier's endless knowledge of procedure and investigation. While she does those scenes so well, she also manages to make these characters truly special. As we see Stroud struggle with his disease, she also shows us the heartbreaking side of Graham's broken home. By injecting hope, a bit of romance, and the need to save these characters, she resorts to breathtaking storytelling that is both moving and jolting.
The Last Line - This is just simply a masterpiece. I can't wait for the sequel so I can walk Tuonela's streets again."
read entire review here:
Pale Immortal review
my big problem with horror? i can't say the word. it comes out WHORRRRR. any help in overcoming this obstacle will be greatly appreciated.
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23 comments:
I have to agree with you. Your books definitely seem to skirt the horror genre, and Pale Immortal does it exceptionally well.
Excellent review. And very well deserved.
As to your speech impediment, think of saying it as two distinct words. Whore Or, or as it comes out in my case Whore Er.
Or don't worry about it and have people think you write erotica. That stuff's selling like hotcakses these days.
To be honest, I think that the lines between 'mystery' and 'horror' can blur. I've always been surprised that here, horror and fantasy get lumped together (and once was told a story of mine needed a sci fi element - I classed the story borderline horror - it was The Butcher, fyi).
I think you do that horror thing brilliantly, fwiw. As for pronunciation, try "whore or" - like you're going to ask a guy if he'd like a whore or marshmallow.
stephen, LOL! maybe i can come up with some combination of erotica, politics, and religion. the power of three.
sandra, i'm practicing. whore. or. whore. or. whore. er.
back when i had cable i asked the salesperson if they offered the whorrrrr channel.
big silence. "excuse me?"
"whore." i spell it out: "H-O-R-R-O-R."
a gasp of relief.
Great review! Can't say horror? Then don't. Just mime it.
and then there's always
HAR - ER.
HAR - ER.
that sounds kind of like a talking dog.
I RUV VOO.
I RUV VOO.
horror is a very hard word to say!
you almost have to stop completely between the syllables. i wasn't raised to do that. :D where i come from pronunciation is extremely lazy and everything runs together.
jude, what a great photo!!
hahaha! i love the mime idea! i can already imagine a contest. :D
Whatever you call it, Anne, it's a dynamite review.
You know how I feel about hor-or novels in general (I'm a wuss), but I really will be reading Pale Immortal -- and be totally spooked by it, I'm sure!
Is it just me that suddenly wants to write a whore-er knovel?
Actually, as I am incredibly lazy, it will be a knovella. A whore-er knovella.
I'll have the outline tomorrow. Can someone please send me a list of whore-er publishers? Thanks lodes.
anne, i can remove some pages if you'd like. just let me know. ;)
bekbek -- you gave me an idea. how about a flash fiction contest with stories that contain elements of all three hit makers: erotica, religion, politics. hmmm. i have to think about this. i'm sure no one would be offended.
Here in Vacationland, we say "horruh." As in: "You'd like this book. It's a horruh."
Damn it. Blackmoore beat me to it.
*grumble, grumble, something about hemispheres, grumble*
Congrats on the great review, Anne.
patrick, that must be a distant relative of
HAR-ER. but i prefer HORRUH.
i'm taking notes and will soon bring in a nun with a chalkboard and ruler.
thanks, daniel! i'll be over to check out your progress meter later today!
All right! Awesome review, Anne! And I have to agree as well as having horror elements in your novels. I felt that when I read SLEEP TIGHT.
As for speech, when I was in high school I could never speak Spanish correctly. No accent. I grew up in the bay area. (no, I'm not fluent) Now as I'm older sometimes I talk street with an accent when I'm saying spanish slang. Still can't roll my R's, though. =D
Reminds me of have everyone says Madonna sounds British now. It's all about where you live.
Say it Texas style...
"Whore" and then "er".
Good review. :)
No problem. Just follow it up with "and don't mess with Texas" and you'll be fine.
Seriously though, Before I Wake felt like a turning point, and Pale Immortal is a natural next step. My only problem with the horror designation is that I think it has fallen out of favor as a market. Maybe you'll have to do the nudge-nudge, wink-wink genre dance: "it's a dark, edgy suspense" or maybe "it's like when you've had two blow-outs on your 18-wheeler and you flop into a service station only to find the coffee 22 hours old and the attention has spent all night dipping into the...." Only second thought, stick with dark, edgy suspense.
I just found this new dingbat font and thought of your post.
http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/justintype/hallow-hell-dingbats/
Maybe you could write just an ordinary, non-horrow story, but print it in this font and let people figure it out...
Meanwhile, I've also been thinking of your contest idea. Too much coffee, not enough sleep, but... how the heck does one write 250-word erotica?! I mean... where's the foreplay?
kelly, i have a friend who always comes back from a short visit to england with a strong accent. it's our nature to adapt, but wow! we do it so quickly!
heather, i think i'm using the texas style right now, which is why nobody understands me. :D i grew up in southern NM not far from the texas border. sounds like you and i will be able to communicate without the help of a translator.
jason, speaking of coffee.... LOL! i think there's a stigma to horror, but i could say that about almost every genre. literary fiction even gets knocked by the pulp fiction writers. :D
oh my god, bekbek!!!! that font is adorable!!!!!!!!
well, i don't know. does erotica have foreplay? i suppose it does. sigh. so that would make it a real challenge. how about: he placed the Happy Meal on her belly. it took a long time, but he was able to eat the cheeseburger and fries without using his hands. that's erotic, right? then we move on. the ketchup on his face dried and it looked like the face of jesus. yes, a face on a face. president bush had been looking for a sign from god, and when he heard about the miracle he invited the young man to the white house. it started raining as erotic man walked up the walk to the white house doors. he and the ketchup both ran.
Actually, I capitalize Erotic Man; you are forgiven for the mistake however as my bulging lats often obscure the logo on my tights.
As far as pronouncing 'horror', learn from the master: watch Brando over and over in "Apocalypse Now". "The horror, the horror..." I bet he started out saying "whore" too.
OMG Anne! Your little "erotica" story cracked me up especially since I had a Happy Meal today for lunch. :)
HI EVERYONE! I haven't been here in awhile, been to busy with Nano and have missed you all!
Erotic Man -- so sorry about my oversight. and OMG! brando did have some odd pronunciation, didn't he????
hi, tami!! i hope nano is going smoothly! and i hope you used your hands to eat that happy meal! :D
Thank God I did considering I was at work! :) That could have gotten a little messy and I would have had a lot of explaining to do to my boyfriend.
"the logo on my tights"
speechless
tami, i hope you ate the happy meal with your hands!
:D
bekbek, that was a good one.
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