Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 8, 2019 18:10:59 GMT -5
I used to really love dev fiction, but not so much any more. As tc123 says, there are a lot of realities about a long term pwd relationship that people just don’t understand. It really annoys me how in most stories the pwd almost always manages to have spontaneous sex ! And that it happens because he is so into the partner....reality check....no matter how much he wants you or how turned on he gets, a natural erection and ejaculation isn’t possible for a lot of pwd’s. I guess the reality has changed my fantasy. |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 8, 2019 18:14:26 GMT -5
Erika: part of the reason I haven’t been motivated to do many sequels is because of lack of potential interest. You have to have read the first one to read the sequel, so the best you could hope is 50% or so of the readers of the original. And Love is Blind was not a super bestseller to begin with. so I always end up just starting over… Annabelle, you are my 100% favourite author. Your stories are well written and believable, but as you said, the follow up maybe isn’t so interesting for a lot of readers. It’s the initial meeting and romance of an early relationship that gives so much information an opportunity to involve emotion and information. |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 9, 2019 2:23:23 GMT -5
I used to really love dev fiction, but not so much any more. As tc123 says, there are a lot of realities about a long term pwd relationship that people just don’t understand. It really annoys me how in most stories the pwd almost always manages to have spontaneous sex ! And that it happens because he is so into the partner....reality check....no matter how much he wants you or how turned on he gets, a natural erection and ejaculation isn’t possible for a lot of pwd’s. I guess the reality has changed my fantasy. People who write like this must not know anything about certain disabilities or are not devs |
|
|
|
Post by devogirl on Dec 9, 2019 7:30:25 GMT -5
I've just started reading the novel Time and Tide by E.M. Lindsey which is a historical m-m romance with a blind guy. I think the second book covers their entire lives into old age. I don't know if it's any good though since I've only read the first chapter.
I've been thinking about this more and the reason I was able to do this kind of family life story with my fanfic of Raging Quiet was because I felt the ending of the original novel was unsatisfying. The couple comes together and gets married but it's so obvious they still have a lot of problems that have not been solved yet. Not just personality clashes between them but also the sign language they invented was still so rudimentary. I remembered hearing that emerging sign languages are usually made up by children, so I thought how would it be once they had kids, and more people started using the language? Also deafness can be hereditary so there was a good chance some of their kids would be born deaf but maybe not all of them. Before I knew it, I had a whole novel plotted out.
With books that are better written, hopefully the ending feels like a satisfying resolution, so I can more easily imagine a believable "happily ever after" and don't feel the need for the story to go on.
|
|
|
|
Post by blueskye101 on Dec 9, 2019 8:24:18 GMT -5
Really enjoyed Time and Tide and the sequel Monsters and Men. She has a unique and interesting way of writing and was glad to get to continue there life through generations into their old age. Because of their interesting life and all that happens to them and their family; definitely kept my interest.
|
|
|
|
Post by tori on Dec 19, 2019 0:04:15 GMT -5
Erika: part of the reason I haven’t been motivated to do many sequels is because of lack of potential interest. You have to have read the first one to read the sequel, so the best you could hope is 50% or so of the readers of the original. And Love is Blind was not a super bestseller to begin with. so I always end up just starting over… Yeah, I stated this in the other thread. You're gonna lose half the readers on the sequel, and that's a hopeful number if half continue on. And yet I plan to continue... LOL. |
|
|
|
Post by tori on Dec 19, 2019 0:12:19 GMT -5
I can guarantee there are tons of Disability specific conflicts that arise after marriage. Just as in most relationships, people are on their best behavior in the first meeting and getting to know each other phase. Moving in with a wheeler alone can create conflict- small things you have to learn and change your behaviors some- can’t leave things on the floor, can’t put things up too high, can’t always be spontaneous like you once were. Can’t go to your friends homes as a couple, or your own families’ homes all of the sudden. Maybe sex itself becomes a conflict... that’s a pretty biggie for a lot of couples, Dev/wheeler not excluded. Traveling challenges and conflicts can be a chapter of its own. I’m not saying people want to read about these things either, but it’s definitely not smooth sailing and the disability always plays a part in the marriage (plus all of ‘why didn’t he do the dishes’ 🤬 and ‘why can’t we watch something normal on tv’ conflicts). I think the "why didn't he do the dishes" is great "filler" and deepens the relationship but obviously yeah they can't be the primary conflict in a story. BUT I think honestly there was much more smooth sailing in the getting to know each other phase than in the marriage phase. I mean, in reality do you have a "black moment" when you think you won't make it when you're falling for each other and getting engaged/married? No, not really. At least I didn't. Maybe I'm too much of a realist and most people want an escape from reality when they read. But SO MUCH deep, dark conflict can come through marriage. It's much more of a fight to stay together for years and years. The teen years alone with the husband and I almost broke us as a couple when we dealt with some serious stuff. And that's not even adding in a disability to the conflict. I think there has to be a market for this kind of stuff though, otherwise you wouldn't have people watching several seasons of a TV show. Just look how people are falling for "This Is Us." Why do these types of series do well on TV, but not so well in books? That's what I can't figure out. |
|
|
|
Post by devogirl on Dec 20, 2019 4:56:05 GMT -5
erikajulia I just finished Time and Tide and I think it is exactly what you are looking for (if you are ok with m-m romance). Historical setting, blind protagonist who is capable and well-adjusted. The couple, Will and Teddy, get together within the first few chapters. The rest of the novel is about how they create an unconventional family. The sequel is about their grandson.
I have to say though, I found it only ok. There are a lot of typos and a lot of anachronistic modern words. Also I guess I'm not really a fan of this kind of structure. I felt the couple fell in love much too easily, and the details of their family life went by too quickly, especially at the end. The last few chapters felt like a summary of what could have been the middle book of a trilogy. While I am 100% there for gay representation in historical fiction, this felt too much like mapping a modern queer family structure onto an early 20th century setting. There were real queer families back then too, why not use one of them as a model?
Also there was some discussion of the author EM Lindsey in another thread, because all her books are m-m romances with disabled characters. Some people here were wondering if she is a dev. On her blog, she says that her parents are PWDs, that's why she writes those characters. I haven't read her other books but frankly I didn't find this that devvy. I'm not sure exactly what it is, but she doesn't really linger on the devvy details at all. In trying to present Teddy as a well-adjusted, normal person, she totally glosses over what makes him different and interesting. She also clearly didn't do any research at all into what blind education was like in the late 19th century, which IMHO is a missed opportunity.
|
|
erikajulia
Full Member
Posts: 155
Gender: Female
Dev Status: Devotee
Relationship Status: Single
|
Post by erikajulia on Jun 10, 2022 9:02:27 GMT -5
Maybe I'm too much of a realist and most people want an escape from reality when they read. But SO MUCH deep, dark conflict can come through marriage. It's much more of a fight to stay together for years and years. The teen years alone with the husband and I almost broke us as a couple when we dealt with some serious stuff. And that's not even adding in a disability to the conflict. I think there has to be a market for this kind of stuff though, otherwise you wouldn't have people watching several seasons of a TV show. Just look how people are falling for "This Is Us." Why do these types of series do well on TV, but not so well in books? That's what I can't figure out. Thank you for giving voice to most of my thoughts!
Well, Kennedy and Silas already exist, so it would be a sequel if you followed them into marriage and the raising of children. Still... I would like very much to read about a blind man raising children in the city(!), about coping as a father and husband (and ... am I the only one who finds men with small children heartwrenchingly sweet? That alone is sooo sexy! Then add a disability... *swoons*) - and how does life develop for a mother and musician whose husband is not only blind, but "in the arts", too? Is that a safe live? An easy one? Boring? Hardly, I assume.
*sigh* I will keep hoping for books that deal with "after". ;-)
|
|
erikajulia
Full Member
Posts: 155
Gender: Female
Dev Status: Devotee
Relationship Status: Single
|
Post by erikajulia on Jun 10, 2022 9:05:45 GMT -5
By the way you do know I have a new novel about a blind guy out, right? You might like it... No spoilers but it does pretty much follow this pattern as well. I had been thinking of writing a sequel for a long time, but now you have inspired me even more. I think I may have to revisit all these characters. ... Is there still hope that you might develop these thoughts further? ;-) |
|
|
|
Post by devogirl on Jun 10, 2022 9:17:36 GMT -5
By the way you do know I have a new novel about a blind guy out, right? You might like it... No spoilers but it does pretty much follow this pattern as well. I had been thinking of writing a sequel for a long time, but now you have inspired me even more. I think I may have to revisit all these characters. ... Is there still hope that you might develop these thoughts further? ;-)
Aw, thank you!! But actually I am working on a different novel right now. Of course it's another romance with a blind guy, but hopefully avoiding some of the more annoying romance cliches. It will be ready for beta reading soon, maybe in a month or two. I would love it if you could read an early draft and give me feedback, especially on O&M and other realistic details. Send me a PM if you're interested. Thanks!
|
|
em
Full Member
Posts: 111
Gender: Female
Dev Status: Devotee
Relationship Status: In a relationship
|
Post by em on Jun 10, 2022 15:00:01 GMT -5
Great thread! I certainly noticed this kind of pattern in movies: they're all the same now in Hollywood and in Europe - two people cross paths, have feelings, sometimes positive sometimes negative, a bunch of stuff happens and then finally they are on the same page and confess their love for each other. But usually either you skip forward to the wedding as the finale, or it's not even in the story, maybe it's in the sequel, but often in the sequel they move on to dating someone else. I think this is borrowed from the American culture of serial dating which is kind of spreading onto Europe as well, where long term commitment becomes more and more elusive. I love sequels because I love going back to the same characters, I'm really looking forward to the sequel by tori, but as everyone else said, there just isn't as much potential for conflict in a stable relationship, it would probably have to center around something tragic like cheating, and readers don't like that. Once you're married there isn't as much guessing to keep readers on the edge of the seat. That said, of course there could be stories about happily married couple who deal with supernatural stuff, or solve crimes, or, as it happens in some sequels, help another couple get together. But I'm not sure how much dev stuff you could fit in those! |
|
anne
New Member
Posts: 41 
Gender: Female
Dev Status: Devotee
Relationship Status: Married/Domestic partnership
|
Post by anne on Jun 20, 2022 15:01:06 GMT -5
|
|
