tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post6388864565249758149..comments2023-11-02T06:57:11.400-04:00Comments on BookEnds Literary Agency: Does Your Hook Match Your Genre?BookEnds, A Literary Agencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06287278822065839469noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-27423550310537606922015-01-17T09:42:04.238-05:002015-01-17T09:42:04.238-05:00150 said...
I'll tell you what, if there was ...150 said... <br />I'll tell you what, if there was a book about a sixty-year-old knitting grandma who also hunted serial killers through the Cajun bayou, I'd buy it. <br /><br />Good news. Check out the Mrs. Pollifax novels by Dorothy Gilman.Melindahttp://melindahagenson.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-17058552446524269392008-10-04T09:51:00.000-04:002008-10-04T09:51:00.000-04:00How would you categorize one of the books in Rober...How would you categorize one of the books in Robert Parker's Spenser series?cottonchipperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13554209408881792816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-6547930454575852962008-10-03T22:42:00.000-04:002008-10-03T22:42:00.000-04:00Great description for different types of mysteries...Great description for different types of mysteries. Thanks, Jessica.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-29957904017404369022008-10-03T18:02:00.000-04:002008-10-03T18:02:00.000-04:00Wow! I had just put my two cents worth in at the ...Wow! I had just put my two cents worth in at the SinC ListServe when I found yours. This is a perfect examination of the genre -- and I'm in total agreement.Pat Battahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14849549642679778901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-50262435011478564812008-10-02T12:58:00.000-04:002008-10-02T12:58:00.000-04:00Good explanation of the various categories. Thanks...Good explanation of the various categories. Thanks. And I agree with 150's comment about the grandma hunting serial killers in the Bayou. We grandmas aren't what our grandmothers were. :-) My oldest grandson once bought a T-shirt that read, "My Grannie is the Toughest Lady in Texas."Maryannwriteshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09479027709233807149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-53425172085422349452008-10-02T12:44:00.000-04:002008-10-02T12:44:00.000-04:00Thanks so much for this post Jessica! Since I'm no...Thanks so much for this post Jessica! Since I'm not a mystery writer, this helps to make sense of where differet mysteries fall.<BR/><BR/>Stephaniesrublehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09258955808195282768noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-61411009560103380362008-10-01T23:55:00.000-04:002008-10-01T23:55:00.000-04:00Would one of the agents at Bookends be willing to ...Would one of the agents at Bookends be willing to tell us what genre No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency is? No killings there, just nice and fun mysterious goings on.<BR/>Thanks in advance if you answer!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-11793385910471579022008-10-01T22:44:00.000-04:002008-10-01T22:44:00.000-04:00I wrote the story before thinking of a hook and no...I wrote the story before thinking of a hook and now I'm stepping into that territory and it's intimidating! I'm fantasy though, so I expect it's a whole different ball game, but on the same note it [hook] has to coincide with your story. Gives me more to think about going into it, Jessica, thanks!ChristaCarol Joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02908423468344511136noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-30852445895736415702008-10-01T22:18:00.000-04:002008-10-01T22:18:00.000-04:00Wow. Could you just keep reading my mind for a fe...Wow. Could you just keep reading my mind for a few days? At this rate you'll have every question I could possibly have about my recently finished 1st novel answered in a couple of weeks!<BR/><BR/>In all seriousness, thank you. Do you ever get people who aren't sure which category to use, so they cheat and write mystery/thriller, or some such?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-52356085686891410342008-10-01T21:48:00.000-04:002008-10-01T21:48:00.000-04:00I prefer mysteries that defy any kind of categoriz...I prefer mysteries that defy any kind of categorization--perhaps that's why I set my two novels in an imaginary Great Lake city and incorporated elements of the occult. I'm a huge fan of the novels of Jack O'Connell and, especially, James Crumley (sadly, he died 10 days ago). Re: Crumley, I can think of no other author who comes close to his exquisite writing and peerless characterization. Mystery, like most genre fiction, often falls into the formula trap, so much of it is derivative and dull. Crumley set the standard and it will be a long time before we see his like again...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-16836086746561322472008-10-01T20:12:00.000-04:002008-10-01T20:12:00.000-04:00I think that suspense can vary from something PG-i...I think that suspense can vary from something PG-ish to well beyond with an X for violence. (Or should that be a V?) Personally, I prefer the gentler suspense (sometime mixed with romance) in which the story is facinating enough to keep you turning the pages, but not so gory it turns your stomach. Maybe these would qualify as simply mysteries then, I don't know. But my favorites are the humorous mysteries, a catagory no one mentioned. Sarah Graves and Donna Andrews would be good examples.<BR/>And I'd like to know the answer to the question about the paranormal mysteries, too. My novel is a paranormal with elements of romance and suspense...I am still struggling with what the heck to call it.And there is humor, so some have said it is actually paranormal chick lit. Oy.Deborah Blakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04032614187237072683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-48340900867345943732008-10-01T19:21:00.000-04:002008-10-01T19:21:00.000-04:00Bonnie--Yes, I'd say cozies are basically G-rated ...Bonnie--<BR/><BR/>Yes, I'd say cozies are basically G-rated (though the occasional swear word might slip in) and traditional mysteries more PG/R rated. The key is that stuff is toned down in cozies--sex might happen, but it happens off-screen. Death occurs, but it's pretty sanitized (for example, there's a dead body, but there's little description of maggots, blood-soaked flesh, hideous bite marks all along her...you get the idea.)<BR/>If there's no death at all, then it's neither cozy nor traditional mystery, but suspense. Generally, in suspense, there's one person at risk.<BR/><BR/>Thrillers are definitely PG/R rated and more than one person is at risk. This would encompass such things as environmental disasters, serial killers, rampant disease, and so on. Usually, the reader knows who is the bad guy or what is the bad thing. <BR/><BR/>Do others want to weigh in?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-38860902634623341512008-10-01T16:31:00.000-04:002008-10-01T16:31:00.000-04:00That's an interesting comment, Carla. I guess I co...That's an interesting comment, Carla. I guess I couldn't read Massey's book out loud to my Grandma, but I could read No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency to her without being embarrassed. So cozies are G rated then? Does a cozy have to star an amateur? Would a G-rated (or PG-rated) mystery with a PI, for example, be a cozy if there was no murder but the PI solves other kinds of crimes?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-35570616892862633802008-10-01T16:17:00.000-04:002008-10-01T16:17:00.000-04:00Bonnie--I don't know about the Number 1 Ladies Det...Bonnie--<BR/><BR/>I don't know about the Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency, but Sujata's books are definitely mysteries. The distinction, in my mind, is whether or not you'd feel comfortable reading the book aloud to, say, your mother-in-law. If you'd stumble over a certain passage or phrase (as in Sujata's first mystery when Rei's with her lover--yikes!) you'd definitely be in mystery/thriller terrain. Of course, this would depend on what kind of gal your mother-in-law is!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-14378002222081669042008-10-01T15:13:00.000-04:002008-10-01T15:13:00.000-04:00Do you feel paranormal mysteries fit into any of t...Do you feel paranormal mysteries fit into any of those categories or are they a genre unto their own.<BR/><BR/>collAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-69615567247033194642008-10-01T13:03:00.000-04:002008-10-01T13:03:00.000-04:00Love this post, thanks. Wish I could have heard yo...Love this post, thanks. Wish I could have heard you speak on the topic at Sisters in Crime. <BR/>I'm about to start my next RS and will take another look at my H/H's training and abilities to get the job done. I always think of romantic suspense as softer than thriller but perhaps I've gone to far to the softer side. Maybe if I think thriller and try to write darker I'll come up with the recipe for a romantic suspense that sells. Ha ha.Robena Granthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18389730409379890816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-12183357377606017122008-10-01T10:42:00.000-04:002008-10-01T10:42:00.000-04:00I'll tell you what, if there was a book about a si...I'll tell you what, if there was a book about a sixty-year-old knitting grandma who also hunted serial killers through the Cajun bayou, I'd buy it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-55360739766747806882008-10-01T09:20:00.000-04:002008-10-01T09:20:00.000-04:00So, may I ask, what genre are the books in the No....So, may I ask, what genre are the books in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series and books by Sujata Massey (which feature a Japanese American who sort of solves mysteries but not the violent type)? These mysteries don't seem like cozies but perhaps they are? Can a mystery be a cozy if there's no death to solve?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-24201371443655635142008-10-01T08:58:00.000-04:002008-10-01T08:58:00.000-04:00This post I found to be quite helpful and could po...This post I found to be quite helpful and could possibly assist some of the beginner writers in my writer's group. Would it be allowed for me to post this to my beginner's writing blog to help the new writer's I know? Of course I would give appropriate credit to you.<BR/><BR/>Just wonderingAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-63064998764478828222008-10-01T08:44:00.000-04:002008-10-01T08:44:00.000-04:00Great advice, Jessica. I hope you'll do this kind ...Great advice, Jessica. <BR/><BR/>I hope you'll do this kind of post for other genres...oh...let's say like all the varieties of women's fiction.<BR/><BR/>Not that I have a specific interest in that genre of anything (cough).Amy Sue Nathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13854920309673361956noreply@blogger.com