Comments on: Heart and Soul

By: Bernita

Bernita — Wed, 19 Oct 2005 13:42:39 +0000

What many of us yearn and strive for but few reach – the book that moves, even exalts, a reader’s mind and soul.
A perfect expression. Thank you.

By: Allison Brennan

Allison Brennan — Wed, 19 Oct 2005 13:36:52 +0000

Great post. I agree. While there is a place for what I call, “satisfying, quick reads,” it’s the deeper books that I remember and savor long after I put them down. I just finished Tess Gerritsen’s VANISH and this is one of those memorable books. She’s not afraid to tackle difficult subject matter in a frank and compelling manner, and her characters are so rich and alive I expect to feel their breath on my neck.

By: Rene

Rene — Wed, 19 Oct 2005 04:33:32 +0000

What a great post. I think one problem for writers is that first book they write, the one that convinces them they want to be an author, is filled with heart and soul. Unfortunately it is also rife with awkwardness and flaws that make it unreadable. Writers start learning “the rules,” worrying about their POV’s, GMC’s and whatever other acronyms you can think of, producing a slicker product but quite often sacrificing their creativity. It’s like cheesecake, very good on its own, but then someone gets the great idea to cover it with strawberries, or add chocolate, nuts or anything else until it really doesn’t taste like cheesecake. Writing quite often goes the same path.

By: Edie Ramer

Edie Ramer — Wed, 19 Oct 2005 03:58:29 +0000

Holly, this is a great post! You’ve verbalized the dissatisfaction I’ve been feeling about so many books. Luckily, there are still some terrific ones that speak to my heart and soul.

By: Mary Stella

Mary Stella — Tue, 18 Oct 2005 17:46:01 +0000

What a terrific post — and a good reminder for all of us who write. Thank you, Holly.

By: Linda

Linda — Tue, 18 Oct 2005 15:08:24 +0000

I know this blog is all about romance, but those of you who also enjoy fantasy can see one of the results of Holly’s words. I’ve been shamelessly promoting her latest book, Talyn, anywhere and everywhere because it’s haunted me since I read it. It’s the best book I’ve read this year. I’d be proud if I could ever write anything this good.

And I agree with Holly about what I look for in a keeper book. But it seems we’re a rare breed. Look at the bestseller lists. Many on there are a good, entertaining read, but I never think about them again. I like good, entertaining reads. Sometimes that’s what I need. But when I want to “curl up with a good book”, I want more.

By: Eugenia

Eugenia — Tue, 18 Oct 2005 13:27:08 +0000

Excellent post! I completely agree – tons of books have been published and many, if not most, have only skimmed the human condition – the writers haven’t dug deep to plumb the depths of their souls and that shows through in their characters. It’s something I agonize a lot about in my own writing.

Writers like Penelope Lively, Nalo Hopkinson and the woman who wrote “We Need to Talk About Kevin” do it and do it well. And, yes, it definitely can be done in romance. Isn’t that why Flowers From the Storm is such an enduring classic?

By: Tara Marie

Tara Marie — Tue, 18 Oct 2005 12:49:58 +0000

Passion, heart, faith, hope, courage, and soul, tucked within a framework of strong characters, a tight story, and from time to time, a good laugh.

Doesn’t this sum-up in one sentence what we as readers are constantly searching for? Well said and thank you.

Unlike Angela, I find myself buying more and more books searching for the perfect fit, but I’ve also stopped struggling to finish books that don’t work for me, too many books and too little time to waste on something not readable.

By: Charlene Teglia

Charlene Teglia — Tue, 18 Oct 2005 12:26:41 +0000

Angela, whenever I hear statements like your friend’s, it floors me. Isn’t what Holly said why we do this? If you don’t value it, why do it?

Holly, beautifully put.

By: Angela

Angela — Tue, 18 Oct 2005 10:39:32 +0000

Ditto Holly, I’ve found myself purchasing fewer and fewer books as a result of the lack of heart and soul. Yes, I know first hand how much effort goes into creating a readable novel, but I’ll read and re-read a book, rave about the book and never shut up about the book if it clutched me heart and soul.

I think that having heart and soul in a book has been misinterpreted as forcing characters through horrendous trials, or writing a “dark” book. Sure reading a good book where love and acceptance triumphs over heartache and disappointment can tug at your heartstrings quicker than a book with a lighter touch, but any type of book, whether it be “light” or “dark” or “humorous” or “biting”,etc can be a heart-soul clutcher.

I too believe that I owe my reader something more than just a good book–a darn good book that has been crafted from my pains,frustrations,laughter and joy, agendaless, but created as a sort of touch of something inspiring for the reader to be left with when they close the book.

I had a writer friend recently state that “it’s not like we’re writing romances for it to mean anything” and that caused me to pause and think–maybe we aren’t writing romances with this huge,world wide agenda(ie: laywer fiction or terrorist fiction), but isn’t love and acceptance something that everyone craves? Shouldn’t our written expression of the most basic and most complicated emotion mean something, perhaps even more, than what genre-detractor, and even us ourselves give credit to?