tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4498845843905507548.post556009354945302470..comments2024-01-26T02:31:14.470-05:00Comments on ROMANCE WRITERS OF AMERICA NYC: Ethics and the Romance NovelNative NYerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16239230892287943136noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4498845843905507548.post-15873849540197982172010-10-09T01:12:19.068-04:002010-10-09T01:12:19.068-04:00Lis, What an intriguing tangle of desires, duty, a...Lis, What an intriguing tangle of desires, duty, and conscience. I am very much looking forward to reading your first book. Karen K.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4498845843905507548.post-9440466519191366682010-10-07T14:58:26.518-04:002010-10-07T14:58:26.518-04:00I appreciate all the insightful comments, and many...I appreciate all the insightful comments, and many thanks to those who have bought or intend to buy my book!! <br />There is often a fine line between being too "preachy" (not something a reader would likely desire) and sending a subtle "message" (even unconsciously) in one's work. I tried to be aware of that as I was writing and editing.<br />LisbethLisbeth Enghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04814466999337154397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4498845843905507548.post-31420057360947773162010-10-07T10:31:23.660-04:002010-10-07T10:31:23.660-04:00Lis, your story sounds complex & that makes it...Lis, your story sounds complex & that makes it all the more intriguing. Plus, awesome cover! Congrats, JanetJanet Halpinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4498845843905507548.post-80026545266526285322010-10-07T08:50:37.820-04:002010-10-07T08:50:37.820-04:00I just bought the Kindle version of your book. Yo...I just bought the Kindle version of your book. Your story and the various moral questions each character is facing really peaked my interest! I like it when characters are faced with tough choices. As long as it isn't preachy, I have no problems with their being a moral message. My wip has a very Christian worldview, but is not an inspirational. I don't discuss praying or going to church, however it's evident that my characters believe in a Higher Power.<br /><br />Best of luck with your stories!<br />Lauriemystwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05808545727954809208noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4498845843905507548.post-9370465093506402622010-10-06T22:18:01.110-04:002010-10-06T22:18:01.110-04:00Sounds like you've created some complicated, m...Sounds like you've created some complicated, multi-faceted characters with great inner and outer conflicts. That means you have a story. I don't think a writer can avoid projecting our own "moral messsage" into our writing. It's part of every decision we make about how the story will unfold. As long as you avoid any "preaching" moments and allow your readers to unravel the ethical dilemas along with your characters, you have nothing to worry about.MiaMarlowehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18027069675291646955noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4498845843905507548.post-74457157845699289262010-10-06T20:57:45.102-04:002010-10-06T20:57:45.102-04:00Thanks, everyone, for your comments!
LisbethThanks, everyone, for your comments!<br />LisbethLisbeth Enghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04814466999337154397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4498845843905507548.post-15314477158664339932010-10-06T20:48:52.665-04:002010-10-06T20:48:52.665-04:00I loved reading this post, Lisbeth. Thanks so much...I loved reading this post, Lisbeth. Thanks so much for it. Your book sounds marvelous. :)<br /><br />While my books are first and foremost romantic adventures, the moral issues my characters grapple with are central to their stories. Many of my characters have secret identities. They adopt these alter egos so that they can pursue activities not generally popular in their society (the Regency beau monde). The hero of my debut pretends to be a priest so he can pursue a mission of justice on behalf of people not nearly as fortunate as himself, and he's dedicated to this mission. As you might imagine, this disguise causes trouble when he and my heroine begin to fall in love. ;) Amidst the sensuous adventure, learning how to live life both honesty and with noble purpose is a theme that runs through all my books.Thenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15945179782098934391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4498845843905507548.post-49795843297291523952010-10-06T18:37:33.395-04:002010-10-06T18:37:33.395-04:00Hi Lisabeth,
Great post, and very interesting.Love...Hi Lisabeth,<br />Great post, and very interesting.Love World War 2 stories and In The Arms of the Enemy, sounds like a ripper read and I can't wait to get my hands on it. <br /><br />regards<br />MargaretMargaret Tannerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07123830410502520003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4498845843905507548.post-38679178115387354132010-10-06T13:07:12.194-04:002010-10-06T13:07:12.194-04:00As long as the story ends with an HEA for the coup...As long as the story ends with an HEA for the couple, I think a romance can have moral dilemmas and meaty substance. I write Civil War romances and have had to deal with characters, often on opposite sides of the war, expressing their feelings about the enemy, politics, slavery, killing, etc. I just hope my readers will sympathize with my characters enough to root for them and enjoy the satisfying resolution to the story. <br /><br />Your book sounds like a must read story for me, btw! Best of luck with it!!Susan Macateehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07476340887041053638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4498845843905507548.post-14547469426325236082010-10-06T12:57:52.174-04:002010-10-06T12:57:52.174-04:00While your novel, Lis, deals with a most serious a...While your novel, Lis, deals with a most serious and thorny set of dilemmas, I believe that all romances (and for that matter all genre fiction) also have messages in them, be they of a moral or simply a human nature. Even a most light-hearted story will have internal and external conflicts - which require that the protagonists take an action to resolve them and grow (the intent of any story). If the wrong action is taken, there will be a price to be paid and a lesson to be learned before our hero or heroine makes the RIGHT choice the next time. Be it overcoming a personal prejudice or, standing up to a situation that requires a personal sacrifice, defending the weak, pursuing truth despite adversity, or simply the lesson that to love someone requires give and take, it is what makes the heart of a story beat.lisekimhortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09072878628169741032noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4498845843905507548.post-51499975997419316892010-10-06T11:59:40.976-04:002010-10-06T11:59:40.976-04:00I give you credit for going places with romance th...I give you credit for going places with romance that most romance novelists fear to tread! What an interesting premise for a book -I look foward to reading it.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16629562991157207548noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4498845843905507548.post-12576290102323525542010-10-06T11:42:07.704-04:002010-10-06T11:42:07.704-04:00Great post. Love the moral questions your charact...Great post. Love the moral questions your characters are facing. I remember when you were reading "In the Arms of the Enemy" years ago in critique group and I always found the love triangle fascinating. It's on my Nook and next on my reading list!Jeaninehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17975280103786742958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4498845843905507548.post-1886515116876464802010-10-06T09:31:50.238-04:002010-10-06T09:31:50.238-04:00Wow, you give your characters some tough dilemmas ...Wow, you give your characters some tough dilemmas to deal with! I have your book on my kindle and very much look forward to finding out who she chooses! congratulations and good luck with your book!Paulinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06673963438671468441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4498845843905507548.post-54105279598786462152010-10-06T09:30:51.440-04:002010-10-06T09:30:51.440-04:00It’s storylines like this that makes what is one o...It’s storylines like this that makes what is one of the truer forms of good and natural storytelling. <br />From your snippet, I am put in mind of so many war movies and books from the 1940’s that I fell in love with. <br />War is not a pretty thing, but the heart is a wondrously confusing and often fickle thing. The story you are telling is one that (if you will excuse me,) a lot of “cookie cutter editors” don’t get.<br />Everything in “LIFE” does not have a happy-roll-along-in the sunshine kind of role. Love can be tragic, and the journey to a happy ending is often daunting, filled with peril and sometimes bittersweet. YES! people even in a romance.<br />Your novel sounds like a book that gives me type of story I love. I’ll bet you dollars to donuts that you have given both male characters enough appeal to make us undecided on who Isabella will choose. <br />Yes I will read this book, because now I just have to know, who she will end up with. I congratulate you on the release of the novel of your heart.STORIDIVAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11863557804998286872noreply@blogger.com