tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post5167730947395648762..comments2024-03-22T05:18:29.555-04:00Comments on Romance Bandits: A Very Bad Place To StartLoucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02217492654108300014noreply@blogger.comBlogger76125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-67077265861481382622011-02-19T01:08:20.028-05:002011-02-19T01:08:20.028-05:00Caren, killed myself laughing at the BJ/GR romance...Caren, killed myself laughing at the BJ/GR romance! That's got bestseller written all over it! Perhaps we can get KFC to do some toy merchandising for us!Anna Campbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06695579361323275316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-72222314627955633832011-02-19T00:27:33.419-05:002011-02-19T00:27:33.419-05:00OMG....LOL
Too funny Caren...I Love it :0)OMG....LOL<br />Too funny Caren...I Love it :0)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03260077997044896776noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-91119349416042584172011-02-19T00:06:27.638-05:002011-02-19T00:06:27.638-05:00ROFLOL at your opening, Posh!
I'd keep readin...ROFLOL at your opening, Posh!<br /><br />I'd keep reading, if I could stop laughing. :-)<br /><br />ACLoucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02217492654108300014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-59769842681187069802011-02-18T21:55:37.079-05:002011-02-18T21:55:37.079-05:00Guys, all I have to add about "Natural Born C...Guys, all I have to add about "Natural Born Charmer" and its opening: grape lollipop eyes. I LOVE that description! I also love that, although the hero is nigh-on irresistible to every woman on the planet, the heroine is too pissed off (and humiliated and pissed off at men in general, not to mention miserable) to find him AT ALL attractive. Great stuff!Caren Cranehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12352366686017375279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-46121746264695504902011-02-18T21:47:20.866-05:002011-02-18T21:47:20.866-05:00BJ, I'm going to start a rumor about you and t...BJ, I'm going to start a rumor about you and the GR! I think it will start this way:<br /><br />BJ stared at her reflection in the mirror, admiring the fall of blonde curls from her elegant chignon. <br /><br /><i>Would he like her hair up like this? Would he even notice she no longer wore it in the mohawk he had so despised?</i><br /><br />No matter, Ernesto was her past. The Golden Rooster was her future. She knew he enjoyed four-inch stilettos and skirts slit up to her hip. She dressed for him and he rewarded her richly. He was hers every night - and the following day - as long as she kept him happy. <br /><br />She pulled out a cigarette and snorted as she flicked her gold-plated lighter. Ernesto wouldn't recognize the rooster-pleasing nymphomaniac she had become. She barely recognized herself.<br /><br />But she couldn't deny the pull of that golden-feathered cockerel and she didn't want to try.Caren Cranehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12352366686017375279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-19565752530621727582011-02-18T21:35:53.421-05:002011-02-18T21:35:53.421-05:00Suz,
Your 25 pages is more generous then me! And T...Suz,<br />Your 25 pages is more generous then me! And Twilight was so poorly written I could NOT force myself to plow through more than 3 chapters. I told the DH I would be embarrassed to give those chapters to my critique partner as rough draft! <br /><br />Apparently WE are in the minority. :-P<br /><br />ACLoucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02217492654108300014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-57538171071967959012011-02-18T21:33:18.307-05:002011-02-18T21:33:18.307-05:00Thank you Petite!
I'm sooo happy that the ope...Thank you Petite!<br /><br />I'm sooo happy that the opening of TToV worked for so many readers. That is one opening that I saw very clearly before I ever put it on paper. ;-) And you are right, bar scenes tend to be all the same. Maybe I don't like them because I've never been comfortable in bars and can't identify with characters who are.<br /><br />ACLoucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02217492654108300014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-4060811916647876722011-02-18T21:30:51.812-05:002011-02-18T21:30:51.812-05:00Traveler,
I agree, nothing worse than a whiny prot...Traveler,<br />I agree, nothing worse than a whiny protagonist! Also, haven't some writers heard of that old rule? Start with the day it is DIFFERENT! :-P<br /><br />ACLoucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02217492654108300014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-33473382665355644012011-02-18T21:29:18.706-05:002011-02-18T21:29:18.706-05:00Hey Suz!
I'm afraid I've seen too many of...Hey Suz!<br /><br />I'm afraid I've seen too many of the "Bad Cop" villains in romantic suspense too. In fact, I've even written one! ;-)<br /><br />And Dianna is right, with erotica the reader EXPECTS the book to be hot right from the start. It's all about reader expectations.<br /><br />ACLoucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02217492654108300014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-91741814541431075302011-02-18T20:19:50.085-05:002011-02-18T20:19:50.085-05:00Suzanne Ferrell said...
Oh boy Diana, you've ...Suzanne Ferrell said...<br /><br />Oh boy Diana, you've nailed my book with that one, LOL!<br /><br /><b>Oh no, we were talking about regular romance novels Suzanne, you don't expect them to start like that. Your novel is a whole different genre. It is all about expectations. If I pick up an erotica then I totally expect it to start out hot and heavy. I don't expect a historical romance to start that way and I don't like it when it does because it blows my expectation out of the water.</b>hrdwrkdmom aka Diannahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12520769151419586319noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-51484077541385950082011-02-18T19:49:02.163-05:002011-02-18T19:49:02.163-05:00Jeanne:I'll give most books 50 to 100 pages, b...Jeanne:<i>I'll give most books 50 to 100 pages, but if you can't hook me by then....</i> <br /><br />You're more generous than I am. 25 tops. Why I could never get into the Twilight series. Bored the snot out of me.Suzanne Ferrellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05761579189372602292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-66883905007807360222011-02-18T19:48:44.974-05:002011-02-18T19:48:44.974-05:00The Treasures of Venice has a wonderful opening sc...The Treasures of Venice has a wonderful opening scene. One that is trite is the bar scene.petitehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05326383614079568432noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-59609571103739954372011-02-18T19:46:37.153-05:002011-02-18T19:46:37.153-05:00When a book starts with the protaganist complainin...When a book starts with the protaganist complaining about their life and then just folowing the same old routine.travelerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06191803578622949052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-51089997918621663202011-02-18T19:45:00.149-05:002011-02-18T19:45:00.149-05:00Diana: I put the book down when they are either ha...Diana: <i>I put the book down when they are either having sex or contemplating it in the first 5 or 6 pages. I love a good sex scene but not in the first chapter please.</i> <br /><br />Oh boy Diana, you've nailed my book with that one, LOL!Suzanne Ferrellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05761579189372602292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-89712139935786536152011-02-18T19:37:45.475-05:002011-02-18T19:37:45.475-05:00Hey AC!
My problem isn't so much with the op...Hey AC! <br /><br />My problem isn't so much with the openings of books, but I have sorta given up reading Romantic Suspense, because I knew the moment the female cop/sheriff/deputy walked onto the scene, she was going to be the antagonist.Suzanne Ferrellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05761579189372602292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-64790632592053086182011-02-18T18:37:11.023-05:002011-02-18T18:37:11.023-05:00Hi Louisa!
Isn't it amazing sometimes that we...Hi Louisa!<br /><br />Isn't it amazing sometimes that we aren't even aware of what we are doing in our own writing?!?! I always find it fascinating when readers point out things to me that I didn't even realize. :-)<br /><br />ACLoucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02217492654108300014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-42769572032218202632011-02-18T18:29:11.633-05:002011-02-18T18:29:11.633-05:00Laurie,
I think you've mentioned the key to a ...Laurie,<br />I think you've mentioned the key to a great opening -- make the reader CARE! Cliches can work, action can work, descriptions can work as long as WE CARE! :-) <br /><br />ACLoucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02217492654108300014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-1178636954185214882011-02-18T18:27:05.698-05:002011-02-18T18:27:05.698-05:00Fo,
The heroine in a mink coat and nothing else, s...Fo,<br />The heroine in a mink coat and nothing else, sweltering in a stuck elevator?!?! That is right on par with the heroine in the beaver suit! <br /><br />Enjoy your tea without TELLING us about it! LOL!<br /><br />ACLoucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02217492654108300014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-58884848440644203372011-02-18T18:24:49.241-05:002011-02-18T18:24:49.241-05:00BJ, you are definitely a glutton for punishment gi...BJ, you are definitely a glutton for punishment giving chocolate to the GR AGAIN !! Lock him in the den with the remote and run for your life!!<br /><br />I am definitely taking notes on all of the openings people hate! <br /><br />I discovered recently when one of my GH loops was discussing opening lines that my first three manuscripts start with a line of dialogue. Not intentional on my part, but funny to discover I have a pattern. The fourth manuscript that I started but had to put on hold to revise #3 doesn't start with dialogue so I did manage to break the pattern! <br /><br />I definitely want to see the hero and/or heroine in action. I can find out more about their character watching them with others than any other way and I like it!Louisa Cornellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12971924594129471055noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-56893824118198164812011-02-18T18:21:41.234-05:002011-02-18T18:21:41.234-05:00Hey Helen,
You are a very generous reader for stic...Hey Helen,<br />You are a very generous reader for sticking with books even if the opening is slow.<br /><br />Thanks for mentioning my opening for TToV. :-)<br /><br />ACLoucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02217492654108300014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-2191136253659376912011-02-18T18:17:06.689-05:002011-02-18T18:17:06.689-05:00Hey, Thanx for the vote of confidence on our prese...Hey, Thanx for the vote of confidence on our presentation, Donna! We will be giving it the rowdy Bandita rendition. ;-)<br /><br />I'm with you on not liking the characters. Even if it IS part of their character arc to become nicer people, I'm not sticking around long enough to find out. Unless, of course, I'm judging a contest like you. I've had a couple of disappointing Rita entries too. :-(<br /><br />ACLoucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02217492654108300014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-26847548617119882052011-02-18T17:48:16.039-05:002011-02-18T17:48:16.039-05:00AWW, Thank you for mentioning TWIS, Catslady!
Pro...AWW, Thank you for mentioning TWIS, Catslady!<br /><br />Prologues in general are a no-no and thus far, this is the only book I've written that opened with one. Glad it worked for you as Parker simply INSISTED that the story open with him. My characters are notorious for having minds of their own. :-P<br /><br />ACLoucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02217492654108300014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-53011354253026757832011-02-18T17:39:01.217-05:002011-02-18T17:39:01.217-05:00Hi Beth,
That SEP sure knows how to write interes...Hi Beth,<br /><br />That SEP sure knows how to write interesting openings! We can all aspire to her level. ;-) And I can't think of any good books that start with the heroine looking in a mirror myself, but I'm sure their must be some. Cliches have to start somewhere...<br /><br />ACLoucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02217492654108300014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-69746640483971758472011-02-18T17:36:57.274-05:002011-02-18T17:36:57.274-05:00Hey Joanie,
Nope, can't say I've EVER read...Hey Joanie,<br />Nope, can't say I've EVER read another opening quite like your "hero about to be crucified." You've penned a grabber there, girlfriend!<br /><br />And LOL on the wound care. Some habits are hard to break. :-)<br /><br />ACLoucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02217492654108300014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-65469440273154122742011-02-18T17:25:24.412-05:002011-02-18T17:25:24.412-05:00Hey, thanx PJ!
Another thumbs up for TToV's op...Hey, thanx PJ!<br />Another thumbs up for TToV's opening and for Natural Born Charmer!<br /><br />Hey, I love those twists you never see coming too, and Le Duchesse is VERY clever with hers. :-)<br /><br />ACLoucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02217492654108300014noreply@blogger.com