tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post7219476468227426261..comments2024-03-28T02:36:30.029-04:00Comments on Jungle Red Writers: ERIN HART: FICTION = REALITYJungle Red Writershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16646429819267618412noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-51516950567200322332013-04-12T23:23:48.853-04:002013-04-12T23:23:48.853-04:00Already read "The Book of Killowen". Aw...Already read "The Book of Killowen". Awesome as usual. The besto part about a new Erin Hart coming out is that I go back to read the others so I know where everything is coming from, and get to experience her writing all over again!!!Lorahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02833218449658357107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-60133148017848498642013-04-12T09:27:15.633-04:002013-04-12T09:27:15.633-04:00Thanks so much to everyone who joined the discussi...Thanks so much to everyone who joined the discussion! You've all been so entertaining -- and informative. Now you will all live in my imagination as characters, and I've got some new authors for my TBR pile, too!<br /><br />I loved Jon Hassler's Agatha McGee, too. Perhaps it's the fact that he's a fellow Minnesotan, but all of his characters are very real to me - I think I've read most of his novels, but THE LOVE HUNTER and SIMON'S NIGHT were two that stood out to me.<br /><br />Interesting question about the suspension of disbelief, Lisa. My husband is a huge fan of the American Wild West. He can read fiction (loves LONESOME DOVE more than any other novel ever), and he can read nonfiction, but when an author (even someone as good as Larry McMurtry) starts mixing up historical and fictional characters, he can't take it! Maybe your friend has a psychological block against reading about people who are made-up? It is curious, I agree! <br /><br />Loved what you said, Libby, about fiction offering you more options for thinking and acting and being. I think that's so true. We actually live in our imaginations; that's one reason to make sure it's a broad world in there!<br /><br />Sincere thanks, again, to everyone, for sharing your thoughts and experiences. It's always a delight to find such engaged and thoughtful readers; it warms the cockles of an author's heart. Nice to know we're not alone, isn't it, in counting fictional characters among our friends?<br />Erin Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01013875385995568963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-89585358900018065032013-04-12T07:30:40.801-04:002013-04-12T07:30:40.801-04:00I always look forward to a new book feom Erin. I always look forward to a new book feom Erin. Prentiss Garnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07843306525782167667noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-85808838618938287682013-04-11T23:30:02.563-04:002013-04-11T23:30:02.563-04:00Trixie, Cherry, China Bayles,Kate Shugak, and John...Trixie, Cherry, China Bayles,Kate Shugak, and John Lloyd are some of the most "real" people I know. I've referenced John Lloyd Branson so many times that some of my friends are also convinced he is alive, well, infuriating, and practicing law in Canadian, Texas to this day. <br />In Heinlein's book "The Number of the Beast" there is a section of plot that theorizes that books we've read become their own universe. <br />My mother and I used to get very strange looks when we would make a visit to a bookstore. We'd be calling out things about characters as if they were real people as we read blurbs on the backs of books. I'm pretty sure at least a few clerks were concerned about the crazy people in the mystery section...Shelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12763944794673350184noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-17648419038539784972013-04-11T21:34:23.568-04:002013-04-11T21:34:23.568-04:00Love Kristopher's comment:
"The next ti...Love Kristopher's comment: <br /><br />"The next time my friends laugh when I refer to a book character as if they really existed, I will pull out this study." <br /><br />So happy to oblige!Erin Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01013875385995568963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-67276331374448834182013-04-11T19:00:34.240-04:002013-04-11T19:00:34.240-04:00Quite fascinating. I've always "known&qu...Quite fascinating. I've always "known" that reading broadens the "me" that I have contact with. It gives me more possibilities of ways to think and act.<br />Equally important, I think, is that reading increasing vocabulary and one's ability to think clearly.<br />Add to that the wonderful adventure it offers and it's a total win!Libby Doddhttp://www.libbydoddart.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-7996098534631952482013-04-11T17:22:23.051-04:002013-04-11T17:22:23.051-04:00This whole discussion reminds me of those old ads:...This whole discussion reminds me of those old ads: "I'm not a doctor, but I play one on TV..."<br /><br />I can just hear myself saying to someone, "I'm not an archaeologist, but I write about one in my books!"<br />Erin Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01013875385995568963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-32406713213317383672013-04-11T17:20:25.802-04:002013-04-11T17:20:25.802-04:00Wow, thanks for all the wonderful contributions to...Wow, thanks for all the wonderful contributions to our discussion! I can see that you've all spent some time thinking about the reality of fiction... I'm eating all this up with a spoon!<br /><br />The neuroscience article was about descriptive, sensory language, but also about the power of words to spark places in the brain that sort through real experiences. Reine, I was so interested in what you said about reading a series out of order. Now I know why I'm so nerdy about that! And thanks for that peek behind the scenes into the competitive nature of neuroscience scanning technology -- who would have guessed? <br /><br />Linda, your comments about reading fiction for some cues about 'normal' behavior were so amazing and moving. Reading fiction, putting ourselves into different stories is really all about learning, about ourselves, about others, about the world. <br />Erin Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01013875385995568963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-77725850341261481062013-04-11T17:10:34.834-04:002013-04-11T17:10:34.834-04:00There have been many writers who have given me new...There have been many writers who have given me new friends - Jo March, Amelia Peabody, Nancy Drew, Hercule Poirot, Richard Jury and others. Each of them were real to me while I read and then when the story was done, I would rethink - their choices in life, the direction they were taking in their lives. Thank you for this, it is confirming that I am not as crazy as I thought. ANNETTEhttp://www.letterswhichbuildbridges.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-83807762927858623392013-04-11T13:27:53.307-04:002013-04-11T13:27:53.307-04:00Di made a good point about facebook being "ad...Di made a good point about facebook being "addicting." Research done by a CSUN psychology professor, Dr. Delinah Hurwitz, suggests that people overuse social networking websites because of an addiction to endorphins released in the body during the process of posting.<br /><br />People become hooked to this process because endorphins rush through that person’s brain and body every time someone responds to their post.<br /><br />The link Erin provided was a fascinating one - Lovely to see physiological evidence that beautiful prose affects us at so many levels. <br /><br />Characters in literature do seem to become "friends" of a sort. (and Erin, I also cried when Beth died in Little Women!)The memorable ones for me have been all the characters in To Kill a Mockingbird, many of Dickens's characters and Philip Roth's alter egos. I'm looking forward to making my aquaintnace with Nora Gavin!<br /><br />DebbieDebbiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15156691091957056064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-24796981408584021732013-04-11T13:24:49.419-04:002013-04-11T13:24:49.419-04:00I have a couple of comments. In direct response to...I have a couple of comments. In direct response to what charecter remains in my head is Jon Hassler's Agatha McGee. She was a feisty old spinster schoolteacher, reluctant to accept the changes Vatican II brought to the Catholic church. I know many like her, and was taught by a few of them!! As to commenting on the psychologist's findings about readers of fiction being more empathetic, i agree. But, we also open ourselves to the world and all the history those writers researched then inparted to us. A big Thank You for all the hard work, before writing, that goes on in the novelelist's world.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-88685468832325448002013-04-11T13:14:46.194-04:002013-04-11T13:14:46.194-04:00Fascinating discussion, Erin and Debs! I've al...Fascinating discussion, Erin and Debs! I've always believed that readers learn as they read, even fiction. I grew up in a very dysfunctional household, but my reading taught me the ways normal people acted, allowing me to realize that the awful things happening weren't because I was bad or wrong and allowing me to pass as a normal person when I got free (while I worked with therapists to deal with some of the damage).<br /><br />I've often told my kids that they can learn from the mistakes characters make in books so they won't have to make their own. I think they believe me finally--now that they've made so many of their own. LOL<br /><br />And yes, a writer, like an actor, can't judge her/his villains while writing them. We must know how and why they see themselves as good and their actions as necessary. My friend Nancy Pickard told me once that she stopped writing her bestselling Truth series about a true-crime writer because she had to spend part of each book in the head of the murderer and she just couldn't stand to go there anymore.<br />Linda Rodriguezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11913741596693442469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-36371976272635964692013-04-11T12:38:59.298-04:002013-04-11T12:38:59.298-04:00I'm so glad you're back with Nora and Corm...I'm so glad you're back with Nora and Cormac, Erin. I almost didn't believe it when I saw you'd published the fourth. So welcome back!<br /><br />Before I discovered Deb Crombie and Julia Spencer-Fleming, it was Elizabeth George's Inspector Lynley that has stayed with me. And from your own False Mermaid novel, Triona.<br /><br />And, ditto Kristopher's remarks, about not feeling silly referring to a book character as if they really existed.<br /><br />All the best with this fourth book; is no. 5 a WIP yet?!<br /><br />~TriciaTFJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01145220939173150233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-21739458357804186592013-04-11T12:32:49.664-04:002013-04-11T12:32:49.664-04:00Hi Erin!
Since I've already read THE BOOK OF ...Hi Erin!<br /><br />Since I've already read THE BOOK OF KILLOWEN, I can hereby heartily recommend it to the Jungle Red-sters.<br /><br />I love everything to with neuroscience. Your discussion gets me wondering why some people can't suspend belief. I have a friend who doesn't read fiction at all for that reason. Seems so strange to me. Theories?<br /><br />Cheers, LisaLisa Alberhttp://lisaalber.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-19954656031559573742013-04-11T12:25:48.263-04:002013-04-11T12:25:48.263-04:00Erin, I think you make a great point about writers...Erin, I think you make a great point about writers and empathy, using P.D. James as a great example -- to make "real" villains, I think the writer must have empathy for the villain's point of view. Not necessarily sympathy, but they must surely be able to stand in the shoes of that individual. Dana Stabenow has done a nice job of this in many cases and her most recent Kate Shugak book, Bad Blood, creates any number of believably flawed individuals that could have "done it." <br /><br />Reine talks about a "sense of community" and that is one of the reasons that I love mystery series so much... the characters do become part of my own inner life, and then when one comes to a site like this one or an author's facebook page, one "meets" the others who feel the same and I think we do all become part of something greater as a result. Thank you to the writers for that! <br /><br />Pat D., I know just which one you mean in Imogen Robertson's books... you just can't tell me that she and Deb and Louise Penny and Erin and Rhys and all the others mentioned here aren't writing "Litrachoor" just because if it is genre fiction... anyone who creates characters about whom one cares that much are clearly artists. <br /><br />Now I'm going to go nuke lunch and read some Lake of Sorrows. . Kristihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07605406591025175181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-10514333471317397092013-04-11T12:24:17.034-04:002013-04-11T12:24:17.034-04:00So true, Erin, about writers' empathy. One of ...So true, Erin, about writers' empathy. One of the things I've found as a writer is that it's increasingly hard to see the world in black and white. Does that make it harder for writers to be zealots, I wonder? Not that I don't think some actions are morally inexcusable, it's just that I can imagine how the person got to that place...<br /><br />And actors... very interesting about not judging while you are in a role.Debhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11519514786198185277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-76257225613800839632013-04-11T12:10:14.017-04:002013-04-11T12:10:14.017-04:00Hi Erin!
Character that have stuck with me--Morse....Hi Erin!<br />Character that have stuck with me--Morse. I was so sad when he died. I felt it was a wasted life.<br />Deb's Gemma and Duncan. Maisie Dobbs, Alan Banks, Reginald Hill's Daziel and Pascoe.... I've just noticed they are all British. I guess I like the connection to my homeland.<br /><br />And every day I get at least one email asking about my character Constable Evans. They want to know how he's doing and when he's coming back.Rhysnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-37825886621480924322013-04-11T12:07:23.826-04:002013-04-11T12:07:23.826-04:00What a coincidence. I'm right in the middle of...What a coincidence. I'm right in the middle of The Book of Killowen. Marianne in Maine, I totally agree with your list of people. I would add Ian Rutledge from Charles Todd, Martha Grimes'Richard Jury, Sebastian St Cyr, and many more. I was reduced to tears by a character's death in Imogene Robertson's series.Pat Dnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-84937574596931135072013-04-11T11:57:29.838-04:002013-04-11T11:57:29.838-04:00Are authors more empathetic? I agree with Deb that...Are authors more empathetic? I agree with Deb that most crime writers I know are lovely people... But if you think about it, our job requires a certain amount of empathy. We have to put ourselves in the shoes of all the different characters--sometimes even the villains--and see things from their point of view. That's what empathy is.<br /><br />One of the things I appreciate most about P.D. James (have I mentioned her already? ;-) is that she paints such three-dimensional portraits of ALL her characters, even the villains. A TASTE FOR DEATH is a case in point.<br /><br />If you've ever heard actors talk about how they create characters, especially villainous people, sometimes they'll say that every character is the hero of his own story, and that you can't judge a character while playing him or her. I think that's pretty true of novelists as well. We're curious about people--all different kinds of people, and about what makes them tick.Erin Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01013875385995568963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-70259157432173317312013-04-11T11:56:06.196-04:002013-04-11T11:56:06.196-04:00Wonderful - a new series to explore! Congratulatio...Wonderful - a new series to explore! Congratulations on the book Erin Hart and thanks for your post here. <br /><br />Books do immerse me in a completely real world - and characters are very real to me. In fact, the reality of the world and characters is what determines if I finish a book of fiction. Exceptionally real worlds and characters inspire me to read the book again immediately - with more attention to detail and less to entertainment. Then I want to know what happens next - and sometimes they're so real that I imagine what I think will/should happen next. Total immersion!<br /><br />I really appreciate your posting about the brain science that confirms what I've always believed - that science would bear out my experience.<br /><br />The first characters I know I really believed in were probably Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden - I was always a sidekick in their adventures.<br /><br />Thanks for the opportunity to go on about this topic!<br />stitchkathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13386818613507497168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-81791873398542478032013-04-11T11:50:21.928-04:002013-04-11T11:50:21.928-04:00Hello everyone! Chiming in late here; I've had...Hello everyone! Chiming in late here; I've had to be out shoveling the five inches of snow that has fallen so far today, and there's more on the way... :-(<br /><br />Thank you so much for sharing! It's always fascinating to hear which characters pop out as completely three-dimensional. I also remember being depressed after finishing EAST OF EDEN, because I'd been so engaged with the character of the father, Adam Trask. When I saw the movie years later, he was only a small part of the story, and not at all the robust character I remembered from the book. <br /><br />Another character who seems real to me is Adam Dalgleish from P.D. James's series. Even though the secondary characters are slightly more vivid in ways, she's always showing us the world through Dalgleish's eyes, and so we come to appreciate his wit, and his keen observation. And I think it's partly the precision of her language. She always uses just the right word in describing rooms, landscapes, characters and their traits. <br /><br />So enjoying this chat! Thank you all for stopping in. I have to speak to a school group this afternoon from 1-2 pm central (about Celtic imagery in my novels, if you don't mind), but I'll be checking in throughout the day and evening...<br />Erin Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01013875385995568963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-20493941127421119432013-04-11T11:37:06.071-04:002013-04-11T11:37:06.071-04:00This reminded me that it had been too many years s...This reminded me that it had been too many years since I read Erin Hart, so I went to Audible and have bought Lake of Sorrows. It's downloading right now. False Mermaid is now in my Audible wish list.Janethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06764224854845003523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-67794048545446759642013-04-11T11:09:31.606-04:002013-04-11T11:09:31.606-04:00Thanks, Leslie! I've posted the link for the r...Thanks, Leslie! I've posted the link for the review on my Facebook page as well!Debhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11519514786198185277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-62129290993680160992013-04-11T11:00:49.007-04:002013-04-11T11:00:49.007-04:00Oh thank you for another series to dive into! Thi...Oh thank you for another series to dive into! This was interesting information. And I'm really looking forward to reading your books, Erin.<br /><br /><br />When I was young I adored Cherry Ames. I always wanted to be a nurse just like her - and my mother. I read every book. One year of nursing school changed my mind. But Cherry was very real for me.<br /><br />It seems to me that characters in book are real people. After finishing a book I feel that good friends have left. I miss them. Gemma and Duncan, Russ and Clare, Georgie and Darcy (we need MORE Darcy), Louise Penny's Gamache. I've recently finished the entire series of Diana Gabaldon's OUTLANDER and Jamie and Claire are real, aren't they? Same thing with Matthew and Diana in Deborah Harkness' series. And now I see that there's a scientific reason for feeling this way. (In addition to wonderful writing.)<br /><br />I do tend to get lost in books and that's why I'm so thankful for the creativity of authors. You are my heroes!Marianne in Mainenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-62082696377134120472013-04-11T10:42:55.592-04:002013-04-11T10:42:55.592-04:00Erin's given us great food for thought (that i...Erin's given us great food for thought (that image always reminds me of a restaurant in Missoula, near the Univ of MT campus, called Food for Thought with a drawing of a brain for a logo). But she didn't say much about HER book. So here's the review I wrote for Book Page: http://bookpage.com/review/the-book-of-killowen/an-ancient-book-of-life-and-death (Hint: those characters live on in my brain!)Leslie Budewitzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11942314846112875042noreply@blogger.com