On the Dear Author Blog readers are angry at a particular author of a suspense series. (IMPORTANT SPOILER WARNING: If you follow the link to Dear Author you’ll find out which author and book it is, then if you read my blog, you may figure out the plot twist. Your choice.) The author wrote in a huge twist at the end of her latest book affecting a main character and the fans, evidently, are very unhappy. I’ve only read one book in the series the readers are talking about, so I don’t feel very strongly about the plot twist.
My initial reaction to this hoopla is that it’s the author’s world (she created it) and she has a reason for shifting the plot. And I’m slightly dismayed that people are criticizing the author, making it personal, instead of about the book. Many are saying they will never buy another one of the author’s books.
But then I started thinking about my fan mail. I wrote five books in my Samantha Shaw series then switched to writing single titles. (For the record, that was my publisher’s decision, not mine. I would happily do both.) My last Samantha Shaw book came out in January 2006 and I get emails all the time asking me when the next one is, or begging me to write more. I also get emails asking me to let Sam and Vance have sex, (one reader asked me for an entire chapter of sex between Sam and Vance—God I love readers!) but that’s another blog ïŠ
What really surprised me is that readers told me they were so invested in the characters in the Sam books that they were reluctant to read the stand alones and get to know new characters. Wow! That’s amazing. The light began dawning on me that the connection readers form with series characters is incredibly strong. And through the characters, the readers feel a connection the author.
So going back to the Dear Author blog, these fans feel betrayed by the author. They feel like they had a personal relationship with the author through the characters, and now they’ve been seriously let down. One fan likened the twist to JD Robb killing off Roarke. And that really brought it home for me. I’d take it personally if Nora (writing as JD Robb) did that!
So my question for you—do you think series authors have an obligation to the readers to give them what they want? Or is it okay to change things so drastically in the series world? Would you feel betrayed? Or would you keep reading?
P.S. Because readers are so awesome, many have emailed me that they tried my stand alone books and love them. I love my readers!
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Since the phrase “killing off Roarke” went a long way toward waking me up, I thought I’d try to give a response. The relationship I feel I have with a lot of authors through their books is a business one. They provide a product I value and enjoy and I continue to be brand-loyal with a certain expectation of quality. As I was reading this post, it made me think about restaurants, and how DH and I will visit a restaurant for years and then one bad experience can cause us to cross it off our list. We know it’s harsh. It’s nothing personal. But we want what we want from the experience and we’re just not willing to take the risk that a bad experience is the new way of doing things there, I guess.
I’m that way with books. I want what I want from the experience, and that’s why I keep coming back again and again. While I’ll probably overlook something like a mediocre book among several I’ve really enjoyed, a plot twist like you describe…that’s going to seem to me as something more deliberate on the author’s part. Like a revamped menu at my restaurant or a new format on my radio station.
It’s a risk, I guess. Maybe she does have something absolutely, mind-bogglingly fantastic in mind, and this is laying the groundwork. After Angel left Buffy, I refused to acknowledge new episodes of the series for like seven years or something. Buffy was a three season show, so sad it was cancelled in its prime like that. Then after I got over it, I watched the last 4 seasons on DVD. Wow. What I was missing just because things didn’t go my way that time and I was in a seven year snit over it.
I suppose there’s a lesson there.
Susan, I like your response. Your point about “I want what I want from the experience” is valid to me. Just like you pay for your restaurant experience, you are paying for the reading experience.
I’m just discovering TV shows on DVDs! I am sooo behind the times. I miss out on a lot of TV shows for one reason or another but now I can buy them on DVD and catch up! DVDs allow for our little “snits” too
I don’t know that I feel betrayed so much as I don’t want to go where the author is taking me. I want the author to write whatever she wants, but I don’t have to follow her there. If the author takes a series in a direction I find distasteful, it is my right as a reader to say goodbye.
I think to some extent, Slaughter’s attempts to explain what she did increased my ire because if she is going to do something dramatic, own it. Don’t try to justify it.
I’m not sure I get this statement: “And I’m slightly dismayed that people are criticizing the author, making it personal, instead of about the book.”
I’m not familiar with the author in question but a similar situation came up with another author I used to read. She also writes a series (well, two actually) and I was so hooked on her books I counted the days for each new release. Then she killed off a major character. After several books where the heroine is still coming to terms with his loss, the author brings him back from the dead. But, of course, the relationship is not the same and the whole “flavor” of the series is different somehow. And I found that there was too much conflict and very little happiness for any of her characters. It made me wonder if maybe the author was having trouble finding happiness in her personal life and therefore her characters couldn’t find any either. At any rate, the whole change has put me off of reading any more of her books.
The older I get I find I’m less forgiving than I used to be. I want to be entertained and feel satisfied when I read. There are too many novels out there to spend time on a disappointing read. Fortunately, most of the authors I read now rank really high on the satisfaction meter.
My opinion is that readers read genre fiction (any genre) because they want that emotional connection with the character(s). They want to be invested – especially in something like a mystery/suspense series where you follow the same band of characters over the course of many books. When the dynamic changes (ie. the death of one of those characters), readers tend to feel a bit passionate about it.
Romance isn’t the only genre that lives and dies by the HEA (although it definitely takes the most flack for it). Mystery/suspense characters seem to be allowed to hang on to their emotional baggage longer than most – but readers expect the author to “solve” the crime. This is the appeal of the mystery. Justice is served, and as we all know, sometimes it isn’t in real life. So even with all the death, destruction, murder etc. readers do look to mystery novels to escape reality just as much as romance readers do (they just don’t own up to it as easily as romance readers). So to a certain extent when a mystery author does something big and dramatic to alter the course of the series landscape – they shouldn’t be surprised when readers get upset. But for some reason they always do. Go figure.
Jen – I’m one that is hoping we haven’t seen the last of Sam. I thought about stalking your editor at RWA to put the bug in her ear, but never crossed her path. Probably a good thing, since she probably would have thought I was a crazed stalker
I use to think that what writers wrote happened to them. Then I had this epiphany that they were just people with great words skills and an imagination. Then I came to know several authors, whom I greatly esteem, and realized it is a mixture of both. I have come to be a wanna be stalker of writers because their abilities are formitable, enviable, and magical. But I have never felt personally linked to a writer through a book, only to their characters.
If a writer gives a reader exactly what they want in a series, where is the hook? Where is the allure? After I have what I wanted, everything else is warmed over milk. On the other hand if a writer doesn’t eek out little warm, joyous moments that my heart has craved and instead veers off into left field trying to keep me guessing they will loose me in the absurdity.
I don’t read Robb but the Roake comment opened my eyes too. This is the case of a character you don’t have to have read, to know who they are.
Hey Jane, nice to see you here! My comment “And I’m slightly dismayed that people are criticizing the author, making it personal, instead of about the book” is totally from an author’s perspective. It’s easier for me to step back from criticism of MY work, than of ME for writing something that way. Although, after many years, I’ve learned to leave readers alone. They have the perfect right to talk up (or down) books any way they want to. I believe authors should, for the most part, just stay out of it. Also, to qualify my statement, I meant that was my intial reaction as I STARTED reading the post, as I kept reading I understood better where the readers are coming from. But I’ll say this again–once we the authors put the books out there, the readers have a perfect writer to discuss them.
Barbie, now you have me curious which series that is! I also have to admit I am less forgiving than I used to be. I just don’t have the time to invest in books that I lose interest in for one reason or another. I also think I just have higher expectations than I used to.
Wendy, I had to laugh at the mental picture of you stalking Kate Duffy!!! You’ve meant her right? She is very sharp and funny. You’d end up laughing and totally forget what you were stalking her for in the first place! Great point on mystery characters having emotional baggage. Often that is part of the character’s arc that carries through the books and keeps them investigating murders.
Cele, you don’t read JD Robb? Are you sure you’re breathing? I love Roarke!First off, authors love you Cele! You are a huge help to us! On the actual point, it’s a fine line between a surprise that engages a reader and a surprise that turns them off. The Dear Author post really got me thinking about this. Much of what I was doing in the Sam books was instinctive because she was so real to me as I wrote her. Sam isn’t like me, but I could have been more like Sam if my life had taken a different turn. Sometimes I wish I was more like her!
It’s such a difficult question, because, as a writer, I think I owe my readers everything. As a reader, I don’t think any writer owes me anything. (If Evanovich ever kills off Ranger, I’d be … ohmigawd … I can’t even imagine how I’d feel. I think I’d take up fan fiction!)
Cele, you must read Roarke! He’s as hot as Ranger!
I know I’ve let down my readers in the past (chalk it up to the fact that I learned to write on the job, LOL), but everything I write is for my readers, first and foremost. There’s a relationship, there, between readers and authors, between readers and characters. As (I believe) Alexander Sokoloff once said, it’s an intimate relationship. I believe it should be respected and treasured. If you touch them deeply, they’ll share their deepest parts with you. That’s such an amazing gift, it always awes me.
It took me a few years to get over what Laurell K. Hamilton did with her men, LOL. She up and changed one of her characters into a different person. There was a betrayal there, too. I can’t wait for the next one, though!
As a published author I should probably be ashamed to admit this, but I’ve been the victim of CDRS (character death regret syndrome) myself. I picked up a book by one of my then-favorite authors and the first words were “So-and-so was dead.” Obviously the actual name was not used since I’m not trying to spoil things for others, but let’s just say it was my FAVORITE character in the whole looooong series. Now the guy was in his eighties, had to go sometime, but damn, could a reader get a little warning? I boo hooed like my own children had died. I never read another word of that book and never read another book by that author. Too painful.
Wow, GREAT blog, Jen! I only have one book out in my series, so I don’t face any of this right now, and probably never will since cozy readers don’t appreciate you killing off favorite characters, but in WIVES AND SISTERS, my single title, I did kill off a character that had people RAVING mad. My friend Carlene even showed up on my doorstep and threatened to take me to her cabin and force me to rewrite it. (She does have a cabin!) I heard from people who threw the book at the wall when the character died. It was necessary for the plot, and for the heroine to grow, but man did I piss people off….
It’s interesting to me, though, that a series writer would not consider what fans want. I am in the position now. I read reviews and listen to what readers are saying. I admit that when I write, I am considering their complaints, because I want to BUILD readership, not piss them off and lose it. It may be my world, but I invited them in, and so I need to make it a world in which they are comfortable.
That’s my two cents….
Jen, for me it comes down to trust. If I don’t trust a person, a writer, a company, a restaurant, I don’t give them my business. Period. As a writer, if a reader doesn’t like where I take my characters or my story, don’t read the book. I’m not for everyone, and as a writer, I’m not going to second guess myself because of some people who don’t like what I write. When I start to do that, I’m no longer writing the book, the readers are. Where is the fun and creativity in that?
I applaud the author for writing *her* book.
Barbie’s got to be talking about Patricia Cornwall and her Kay Scarpetta series. The coming back from the dead thing was weird. I agree the books did change in several ways after that. I think you hit it on the head with the characters unable to find happiness. Readers don’t always need a HEA but a little bit of hope would be nice.
Spyscribbler, we all owe our readers–without them we’d be unemployeed. Laurell K Hamilton really has gotten her readers ticked. I’ve only read a few of her books here and there, so I’m not as invested. Another one that ticked off her readers is Ann Rice. That was a fun thread to follow for a while.
Dee, wow this is more common than I thought! I dont’ know why authors are killing off characters!
Natalie, I wasn’t too thrilled about that character dying either! But it fit the book, so I forgave you. And I trust you not to do something like that with the cast of characters in Jenny’s world!
Karin, great points. Trust in a romance or series author seems to be the sticking point. Readers in romance or certain series don’t want grim surprises like that.
Kendra, now that you reminded me, I bet it is Kar Scarpetta series. I missed that particular book (I read series out of order and skip all the time) but I remember readers being mad.
I have to say that I want the author to be able to do what she wants to do with her own series. The only real rule is, if you’re going to do something really different, you’d better make sure it works in an organic way. I think that’s th key — I think the writer can do almost anything, if they make it work within the world they created. And that’s the tricky part. Yes, I want to be surprised, or it’ll get predictable and I won’t want to keep reading.
(I couldn’t figure out the issue from your blog, Jen; I am probably obtuse… but I’m very curious.
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Hey Toni, I really didn’t want to make this blog a spoiler. Follow the link and you can figure it out, or email me privately.
Some people really want predictible with their series. They like the familiar friends, they like knowing they can trust the author will give them a nice, easy story.
I like surprises, but I think you made a spot-on point about the surprise having to work in an organic way within the world the author created.
You all are coming up with great discussion points!
I could be alone in this opinion, but I think an author’s first, last, and only obligation is to the novel (or in this case) series itself. What course of action best serves story? That’s the path you take; everything else is incidental.
Catie, it’s not that you’re alone, it’s just that without readers, authors are unemployeed. The best scenario is when the readers love the author’s vision and follow along.
The author has the perfect right to abruptly shift direction.
But the readers have the right to not read the book.
Yep, I was definitely referring to Patricia Cornwell’s Kay Scarpetta series. If she had brought the character back to life in the very next book after killing him off, I would have been a little more forgiving. But writing two books without him and then bringing him back was just weird as Kendra said.
And, Spy, I totally agree about Ranger. Roarke and Ranger…mmmmm, two stupendous examples of really hot, sexy, can’t-get-enough-of male characters. If someone wanted to blog about great men in today’s fiction, I could totally get into that. I’d love to know of other similar characters that I’m missing.
Thanks for letting us know Barbie!
Okay, I have a confessions. I’ve been over Ranger and Joe for awhile. Maybe it’s time I go back and read the books I’ve missed!!!!
I can’t believe I missed this blog! (I was working hard! Really!)
I love the author in question and as far as I’m concerned, she can write whatever she wants. I didn’t read the spoiler, but if it’s what I think it is, it’s fine with me as long as the book itself holds together. It’s not like Eve and Roarke because Roarke is as much the series as Eve is. They come as a unit. But in addition, it’s READER EXPECTATIONS. Nora is writing romantic suspense: the hero and heroine MUST survive. KS is writing crime fiction/suspense. There are SOME romantic elements but they are incidential to the individual stories. There is no guarantee that all characters will survive.
I write romantic suspense which means that my hero and heroine survive and are together at the end of the book, and the villain is caught. ANYTHING ELSE goes. That includes killing off any secondary character. EVERYONE ELSE is vulnerable.
Hmm. I think I have tomorrow’s blog topic . . .
What? People up in arms and attacks on the Dear Author Blog? No!