tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610315916146710519.post6255048348602962771..comments2024-03-27T08:58:48.600-04:00Comments on The Book Connection...: Guest Blogger: T.V. LoCicero, Author of Admission of Guilt Cherylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03470069911115912344noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610315916146710519.post-50603128895213654412013-08-02T16:33:39.666-04:002013-08-02T16:33:39.666-04:00This looks like an interesting book. Thanks for yo...This looks like an interesting book. Thanks for your thoughts and the review.<br /><br />Have a great weekend!<br /><br />Diane<br />www.dianeestrella.comDiane Estrellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04005496427078588740noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610315916146710519.post-14553581570329246662013-08-02T10:55:33.692-04:002013-08-02T10:55:33.692-04:00Cheryl, thanks so much for the support and the cha...Cheryl, thanks so much for the support and the chance to do the guest blog. Yes, for me a novel's value depends on how fully, accurately and artfully it renders the human condition, so characters that seem deep, genuine and real are crucial.<br /><br />Mayra, I really appreciate your comment. Of course, Maass is an agent and, as his book title suggests, he's talking about a book's commercial value. About that he may very well be right. The other day an Amazon reviewer had this to say about the central character in my thriller <i>The Car Bomb</i>: "...the guy's such a sleeze that even when he tries not to be, he still is." And for that reason she gave the book 4 instead of 5 stars. Now I don't agree that "sleeze" fully defines that character, the TV newsman Frank DeFauw, but that's the great thing about the experience of reading a book: we each bring a unique personality to the process and we each are entitled to our own opinion.<br /><br />By the way, Frank also plays a peripheral role in Book 2 of The detroit im dyin Trilogy, <i>Admission of Guilt</i>. I hope you'll give him a look in either or both books.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06115305683838233806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610315916146710519.post-30020993892918713152013-08-02T07:52:26.069-04:002013-08-02T07:52:26.069-04:00In his book, "Writing the Breakout Novel,&quo...In his book, "Writing the Breakout Novel," Donald Maass has the best description of what makes a great character. I don't remember the exact words, but basically what he says is that a great hero will have flaws, yes, but at the same time will have a noble, redeeming quality that in a way will make him 'larger than life.'He will be out of the ordinary in some way. He will have strength or grow to have it by the end of the novel. This is what makes heroes. He may seem realistic and ordinary, but he's bigger than his circumstances. Maass also says that we read fiction not just to see ourselves but to imagine what we could be.<br /><br /> Mayra Calvanihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01444333264952371471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7610315916146710519.post-75065625929621322152013-08-01T16:24:41.425-04:002013-08-01T16:24:41.425-04:00I totally agree, T.V. While I enjoy sympathetic ch...I totally agree, T.V. While I enjoy sympathetic characters, I also enjoy learning how a villain's mind works. And though I have to admit to enjoying sympathetic villains--those whose troubled past has lead to their current actions--it's whether or not they seem real to me that matters. It works the same for heroes. I don't expect perfection. I want people that seem like they could be someone I know. <br /><br /> Cherylhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03470069911115912344noreply@blogger.com