Anyway, one of the best sites out there, in any category, is 'Smart Bitches Who Love Trashy Books. The two bitches, Candy and Sarah, are both extremely gifted writers, and incredibly profane. They are also fucking hilarious. Obviously, I love them. I feel that we could be friends, except they're much smarter than me. But if they need a dumb indie-rock obsessed sidekick, I am so there.
But I digress.
One of the main targets of the Bitches ire is Cassie Edwards, a romance novelist that specializes in romances of the Native American variety. The stereotypes and incredibly stilted dialogue are simply amazing. See SB Sarah's evisceration of Edwards Savage Moon for a classic take-
“It seems that fate today has arranged that you and my adopted daughter should finally meet. Perhaps it is the will of the spirits. I am not one to argue with fate.”
Fate, huh? Chief Stepfather clearly studied his Greek and Roman mythology in Indian chief school.
He knew that this night would not pass without their coming together as lovers!
Chiefs who speak in exclamation points are probably
lousy in bed, though.
Nothing had stopped Chief Bear’s hate until that bullet entered the base of his skull and rendered him almost a vegetable.
Yes. Native Americans totally used that phrase to describe catatonic people.
So when they came upon some fairly blatant plagiarism in Edwards works, they were on it like ducks on junebugs.
With all the exposure this case got, some big media types made some particularly stupid comments about how romance novels are hackneyed, and the plots are all derivative. Well, that went and pissed Candy off, so she made a chart comparing different books, plots and genres to show that many plots, in all genres, tend to repeat.
Some examples-
Title and Author- 'Lord Of Scoundrels' by Loretta Chase
Basic Premise/Plot- Plucky miss shows jaded aristocrat the meaning of love, and proves to him that Not All Women Are Evil
Genre- Romance
Title and Author-Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas
Basic Premise/Plot- Plucky miss shows jaded low-born gambler the meaning of love, and proves to him that Not All Women Are Evil
Genre- Romance
Title and Author- The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien
Basic Premise/Plot- A plucky group of ragtag misfits defeat Evil and thus save the world. The short ones provide occasional comic relief. The world is forever changed.
Genre- Fantasy
Title and Author- Most of the books in the Chronicles of Narnia
by C.S. Lewis
Basic Premise/Plot- A plucky group of ragtag misfits defeat Evil and thus save the world. The short ones provide occasional comic relief. The world is forever changed.
Genre-Fantasy
And my favorites-
Title and Author-As You Like It by William Shakespeare
Basic Premise/Plot- Two couples attempt to sort out love amidst various hijinks.
Cross-dressing ensues.
Genre-He's motherfucking Shakespeare. He doesn't need a motherfucking genre classification.
Title and Author- Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
Basic Premise/Plot- Two couples attempt to sort out love amidst various hijinks. Cross-dressing ensues.
Genre- He's motherfucking Shakespeare. He doesn't need a motherfucking genre classification.
So to sum up, shit happens. Including plot repetition. Even to motherfucking Shakespeare.
2 comments:
1. Indie rock obsessed sidekick? Well, shit yeah. Dumb you surely are not.
2. How do I know? You are a Cubs fan. That makes you 300% more smarter (heh) than a lot of people, myself included, as I am a Pirates fan and that's just sad.
3. "So to sum up, shit happens. Including plot repetition. Even to motherfucking Shakespeare."
That made me snort iced tea up my nose. Ha! Nothing twists my hot pink panties faster than being told that romance novels are hackneyed and derivative of little more than porn. I love finding intelligent women who know otherwise and aren't afraid to say so.
OMG-THANK YOU!
I'm torn between embarassment at being caught fangirling and being thrilled at your comment!
Okay, so when has fangirling ever been a problem for me? So just thrilled, then!
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