tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2442063056672240555.post5812165724783325690..comments2024-02-04T04:40:23.122-08:00Comments on Harlequin Heartwarming: Current Events-Adding the Next Layer by Tara RandelPamela Tracyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05834270662017246137noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2442063056672240555.post-39829348605699809072014-04-25T05:41:25.624-07:002014-04-25T05:41:25.624-07:00I don't think of it as invasion! I like how cu...I don't think of it as invasion! I like how current events add realism and perspective to the story. Rula Sinarahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01703015110251843280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2442063056672240555.post-26469577242783181652014-04-25T05:21:26.564-07:002014-04-25T05:21:26.564-07:00Great feedback everyone! Just goes to show that th...Great feedback everyone! Just goes to show that the word of a writer is filled with lots of choices for our books. And, readers are very smart!Tara Randelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16509580769615741117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2442063056672240555.post-32747371239064828522014-04-24T19:01:08.167-07:002014-04-24T19:01:08.167-07:00As a reader, I generally prefer fictitious events....As a reader, I generally prefer fictitious events. They can be based on real events, though. As a writer, when I make up a small town, I always read the newspapers of real towns nearby to get ideas I might be able to use in my made up setting.Linda Hope Leehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15362087612066936698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2442063056672240555.post-45326975433245446562014-04-24T12:29:10.514-07:002014-04-24T12:29:10.514-07:00Great post, Tara! Current events is important in c...Great post, Tara! Current events is important in contemporary romance to add the extra level of intimacy and realism needed. You've really gotten me thinking Karen Rockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03621736343432643472noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2442063056672240555.post-65810731722107045562014-04-24T08:32:44.632-07:002014-04-24T08:32:44.632-07:00Goodness, Sonya! Do you have family there now? I...Goodness, Sonya! Do you have family there now? I pray they're well. Muriel Jhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12065629068634892645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2442063056672240555.post-79587731016905757162014-04-24T08:18:06.384-07:002014-04-24T08:18:06.384-07:00Tara, great post! It's making me think (which ...Tara, great post! It's making me think (which is a goo thing)... I'm a bit of a news junkie myself, and what's trending in the news definitely impacts me, and I believe society as a whole, so I like the idea of taking specific current events and letting them take their toll on characters as well--in both good and bad ways--adding depth and layers and motivation, etc. I think it lendsCarol Rosshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02360417299528882416noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2442063056672240555.post-58022539769751323742014-04-24T08:04:12.154-07:002014-04-24T08:04:12.154-07:00I’m a really big fan of romantic suspense, and I m...I’m a really big fan of romantic suspense, and I much prefer it when real world issues are used to create the suspense. At the moment the trend seems to be towards made-up bands of secret security companies (more often than not with some sort of paranormal gift), but a really well-researched book that reads like it belongs in the real world – that’s what I love.<br /><br />As for small town Sonyahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00016718850530449857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2442063056672240555.post-5305638632407824052014-04-24T07:24:33.547-07:002014-04-24T07:24:33.547-07:00I generally have a news channel on TV and I someti...I generally have a news channel on TV and I sometimes catch myself yelling at the screen because they have so many instant experts on who are really playing a guessing game. I love the intrigue with the current lost airplane. I've talked with other writers about it and everyone has a different idea---so that's how fictionalized versions of real stories are born. But headline news affects rozdennyfoxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06506701706951201107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2442063056672240555.post-28464996562470787302014-04-24T07:12:57.459-07:002014-04-24T07:12:57.459-07:00I think current events tuck your story into time a...I think current events tuck your story into time and place and add a certain validity to the situation. My husband, having been a reporter, is a news junkie. CNN is on whenever the Hallmark Channel isn't, so I'm always absorbing what's going on. I get to hate it because of the innumerable details fed to us in the interest of filling 24 hours a day with news. But, you never know Muriel Jhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12065629068634892645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2442063056672240555.post-70701468302433186592014-04-24T07:12:34.415-07:002014-04-24T07:12:34.415-07:00Great post Tara! I think if the events are general...Great post Tara! I think if the events are generalized and fictionalized they would work, but I wonder if real-life big headline stories would date the book? I know I've been asked whether or not I'd like to remove certain elements in my book such as t.v. references, etc that would 'date' it, but not sure if it matters to the people reading it now...Something to think about for Jennifer Snow https://www.blogger.com/profile/11612858248083325495noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2442063056672240555.post-27001580347821317452014-04-24T07:04:19.492-07:002014-04-24T07:04:19.492-07:00What a timely post. I'm almost done with Gone...<br />What a timely post. I'm almost done with Gone Girl and throughout the whole book I've been thinking, "This is the fictionalized Scott Peterson."<br /><br />Right after 9/11 a few authors used the events in their story. I couldn't read them. It upset me too much. <br /> <br />Pamela Tracyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05834270662017246137noreply@blogger.com