The Helpless Hero or Heroine…

Magazine cover (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Just a quick note about
more changes to my blog. Since I made the last ones in January as I mentioned
then, I was going to do some thinking on the state of things here. I love
blogging, I do but I’ve come to realize it subtracts from the time I have for
my stories and that’s not good. So, I’m going to cut back to blogging once a
week on Tuesdays and try to do topics that may interest readers as well as
writers. Most of the focus will still be on horror, so I hope that you’ll stop
in. It has been such a wonderful experience getting to know you all. I just
feel if I want to become a published writer, I need to concentrate on getting
my work out there.

 

The Clueless Hero or Heroine

Traci Kenworth

 

How many of you dislike the hapless hero or heroine
in horror stories? I know the clichés have been turned inside out many times
with different films but personally, I like my characters to have a bit more
smarts. Isn’t that what it takes to defeat evil, after all? Oh, yes, courage is
a definite plus when it comes to things that go bump in the night, but the
survivor/s usually have to figure out a way to get out of whatever they’ve
dropped into, unless it’s, of course, a changed world where they have to
recognize a path to take that will either save or end them. Every corner has
its openings, we just have to look for them and sometimes risk all.

Granted, not everyone is a fighter. There are just
those who will not defend themselves. Often, another character will fight for
them and try to keep them alive. I like to think, eventually that person will
see that they’re worth defending and begin the change necessary to make it in
the new world/situation at hand. Maybe, over the course of the tale, they’ll
even become heroic themselves. Most horror has characters that often don’t
really change at all. I find this boring and sad. Each of us would react to
things in a different way. Some who may have been lost in life, might find a
purpose. Others, will rocket toward destruction. These different types are what
make life up and exploring them is what I like to focus on in my own work: the
overcomer. Rather than fleeing from terror, they reach a point where they make
a stand. Because they have to, if only to go on.

So, for you readers out there, what do you
like/dislike about the characters in horror stories/films/etc.? What type of
personalities would you like to see more of?

And writers: do you strive to make your characters
stand out? “Breathe” on the pages? Or do you settle for the usual horror
formula?

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Book Review #7

Book Review 7: Love on the Range by Jessica Nelson

Traci Kenworth

 

A Love Inspired Historical                                 2012

Hook: Obsession was the way in which madness lay.

Gracelyn Riley can’t stop scanning the train platform for Special Agent Striker. Though her parents considered traveling alone unsafe even in 1918’s modern days, the threat of influenza loomed larger than their worries and encouraged them to send their daughter west. Once she learned Striker lived in Oregon, her plans changed. She’d wrangled a job with Women’s Liberator as a reporter and plans to do an interview with Striker to establish her independence.

A rancher sits down beside her. She plagues him with questions, mentioning Striker. He wonders if she always speaks to strangers. They argue about Striker, whether he’s the good man that Gracie believes. His name’s Trevor Cruz. She asks him about the wicked scar he has. It’s rumored that Striker has one. He says he got it on barbed wire when a kid. He lives in Burns where she’s going.

He admits he doesn’t believe in God. She’s shocked.

Trevor is business partners with Lou Riley, her uncle. He doesn’t want anything to do with Gracie but Lou insisted he follow her for safety concerns. A man had raised his suspicions but got off at an earlier stop.

Her mother doesn’t like Uncle Lou and her father has nothing good to say about him. She thinks he’s poor because he picked her up in a horse wagon instead of a car. She’s madly in love with Striker. Her friend, Connie, was rescued by Striker . The Mann Act of 1912 which was set up to protect young women from white slavery is being enforced by agents like Striker. Mary, Lou’s housekeeper, was rescued by Striker. Trevor is trying to keep her safe. Lou is his senior partner/agent.

None of the others put much stock in prayer either. Gracie discovers Trevor does believe in God, he just hates him. His father beat him unconscious, and his mother prostituted herself for drugs.

Gracie sneaks into town for word on Striker, but gets no help there. The town people protect Striker, they tell her. Meanwhile, Striker’s nemesis, Mendez is spotted nearby. Mendez is the one who kidnapped Mary and various other women and sold them to the highest bidder in Mexico.

Trevor’s father dies the same that he lived: mean as a snake. Gracie tells Trevor that God’s love is life to her. He goes to church with her and Mary. He is finding it hard to keep an eye on things and his Striker persona hidden. He felt a sense of community in the church.

Connie dies in Boston of the influenza. Trevor wonders if her death will change Gracie’s view of God. His mother arrives. Gracie mistakes her for an ex. Gracie doesn’t like or trust her. His mother arranged for Mary’s kidnapping. Trevor warns Gracie away from her.

After an altercation, Uncle Lou throws the mother out. He says she can stay with Trevor but is to stay away from Mary and Gracie. She spits on Gracie when Gracie tries to help her. When Trevor is thrown from his horse, Uncle Lou finds out he kissed Gracie. She admits she has feelings for him. Influenza has come to Oregon. The Great War is over. Lou warns Trevor away. He says her parents will be there tomorrow.

This is a nice, little read if you like inspirational. The story is straightforward and interesting. It deals with a time when women were just gaining the right to vote, work outside the home, and pursue their own choices. It was fun reading about a history that I didn’t know much about, how deadly the influenza was back then (super flu, anyone?), and characters that kept you rooting for them. I won this book from a website contest. The next book I’m about to read is also from another contest win. I find it lovely of the author/s to do these sorts of promotions, not only to help get the word out about their book/s, but to open up the opportunity to get to know a new writer.

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And the Winner is…

Image via Wikipedia

Congratulations to Tricia Heaven!! If you could send your email to the_old_canteen@yahoo.com, I will pass it along to Rebekah.

Thanks to all the participants and to the lovely Rebekah for being here!!

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