The first three chapters are ..sort of solid. Firm. With texture. More creme brulee than jelly.
And then I go and start reading Academic Analysis of Romance fiction* and realise with a shudder that I have two motifs in this book which I had no idea existed, and which I seem to have become fixated on.
1. Food. The heroine is a baker. In my last book which has been submitted, she was an italian chef in a deli. There are references on most pages to food of some sort.
2. Houses. The ultimate symbol of security. My heroine risks the loss of her business and her home. My hero has just bought a house as a symbol of love and financial security. In my last book, the heroine was being forced out of her home by a greedy landlord who hiked up the lease. Book before that, she was selling her huge family home following a death. Hero was homeless.
Food = care for someone, feed them. Show love. Maternal?
Home = security. Roots. Community?
Oh dear.
Since I am not about to become homeless, and have plenty of food in the fridge, these folks do not reflect me or my life.
But. Where does all of this come from?
Yes, I am an academic by training, and my brain is wired for critique, but seriously, are these current issues I have picked up from the Zeitgeist of women's lives today? Or just daftness caused by procrastination and too much info available on the internet?
And no, I do not intend to go back to Uni and write papers on women's fiction.
In fact, I should stop analysing and get writing.
But please, when I grow up, can I be Susan Elizabeth Phillips or Jenny Cruisie?
What's playing on my YouTube right now? Guys of Roswell - Toxic. I know, my image is busted, but it is fun. http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=KqDFWKCeYHs&feature=PlayList&p=CB2A008B473B9A92&index=16
No comments:
Post a Comment