October 20, 2006 • Print This Post
I’m going to whine about a review I got for my anthology. This lovely, all-knowing woman lambasted me for having the hero and heroine meet and declare their undying love in three days. She really, really hated that the hero and heroine married six months later. How could I do such a thing? She crabbed that six months is waaaaay too short a time to be engaged. She insisted the story should have ended with the hero and heroine just realizing they were in love and acknowledged it to each other. She said there was no need for a happily every after ending. The marriage should be in a year or two!
Really? Well, I’ll be darn!
Okay, time is a problem in an anthology, no doubt about that. For sure it’s easier—and more believable–to have the hero and heroine already know each other. That way the conflict is in place from some past mess they were involved in so when the H and H meet up this time it’s one of those seething, growling, hissing “You!” moments. They instantly have issues, make the problem known to the reader and the rest of the story is getting over it and realizing their love is the most important thing of all.
But sometimes the story doesn’t work that way and the hero and heroin are meeting for the first time. That means that in thirty pages the H and H have to deal with everything from that instant, mind-blowing, I-gotta-have-you attraction, to the problem bubbling up between them, to resolving it and committing their love to each other forever.
Or not.
Should there be a commitment because of the time element? Is I love you enough for an anthology?
Do you want a happily ever after ending part of anthologies?
And…the really big question…should I be honked off at this reviewer?
Dianne
PS–I just got copies of I’ll Be Seeing U…my November release. I’ll pick two winners from the replies!
Posted by Dianne Castell @ 1:57 am • Filed under: Dianne Castell
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I think you can write whatever you want.
Many, many people fall in love quickly and live happily ever after. I don’t think waiting to get married is what everyone in life does so why have that be what is required in a book. Don’t be honked off at the review. It’s just one person’s opinion and considering the amount of people in this world, it really is inconsequential. lol
I agree it’s your book, write it your way. It doesn’t matter when they meet or fall in love just as long as the story is good. I would have responded to her & told her she write her book however she wanted & you would do the same.
I would be honked off, but I am not a profssional. Let it fall off your back I guess. Yes, I want an hea and whether it be a marriage at the end or indication of a marriage is up to you. After all, it is your baby.
Keeping my fingers crossed. I love this series.
Thanks, guys!
In my books I always want that hea thing. If you fall in love, have the guts to overcome the problems keeping you apart you commit to each other forever. I love writing athologies and to not have that ending would totally bum me out.
So glad you like the series, Pat!
You made my day.
Hugs, Dianne
A HEA is what a romance book is all about. It if takes 2 days or 2 mos - whatever it takes. And I think we all like instant gratification, so years are too long to wait.
Just keep writing the books and the heck with that reviewers. There are other reviewers out there and there are far more READERS out there than reviewers!
I just love hea’s. So however long it takes to get them…the sooner the better of course.:lol:
Loved the first book; have 2nd in my tbr.
I wouldn’t worry about the reviewer. It’s your story and you have to write it the way it works for you. I don’t see the need to wait a year or two to get married if you know what you have is something good. If you want to end it with them following in love, that’s ok too. Either way it’s a HEA ending.
Diane, that is just personal opinion. The important fact is that the story has a HEA, it is important that they love each other not how long it takes them to fall in love or how long they wait till they marry etc.
Hey, it is only one man’s opionion. You have to do what works for the story for you.
Thank you for offering such a great prize. Yea to heas.
I am always curious as to what happens AFTER the hea. So, to have it up front in the story, is very creative and represents writing “outside the box”!
We, as readers and reviewers, can be very impt. to an author and we should listen to YOUR comments, as you read ours! Yes, I think it’s OK for you to “honk off” at this reviewer! H.
What is she talking about?
In reality, some people fall in love hard and fast, others at a slower pace. I married my husband after seven months of dating. We celebrated our 7th anniversary last week, and looking forward to many more. I think it is all about what is right for your characters. Who better to know that than you? I love a good HEA myself! So go on and be as honked off as you want! I’ll be honked off with you okay? 
I agree with what everyone else has already said. I love HEA endings!:smile:
The parents of one of my best friends fell in love and got married in three days. That was over 37 years ago and they still act like a couple of teenagers in love. Let that reviewer put that in her pipe and smoke it!
Dear Dianne,
I think that reviewer is full of s**t! Well, I am all for a “Happily Ever After”! I love gushy romance and all that mushy stuff! I wouldn’t let that reviewers comments affect you. Your writing style is all your own. Don’t let someone else dictate how you should end your book. All of us, who are your #1 fans, love your books just the way they are!
The amount of time it takes depends on the couple. Write the story however it feels right to you. A six month engagement it plenty long enough if it’s right.
great prize. write what you feel and will make readers like it. it is fiction right. have a nice weekend
It is your story to tell as you see fit.
Hope everyone has a great weekend. And as for heas, they are the best of course. That is why romance books were created.
My co-worker made sure I got over here to register for a chance to win this book.
As for the critic - it is only person - so don’t worry about it.
Happily Ever Afters are the best! Who wants to read a depressing book.:???:
Oh, Diane, that’s terrible. I’d just ignore it…maybe she was having a bad day. Every relationship is different, and I think it’s totally believable to commit and then marry six months later. I love to read anthologies and especially love it when they can have a happily-ever-afters
In fact, after this, I think I’m going to have to pick up a copy of your anthology 
Dianne I think you should disregard that reviewer, because obviously they have their head in the sand so to speak. I love HEA and anthologies are great reads. As for how long it takes to fall in love - that depends on the people and yes it can happen fast.
I look to my parents who will be celebrating their 61st wedding anniversary in December. They met in May and married that December - the only reason that it took that long for them to marry is they were dealing with red tape from Governments, the Army and different languages or they would have married sooner - so who says that love cannot over come obstacles and have a lasting HEA.
HEA’s are what make romance books go great. So keep on doing what you are doing and the heck with that reviewer.
I love anthologies and I think that most people who read them come to expect a whirlwind romance. I don’t mind a couple falling in love quickly (I wouldn’t mind it happening to me). What I don’t like is when the characters hate each other and then magically fall in love and there is really nothing in the story to support it. Those are the times that I get disgusted with the short time frame.
I don’t have to have the ultimate HEA of a marriage or kids, but I do like to know that they are heading in that direction.
And finally, yes you can be upset at the reviewer, but it’s her opinion and there are probably others out there who agree with her. But, you can’t please everyone… just know that you have fans that love your work and I’m looking forward to joining the crowd (as soon as I get my hands on one of your books… I’m not picky… any suggestions on which one to start with???)
Hi Jennifer K
Any book that you read from Dianne is great, but I would like to recommend her Forty & Fabulous trilogy….A Fabulous Wife, A Fabulous Husband and A Fabulous Wedding.
Or you can always try her new trilogy about the O’Fallons where the last one comes out in November, but the first two are T’ll There Was U and The Way U Look Tonight which are great.
If you want to try just an Anthology featuring Dianne you have Star Quality or Texas Bad Boys……..they were good too……
There shouldn’t be a recipe or formula for the ending of a book. That would feel forced. I want the ending to feel right for those characters and to fit the story. That review is just one person’s opinion and for her to argue with you over how long a fictional character should be engaged is just silly.
I don’t think toime really matters in a book. I read to escape reality and if the H and H only know each other a short while–so what!
The review is only her opinion—let the readers be the judge!!!
It doesnt matter to be how long the hero and heroine know each other. I am reading the book to be entertained. And happy endings are always entertaining to me. I think readers’ opinions are more important than reviewers.
Honestly, I don’t care for any reviews - after all, it’s only their opinion. Now if it’s a friend or family telling me they like a particular book I’m inclined to at least pay attention if I know what kinds of books they usually like or even dislike. Sometimes I like to read books that got bad reviews - I can be stubborn like that lol.
I love a HEA, and its the characters and their story that keeps me reading. Time-lines? Nope, most times don’t even notice.
Great prize!
I dont pay any attention to reviews anyway. I decide by my standards/ideas whether or not I will buy a book.
Keep on writing like you do!
I love HEA, although marriage doesn’t have to be a factor — the “I love yous” and knowing they have a future is good enough for me if it fits the story. Pretty much whatever fits the story best really.
I wouldn’t worry too much about the review. There seems to be a small group of romance readers/writers running around who think HEAs are too unrealistic for today’s world…maybe this review falls within that camp. Luckily the majority still want the HEA. I don’t think I could read a romance without one in some form or another.
it’s your book and if you want the characters to fall in love after one chapter, then so be it. I read romance for the escape that it gives me and the happily ever after.
I’ve got to agree with the majority . . . that’s only one person’s opinion. You know your characters better than anyone and I think you should write THEIR story not the reviewer’s version of their story, if that makes sense.
Thanks, everyone! I really appreciate the support and input.
I have to write the HEA ending, to have two people in love and not end with marriage means they’re really not all that much in love…maybe more in lust.
Soooo, the next anthology I’m working on will definitely have the HEA ending, but at least this time they know each other…engaged before. It’s titled The Morgue The Merrier. What a hoot.
Have a great weekend. So sorry I’m not around more, my daughter moved into a new house…that she built and financed herself. She’s a single gal. I’m so proud of her.
I’ll check back in tonight to catch up on comments and pick the winners for I’ll Be Seeing U.
Hugs, Dianne
Dianne, I think it must be a personal opinion of that reviewer. Life is stranger than fiction and I bet that person forgets that there actually are some of us who fell in love fast and didn’t wait very long to marry thereafter. I love a HEA but in truth for the stories that only end in saying I love you…well, admittedly I just make an extrapolation from there to where I want them to go. Go ahead and be exasperated with the review for a bit, but then it isn’t worth worring about long.
I’m with the majority here - the hea is a must, and as long as it is believable, it really doesn’t matter how long it takes. I think most people could cite a real life example of a couple who met and got married very quickly, and are still blissfully happy years later, just as most know a couple who were together for years before getting married, and it all went wrong.
I also agree with the person who said they don’t take notice of the reviews when buying a book - I think only once has a review influenced me, and that was a write up about Janet Evanovich’s High Five, I went out and bought the book never having heard of her before, and have been addicted ever since!!
While my hubby and I only dated seven months before we married, we did meet the first time when we were teens and were friends first. I imagine that made it easier to build a romantic relationship more quickly. Still, I have a friend that only dated her now husband for four months, and they have been blissfully happy for twelve years now. So I think in real life and fiction there is no set time table. It’s either right or it’s not.
Dianne, I’m definitely a HEA kinda gal and whirlwind romances are fun to read. So, regarding what the reviewer thought should happen at the end - my advice is don’t fix what isn’t broken.
I can only speak from experience but I my hubby said he loved me on the second date, and we were married 3 months later and just celebrated our 10 year anniversary.
Your books are good, don’t let one review get you down. I pay money to read them, and I think they are just fine!
With an Anthology there is of course a time constraint. If the person who read the book had such a problem, maybe she should stick to regular length novels. I personally like the idea of a follow-up on the couple. And, I knew from the minute I looked in my now Dh’s eyes he was the one, so the idea of falling in love in 3 days is perfectly acceptable to me.
You all are soooo supportive and I really appreciate that! I cannot imagine writing a romance without a HEA ending. Guess I need to feel the closure and to know my characters are happy. I get to know them like friends and neighbors and want the best for them and this time I have control to make it happen.
Sooo, in my next anthology, The Morgue the Merrier, I will definitely have a hea ending and not worry about the time element.
thanks everyone!! You all are the best!
Dianne
The winners of I’ll Be Seeing U are:
Estella
Maureen
Helen
Brenda
Nicole
Kim W
thanks, all, for posting! You are the best!
Big congrats winners!
You lucky girls
Congrats ladies!
wtg ladies
Congratulations to the winners!
Congratulations to all the winners
Congratulations to all the lucky winners! Dianne’s books are fantastic!
Congrats ladies!
Woo Hoo, winners!
Woohoo!! Thank you! Email on its way.
Thank you all for coming to chat with me. I really appreciate it.
Dianne