Lamothe re location - CrimeSpace2024-03-29T12:09:12Zhttps://crimespace.ning.com/forum/topics/lamothe-re-location?commentId=537324%3AComment%3A224678&x=1&feed=yes&xn_auth=noI almost prefer "foreign-base…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-01-16:537324:Comment:2246782010-01-16T16:53:23.348ZSuzannehttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/dmbdenmother
I almost prefer "foreign-based mysteries by foreign writers" because I find thrillers, serial killers, cozies, and amateur detectives a bit tedious.<br />
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Boy, am I negative today, or what?
I almost prefer "foreign-based mysteries by foreign writers" because I find thrillers, serial killers, cozies, and amateur detectives a bit tedious.<br />
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Boy, am I negative today, or what? My two cents: There's a prett…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-01-12:537324:Comment:2244252010-01-12T21:38:53.977ZJohn Sullivanhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/JohnSullivan
My two cents: There's a pretty familiar US-Canada cultural difference here, one that not too many other countries seem to emulate.<br />
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Canadians don't seem to mind Canadian settings for mysteries, as long as they're not too precious and name-droppy. In other words, a more 'generic' Toronto or Vancouver or Montreal, rather than a deeply nuts-and-bolts experience. But, it's true that, en masse, we prefer our whodunits set in more exotic locales. A lingering inferiority complex? Maybe.<br />
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The Brits and…
My two cents: There's a pretty familiar US-Canada cultural difference here, one that not too many other countries seem to emulate.<br />
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Canadians don't seem to mind Canadian settings for mysteries, as long as they're not too precious and name-droppy. In other words, a more 'generic' Toronto or Vancouver or Montreal, rather than a deeply nuts-and-bolts experience. But, it's true that, en masse, we prefer our whodunits set in more exotic locales. A lingering inferiority complex? Maybe.<br />
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The Brits and Europeans seem much more cosmopolitan in their tastes (imagine that!) , embracing both favourite sons and daughters, writing locally-set novels, as well as 'foreign-based' mysteries by 'foreign' writers.<br />
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Americans seem much more parochial in their fiction tastes. They don't seem to mind 'international' swashbucklers (eg. the Bourne saga), but they like their heroes to be American and at least some of the action to take place there. But I think this is gradually dropping away. Consider the burgeoning popularity of Stieg Larsson (Sweden), Jo Nesbo (Norway), Fred Vargas (France), Ian Rankin (Scotland) and a host of other 'foreign' writers with foreign settings who are making real headway in the U.S. And an A-list movie version of Irish heavyhitter Ken Bruen's <i>London Boulevard</i> is about to be released -- there's more pop-culture internationalism in the genre.<br />
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So, all in all, it comes down to the storytelling. Books with 'foreign' settings have to be really damn good to crack the U.S. market. Much less so for Canadian and European readers -- there's a lot of derivative dreck (including American stuff) out there that seems to sell pretty well in these markets. Canadian settings? Wow, you've gotta be <i>really</i> good (or get a lot of hype behind you) to swing that with readers anywhere. Damn right I'd change the set…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-01-12:537324:Comment:2244182010-01-12T18:16:51.606ZDana Kinghttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/DanaKing
Damn right I'd change the setting if I had to, but there are limits to where. A story written for Chicago could probably work in any number of cities, with the requisite changes to specific locations and weather.<br />
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Would a story written for Chicago work in Bangkok? That would be a LOT tougher.<br />
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As a reader, the locale just has to be appropriate to the story. I read fiction set all over the world and enjoy it for providing glimpses into other cultures and places. It would put me off a little to…
Damn right I'd change the setting if I had to, but there are limits to where. A story written for Chicago could probably work in any number of cities, with the requisite changes to specific locations and weather.<br />
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Would a story written for Chicago work in Bangkok? That would be a LOT tougher.<br />
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As a reader, the locale just has to be appropriate to the story. I read fiction set all over the world and enjoy it for providing glimpses into other cultures and places. It would put me off a little to read a Swedish cop speaking in American vernacular, as it would ruin my feeling of being in Sweden. Except for things like that, I'll read a book set anywhere. Your agent is right. My books…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-01-12:537324:Comment:2244062010-01-12T15:05:54.055ZJohn McFetridgehttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/JohnMcF
Your agent is right. My books are set in Toronto and they don't sell. (well, they don't sell in Canada, the next one comes out in the USA from St. Martins next month, so we'll see). No American publisher (I used to be with Harcourt) has ever mentioned the Toronto setting as an issue and no American reviewer has ever mentioned it.<br />
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On the other hand Giles Blunt, Louise Penny and inger Ash Wolf write international bestsellers set in Canada (usually rural settings) so it probably has more to do…
Your agent is right. My books are set in Toronto and they don't sell. (well, they don't sell in Canada, the next one comes out in the USA from St. Martins next month, so we'll see). No American publisher (I used to be with Harcourt) has ever mentioned the Toronto setting as an issue and no American reviewer has ever mentioned it.<br />
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On the other hand Giles Blunt, Louise Penny and inger Ash Wolf write international bestsellers set in Canada (usually rural settings) so it probably has more to do with my books than the setting.<br />
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On the literature side everyone from Margaret Atwood to Alice Munro to Mordecai Richler to Joseph Boyden to Michael Ondaatje to Miriam Toews to Barbara Gowdy to... well the list is too long to really go into, all write international bestsellers set in Canada.<br />
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The question is, does changing the setting change the book? If you're happy with the changed setting, then it's no problem at all. If you think it's going to help with sales, well, let's say it probably can't hurt. You write what you know. I know Toronto so my books are set here. If I knew someplace else they'd be set there. I'm laughing. What exactly is…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-01-12:537324:Comment:2244012010-01-12T14:55:57.876ZI. J. Parkerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
I'm laughing. What exactly is "whoring out" a novel? And how delightful that the Canadian border actually appears to be a hassle for the criminal element. Who knew?<br />
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I'm having major problems with locale. My main series is historical and set in Japan. Lesson learned: readers like their history in Great Britain or Rome, but not in Japan. Another historical thriller of mine is set in 18th century Germany. Big problem: nobody wants to read about Germany, and that includes my agent.<br />
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Nothing I can…
I'm laughing. What exactly is "whoring out" a novel? And how delightful that the Canadian border actually appears to be a hassle for the criminal element. Who knew?<br />
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I'm having major problems with locale. My main series is historical and set in Japan. Lesson learned: readers like their history in Great Britain or Rome, but not in Japan. Another historical thriller of mine is set in 18th century Germany. Big problem: nobody wants to read about Germany, and that includes my agent.<br />
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Nothing I can do about the series, but I have toyed with the idea of shifting the German protagonist and his family to England. It makes me angry, but it could be done.<br />
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So I know what you're talking about. It's the sort of thing that makes me mad at readers. It's really all a matter of knowing too little about the world and not being interested in learning something.