Category Archives: Soap Opera Fiction

Part I – Books versus TV, Narrative Voice versus Scripted Scenes: Longmire, Outlander

A Guest Post by Mara Purl

Every author wants their novels to be made into a film or a television series. Right?

So let’s take a look at how these two worlds of “series”—both the readable and the viewable kind—connect, overlap, or compete. Some people discover a great series first on TV, then want to dig deeper by reading the original books. Some don’t want to see the adaptation on a screen until they’ve delved into the books, sometimes referred to by producers as “source material.”

Here we’ll take a look at works by Diana Gabaldon (the Outlander series), and Craig Johnson (the Longmire series).… Read more

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Blog Tour Visit #5 – Romance Junkies

Mara Purl guests on the Romance Junkies blog site, where she discusses her serial novel, based on her BBC radio drama Milford-Haven USA, and reveals how her serial stories track characters wrestling with deeper issues, a profound path to true romance.
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Whales’ Tales by the Dock of the Bay

Whale TailWriting is tough. It takes hours, weeks, months, years of solitude and focus. It requires “killing your darlings”—a writer-term for throwing out your favorite passages. It means wrestling with characters, struggling with storylines and remembering why the heck you’re putting yourself through all this torment in the first place. Then there are days when writing is just plain fun. For me, this often occurs when I get do a research field trip. I’m not entirely stupid about this—I choose favorite locations where my story just happens to take place. So I got to spend today in Morro Bay, one of the most delightful spots along California’s gorgeous Central Coast.… Read more

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Mile High Tea

You’ve heard of “Pie in the Sky”—an idiom to convey that which is so unlikely that we shouldn’t count on it, a kind of fool’s gold, a dream only a Pollyanna would dare to dream.

Well, if Pie-In-The-Sky describes what can’t come true, perhaps “Mile High Tea” should be the new descriptor for what can. Why? Because anything Judith Briles touches actually does turn to gold. Judith was my hostess this past weekend for a gorgeous, elaborate and delightful tea at the lovely home where she and her husband, poet and editor John Maling, love to entertain.

So what do I mean by “gold”?… Read more

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Whose Mystery: Our Characters’ or Ours?

“Who done it?” Why do we get so caught up in solving mysteries? I have several readers—whose names I shall not divulge—who regularly e-mail me demanding to know who killed Chris, and whether she’s really dead, and when the crime will be solved! And I thought I was the only one who couldn’t sleep at night wondering about the characters of Milford-Haven!

My accomplished friend Margaret Coel  has equally marvelous stories about the obsessive nature of readers and how involved they become with her characters. At our event last weekend, she recounted some of the “helpful suggestions” she receives regarding her two protagonists, and how their life-dilemmas might be solved.… Read more

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Serendipi-Tea

A few years ago, when I was first searching for the right kind of special event for readers of my Women’s Fiction novels, I chose Afternoon Tea as the perfect thing. “Tea” seemed to signify both elegance and comfort, a chance to connect with others while taking a break from hectic schedules. And though men sometimes attend, the event itself has a feminine quality, with great attention to detail and style.

The first person I approached with this idea was my mother. A brilliant hostess, she grasped the concept instantly and offered her own home for a series of three events that I named Hospitali-Teas.… Read more

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Blog Tour Visit #16—Women Speakers Association

When the prospect of writing a guest post for a site called Women Speakers Association came up, I was immediately intrigued. Since I write Women’s Fiction and speak primarily to women, I knew this would be a match.

Women are up to something interesting in the world these days. We like to connect, rather than compete; we like to compliment and complement because this way of behaving creates a background of relatedness, which lays the groundwork for agreement and synergy. My post today, for example, is the Who, What, When, Where, Why of creating a Speaker’s Platform.

Drawing not only on my journalist experience, but also from one of the key themes from my novel-series, it was fun distilling this information down to a few bullet points that will help others who are creating a speaking career.… Read more

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Blog Tour Visit #15: Girlfriend Books

There’s nothing in the world like Girlfriends. I’m talking about Girlfriend with a capital “G”, the fond appellation that signifies the way one woman feels about another woman she trusts, respects, and loves.

Women’s Fiction, which is what I write, exists in the Girlfriend Zone. Why? Because it sparks conversations, reminds us of our escapades, engenders the kind of reflection that inspires growth and encourages self-esteem. So my new novel What the Heart Knows and my conviction that as I write my books I’m having a conversation with women friends, made me a perfect match for the wonderful GirlfriendBooks.com blog.… Read more

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