Throwdown Thursday is a weekly thing [hosted by The Neverending Shelf] where we tackle books with similar characters, covers, themes, etc. to determine which one rocks more. And it is up to YOU to determine the winner!
Last weeks Throwdown asked Which Kelly’s Urban Fantasy debut are you most psyched for? Sadly, I think most of you missed this throwdown because it occurred on Thanksgiving, but from the votes I did get, the winner was: Kelly Meding’s Three Days to Dead.
Last week Laurell K. Hamilton announced on her blog that there would be no Anita Blake Vampire Hunter movie/tv show:
- The Anita Blake TV show on IFC is not happening. Now no wailing and gnashing of teeth about it. In the two years and some change since I sold the rights to my series its been very educational… It has been frustrating watching other shows in the genre I pioneered go on the air while we didn’t, but in the end I believe most things happen for a reason. I would rather have no television show than a bad one…
- I was writing vampires long before the publishing industry realized it was a hot market…
- What fascinated me at the beginning of the series was our world if we woke up tomorrow and all the creatures of nightmare were real and everyone knew they were real. It’s still what fascinates me. I was the first one to bring them out of the broom closet, or coffin, whatever, and throw them into modern medicine, law enforcement, politics, and society in general.–Laurell K. Hamilton
As noteworthy as that news was, it was her comments on ‘pioneering the genre’ etc. that have caused the biggest response from the public. Check out the backlash in the comments on ScifiGuy’s post if you want to see how heated some people got. What I want to know is:
Have LKH’s comments and any perceived arrogance on her part damaged your opinion of Anita Blake (assuming the evolution of the series itself hasn’t done that already)?
Now, to be fair, LKH is hardly the first author to make controversial comments, but do you think they will damage her sales? Does an author’s public comments/opinions influence your feelings towards their books one way or another? Or can you separate the two?
For me, yes her comments hurt her sales. BUT bigger than that is the turn her writing took after book 5. It went from an Urban Fantasy Crime series to a Erotica Fantasy series. Not interested.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure her comments might hurt her sales, but at the same time it might help it by making more people aware of her books. People that haven't read her will want to to see if there is any truth to what she says, and if they don't think so it will give them plenty to talk about. What she says in public has no effect on what I think of her books.
ReplyDeleteI think her comments will peak interest for new readers.
ReplyDeleteBUT I also know that I avoid author interviews because I don't like it when their personality taints the reading experience for me. (I kinda don't really care how many dogs you have.... just want to pick your brain about the fantasy world you sucked me into.)
After reading that statement, she just reached an all new low for me. And she was already pretty low on my scale. I hate to break this to her, but Tanya Huff's Blood Price was published in 1991. (And Blood Trail and Blood Lines in 1992.)
ReplyDeleteMercedes Lackey's Diana Tregarde trilogy were published 1989, 90 and 91.
Guilty Pleasures was published in 1993.
I think for me my issue is the sense of entitlement that was conveyed in the post. I follow her blog and she usually posts pretty interesting things, but every once in awhile there's this vibe that she should be getting something more than what other authors are getting just because she's been cranking books out longer. I got the feeling that she felt that because she's written a bunch of books in this series that the show should have been in the bag, but really what I wanted to know was, how were so many of the plot points for the series going to be adapted for TV? Maybe I'm out of the loop but I don't think there's a huge market for vampire-werewolf-hunter threesomes on prime time.
ReplyDeleteI don't think this comment will hurt her sales all that much but it makes me glad I don't invest in her books anymore. Neither of her series hold my interest so I can say I wouldn't have watched the TV show either.
I actually commented on the Scifi Guy post a bit ago, but yes I do think her attitude hurts her. She is one of those authors that I prefer to just read and now follow on twitter/blog because I cringe at quite a bit of the stuff she types. I keep telling myself to stop following her on twitter because it does leak over into my enjoyment of her writing, but I can't seem to do it. Its addicting to see what else she will say LOL.
ReplyDeleteIt also doesn't help that she broadcast so much of her issues while writing the newest Merry book. She finished it and it basically went to press, only one edit. I wouldn't have known about that if it weren't for her blogging/twittering and now it has me worried about the quality of the book. If I were buying books (not kindle versions) I wouldn't feel all that comfortable shelling out money for the hardcover.
I must confess I read the first Anita Blake novel and wasn't impressed by it, so did't read anymore after that, so it won't hurt my view on the books as it was already not too good.
ReplyDeleteShe may be writing longer than some other writers (and indeed: she's not the first in this genre as Dealith already pointed out) but to me good writing is still of higher value than being at it longer or earlier than others.
I find it is always difficult being objective about LKH. Whether she was "the" pioneer is debatable as many have pointed out but it is probably fair to say she was "a" pioneer" and certainly her series has been massively influential on the urban fantasy genre to both authors and readers.
ReplyDeleteEven before those egotistical comments about 'pioneering' the genre, I haven't been a LKH fan for quite some time.
ReplyDeleteIt started around about the time of 'Cerulean Sins' when she tossed aside Anita Blake's character history and turned the entire series into soft-core porn with no plot. I am one of those readers who *LOVED* the Anita Blake series, but noticed that the series demise coalesced with Ms. Hamilton's divorce from her first husband. And I don't think it's a coincidence that Richard's character in the books (who was supposedly based on her first husband) turned into a Grade-A jerk around the same time.
I also resented the fact that in subsequent interviews LKH can't articulate a reason for the series slide into erotica. And she doesn't address fans animosity toward her recent books - instead she says that those people complaining about the newer Anita books might prefer to read books that "don't make you think that hard".
Fame and success have just gone to LKH's head, IMO. As a result I don't like her, and I don't like what she's done to one of my previously favorite UF characters.
I will always admire OBSIDIAN BUTTERFLY, my intro to LKH, and it will be my favorite. I went back and read the books prior to OB. They were good, read the ones after OB....the slippery slope into erotica began. And LKH lost me as a reader.
ReplyDeleteHer comments only solidified that choice.
I'm not sure if I'd be able to separate the author from the character written by said author if I hadn't already stopped being a fan. Same happened with Patricia Cornwell.
As others have mentioned, Urban Fantasy was in print long before Anita Blake was first published, by authors like like Tanya Huff and Anne Rice. (Interview with a Vampire was published 17 years before Guilty Pleasures).
ReplyDeleteI lost all faith in LKH as a story-teller after reading The Killing Dance (Anita Book 6) and I didn't even finish the first chapter of Merry Gentry.
These comments only serve to prove how caught up in her own fame she is.
I am rather disappointed by her attitude, but not all that surprised. Just because she got it printed first doesn't mean hers was the best. Nevermind that Charlaine Harris (and others) are better writers than she is, they're also much more gracious about it. Quantity does not equal quality.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with her, though, that it's better to have no show at all than a bad show. Not that I love her world or her characters particularly, but I would still hate to see them ruined on television or in movies like so many are these days.
I doubt this hurts her sales. Sadly, it might even help.
~Tara
Am so glad I found you on Obfuscation of Reality's blog.
ReplyDeleteI agree with many of the opinions expressed above.
Knowledge of her Mary Sueism arrogance has affected my interest in her books.
i read the first 16 anita blake books without ever bothering to dig deeper into who LKH was... i wish i never had. i still love anita and will continue to read the books becuase of my attachment to her and her men, but i could not care less if i never read another word spoken from the mouth of LKH...she is arrogant and frequently lays claim to being "the first, "a pioneer"... well, she's not. but her short-comings don't seem to be effecting anita's ass-kicking abilities, so...
ReplyDeleteOn the plus side, fans will be happy to see Richard finally get a grip, pull his head out of his bum, and start holding up his end of the triumvirate. The turn-around is a relief, but I'm not sure I'm ready to trust it. Richard is notorious for taking a baby step forward only to let his emotional baggage come crashing down on everyone's head. I hope Bullet is a set-up for a new story arc that will demonstrate how powerful Anita's triumvirate with Jean-Claude and Richard can be. It certainly felt like a lead-in to something bigger. I eagerly await the next installment.
ReplyDelete