Children’s Book Blog Tour –The Diamond of Darkhold, Day 2

Today I want to review The Diamond of Darkhold by Jeanne DuPrau (Random House). Then at the end I’ll tell you how you can become eligible to win an advance reader’s copy of the book.

The Story. I can’t tell you too much here because I don’t want to spoil this book or The City of Ember, the book or movie, since a number of you might be planning to either read the series from book 1 or go to a theater near you when the movie comes out in a little over a week. Suffice it to say, the two main characters—a boy named Doon and a girl named Lina—go on a dangerous adventure primarily because their town is in need of help. Circumstances are desperate and becoming more so every day. Doon believes he’s come up with a solution and turns to his good friend Lina to help him accomplish what he has in mind. Lina decides to go along, mostly because of Doon.

I’ll interject here, I thought the motives of these two characters were very believable, and why they did what they did made me like them from the start. My only concern was Doon leaving his father who had just experienced an accident which meant he could not do everything he needed to do. I wish Doon had been concerned about his dad but still determined to do what he thought would bring good to his dad and the whole town. Instead, he seemed to forget about his dad’s limitations.

To be honest, so did I soon after the adventure started. And a good adventure it was. Lots of believable conflict, tension, suspense. The story moved right along—thankfully not at a break-neck pace, but certainly at a pace that kept my interest the whole way.

Strengths. Well, I’ve already touched on these. The characters are delightful. The world is believable. TINY SPOILER ALERT Because this is a dystopian fantasy, the world above ground is primitive since most of it was destroyed some two hundred years earlier. Not completely, however, so the characters discover animals and things outdoor. They find bits and pieces from the olden days and try to guess at their uses. I thought Ms. DuPrau’s treatment of these discoveries was brilliant. At times she even had her characters postulate several possible uses of some piece of ancient technology and none of their ideas was right. Of course, we readers know what the characters do not. Somehow that touch made this world seem so true to life. END ALERT

One last thing. I really liked the fact that these characters were altruistic. How wonderful to read a story about young people who are more concerned about bettering the lives of their neighbors than of accomplishing some selfish goal that just happens to end up doing good.

The book also made me think about the adults of this world, but I’ll save that for tomorrow.

Weaknesses. Honestly, the deal about Doon and his dad is the only thing that pulled me from the story, and that for such a short time. OK, one more thing. When the main conflict begins, I wanted Lina to make a different decision than the one she made. It was clear she was doing what she thought was right and what Doon thought was right, but I wanted her to do something else—the something Doon ends up doing. That too was only a momentary reaction. I was very soon cheering Lina on in her chosen path.

Recommendation. I highly recommend The Diamond of Darkhold to anyone looking for good literature for youth. Is it Christian? Not in the sense that the Christian worldview is something that consciously motivates the characters. However, the themes of this novel—dealing with honesty, self-sacrifice, courage, helping others—are consistent with a moral outlook on life.

And now, the contest. If you would like to be eligible for an ARC of The Diamond of Darkhold, visit Jeanne DuPrau’s site or any number of other tour participants and find the titles of books two and three in the City of Ember series. Email both to me at rluellam at yahoo dot com.

And now, the others touring with Kidz Book Buzz:

01 Charger, the 160acrewoods, A Childhood of Dreams, All About Children’s Books, And Another Book Read, Becky’s Book Reviews, Book Review Maniac, Cafe of Dreams, Comox Valley Kids, Dolce Bellezza, Fireside Musings, Homeschool Buzz, Hyperbole, Looking Glass Reviews, Never Jam Today

Children’s Book Blog Tour – The Diamond of Darkhold

October 10 (or is it October 8?) the movie The City of Ember, based on Jeanne DuPrau’s bestselling book by the same name, will release in theaters. You may wonder what this movie has to do with a book tour for The Diamond of Darkhold. As it happens, this young adult science fantasy is the last in the Book of Ember series kicked off by The City of Ember.

Here’s the relevant part for those of you who might dismiss the thought of reading the last book of a series when you haven’t read the other three: there is an excellent, and brief, section in The Diamond of Darkhold that gives enough background to make this story work on its own. Nevertheless, a little information about that first book seems in order.

Here’s a short synopsis of The City of Ember from author Jeanne DuPrau’s site:

Lights shine in the city of Ember—but at the city limits the light ends, and darkness takes over. Out there in the Unknown Regions, the darkness goes on forever in all directions. Ember—so its people believe—is the only light in the dark world.

And now the lights of the city are beginning to fail.

Is there a way to save the people of Ember? No one knows. But Lina Mayfleet has found a puzzling document, and Doon Harrow has made discoveries down in the Pipeworks. With these clues, they start their search.

In addition, if you’re interested, the official movie site has a video trailer, games, information on the actors, and more.

If you’re a fan of the imaginative, this is a series you will enjoy, even if you happen to read the last book first. Let me mention for those of my regular blog readers, this is not a book put out by a Christian publishing house, nor is it purported to be written from a Christian worldview. However, I’d be surprised if any Christian parent would find The Diamond of Darkhold objectionable. I’ll have my personal reaction to the book later in the tour.

Before I turn you loose to read what others are saying on the tour hosted by Kidz Book Buzz, I want to mention that I have an Advanced Reader’s Copy I requested for a contest prize, so you’ll want to stay tuned as to how you can win that collector’s edition.

And now, the other sites to tour:
01 Charger, the 160acrewoods, A Childhood of Dreams, All About Children’s Books, And Another Book Read, Becky’s Book Reviews, Book Review Maniac, Cafe of Dreams, Comox Valley Kids, Dolce Bellezza, Fireside Musings, Homeschool Buzz, Hyperbole, Looking Glass Reviews, Never Jam Today

Fall into Reading and a Game of Tag

Another anomalous Saturday post, this one because I never blogged on Thursday. I intended to. But the fact was, I was in a writing groove. Then after dinner, I never got back to the computer. So here we are today instead. I’m rolling two posts into one as the title suggests.

First, on September 22, the official day Fall began, Katrina over at Callapidder Days launched Fall into Reading 2008. I love this emphasis on reading and am eager to participate. There is the possibility of winning a $10 gift certificate and there are weekly book drawings, but those aren’t the reason I participate. Actually, I just like being involved in a reading community, though I’m just on the fringe. It’s great to see what others are reading, great to share with others when I post a review, great to read their thoughts on the books they’ve tackled.

So here are the books I hope to read between now and December 21 when Fall into Reading officially ends:

The Feast of Saint Bertie by Kathleen Popa (David C. Cook)

Beyond the Reflection’s Edge, by Bryan Davis (Zondervan)

Something Wicked by Alan Gratz (Dial Books)

Winter Haven by Athol Dickson (Bethany)

Fatal Revenant by Stephen R. Donaldson (Putnam)

The Famous One by Nicole Petrino-Salter (Pleasant Word)

The Lightning File by Eric Write (Hidden Brook Press)

Seven Archangels: Annihilation by Jane Lebak (Double-Edge Publishing)

Waiting for Daybreak by Kathryn Cushman (Bethany)

Already I can tell I’m biting off too much, but I’m going to give these a try.

Item two: a game of tag, this from Kim over at Window to My World. Here are the rules for those I’m tagging. Check the list after my 6 THINGS to see if you’re it then

1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six-ish people at the end of your post.
5. Let each person know he or she has been tagged.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

Random things, I can do!

1. I’m a rabid Denver Bronco fan.
2. I was born in Colorado but have lived most of my life in California.
3. My first writing job was as a stringer covering high school sports and some college. Most of my stories appeared in the Whittier Daily News.
4. Some of my favorite childhood memories are of someone reading to me—my sister, my dad, a teacher, and others.
5. When I was three, I went to school with my mom who taught grades 1-8 in a small Christian school in Denver, Colorado.
6. I first remember making up stories when I played in the sandbox at that school.

And a random bonus factoid: my dad made up a wonderful story he told us at bedtime. Unfortunately, he never wrote it down. However, I think the idea that real people made up the stories I loved took root way back then.

So, who to tag?

Julie Carobini
Katy Cushman
Frank Creed
Kameron M. Franklin
Beth Goddard
Timothy Hicks

Fantasy Friday – What’s a Quatrain?

Well, it’s official. I’ve restructured The Lore of Efrathah so that it is no longer a trilogy. It is also not a “series” in the usual sense of the word. This is one story, now told via four books (think, epic fantasy). I suppose the proper classification would be “quartet,” though I don’t have any examples to draw from. Instead, I’ve chosen the word quatrain—pretty much because I like the way it sounds.

I did ask the advice of another fantasy writer, wondering if it was “legal” to co-opt the word when it clearly has a restricted definition (“a stanza of four lines, esp. one having alternate rhymes,” according to the two sources I checked). The answer? You’re a fantasy writer—make the word do what you want.

Well, note, I didn’t use quotation marks there. That’s how I interpreted the advice, maybe because my heart was already set on quatrain. But why the great divide, you may wonder. Nearly a year ago, at a small writers’ conference here in Southern California, I met with a knowledgeable agent who looked at my proposal. At that time, I estimated the third book would be approximately 150,000 words. This agent categorically stated that editors would not want a book that long.

At the time, though I tried, I couldn’t see dividing the story. The numbers didn’t work, I thought, and I’d end up padding book four—the very book that should have the meaty climactic ending, not a puff-and-fluff fizzle. So I plunged on.

However, as I came within sight of having the entire rough draft transcribed onto the computer, I topped 150,000 words, with six or so chapters remaining. That’s another 20,000 words, at minimum. The decision seemed clear.

I already knew there was a natural break that could work as the end of a book three, so this week I tinkered with the chapter order and checked to see if the new ending would need any work (I don’t think it does). And with that, the birth of the quatrain.

The Lore of Efrathah now consists of The Sword of Secrets (90,000 words), Journey to Mithlimar (120,000 words), Escape from Moldark (100,000 words), and The Battle for the Throne (approximately 80,000 words). I say “now” because there’s an outside chance that I’ll move one section from Escape to Battle and that would change the word count of those two books. I’ll know more once I have some readers weigh in on this.

Any volunteers?

CSFF Blog Tour – Marcher Lord Press, Day 3

Not long ago, one of my neighbors requested a list of Christian fantasies I could recommend for teens. Just yesterday he commented that when he had mentioned some titles to the interested teen, she replied that she’d read all those.

Whenever I hear such scenarios, I shake my head and wonder why publishers don’t understand that readers can manage more than one book every year. And that the answer is NOT to require popular authors to write three a year. Even if the quality were good, and that is debatable, readers still want more. Consequently, for a publisher to decide not to pick up other authors who write similar works seems odd to me.

In a little over a week, eight Christian fantasy authors will embark on a tour of the West Coast. And the surprising thing is, all of them come from different publishing houses. Don’t get me wrong; I’m happy that there are eight publishing houses (there are actually more) that have produced Christian fantasy. But what if each house had three or four authors instead of one? There are exceptions, of course, notably WaterBrook.

But here’s the point. Marcher Lord Press, besides being innovative in its approach to producing the books, is also innovative in its selection of content. Here’s the entire description:

Whether it’s fantasy you love, or science fiction, time travel, chillers, supernatural thrillers, alternate history, spiritual warfare, superhero, vampire, or technothriller—if it’s speculative and it comes from the Christian worldview, Marcher Lord Press is your publisher.

No romance, no literary fiction, no historical or contemporary. The books MLP will publish have a peculiar distinction because they embrace what many other Christian publishers seem only to tolerate.

Perhaps, then, voracious Christian speculative readers will at long last have the kind of selection that romance readers have enjoyed for the past three decades. Perhaps MLP’s success will foster an increase in similar titles from all the publishers. Perhaps there will actually be a resurgence in competition when it comes to books.

Well, an author can dream, can’t she?

Of course, we’ll never know unless MLP succeeds. The only way that will happen is if people buy their books. There are three launching in October—Hero, Second Class by first-time novelist Mitchell Bonds, The Personifid Invasion by R. E. Bartlett, and Summa Elvetica: A Casuistry of the Elvish Controversy by Theodore Beale. You can find a sample of each book at the MLP Web site. Just click on the book title link.

OK, time to tour. Check out what others in CSFF are saying about Marcher Lord Press.

√ Brandon Barr
√ Justin Boyer
√ Keanan Brand
√ Kathy Brasby
Jackie Castle
√ Valerie Comer
√ Karri Compton
√ Courtney
CSFF Blog Tour
√ Stacey Dale
√ D. G. D. Davidson
Janey DeMeo
√ Jeff Draper
√ April Erwin
√ Karina Fabian
√ Kameron M. Franklin
√ Beth Goddard (not on the original list)
√ Andrea Graham
√ Todd Michael Greene
Katie Hart
√ Timothy Hicks
√ Joleen Howell
√ Jason Joyner
Kait
√ Tina Kulesa
√ Mike Lynch
Terri Main
√ Margaret
√ Rachel Marks (not on the original list)
√ Shannon McNear
√ Nissa
√ John W. Otte
√ Steve Rice
Ashley Rutherford
√ Hanna Sandvig
Mirtika or Mir’s Here
Greg Slade
James Somers
√ Steve Trower
√ Speculative Faith
√ Jason Waguespac
√ Laura Williams
Timothy Wise

“√” indicates I know a blog post is up.

CSFF Blog Tour – Marcher Lord Press, Day 2

Before I discuss Marcher Lord Press, I’m happy to announce the American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year Award winners:

Speculative
First Place: The Restorer’s Son by Sharon Hinck (NavPress, Reagan Reed)
Second Place: Demon: A Memoir by Tosca Lee
Third Place: DragonFire by Donita Paul

Sharon is also a CSFF member and of course the CSFF tour has featured two of Donita’s books since our inception. Add to that the fact that I thought Demon: A Memoir was one of the best books I’ve read, and you can see, this was a great group. Congratulations to each of them.

And now, on to Marcher Lord Press. I thought it only logical to spell out what I like about Jeff Gerke’s innovative publishing venture.

First, although MLP is a print-on-demand publisher, it is not a subsidy press, meaning that the writer is not paying to have his work printed. Why is that important? Maybe not so much. Like everything else in the writing business, “vanity” publishers are not all about vanity any more. In reality, they are simply another model, an option some writers choose, with the money at risk their own instead of the publishers’.

So why do I mention that I consider it a plus that MLP is going a different direction? For one thing, I think there are a number of good, established self-publishing organizations, and I’m not sure another one is needed. Secondly, despite the strides being made in self-publishing, some authors continue to be resistant to the “restrictions” of editing. Consequently, a higher number of self-published books than of traditionally-published books are poor quality. MLP books will dodge that stigma.

Add in one more fact. With a traditional publisher, a reader has at least one other person—the acquisitions editor—besides the author (and really a host of other people within the publishing house) to rely on when determining if they want to buy the book. After all, someone else had to believe in it enough to print it. So too with MLP. Authors must go through the same process of submitting work and meeting the MLP standards in order to be published. Especially since Jeff Gerke is an experienced editor, this acceptance/rejection process sets a higher bar.

There are other factors, but I’ll save those for tomorrow. Please take some time to see what others on the tour are saying about Marcher Lord Press.

√ Brandon Barr
Justin Boyer
√ Keanan Brand
√ Kathy Brasby
Jackie Castle
Valerie Comer
Karri Compton
Courtney
CSFF Blog Tour
√ Stacey Dale
√ D. G. D. Davidson
Janey DeMeo
Jeff Draper
√ April Erwin
Karina Fabian
√ Kameron M. Franklin
√ Beth Goddard (not on the original list)
√ Andrea Graham
Todd Michael Greene
Katie Hart
√ Timothy Hicks
√ Joleen Howell
√ Jason Joyner
Kait
Tina Kulesa
√ Mike Lynch
Terri Main
√ Margaret
Rachel Marks (not on the original list)
Shannon McNear
√ Nissa
√ John W. Otte
√ Steve Rice
Ashley Rutherford
√ Hanna Sandvig
Mirtika or Mir’s Here
Greg Slade
James Somers
√ Steve Trower
Speculative Faith
√ Jason Waguespac
√ Laura Williams
Timothy Wise

“√” indicates I know a blog post is up.

CSFF Blog Tour – Marcher Lord Press

First, I want to announce the winners of the American Christian Fiction Writers’ Genesis contest in the speculative division:

In the Science Fiction/Fantasy/Allegory category, the finalists are:
1st: Chawna Schroeder, Metamorphosis
2nd: Lynda K. Arndt, The Song of Blood and Stone
3rd: Valerie Comer, The Girl Who Cried Squid

Congratulations to these writers. Some of you may realize that Chawna and Valerie are both CSFF Blog Tour members, so it’s especially gratifying to see that they’ve received recognition for their own writing.

This month CSFF is NOT featuring a book. Instead we are highlighting a new publishing venture. Some of you may remember that a little over a year and a half ago, Jeff Gerke announced his plans to begin a new kind of publishing company, Marcher Lord Press. My initial reaction wasn’t particularly favorable because MLP is a print-on-demand publisher.

In part because of the discussion about POD that came about among CSFF members, I’ve changed my views. Another factor in my new position is a result of my awareness of the realities of the writing business. From agent Rachelle Gardner’s blog post last Thursday:

I think there are way, way more people writing books than the market can ever support. At least this is true within traditional royalty-paying publishing.

I began to understand this as I joined groups like The Lost Genre Guild and ChristSF. Lots and lots of writers. Very few spots for speculative titles released by traditional publishers serving the Christian market.

Another reality, quite frankly, is that the entire publishing industry is undergoing fundamental changes because of technology. With the development of Amazon’s Kindle and other such readers, I suspect books will, in a generation or sooner, be sold primarily via cyberspace.

Which brings us back to Marcher Lord Press. Here is a new, cutting edge, publisher devoted exclusively to speculative fiction written from a Christian worldview. As Jeff states in the introduction to MLP, “If it’s speculative and it comes from the Christian worldview, Marcher Lord Press is your publisher.”

Without a doubt, I see this new venture as filling a need, and I’m happy CSFF has the opportunity of letting others know about it.

Read what other bloggers on the tour are saying about MLP.

Brandon Barr
Justin Boyer
√ Keanan Brand
Kathy Brasby
Jackie Castle
Valerie Comer
Karri Compton
Courtney
CSFF Blog Tour
√ Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Janey DeMeo
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Karina Fabian
√ Kameron M. Franklin
Andrea Graham
Todd Michael Greene
Katie Hart
√ Timothy Hicks
Joleen Howell
Jason Joyner
Kait
Tina Kulesa
√ Mike Lynch
Terri Main
√ Margaret
Rachel Marks (not on the original list)
Shannon McNear
√ Nissa
√ John W. Otte
√ Steve Rice
Ashley Rutherford
Hanna Sandvig
Mirtika or Mir’s Here
Greg Slade
James Somers
Steve Trower
Speculative Faith
Jason Waguespac
√ Laura Williams
Timothy Wise

“√” indicates I know a blog post is up.

Books That Last – The Lord of the Rings Model

This post is in honor of Fantasy Friday, though as you can see by the date stamp, I’m writing on Saturday. The key is, I conceived of this content on Friday.

Why has J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings lasted? I suppose I should qualify “lasted” because certainly there may be a cult following for some books such as Mark Twain’s lesser-known works, but the way I’m using the word, that does not qualify as “lasting.”

I suppose first a book that lasts must have arrived, which is to say, it needs to have wide-ranging acclaim. The Harry Potter books come to mind, as do the Left Behind books. Those “arrived” because certainly they found a wide audience. But will they last? Only time will tell—unless there is some determinative factor thoughtful reasoning can uncover, in which case we can predict which are most likely to last.

So on to The Lord of the Rings. What made those books so successful? Here are some lines from reviews posted at Barnes and Noble:

Books of the Century; The New York Times Book Review – W.H. Auden

For anyone who likes the genre to which it belongs, the Heroic Quest, I cannot imagine a more wonderful Christmas present….No fiction I have read in the last five years has given me more joy than The Fellowship of the Ring.

New York Herald Tribune

Destined to outlast our time.

Time Magazine

One of the great fairy-tale quests in modern literature.

Nation

A work of immense narrative power that can sweep the reader up and hold him enthralled for days and weeks..

Sunday Telegraph

Among the greatest works of imaginative fiction of the twentieth century.

Boston Herald

A masterful story — an epic in its own way — with elements of high adventure, suspense, mystery, poetry and fantasy..

C.S. Lewis

No imaginary world has been projected which is at once as multifarious and so true to its own inner laws.

Yes, they liked it, but what exactly did they like?

The thing I saw repeated most was imagination. Here was an epic story that swept readers into a world of questing. (As you know, if you’ve read the books—or seen the movies—the quest was against all odds, with the fate of the world hanging in the balance.)

It wasn’t solely Tolkien’s ability to create a credible place, however, that give these books their lasting quality, though that played a significant part. It was The Cause, put in the hands of, apparently, the weakest characters, not the strongest. In other words, The Lord of the Rings appeals to that part in us that longs to do great things.

I would suggest, then, that Tolkien’s work lasts, not because of the characters or the plot per se. I think it lasts because of the setting and the theme. The world is rich, a place readers lose themselves, and at the same time, the theme appeals to their better nature, and they find themselves.

That being said, there’s no doubt the plot had many twists and turns, suspense and tension. And conflict! Equally, the characters were ones readers gladly rooted for and cried over. Frodo, after all, was Bilbo’s nephew. And Sam was what we all hope to become. From Gandolf to Gollum, the other characters were distinctly drawn and easy to connect with.

But it is the fairy-tale, the quest, the world that reviewers brought up over and over. Maybe, just maybe, Tolkien hit the proverbial homerun and got it all right, which is why The Lord of the Rings lasts.

Books That Last – The Tom Sawyer Model

What does The Adventures of Tom Sawyer have that The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today does not. Never heard of The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today? It’s Mark Twain’s first novel, written in collaboration with Charles Dudley Warner, and most people have never heard of it. So what made The Adventures of Tom Sawyer a book that lasted when The Gilded Age did not?

Since I’ve not read the latter book, I turned to Wikipedia for information and discovered some interesting statements:

The theme of the novel is that the hope of getting rich through land speculation pervades society: this includes [all the main characters].

Was this book too focused on a problem unique to that era? Not according to Wikipedia:

Although 130 years have passed since its [The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today's] publication, the satirical observations of political and social life in Washington, D.C., remain contemporary.

While Mark Twain is known today for his humor and stories about life in 19 century America, he generally was masking a bit of medicine with sugar in most of his writing. His stories often poked satirical fun at the hypocrisies of society and government.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer was no exception. Tom couldn’t abide all the civilizin’ his Aunt Polly insisted on. Not much escaped his scorn: church, funerals, chores, cleanliness, discipline. Why, then, has the book lasted?

I think there are two major reasons. Yes, Twain was “a master at rendering colloquial speech and helped to create and popularize a distinctive American literature built on American themes and language.” But he did that in The Gilded Age too, so it wasn’t his use of language or his themes or his ability to draw on the everyday, the common, the familiar.

It was first and foremost his characters. Did you note in that quote about The Gilded Age that all the main characters were greedy? From what I can tell in the Wikipedia summary, there wasn’t anyone admirable a reader could root for.

But I mentioned two major reasons. I think the second was the humor in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Might The Gilded Age also be humorous? A possibility. But some jokes are better than others. I tend to believe the ones in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer worked.

Books That Last – The Nancy Drew Model

Not every book is intended to last. Some writers are perfectly fine writing fast and hard for a market that craves another one just like the other one. Surprisingly, however, even books that don’t intend to last sometimes do.

Nancy Drew comes to mind. Good stories. Fast reads. Formulaic plots. Yet, in the face of many an imitator and many a ghost writer, Nancy Drew has lasted. Why?

I think two factors come into play: tension and a larger-than-life character.

Nancy Drew was a smart, independent teenage girl long before Title IX came into being. She lived an exciting life that many a young girl dreamed of living. And not much has changed. Today’s liberated women have become enslaved by the things men have been bound by for years. So the take-charge Nancy still resonates.

Unfortunately, it’s the plots that suffer in these mysteries. No archenemy steps up to be Moriarty to Sherlock Drew. And yet the authors found ways to create tension. Nancy, captured and tied up. How will she escape this time? Will she find the note in the base of the clock? Can she rescue her friends in time and still stop the thief?

The questions aren’t deep, but there is no doubt what her goal is, so readers hold their breath and cheer her on. The problem is in remembering any of the story the next day, or next week, or next month.

Too many stories suffer plot problems while also lacking a character that resonates. These are the books that will not last. Some of them may actually be initial commercial successes, but unlike the Chronicles of Narnia, no one will be buying them forty years later.

The added dimension that long-lasting books have is depth. There’s a point greater than entertainment to the writing, though entertainment is surely a by-product found in abundance.

And what creates depth? Ideas. Ones that make readers turn the story over and over in their mind for days after they reach the last page.

Back to the beginning. Some writers aren’t aiming to create the Great American Novel. They want to entertain, much as I’m sure the Carolyn Keen ghost writers did. But what would these writers think if they knew young girls today still read their work? Would they be pleased, wishing only that their relatives were pocketing a royalty check? Or would they cringe in horror, wishing they had included depth in their stories?

Probably some of both.