biancadarc.com Blog

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The Craft: What is “Darkness”?

I was asked what made something qualify as “dark, dark, dark romance” the other day and I thought it was worth repeating and expanding on the response I gave. This is a topic I find interesting since I’m often asked to characterize my books and I don’t think they are all that “dark.” I’m curious to hear what you think. Here’s what I said in response to the question of what I think is “triple dark” (a phrase we coined to describe something so dark, it requires 3 “darks” in front of it )…

While I can handle some death and darkness, when a book seems to dwell on gore and killing everyone in sight in really macabre ways, that qualifies it as “triple dark” in my mind. I’ve never read J.R. Ward (everyone gasp now) mostly because the first book I picked up by her featured a super gory battle scene in the first few pages that literally made me dizzy. (Or that could have been the chemicals they’d just put on my head at the salon where I was attempting to read – not quite sure - LOL – either way, I’ve been afraid to pick up that book again and it languishes on my TBR pile to this day.)

I’m not really squeamish. I’ve written my share of battle scenes where characters die or are badly injured, but I don’t like it when an author glorifies the gore. There’s sort of a “line of grossness” I don’t like them to cross. So gratuitous violence is one of the things that makes something really “dark” to me. Another is the setting. Whenever I think dark, I think of movies like Blade Runner or TV shows like Dark Angel, where everything is bleak and dangerous. Those two are sci fi examples, but the old gothic romances could also fit the bill. Something like HBO’s True Blood is dark, but not the “triple dark” that would really turn me off. It’s more like semi-dark because Sookie is such a light character. I think she balances out Bill’s darkness, if that makes any sense.

The Jessica Alba character in Dark Angel is dark. Nothing is ever easy in her life and she never smiles. Her life is hard. The setting is hard – cops on every corner looking to capture her – she has to scrounge for food and creature comforts and when she finally meets a guy she likes, the bad guys infect him with something that if she touches him, he’ll die. Nice, huh? Sookie Stackhouse, by contrast, has a lot of tough stuff happing to her, but she’s basically a positive person with a somewhat bright outlook. She’s not a pessimist. Sure, she has troubles, but she never seems to give up hope for a better future and she sure never stops looking for love.

So it’s really a combination of things – violence, setting, mood and the characters themselves. I hope that makes sense. (I’m making this up as I go along here.) This is just my off-the-cuff analysis. I’m eager to hear how others might define it?

Wallpaper Wednesdays

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Book Fair Today!

Come see me at the big NJ RWA book signing today at the Woodbridge Hotel Conference Center at 515 Route 1 South, Iselin, NJ. Hope to see you there!

New Vid for One & Only

Check out the new video for my upcoming release, One & Only…

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Holy Cow! I’m Quoted in the NY Post!

I spoke to a reporter last week who was doing a story on Nora Roberts and she actually quoted me! Okay, I sound a little stupid, but hell, I don’t mind – I’m actually quoted! How cool is that?

Here’s a snip: 

NORA ROBERTS HAS WRITTEN 170 NOVELS OF ROMANCE AND MORE

By KAREN HOLT

October 19, 2008

Even the most prolific author in America gets writer’s block.“I have days when I think, “everything I’m writing today just sucks,’ ” admits Nora Roberts, the undisputed queen of romance writers. “But it’s okay, because I’m keeping up the habit, so I can fix that suckitude.”

Despite having scored a staggering 155 New York Times bestsellers – including 38 that have debuted at the top spot – Roberts still works hard to keep her fans happy. “I think it’s good to be a little paranoid and neurotic. I use that,” she said one recent morning, speaking from her home in rural western Maryland, which she shares with her husband of 23 years, Bruce Wilder.

Since publishing her first novel, “Irish Thoroughbred” in 1981, Roberts, 58, has written more than 170 books, attracting the adoration of fans and the awe of other writers. “We all want to be her when we grow up,” says author Bianca D’Arc of Garden City, Long Island.

There’s a lot more to the article, but that’s the part that quotes me. Here’s a link to the rest of the story, if you’re interested.

Albacon Video

Here’s a vid of Dave’s Star Wars alien costume!

Albacon Video

Here’s a vid of that dragon puppet I was talking about…

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