tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468858293961151587.post2615830222632146666..comments2023-08-19T08:21:42.894-04:00Comments on Cedar's Mountain: Depravity, Thy Name Is Crime FictionG. B. Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09783331838434598963noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468858293961151587.post-54040607851787278342011-10-30T18:47:41.569-04:002011-10-30T18:47:41.569-04:00Sue H: Ahh, the guidelines.
I didn't realize ...Sue H: Ahh, the guidelines.<br /><br />I didn't realize that the guidelines were really in flux. Most of what I've seen elsewhere are pretty concrete and much adhered to.<br /><br />Most publishers make it very clear on what they will not accept, and some make it very clear on the difference between erotica and porn.<br /><br />The problem in questioning what we read is often G. B. Millerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09783331838434598963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468858293961151587.post-69339217617143951172011-10-30T18:25:36.324-04:002011-10-30T18:25:36.324-04:00Well - whatever, the story author has written othe...Well - whatever, the story author has written other stuff of good quality and there is no bad feeling between us. <br /><br />However, I am tiring of the excuse 'read the disclaimer' when the submission guidelines have been clearly flouted. <br /><br />The fact that one editor emailed me privately agreeing with my comments and stating that they would have instantly rejected the SueHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11394307650434614637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468858293961151587.post-7832750104627706522011-10-30T18:13:32.430-04:002011-10-30T18:13:32.430-04:00Sue H: I read the comments to the link that you le...Sue H: I read the comments to the link that you left, and seems to me that one of the writers who was reacting rather negatively towards your comment wasn't really seeing or considering the entire issue as it applied to that story or to noir fiction in genernal.G. B. Millerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09783331838434598963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468858293961151587.post-49752074897675007862011-10-30T16:07:49.073-04:002011-10-30T16:07:49.073-04:00......and colour me 'so surprised'!
The a.........and colour me 'so surprised'!<br /><br />The <a href="http://thrillskillsnchills.blogspot.com/2011/10/annies-story-by-graham-smith.html" rel="nofollow">article</a> has been withdrawn.......! :-0<br /><br />Maybe the voice of reason was finally heard!SueHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11394307650434614637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468858293961151587.post-18016307116269609982011-10-30T15:15:37.340-04:002011-10-30T15:15:37.340-04:00Sue H: I've been in your shoes before, in that...Sue H: I've been in your shoes before, in that I've voiced my opinion on a particular subject and have been crucified by going against the general groupthink.<br /><br />I'm not sure if the tail is wagging the dog. I've come to the writing game extremely late in life (2006), so my exposure to the publishing game is pretty limited.<br /><br />However, I'm sure it's just G. B. Millerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09783331838434598963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468858293961151587.post-63278248898666003772011-10-30T14:17:33.537-04:002011-10-30T14:17:33.537-04:00Well - I've been right royally crucified for r...Well - I've been right royally crucified for raising my head over the parapet and questioning boundaries! What's harder to take is that one editor contacted me privately and said they agreed with my concerns. This begs the question - is the tail wagging the dog? I give up - somewhere along the line the moral compass had been lost.SueHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11394307650434614637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468858293961151587.post-79501052076857435782011-10-30T08:10:49.093-04:002011-10-30T08:10:49.093-04:00Sue: That's my point exactly.
There has to be...Sue: That's my point exactly.<br /><br />There has to be a bottom line in what's acceptable and what's not acceptable.<br /><br />If you keep sinking low enough, then you run the risk of having your e-zine being compared to the disturbe writings that come from the minds of seriously disturbed criminals.<br /><br />I don't think anyone really wants that to happen.<br /><br />If theG. B. Millerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09783331838434598963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468858293961151587.post-12609520074163853632011-10-30T04:51:13.891-04:002011-10-30T04:51:13.891-04:00Sad to say TK&C has sunk to a new 'low'...Sad to say TK&C has sunk to a new 'low'. I think it is now publishing some stories that not so much 'near the knuckle' as half way to the elbow! <br /><br />I used to look in there regularly and yes, some of it was mildly offensive or of a nature that I didn't spend valuable time reading to the end.<br /><br />Normally I only comment if I have anything positive to say - ifSueHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11394307650434614637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468858293961151587.post-64642330377221895892011-10-17T17:59:12.054-04:002011-10-17T17:59:12.054-04:00Lynn: Interesting point that truth is sometimes st...Lynn: Interesting point that truth is sometimes stranger than fiction. As a rule, I'm not terribly squeamish either, considering that I used to peruse old coronor's records when I'd worked at the library those many years ago, but there are some topics that I simply will not read about, no matter how well written they're presented.<br /><br />As it's been pointed out to me timeG. B. Millerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09783331838434598963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468858293961151587.post-64476459504009042892011-10-17T17:52:15.172-04:002011-10-17T17:52:15.172-04:00Dave: A couple of points. I don't believe that...Dave: A couple of points. I don't believe that I badmouthed the editors of TK&C. I will admit that my comment was very pointed but I've always tried to make my criticisms pointed and respectful without badmouthing.<br /><br />I have read the stories on both TK&C and yours. Most of the time I do not comment on a given story because I don't want to come off as either overly G. B. Millerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09783331838434598963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468858293961151587.post-75187186636304337352011-10-17T10:27:39.877-04:002011-10-17T10:27:39.877-04:00G, as I said in your earlier post, you don't h...G, as I said in your earlier post, you don't have to read the stories. (In this case, I don't think you actually have, have you?)<br /><br />Yes, you are entitled to your opinion BUT I don't agree with you on bad mouthing editors of magazines, which you did in your comment on TKnC. <br /><br />Things happen in this shitty world we live in that fuel our ideas as writers. David Barberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05006533626998905560noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468858293961151587.post-12042595273355844152011-10-17T10:08:21.376-04:002011-10-17T10:08:21.376-04:00I've always liked crime fiction and it does of...I've always liked crime fiction and it does often contain some unsavory bits, but nothing squemish me can't handle. My dear friend Karin Slaughter writes very successful crime novels and I asked her once how in the world she thinks up some of that stuff. It's never depravity for shock value though - it always seems like something that advances a plot and is never stranger than truth.Lynnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13984802196897920610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468858293961151587.post-26304442626659789922011-10-17T08:07:55.396-04:002011-10-17T08:07:55.396-04:00Very interesting post G - now I love crime fiction...Very interesting post G - now I love crime fiction -it's my first choice but I have to agree with you there's a lot of violence/detail there that isn't necessary.<br /><br />Anyway just for the record I gave up reading Patricia Cornwell cos I bored reading about maggots and post-mortems. I mean a maggot is a maggot - unless it's a fly of course:)Jane Turleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01441332018679664175noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468858293961151587.post-9034130502641017112011-10-17T06:18:10.223-04:002011-10-17T06:18:10.223-04:00Charles: I can understand that particular point wi...Charles: I can understand that particular point with flash fiction, which is why I'll always have a problem in reading it. There are some that I can wrap my head around in spite of the topic that is used, and there are some that I can't.<br /><br />I will admit that condeming a story simply because of the title might appear to be a knee jerk reaction, but I took in consideration that mostG. B. Millerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09783331838434598963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468858293961151587.post-59598686188363098522011-10-16T22:18:18.304-04:002011-10-16T22:18:18.304-04:00Having lived through the Splatterpunk era, I'v...Having lived through the Splatterpunk era, I've seen a lot more graphic stories than the one in question. Still, tastes differ, of course. Flash fiction in general is often a bit more graphic because it doesn't have time to develop a larger and more complicated plotCharles Gramlichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02052592247572253641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468858293961151587.post-86670142651563492042011-10-16T20:46:37.319-04:002011-10-16T20:46:37.319-04:00I was around in the splatterpunk era and "Snu...I was around in the splatterpunk era and "Snuff film" was fairly tame compared to some of the stuff that came out in those days. Certainly it isn't to everyone's taste, and that's probably why Splatterpunk faded from the scene. It ran the risk of disappearing up it's own ass, I guess. I'm generally with David, that it depends on how the piece works as a story. AlsoCharles Gramlichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02052592247572253641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468858293961151587.post-90249952591269547932011-10-16T20:00:44.673-04:002011-10-16T20:00:44.673-04:00R: It was at the e-zine called Thrillers, Killers ...R: It was at the e-zine called <i>Thrillers, Killers & Chillers</i>. Like I stated earlier, it was the title that got me. Like the issues that you have with certain types of writing, I have a few as well, and for the most part, I don't read those particular stories. As the old saying goes, if I don't like, I don't read, which I have no problem in doing from time to time.<br /><br G. B. Millerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09783331838434598963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468858293961151587.post-89156327618060545742011-10-16T18:56:51.548-04:002011-10-16T18:56:51.548-04:00As society we have become more taboo and just don&...As society we have become more taboo and just don't seem to give a crap what people write or show anymore. It's like we're progressing backwards or something. <br /><br />I have no problem with it when it's in there because it makes sense to the story. But when it's thrown in there for the heck of it, just to try to one up the other guy and get some shock value and a few new Pat Hatthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07745293224202430152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468858293961151587.post-72580123850287483942011-10-16T18:02:10.149-04:002011-10-16T18:02:10.149-04:00Wow. Considering how open-minded you are, I think ...Wow. Considering how open-minded you are, I think it must have been *really bad.* And are you overreacting? No. If something's in poor (or in this case, sounds like awful) taste, you're totally entitled to do what you like. Now I'm curious where you saw it!Riot Kittyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02725825736285347870noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468858293961151587.post-43585736745528073892011-10-16T15:19:19.883-04:002011-10-16T15:19:19.883-04:00Sue: I rarely nuke a comment. I've been modera...Sue: I rarely nuke a comment. I've been moderating comments on my blog since the fall of 2008 and on the weekends, I'm usually on and off my computer. I try to publish comments as soon as I can get access to my blog, so that people don't wait forever and a day for a response. I thank you again for your thoughtful comment on Friday's post.<br /><br />Chris: I stand corrected on G. B. Millerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09783331838434598963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468858293961151587.post-43857180383853265242011-10-16T14:06:23.424-04:002011-10-16T14:06:23.424-04:00I have rejected stories like what you have mention...I have rejected stories like what you have mentioned and I have accepted a couple that made a few readers upset along your lines. The main thing for me is that there has to be a story and the violence has to serve a purpose in the story. I don’t like violence for the sake of violence. <br /><br />I would have to see the story you mentioned but I'm betting you didn't overreact.David Cranmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04749857752139212888noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468858293961151587.post-962261972132938552011-10-16T13:23:38.226-04:002011-10-16T13:23:38.226-04:00G, I am firmly in entrenched in the "if you d...G, I am firmly in entrenched in the "if you don't like it, don't read it camp." However, I am also firmly entrenched in the camp that says you have every right to voice your concerns. Especially from your blog -- that's what I like about blogs in the first place.<br /><br />You said Friday about crime fiction: "it seems like everyone is now trying up the ante by making Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10070278104646895235noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468858293961151587.post-20359366957813765422011-10-16T12:23:47.218-04:002011-10-16T12:23:47.218-04:00....I already told you what I think - but it hasn&.......I already told you what I think - but it hasn't appeared in the comment section of your previous post yet (or maybe it's one of the ones you nuked?)SueHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11394307650434614637noreply@blogger.com