43 Responses to “Guest Author: HelenKay Dimon”

1. Samantha Posted: May 30th, 2007 at 8:08 am

   1 That’s an interesting question and really, I don’t know if I can adequately articulate what makes a book fabulous. At least not in concrete terms. I guess it just has to have that indefinable something similar to the “wow factor” you mentioned before. I guess for me a book is fabulous not only when it hits all the right notes but also when I’m excited to be reading it. A book can be well-written and well-crafted which is all well and good, but that doesn’t always mean it will conjure excitement in the reader. Maybe conjure is an apt word - it is like magic when it’s right, when it’s fabulous. I get the tinglies.

2. Charlene Teglia Posted: May 30th, 2007 at 8:09 am

   2 Interesting topic, HelenKay. As a reader I don’t expect fabulous every time. Although I strive to deliver it as a writer, every time. I’m blown away whenever I find a “wow” book and I will buy everything that author has ever written, though. I think “Wow” factor has less to do with craft and more to do with art, with imagination, with something fully realized that creates emotional involvement. A book and characters you can become invested in. Something that is not real, but so true emotionally that you instantly recognize it and it resonates.

3. Patty L. Posted: May 30th, 2007 at 8:21 am

   3 HelenKay this is a great blog and I don’t have an answer. I have read a couple of authors that I had to run out and get their back list and they are: Susan Elizabeth Philips, Lori Foster and Nora Roberts. I have to tell you that SEP and Lori have never dissappointed me, but the last book that I bought by Nora did. The book was wonderfully written and had every element that you could want in a story, but it did not grab me and I think that the book has to grab you to be a keeper.

4. fiveandfour Posted: May 30th, 2007 at 8:22 am

   4 This is a fantastic topic, in part because it’s such a mystery. I think the wow factor is untouchable and indefinable in that way that personal charisma and life force and personality are untouchable and indefinable: you know when you encounter them even while you can’t explain how you know you’ve encountered them. My favorite band likes to say that when they started out they looked around and saw other bands, bands they loved and which made great music, but these bands had everything going for them except it. Meanwhile, they had nothing going for them but it. Guess who’s still around? Many times, it can help you get away with things that someone without it can’t. It’s not fair, to be sure, but it’s reality. I think it works in some sort of similar way with certain books and writers (or any other kind of artist). Despite the fact that writers are working with fictional worlds, those fictional worlds are a part of the person that created them. And just like you can’t explain what draws you to one person vs. another when on the surface they look about equal, I think it extends to the products they create where again, two products look similar yet some mysterious factor elevates one over the other. As respects do I want fabulous every time? Yes, of course I do. Every time I pick up a book, I want to be wowed. I want to sink so far into the story that the world around me disappears and getting me back to reality is like pulling me back from the tunnel when I’m going towards the white light. But even though that’s what I want, I know it’s not realistic to expect it’s going to happen most of the time. In fact, it’s not realistic to expect it, I think, more than a very small % of the time. I mean, there’s a reason we still talk about and appreciate Michelangelo and Shakespeare - they elevated their arts to a level that helps us get closer to the Divine - but how often do we really expect, when we look at a piece of sculpture or attend a play for the first time, to come across Michelangelo or Shakespeare? Even though we know what we’re about to encounter most of the time will be nowhere near an experience that helps us get closer to the Divine, we still find a lot there to like (or even love) anyway. So for myself, though I am looking for fabulous every time, I’m also willing to be perfectly satisfied by pretty damned good. Oh, one last thing (sorry I’ve kinda’ taken over here - this comment is longer than your entry): I also think an artist’s popularity can have absolutely nothing to do with their it factor. I’m sure there are plenty of artists you can think of who were virtually unknown in their lifetimes, but who have nevertheless stood the test of time. So sometimes it’s also possible for an artist to be successful just by virtue of the fact that s/he is (and I’m sorry for how this sounds, I don’t mean it to be as insulting as it’s going to come out) average enough. Meaning, they’ve found some way to tap into what the so-called average person can relate to and the average person eats it up with a spoon then enthusiastically licks out the bowl, too. Just like those artists who have stood the test of time despite being unpopular thanks to their it-ness, I’m sure you can also think of artists who have been very popular despite lacking any semblance of a wow factor. It also seems not fair (most especially when I’m suffering through something a lot of people love but which I find as bland as unseasoned turkey), but that’s also reality.

5. bam Posted: May 30th, 2007 at 8:26 am

   5 Here are my must-grab authors: PC Cast, SEP, JAK, LKH (I know, I’m sick. I need help), Charlaine Harris, Linda Howard, JR Ward, and Nora Roberts. I don’t know what it is, either, but even though the story is ultimately flawed or just plain terrible (case in point: LKH), you can’t put it down. There seems to be an undefinable “oomph” that makes it special. *shrug* And it’s different for everyone. LKH is crack to me, but a friend couldn’t even get through the 1st chapter of Guilty Pleasures.

6. May Posted: May 30th, 2007 at 8:34 am

   6 *beams* Another HelenKay book! I do demand fabulous, or at least strokes of fabulous, and it has to still be fabulous on the second read to become a keeper for me.

7. Meredith Posted: May 30th, 2007 at 8:36 am

   7 I’ve often referred to romance novels as an addiction. Because you read a lot of “okay” searching for that “wow” that you got from the first novel that really hooked you. I’m a “wow” junkie, and I’m always trying to find that feeling in romance novels. I don’t often succeed. For me, the things that separate the good from the amazing are pretty simple. Do I get a tight feeling in my chest when I read the book? Does my heart beat fast? Do I cry? And the true test–did I dream about it? The best romance novels always seem to make their way into my dreams. How that translates into the actual writing process, I’m not sure. But it seems like the books that stay with me share a lot of the same characteristics. The characters jump off the page and are so well-realized that the things they do make total sense, even if you don’t agree with them. They have speech that is uniquely theirs. The stories (and the characters) defy cliches, or they turn them on their head. The ideas are truly original, and the plot doesn’t slow the romance down. The stakes are high. No whining is allowed. You’re right–if the book is a wow book, I forgive a lot of things. JR Ward is a fantastic example–I think her books work because 1. the idea is so differerent and 2. her male characters come to life on the page. And by the way, the early Jayne Ann Krentz stuff is still as addictive to new readers as it was to “us” when we read it waay back when. She’s my favorite author too, and I love introducing her to new readers.

8. Susan Posted: May 30th, 2007 at 8:58 am

   8 You like to ask hard to answer questions, don’t you! I don’t really have a good answer. What is “wow” to one reader is “blah” to another. I’m just glad you authors keep writing the books you do!

9. AnimeJune Posted: May 30th, 2007 at 9:06 am

   9 I’m kinda new to the romance genre, reader-wise (I’m a Smart Bitches convert), but to me, fabulous means something that gets me emotionally involved. I mean the dialogue zips along my funny bone, the characters are people I understand, and the steamy scenes are, well, conductive to my imagination, shall we say. I have no idea about whether new authors can still be fabulous - because I’m still exploring the genre and reading all kinds of authors. I can say with certainty that Jennifer Crusie’s Bet Me is fabulous. Not only was did it involve me intellectually and emotionally, but I still carry the greatest scenes and lines from it around in my head wherever I go. Seriously, I haven’t looked at a chocolate-glazed donut the same since I read the book (if you’ve read it you know what I mean). I also enjoyed Lisa Kleypas’ Scandal In Spring, but I’m still not sure if I enjoyed it because it was fabulous, or because it was a refreshing palate cleanser after a novel that was dead boring. I’m trying Elizabeth Hoyt and Jane Feather next, so I am expanding my Romance Education. I think the truly fabulous books influence the way you think and act after you’ve read them. An author will notice something or pick something out and afterwards you will, too. You feel so powered-up after the heroine and hero get together that you feel fabulous for days. I dunno - I’m still a romantic neophyte, but I catching on.

10. HelenKay Posted: May 30th, 2007 at 9:12 am

    10 See, we all feel it. We know the “wow” when we are lucky enough to stumble across it or the “magic” as Samantha describes it. Even though I want every single book I read to wow me, I don’t expect it. I like May’s “strokes of fabulous” idea. I’m pretty happy with a book being damn good and enjoyable, even if it lacks the “it” factor. But then when I hit that one that is a “wow” it’s almost like falling in love, like Meredith describes. In fact, many of you are describing the same sort of thing. Five and Four’s comment is where this is most apparent. It’s almost like, why are we attracted to some people and not to others thing. Charlene referenced the emotional attachment. I’m thinking the “it” does have to do with how bound up and invested I become in these people and their lives. Patty mentioned SEP. See, I loved her book where the hero is Russian royalty and works in a circus. I totally connected with those folks. Also connected with the characters in Linda Howard’s MacKenzie Mountain (I think that’s it - the first one in the series is that one I mean). But, I didn’t get the same feel from every other Howard and SEP book. Some yes. Others no. That makes me think that whatever “it” is can’t just be a matter of good writing and masterful storytelling. Can’t just be the author. It has to be, at least in part, something in me as the reader. Something I bring to the reading experience in addition to what the author puts out…does that make any sense? And, I still haven’t read anything by P.C. Cast. Bam mentions her. I saw the blog here about here. I feel as if I’m missing out. That doesn’t relate to the topic, but I thought I’d point out that it’s time for me to fix that oversight.

11. kim h Posted: May 30th, 2007 at 9:16 am

    11 l love leslie kelly, vicki thomspon and alison kent

12. anne Posted: May 30th, 2007 at 9:30 am

    12 A book that grabs me from the onset and never lets go. This means great story, wonderful writing, realistic characters, ideal settings and a story that never quits. Taylor Holden, Monica Wood, Emilie richards, and Deborah Crombie

13. HelenKay Posted: May 30th, 2007 at 9:57 am

    13 Yes, Susan. I like to torture you with impossible-to-answer questions Anime June - Welcome to romance! I was a late convert too. Actually, I was one of ‘those” people who would never read romance. I’m very happy I changed my mind and added romance to my reading list.

14. Maureen Posted: May 30th, 2007 at 10:09 am

    14 I know what you mean because sometimes I feel the same way. I will read some so-so books or books that are annoying me and think that there is nothing out there to love anymore. But then I will find an author who drags me into the story and I will spend all my free time reading that book and looking forward to his/her next book.

15. Marta Acosta Posted: May 30th, 2007 at 10:37 am

    15 Hi, Helen Kay, good to see you guest blogging here! Your legal mind comes out when you’re asking questions, doesn’t it? Of course, I want every book I pick up to be fabulous, but I disagree that there are no fabulous books now. They may be a little difficult to find, but I’m reading one now (Dianne Setterfield’s The Thirteenth Tale). It’s those books that keep us picking up others and hoping for the best. I’d say a book with the “wow” factor is one that steadily builds emotional involvement. There are books that start out with a bang and go nowhere, or the characters become annoying upon further acquaintance. There are other books that I disliked, but plowed onward and found myself totally captivated. I love that: I love when I completely lose myself in a novel, when I want to read to the exclusion of all else, when the world in the novel, is the most important thing; when I begin to panic at the approach of the end. (Setterfield brilliantly describes this passion for reading in her novel.) MIDNIGHT BRUNCH — Come for a drink. Stay for a bite!

16. bam Posted: May 30th, 2007 at 10:40 am

    16 Author Comment I would like to add Robin McKinley to my WOW list. ’cause she’s… magical *twinkly sparkly eyes*

17. SweetNSourGirl Posted: May 30th, 2007 at 10:43 am

    17 This isn’t the definitive explaination of the “WOW!” factor, but it’s at least a theory. The “WOW!” factor in a book when something happens that makes the reader’s eyes go wide, heart race and say “HOLY CRAP THAT WAS AWESOME!” (Or maybe that’s just me) That being said, everyone has a different “WOW!” trigger. How does the author press that trigger? Well, the story must transcend itself. It must become more than the sum of its parts (characters, setting, plot, etc.) and make the reader absoultely hooked. Though sometimes a reader is hooked but author never achieves “WOW!” The “WOW!” moment usually comes when something extra-insane happens and it can be: amazing, sick and disturbing or even beautiful (sometimes it’s all 3.) For me the “WOW!” moment comes along when the story is customized (”No one but the author could have written this!”) and it comes to life.

18. May Posted: May 30th, 2007 at 10:47 am

    18 I think the “wow” factor has a lot to do with voice. Before JR Ward’s voice started to get on my nerves (all that extra ‘h’s too), I felt the same way as most of you. I could see where she failed in craft, but I could ignore it. With my absolute, most favorite author in the whole wide world, PBW in her many pseudonyms, I don’t even notice the weak spots. So it’s so much easier for me to find something in the book that makes me go “wow.”

19. Lorelie Posted: May 30th, 2007 at 11:15 am

    19 Funny you should mention this topic. I just spent the past week re-reading a quite a few books from my keeper shelves. But even though most of these had been on the top two shelves of my book case for many years and I’ve re-read them all before, there were two I simply could not read again. So I’m pretty sure it has at least something to do with my own mindframe. Which is so not helpful, eh?

20. Selah March Posted: May 30th, 2007 at 11:19 am

    20 For me, WOW is all about characterization. If an author can make me believe her characters are real, living, breathing people who somehow exist outside the pages of her book (which takes more than simple suspension of disbelief) then I’ll follow her anywhere. Make them sound real — make them speak the way real men and women speak. Differentiate them. God, there’s nothing I hate more than not being able to tell the difference between the hero and heroine without tags and action beats surrounding the dialogue. Make them think the way men and women think — sell me on their internal motivation, and I’ll believe your heroine would drop her six-figure job to join the circus. I’ll believe your Navy SEAL hero melts into a puddle of goo at the sight of a kitten up a tree. Make them act like real men and women act — behavior informed by all that realistic motivation I just mentioned. Real people do some crazy shit. I’ll buy it if I believe. Give me flaws. I avoid perfect people in real life. They give me hives. I can’t relate. I want difficult, contrary, struggling human beings (and the occasional vamp or werewolf) on the page. My current WOW short-list: Jenny Crusie, Lynn Viehl, Jacqueline Carey, Alison Kent.

21. Sue A. Posted: May 30th, 2007 at 11:46 am

    21 I’m not looking for wow so much as an emotional connection with the characters and through them with the author. An author that can put me through an emotional wringer will be guaranteed that I’ll be giving their books another look.

22. shuzluva Posted: May 30th, 2007 at 12:17 pm

    22 HelenKay, this is an incredibly interesting topic, and one that I’ve actually discussed with a few people (okay, with Bam) at length. There are books that we strongly agree have the “wow” factor. Then there are those books that I can read over and over and over again, while Bam is trying to make sure they fit into the recycling bin and vice versa. As a result, and because reading is a thoroughly subjective activity, here goes: *Gathering thoughts* I have found that the “wow” factor for me can happen for a number of reasons rather than one specific reason. I think of it as a confluence of the right elements that strikes me in the head, heart and gut at the same time. I need the cerebral, the emotional and the viscereal to make it all work and get that “holy shit this is an amazing fucking story and I must read it over and over again to discover why I’m so drawn to it”. Of course, I haven’t figured out what “it” is after all of the repeated readings, which is probably why the “wow” is so magical, and when it does happen, it makes me want to see it again and again, which is possibly why my TBR is gigantic. I’ve also realized that sometimes this “perfect recipe” will work in different ways: I find it with one author in a specific genre, but not another. I’ve even had times where I’ve cursed the author for not bringing me that recipe after he or she has delivered before. I don’t keep a lot of books…I just can’t. But what I will tell you is that my keeper shelves are an interesting mish-mash of romance, straight fiction, science fiction, YA, chick lit (yes, believe it or not), historical fiction and historic novels (i.e., Mao: The Unknown Story and the like). I do have romance auto-buys: Morgan Hawke, Nalini Singh, J. R. Ward, Nora Roberts, Angela Knight, Kresley Cole, Emma Holly, Joey W. Hill…I know that there are more. Which is why I simply can’t keep everything I buy! Have these authors consistently delivered the “wow” with every book? Honestly, no - and I think that’s quite a tall order. Are there one-time authors that I’m not including here that had a “wow” and just never had it again? Sure. Will I forever be in pursuit of experiencing that “wow” over and over again? Yep. There’s no question of that!

23. Ann(ie) Posted: May 30th, 2007 at 12:36 pm

    23 For me, familiarity affects the “wow” factor. The first SEP book I read (which was the Russian royalty / heiress joining the circus one) knocked my socks off. Same with JAK. I then devoured their backlist. By book six or so, I figured out they had a formula going on, JAK especially, and it carries over into her Amanda Quick books). I’ve not read her Jayne Castle stuff, so I don’t know. What I found fresh, unique, amazing, charming, and wonderful on encountering it for the first time becomes something less than fresh on the tenth go-round. These authors then become “comfort” reads for me, not “wow” reads. I go to them when I’m in the mood for a certain thing, and I know they’ll deliver it. That said, I must admit to being an exacting bitch of a reader. The margin of writing / execution / ideas that make me go, “WOW” is akin to the space between Scylla and Charybdis. The authors that consistently wow me are: Patricia Briggs, Robin McKinley, Patricia McKillip, Connie Willis, Penelope Williamson, Susan Wiggs, Pamela Morsi, and Patricia Gaffney. Hm, I really love me some Patricias, don’t I? It should be noted that I stopped reading Penelope, Susan, Pamela, and Patricia when they decided to turn their hand to “women’s fiction.” Their books might be glorious, but I am profoundly not interested in the bonds of sisterhood, mothers and daughters, or anything involving life lessons. I refuse to be enriched, dammit. PS - Janet Evanovich is my crack, Dee. She doesn’t “wow” me, but I gotta buy her books, I don’t care how same-y they are.

24. Kimberly Posted: May 30th, 2007 at 1:44 pm

    24 Gosh, this question is so tough, and so intriguing at the same time. Actually, I think it’s easiest for me to tell whether an author has that illusive “wow” factor when they do make a misstep, like introducing a character I don’t especially care for, venturing too far into Mary Sue territory, including unnecessary scenes of graphic violence etc. When an author does that, and I still keep reading, the “wow” is clearly there. My personal taste in reading (and, for that matter, in writing when I get a chance to do it!) is very character-oriented, and I think authorial voice plays into that as well. You could write a novel about doing laundry, and if the protagonist is interesting, with a lively perspective, I’d probably enjoy it.

25. RobynL Posted: May 30th, 2007 at 2:13 pm

    25 Wow to me is ‘oh, I love this book’, ‘I must read the rest of her books especailly if there is a series’, ‘I totally enjoyed the author’s voice/sense of style/topic’. That is my best answer.

26. Jambrea Posted: May 30th, 2007 at 3:33 pm

    26 I don’t expect fabulous, but I hope for it! : ) I love when I find an author and want to read everything they have ever written. There are a couple I can think of right now. JD Robb, Sherrilyn Kenyon, and a couple of new authors that I just found through yahoo groups, MaryJanice Davidson, JR Ward and Kelley Armstrong. I’m sure those aren’t the last fabulous authors that I will find. I have a few in my TBR pile that I have hope for! : )

27. Pat L. Posted: May 30th, 2007 at 3:45 pm

    27 Hi, I love a book that makes me laugh - SEP, Erin McCarthy or Rachel Gibson fit that bill. Or is a gut wrencher - Sarah’s Child by Linda Howard or Kathleen Korbel’s A Rose for Maggie. A good story with a surprise ending, or book with good strong, loving hero, believable characters. Funny, snappy dialogue really get me too. I dont feel cheated if a book isn’t fabulous. They all cant be fabulous. I recently re-read SEP’s Nobody’s Baby but Mine and had forgotten how funny it was. The first real romance book I read was by Sandra Brown and then I had to hunt down all her older books. Was so sad when I read the last one. Then I had to find other authors. Debbie Macomber when next on my list and now I have loads of favs/autobuys. Most books I dont remember and that is not the fault of the book; I read so many and only a handful I can remember and the ones I mentioned here are among my favorities; also remember Stef Ann Holm’s Pink Moon - great relationship between the 2 boys, V. L. Thompson’s dialogue with little Dex in The Nerd who Loved Me and Jill Marie Landis’ Heartbreak Hotel are also memorable reads. Certain things in my mind stand out and am sure it is same for other readers. And yes, HelenKay, I have read both of your wonderful books, so keeping my fingers crossed for that gift certificate. LOL.

28. Sherry Thomas Posted: May 30th, 2007 at 4:11 pm

    28 The “Wow” for me arises from a combination of sex and language. I read JR Ward for the sex (by which I include not just intercourse, but everything arising from, driven by, leading to, and resulting from that combustible mix of lust and longing and pain and happiness). Lover Awakened is a prime example of that. I skipped every scene that didn’t have Bella and/or Z in it, and it was still a satisfying read. And when an author can do the sex (lust, longing, and pain, and happiness) and do it with the prose of angels, she has me forever. Judith Ivory, Laura Kinsale, are you reading this? Publish something new.

29. Josie Posted: May 30th, 2007 at 4:14 pm

    29 Great post HelenKay! My “wow” factor is given to a book that I can believe in. If an author can create a world and characters that feel real, then they’ve got me and my hard earned cash! In saying that though, I can give up on an auto buy - I was a huge fan of Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dark Hunters but after the last three offerings I don’t know if I’ll buy her again… I can’t put my finger on the reason though - maybe it’s not her writing that changed, it’s my tastes that have changed? My current “wow” (and therefore auto-buy) authors are PC Cast (most recent addition), Meljean Brook, JR Ward (desphite exchess h’s), Nalini Singh, Nora/JD Robb (long standing inclusion!) and Loretta Chase.

30. k Posted: May 30th, 2007 at 6:00 pm

    30 As a v. recent convert to romance, my “wow” writers are all murder mystery writers, my favorite genre. (PD James, Anne Perry, Elizabeth George, Carol O’Connor, Laurie King and Dennis Lehane, if you were wondering. Though I don’t know if I should include Elizabeth George, since I refuse to pick up her two most recent ones.) In romance, I think it would be Jennifer Crusie - she’s the only one where I pre-order her books. Which I guess is my standard - do I have to own everything and how important do I make a new book? And how often do I re-read the ones I have, as well. You know, I think my standard is that old stand-by - I can’t put the book down. I’m so sucked in by the writing and the characters and the world created, that I will literally not put down the book and keep reading even while I’m doing things like unpacking my bag from work or making myself dinner. I *have* to know what happens next. Notably, all my favorite murder mysteries are parts of series - I care about the characters from book to book and have to how they’re doing. So I don’t have a gold standard of one thing or the other, it’s how much I get lost in the writing. Not, uh, very helpful, I guess.

31. Dani Posted: May 30th, 2007 at 7:59 pm

    31 I definately don’t require a mind blowingly wonderful book to enjoy it or to even keep it on my shelf. I think all that I really need is something newish, few eye rolling moments, and to either have teared up or laughted in the course of the romance.

32. Tania Posted: May 30th, 2007 at 8:53 pm

    32 This is something I’ve thought about and even discussed with friends, and damned if we can come up with a reason for it. I’ve had no interest in well-written books, but loved others that are full of plotholes. I think that for me, part of it is the imagery. Like, the difference between something that describes a thing, and something that makes you go “oh, yeah, I totally get that!” A well-written book can describe something, but a WOW book can make me see it. This would be more of a revelation if I could figure out why some imagery works for me and some doesn’t.

33. Catherine Posted: May 30th, 2007 at 9:08 pm

    33 Personally, I always look for the “wow” factor, but seldom find it. I can be amazingly picky in the books that I read. I enjoy a lot of the books I read and end up keeping most of them (I’m a hoarder), but not many of them wow me. I think it all has to do with the reader’s mindframe at the time. I can read a book one day and enjoy it completely, but if I reread it a couple months/years later it doesn’t always move me. I have to connect with something in the characters or situation for me to be wowed. If the author can pull me into the story enough that I care about the characters and find myself getting pissed off about how they’re being treated, then usually they’ve wowed me. I think it all boils down to connection. If I can connect with someone in the story I can usually move past the cliches and plot contrivances that annoy the crap out of me in other books. I guess the “wow” factor is different for everyone.

34. danette Posted: May 31st, 2007 at 12:44 am

    34 I don’t know either, I began reading a lot of paranormals when I first started reading novels again a few years ago,I love the whole fantasy aspect of paranormals,the authors can go anyhere with that genre,but now I read all kinds of genres and even a cover that catches my eye gets me to read some books. I’m just glad more and more great books keep coming out and I’m always up for trying new books.*g*

35. Tumperkin Posted: May 31st, 2007 at 2:42 am

    35 The WOW factor is not something some writers have and others don’t. I don’t have a single favourite writers who I can say that EVERY book they have written has the WOW factor. For a truly great book, the stars have to be aligned somehow; a little bit of pixie dust sprinkled on it (got to get me some of that pixie dust). For me a lot of it is summed up in that phrase “a page-turner”. Some books are absolutely fine but I just keep getting STUCK. The pages won’t turn. I’m going back and re-reading paragraphs and they’re just not registering. And I have no curiosity about what’s coming next. Or worse, I am curious, but it’s enough to just skim through to the end.

36. Bonnie Dee Posted: May 31st, 2007 at 8:02 am

    36 I’m pulled in by the premise, something quirky, something with a damaged hero, and preferably socially unequal lovers, but if the writing doesn’t support the intriguing premise, I’m outta there. To get sucked in and held by a book from beginning to end is not as easy for me as it used to be. It has to be bone-shakingly special to keep my attention, otherwise I’ll abandon reading and turn to my real addiction, TV. Watch “Carnivale” for the hundredth time and get swept away into another world the easy way–visually, with music, props and costumes.

37. daftaz Posted: May 31st, 2007 at 9:11 am

    37 “Wow” is when you forget yourself and become what you’re reading, and what happens matters.

38. HelenKay Posted: May 31st, 2007 at 9:27 am

    38 The “getting sucked in” thing is exactly it, I think. The question is: why do some do that and others don’t? As an author, I’d love to be able to figure out that secret. And, as a reader, I’d love to be able to pick those books blessed with that secret. This is off topic, but… It’s always interesting for me to see people list out favorite authors. Despite all the reading I do, all the lurking on websites and reading RT, etc., there are always a bunch of authors named who I’ve never heard of before. That never ceases to amaze me.

39. Teresa W. Posted: May 31st, 2007 at 12:09 pm

    39 There are quite a few authors who I have found have the wow factor. Christine Feehan and Sherrilyn Kenyon are a couple that come to mind. I don’t know if its because they have books that are connected series and I always want to know what will happen next. A couple of other others I found are Colleen Gleason and Jacquelyn Frank. They also have a connected series that are both awesome and looking forward to both of their new releases coming out in June. I guess I have to read a book thats keeps my attention going and that have different and unusual characters. Great question by the way!

40. Collette Posted: May 31st, 2007 at 12:24 pm

    40 I’d like to expand this a little bit to include whether or not fabulousness is happening in books now at all. I think that it is but my truly memorable books, those that I can recall title and author without seeing the book, are relatively few as averaged over my lifetime. (And I’m 43 and I have read a LOT of books. Maybe that’s part of it.) Does this mean I don’t enjoy them? No, not at all. I’m not sure I’m even looking for fabulousness. I am looking for something that truly engages me for that moment in time, that gives me what I need to escape at that moment–maybe that’s the wow factor for me. But what defines the wow factor? It’s obvious from the comments that it’s entirely subjective, each person having different, often quite diverse, answers. I’d add that the other factor affecting it is where you are in your life while you’re reading a story. (In fact, if anyone wants to hear about my B.A. paper *cough* years ago….I digress.) Books, ideas, etc., affect us differently at different stages of our lives. A book I read and loved as a child may still wow me as an adult but it will probably be on an entirely different level. As an example, when the Joy Luck Club came out, my best friend and I both read it. We generally liked the same books, we had the same background, same values, were the same ages and were at similar stages in our lives–with one difference. She had a just had a baby. There’s a particular scene in the book that was especially devastating to her because of the circumstances. I was affected by the scene but not to the extent she was. We were both wowed by the book but for entirely different reasons. She’ll never forget that one scene while I will recall the relationship between a particular mother/daughter pair. Simply because of who we are and who we were when we read it. I guess my answer is that there is no universal wow factor. It’s my wow factor and your wow factor and her wow factor and his wow factor.

41. Elly Posted: May 31st, 2007 at 4:20 pm

    41 I think the wow factor could be anything - it’s the “je ne sais quoi” if you will, but it’s something about the book that makes it stand out to you. For me, it can be something magic about an author — either just the way she writes (like Susan Napier for me) or it can be a new and different plot or characterisation (like with Theresa Weir who used to write romances about people with real mental health issues and traumas, not just “momma left daddy when I was little so I don’t trust women no matter how hot you are” and makes them come off as heroic real people living everyday lives) — or sometimes it’s just circumstantial and random like loving “Truly, Madly Yours” by Rachel Gibson FAR more than anything else by her despite less than ideal plot contrivances (weird ass wills, etc).

42. Annie K. Posted: Jun 1st, 2007 at 9:10 am

    42 I wish I knew the answer to that. Perhaps it is a matter of taste. There must be something each of us finds which makes us get that feeling of not wanting the book to end, then racing to see when the authors next book is coming out and what kind of a backlist she/he has. How to say this nicely, why would Danielle Steele’s books still make the N.Y. times bestseller list again and again? Because people either started reading her back in the day and they have failed to move on. Believe me, I know a lot of people like that. They love them some D.S. and that is it. Perhaps her books are prominently displayed everywhere and always available. Someone’s reading them. What works for me definitely doesn’t work for everyone else, or all the authors I love would be on the best seller list. I like to believe it is because a lot of people tend to stick to what they know and love, historical, fantasy, paranormal, what have you. I tend to skip from genre to genre. I have auto-buy authors but I also have auto do not buy authors. Now there’s a topic. Do I dare list them? Nah.

43. Landon Walters Posted: Jun 14th, 2007 at 1:27 am

    43 This one makes sence “One’s first step in wisdom is to kuesstion everything - and one’s last is to come to terms with everything.”