Breaking Dawn Trailer

Just saw the new trailer for the final Twilight movie, Breaking Dawn, Pt. 1, and I have to admit that I loved it; the movie looks like it's going to be a lot of fun. It seems to be pretty true to the book, which is a long one, therefore the two parts to the movie.

Now I'm well aware that Twilight, both the books and the movies, are controversial and won't appeal  to everyone---does anything? But there's something about the underlying theme that grabs me. I guess you'd categorize me as a hopeless romantic. My hubby, however, HATES that the saga makes heroes of the vampires, which are some of his all-time favorite villains. I can sympathize with that. If someone were to come along and turn my favorite hero into a bad guy, I'd probably be P.O.ed. It's sort of like Star Trek making good guys out of some of the Borg!

But in the Twilight Saga, not all vampires are good guys, and not all werewolves are bad guys. And I find the heroine authentic, vulnerable, and touchingly human. I can identify with her, her feelings of being an outcast, awkward, clumsy, and somehow out of her element. I can understand why Bella would want to become a vampire like her beloved Edward and his family, who now totally accept her.

But I realize that there are several issues that some readers/viewers despise, such as vampires who can walk around in broad daylight ( as long as the sun isn't out! ), who sparkle in the sunlight ( okay, even I have to admit that's a little on the hokey side! ), and who are "vegetarians" and therefore only drink animal blood---BIG YUCK there!

To sum up, do I consider the Twilight books in the same category as J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter? No, I don't, but I can still appreciate Stephenie Myer's books for what they are. And I certainly don't expect everyone to agree with my humble opinions. To each his own, eh?

Twihards rule!

MRTighe

Tasteful vs. Graphic

Seems to me there's a great deal of graphic sex in many novels being published today, much more so than in the "olden" days! While I don't mind so much if it's an integral part of the plot, I don't approve if it's only thrown in quite obviously to "spice up" the book. For me, that's a no-no.

In my books my characters' love-lives are, for the most part, strictly private. I respect them enough to grant them their privacy in certain areas. We've all read books where, in an attempt to achieve "realism", every gritty detail of life is included---not pleasant to read and almost always completely unnecessary to the story being told.

Stephenie Myer's "Twilight" saga is one example of a well-handled, tasteful occult romance. The two main characters, a teenage girl and a hundred-year-old vegetarian vampire, fall in love, wait until marriage, then conceive an unusual child as an integral part of the plot. Every scene is tactfully depicted; in this situation we don't need all the graphic details. In my opinion that would add absolutely nothing to the story.

As you will soon be reading ( I hope! ) True Son of Tartarus has some tasteful love scenes. And there are a few other type of scenes that are not so pleasant, examples of evil run amuck. In this case, the brutality can't be avoided, since True Son is largely about the battle between good and evil. Nothing is included to sensationalize or "spice things up". Did a lot of soul-searching about this and won't know how well I succeeded until I get readers' feedback.

All for now,

MRTighe