Author:
Wes
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Date Posted: 01:28:27 03/15/12 Thu
>>To me Bullring seems to be a pale remake of River
>>Rat. Just rename Canyon Tours to Midwest Midget
>>Sportsman Association and use the two recurring themes
>>of how can the boss find eneough swampers, er drivers,
>>for the current season and what should one do in
>>off-season. It's still written in Wes' nice style but
>>somewhat boring.
>
>I can to some degree see your point that they are
>supericially similar, or at least share a couple of
>issues. Having read (and loved) it I would argue it is
>far superior to River rat (the book of Wes's I least
>enjoyed). I also argue that the two issues you have
>brought up are minor issues inside a far larger whole.
>
>Everyone differs of course.
To tell the truth, I hadn't even noticed the commonality between Canyon Tours and the MMSA. I try to do things a little differently in each book, but there are bound to be some superficial similarities slip in from time to time. I try to vary backgrounds and topics as much as I can, if for no more reason than to keep writing around different things and telling different stories in different ways, and to keep up my own interest as well. I understand that not all my readers see things the same way.
Some years ago, a guy I worked for was addicted to an action-adventure series by a guy whose name I no longer remember, but I do know the list went over fifty books. I read a few of them; it took very little time as they were rather short. In each of them the plot was exactly the same. I mean, on page 11 the guy met the girl, on page 32 he had a preliminary confrontation with the bad guys; on page 87 the girl was tortured and murdered by the bad guys, and on page 112 there was the beginning of the retribution where a lot of blood was spread around. By page 127 the good guy was on the lam getting set up for the next round. I can't believe the writer took more than a couple weeks to write each one, and got terminal carpial tunnel from pounding the keys. The writing was, to be charitable, lousy. I mean, pulp from the word go.
Sorry folks, I don't do that; hell, I couldn't do that. Each one of my books is different or I couldn't keep up the interest to keep writing. Yes, the odd theme is going to recur from time to time -- boys do keep meeting girls, after all, but each story is different, and I try to do things differently each time I sit down at the keyboard, with different characters, different situations, and in the case of the early part of the Bullring series, different eras. Though I hate to say it, the fifties were a long time ago, a distant country where they did things differently than they do now.
In the next book to be posted we will be going back to familiar characters, but facing new challenges. Times change, and people change.
I can't please everyone, but at least try to please myself in my writing. Your mileage may, of course, vary.
-- Wes
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