Why you should never screw over a romance heroine
by Kat Latham
Ever had a husband or lover who screwed you over so badly you invented new forms of revenge?
Did you follow through on them?
I’ve been reading all the RITA-nominated contemporary single title romance novels (seriously, there has to be a shorter way of saying that), and two of them feature heroines who get revenge in very contemporary ways.
In Susan Donovan’s NOT THAT KIND OF GIRL, Roxie Bloom overhears her boyfriend denigrating her bedroom abilities to his friends – men she has to work with. His insults are so despicable she ends up creating a man-hating blog and describing what a troll he is. Of course, she’s got an instant audience of women who have been equally hurt by the men who’d claimed to love them.
Molly Harper’s AND ONE LAST THING features a heroine who’s sacrificed her career to support her husband’s business. Lacey even writes the monthly email newsletter to his clients, friends and family. So when she finds out he’s banging his secretary, she goes a little mental and sends out one last newsletter. Unfortunately, her audience isn’t as receptive as Roxie’s, and she has to find somewhere to hide.
Using technology in a novel can be a dangerous thing to do. Readers picking up these books fifteen years from now may be thrown out of the story because of it. Imagine picking up an old Danielle Steele novel now and getting to a seduction scene where the hero slides in an 8-track.
But the very current forms of revenge will resonate with women who’ve found out their lover lied to them and wish they had the guts to humiliate him back. And though the heroines of these two novels do have the guts and end up meeting their heroes as a result, they both suffer for their decisions. One finds her anger spirals out of control until it even turns her dog nuts, and the other is ostracized and made fun of on national television.
Revenge may not be a dish best served electronically.
As appealing as the motto “Don’t get mad, get online” is, I could never do get revenge online the way these two heroines do. Do you think you could?
What do you think of technology being used in a novel? Ever seen it backfire? Comment and enter to win the Single Title Contemporary Romance RITA nominee NOT THAT KIND OF GIRL!
Kat Latham has been reading romance for a couple of decades. With degrees in English lit and human rights, she loves stories that reflect the depth, humor and emotion of real life. When she’s not writing contemporary romance novels, she can usually be found blogging or tweeting overly personal information. She loves meeting other readers and writers online, so follow her on Twitter or check out her blog and say hello!
I’m not sure I could do the online revenge thing, either. Whatever you write online is always out there – you never know who might read it. That could be a good thing – or a bad one. Why take the chance?
Technology is incorporated into novels in order to represent the period that is prevalent in the book. It has to be accurate. Many readers cannot relate with anything more than 6 months ago which is a shame.
I cringe at the thought that people use the internet for revenge purposes – I know they do it, but once it is done, its nearly impossible to get it removed – ever. My personal opinion on technology is that it changes too quickly (you buy a cellphone and two weeks later it is obsolete as they have a newer and better version) so to keep a contemporary type novel ‘fresh’ and ‘new’ that technology has to be used sparingly if you want the book to have a shelf life.
I could not do the online revenge scenario. It could have some major consequences. I don’t mind technology being used in a book but since technology chances so quickly it could make the story out of date for readers who pick up the book later.
I don’t mind that in fiction, just beware of doing it in real life. Things like that can come back and haunt you.
I think it makes the story current. I really enjoy it.
The fear is that it can harm the person taking revenge as much as the other. If any new person you might want to date hears that you’ve done something like this, they will fear that will be them sometime in the future. They don’t know all the details, only what you did. Sometimes the details make it worse. I would not advise that, but it makes for awesome fiction writing. Just like I wouldn’t kill, but it makes for amazing murder mysteries. Revenge is a great place to begin an action adventure, murder mystery, romance, and probably countless more.
I would never do this but it would probably make a very funny story to read!
No – as they say – never put anything in writing!!! I love reading about it though lol. And I think technology of the day should be used – afterall, it is a contemporary. Someday it will be considered a historical lol.
I’ve never been one to get revenge, and if I was, I would never put it in writing. If the information is current, it would probably be fun to read one or two novels where the heroine gets even, but it could get old.
I’ve never read a novel where technology has a roll bigger then, well, usual 😉 And I don’t think I could do it, either! I would have to be really, really mad and have a really, really good reason.
I don’t think I could do online revenge.
I think technology changes too quickly to be used in a novel.
I know I couldn’t do the online revenge thing, once you post its there forever. I think technology could be used in books but you would have to be careful how you used it.
I would never get revenge online. I guess it’s an okay plotline to read in a story but not for me in real life!
NOT THAT KIND OF GIRL looks like a great book! Thanks for the giveaway!
I couldn’t do it, but putting it in a contemporary does novel seem appropriate for the times. I have witnessed something similarly done in real life, but the one using technology was the aggressor throughout, just getting one more turn of the knife in on the ex. It was really ugly.
I have seen technology in books, in fact I’ve seen what I consider to be product placement. I don’t think it’s going to wear very well, if someone tries to read the book several years later and we see iPods the same way we now see transistor radios. Actually, since no one will probably be reading that story years from now, I guess it’s all good, LOL.
Technology is part of life and so it needs to be included in some ways. I hate to see people using the internet to get revenge. Once posted, it is there forever. You have to be very careful what you do.
I think the online revenge thing is fun to read about but I would never do something like that in real life. I would probably end up regretting it if I did.
One problem with incorporating technology into a book is that it changes so quickly these days that it can really date the book, making it harder to re-issue it later without doing a rewrite.
I probably wouldn’t do it. Most times revenge backfires. Either the person goes too far, doesn’t have the facts right, drags other people into it, or it is not received/perceived as they expected it to be and they come off as the bad guy.
The bad thing about technology is anything you do or say reaches many people in a very short period of time. It is out there and will be out there forever, whether you change your mind or not.
As far as using technology in fiction, if the book has a definite time period, the technology should reflect it. No cell phones, CD’s or DVD’s back in the 1960s. It is a bit more tricky when you are dealing with the past 5 or 10 years or so because the story will still be contemporary, but technology changes so fast. Lets face it, technology is a big part of our lives. It would be impossible to write a story without including it. I think readers are smart enough to know how fast it changes. If they are pulled out of the story because the character puts on a record or a tape instead of a CD (which now is being replaced by the MP3 player and IPod), there is more wrong with the story than just the technology.
When you’re angry and out for revenge, you’re not always thinking things through. Not seeing clearly and only red can influance your writing a lot. You might regret certain things later on. So I don’t think I would get so public. Better to wait and come up with a more sutable revenge.
I think getting revenge electronically is not the smartest move. It’s out there forever for everyone to find, even when you have moved past that part of your life. It also seems a little cowardly to me. If you have good reason to be angry then confront the person and be done with them.
I am one who believes there is too much information about individuals on line so I would not announce my revenge there.
Including technology in stories is acceptable if it is a part of the storyline or would enhance the narrative. It also helps set the time period of the happenings.
I think people uses online to get revenge since not only is faster and easier but everybody can see it.