Charlene Carr's Blog, page 13

Giveaway AND Liking the Unlikable Character

Liking the unlikable.

In consuming movies, television and novels, I’ve often found myself liking an unlikable character. They’re interesting, they’re intriguing, they’re insightful. There is something within them that just begs to be understood or that creates delight in being reviled. I was going to list some ‘unlikables’ we can’t help but like, or at least be interested in, but I won’t. Why? Because most likely that character I love to hate (or hate to love) is different from yours.

And why is that? Why can one character make me shiver, gawk and almost want to turn off the TV screen or close the book, yet have little to no effect on you? Simple answer. We’re all individual and, most likely, something in that character either particularly disturbs us because of an experience we’ve had with some real person in our lives or, even more telling, because of experiences we’ve had with (or are scared to have with) ourselves.

Readers of my book, Skinny Me, often seem to have a love-hate relationship with the main character, Jennifer. I watched confused as those first reviews came in. Some people LOVED her, some people HATED her. At first I became insecure: Did I make her too unlikable? I didn’t find her that unlikable. What does that say about her? About me? And the other question: Why should not liking a character have anything to do with not liking a book?

And then I realized, wait a minute! It’s great that people are having such a strong reaction. I’d rather people hate a character (even if it means hating the book) than have them put it down unaffected. And it was the reviewers who experienced both emotions, oscillating between feelings of love and hate, that really made me secure in this fact.

Jumping forward a few months, I found myself reading a book where I really didn’t like the character, and in a way I wasn’t used to. She wasn’t a villain I enjoyed not liking. I just didn’t like her. I didn’t like her in a way that at times almost made me want to stop reading. This was a new experience for me. I wasn’t bored with the story. I didn’t think the writing was bad. In fact, I thought the writing was pretty great. I just wasn’t sure I wanted to keep spending time with this woman.

On further contemplation, I wondered if what I was experiencing was akin to what my readers had experienced with Jennifer. So I decided to dig deeper and I think I came up with my answer. I haven’t had children yet, but I really hope to, and here is this woman who has a child and is absolutely putting herself and her own problems/wants/needs above said child. First reason to not like her: She does not appreciate the gift she has. Second reason: What if I ever do the same type of thing? Life can get hard. Life can get stressful. What if I become a person who doesn’t handle it and risk the safety of the one person I’m supposed to protect above all else?

It’s an uncomfortable thought. It’s a thought I think my subconscious didn’t like sitting with, and so maybe it’s part of why I was having trouble ‘sitting’ with this book. But I didn’t give up. I didn’t let my ‘dislike’ lead me to put the book down. I’m so glad I didn’t! All Fall Down, by Jennifer Weiner was a book to make me think, a book to make me contemplate life, and a book that reminded me that sometimes it’s the things (or people) we don’t like that can teach us the most.

I’d love for other readers to experience these potentially ‘unlikable’ characters. To get your chance, Enter my Giveaway! The winner will receive the hardcover of Jennifer Weiner’s All Fall Down AND paperback of all three of my A New Start books. Two runners up will also receive paperbacks of my series, PLUS every entrant will receive an ebook copy of Skinny Me for FREE and be able to decide for him or herself whether Jennifer is a character they love to hate or hate to love!

Giveaway ends June 20, 2015

Have any fictional characters you love to hate or hate to love? Share in the comments below!

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Published on May 27, 2015 17:32

Video Book Chat: All Fall Down

All Fall Down by Jennifer Weiner

Check out All Fall Down

A book to make us contemplate the hidden lives people live, the choices we make, and how easy it can be to not live in a way that brings us joy.

Author’s Website: http://jenniferweiner.com/books/all-fall-down

ENTER THE GIVEAWAY!

Giveaway Ends June 20th

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Published on May 23, 2015 09:07

Video Book Chat: Sophie’s Choice by William Styron

Sophie’s Choice by William Styron

Check out Sophie’s Choice

An in depth, intricately written exploration of guilt, loneliness, and the complexities of human life and sorrow. Truly a masterpiece.

In the words of Styron: “A great book should leave you with many experiences, and slightly exhausted at the end. You live several lives while reading it.“

Sophie’s Choice fulfils that sentiment perfectly!

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Published on May 17, 2015 05:04

Video Book Chat: Still Alice by Lisa Genova

Still Alice by Lisa Genova

Check out Still Alice

A beautiful and terrifying read that takes you on a journey through the degeneration of a human mind.

Author’s Website: lisagenova.com

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Published on May 10, 2015 09:53

An Interview with the Author: Skinny Me

An Interview with the Author:

I’ve had a number of readers ask me questions about Skinny Me and the A New Start series in general. So to answer those questions for others who may have similar ones …

Q: How did you come up with the story of Skinny Me?

A: Si Skinny Me Charlene Carr tting in my comfy blue reading chair one night, I started wondering how many people perceive others’ treatment of them as judgemental or prejudiced when in reality a lot of that attitude comes from the way they present themselves in the world. It must have been what I was reading that made me think of exploring this idea through an overweight person.

I’ve known many people who are the sweetest, kindest, most appealing people, and others who are somewhat bitter, judgemental and sort of walk around the world just expecting people to be nasty to them. As a defence mechanism (I imagine), they let that negativity show and people see that, which, unfortunately, just promotes their belief that their ‘shortcoming’ (in Jennifer’s case, her weight) is why people treat them badly. In reality, most likely people’s negative treatment of them is at least in part because of their attitude.

As a child and young teenager I was quite overweight and I know there was a phase in my life where I let a lot of my own negativity and fear of rejection come out in the way I treated people. I can recall times when I pushed people away or put them down before they could put me down. Jennifer’s story is in no way my own but I certainly drew on several painful experiences from my past to lend some truth to her story.

Q: Jennifer isn’t the nicest person around, was it hard writing someone who can come across as an unlikable character?

A: Jennifer was actually the easiest character I’ve ever written. She kind of flowed onto the page. She’s not always the nicest, but I think part of what made writing her easy was that deep down she has a good heart—it’s just a badly battered heart. She’s had a lot of pain and although that may be an explanation, of course it’s not an excuse for some of the choices she makes. But most of us make bad choices at some point in our lives and sometimes it’s easy to not be the person we wish we were.

A couple of readers have said they just wanted to shake some sense into Jennifer and that’s not a surprising reaction! If anything, once I got going it seemed harder to make Jennifer MORE likable than to make her unlikable. It wasn’t hard to think up ways she could be awful; what was hard was finding ways to counter those less than stellar moments so that, hopefully, readers would root for to become the kindhearted person she longs to be.

Q: Where did the concept of the A New Start series come from?

A: When I was writing Skinny Me I had no plans of writing a sequel or making it a series but I basically fell in love with the characters and the friendships they displayed. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye. In today’s society the late twenties and early thirties are what the late teens and early twenties were to people several generations ago. It’s a time where we’re really discovering who we are, what matters to us, and forming the types of people we’re likely to be for the rest of our lives. There’s a lot of upheaval in that and a lot of soul searching. I liked the idea of witnessing the journeys these women go through when they realize it’s time to make a new start.

Q: Do you need to read the novels in chronological order for the books to make sense?

A: Absolutely not. Each story is written so that it can be read independently. However, they are written chronologically, so if you read book two before book one aspects of the previous story will be revealed. Basically, you’ll have read some spoilers!

Based on reader feedback, Skinny Me now has a bonus chapter readers can sign up for which I think is a nice transition between books one and two. It’s not necessary to either story but adds another layer of depth while fulfilling some readers’ desire for a little extra romance! So if you are reading them in order, make sure you take advantage of this bonus.

If you haven’t yet read Skinny Me and you’d like to, check out the retailer links attached to this article! With the limited time free offer of Where There Is Life, you can read the two books for the price of one.

And if you have questions for me about Skinny Me , the A New Start Series or what`s up my sleeve for the future, ask in the comments below and I`ll provide the answers!