What Really Makes a Novel Good? (Part I)

It’s a dark and stormy night. The electricity is off, so, TV-less, you and your Significant Other are in bed reading by clip-on battery lights. After a brief while, he/she slams down the book and says, “This book stinks. I’m going to bed.” S.O. turns off the light, pulls up the covers, and before long, you hear snoring.

You, on the other hand, have hit a Golden One. You can’t put it down! You devour that book, losing track of the time. You eventually realize that it’s midnight, but you just want to read one more chapter. Then it’s one a.m., but you can’t stop at this point. Then it’s two—but now you want to finish it. And when you finish, you want to start it all over again.

What’s the Secret?

That book has drawn you in. The external world has ceased to exist, time has no meaning. Youare in that book’s world. Its anxieties are yours, its emotions increase your heart-rate and bring real tears to your eyes. Maybe the plot is fast-paced and the stakes are high. So, is it only thrillers that engross us in this way? Not at all. Because sometimes we’re sucked into a book where the emotions expressed are cranked up to the max, and the characters are people with whom we deeply empathize (here’s looking at you, Portrait of a Lady), and very few thrillers have those attributes. Whatever else an Engrosser has going for it, there is probably tension, uncertainty, maybe even a deadline. You’re probably chewing your fingernails at some point.

Pleasant or Not, Here It Comes

One of the most unforgettable books I’ve ever read is Zola’s Germinale, a huge book about life in the coal mines in the 19th century. If it sounds like a snoozer, don’t believe it. That book shattered me. I’ve never gotten over the horror of its imagery. It’s so brutal, you think it can’t get any worse… and then it does. Getting sucked into that world was agony, yet I couldn’t put it down. So it isn’t only fiction that is somehow delightful or comfortable that sticks us to it like glue. In fact, the pain of anticipation may be a critical element. Remember the siege of Helms Deep in Lord of the Rings? The suspense is so horrible that you’re writhing in your chair, your stomach in knots. But it hurts good.

How Do We Pull It Off?

Just thinking about a few of my favorite books has isolated some traits worth working into our own writing: fast pace. High stakes. Deep, fearlessly written emotions. Characters with whom we empathize—not just (or even) likable, but empathy-worthy, because then their trials become our own. And finally, tension, whatever its source. Whether it’s pleasant or not. Let guts be churned! Let hearts be wrenched! And in the morning, when you awaken, glassy-eyed, you’ll cry to your Significant Other, “You’ve got to read this!”

My Mother's "Cleopatra Necklace"

This is a picture of my mother’s “Cleopatra necklace.” It was made by Corot, the costume-jewelry maker, in the early sixties when the movie Cleopatra came out, starring Elizabeth Taylor. Everything Egyptian was suddenly “in”, from painted eyes to sorta-weshket collars like this one. Are any of you old enough to remember that? Want to hear more about my writing influences? Subscribe to my newsletter: www.nlholmes.com

Keep ‘Em Coming: A Reflection on Series

Let me confess something about myself as a reader. Once I find a protagonist I love and a world I don’t want to leave, there’s nothing I crave more than another of those books! I love series! They’re especially successful for the investigative mystery or police genre, and that idea goes back a long way. Roulletabille and Maigret are lovable French prototypes, and the modern equivalents are legion. One has only to think of Inspector Gamache or Amelia Peabody or Lord Lynley or Inspector Brunetti. Put their adventures together and you have one very long episodic novel, and as far as I’m concerned, they can go on forever. Lucky me—this pattern is also popular in the historical fiction category, where a reader can find numerous Roman or medieval detective series and even some Egyptian ones.

Episodic

But the operative word with detective novels is episodic. These protagonists are professional solvers of cases, and each case is usually investigated and solved in a discrete book. You can read each book separately, without any knowledge of the others—if you have enough self- control! What drifts from book to book is the world-building and the characters. In the best examples, there are elements of the protagonist’s life that follow an arc across all the books of the series, even while individual cases come and go. And that points out a fact about series: they don’t have to be episodic.

Continuous

Because there are other series that really do constitute a single long continuous story, broken up into bit-sized pieces. This was the original idea of the serial, a piecemeal form in which many famous novels were first published (for example, A Christmas Carol). Successful modern examples include Harry Potter and Robin Hobb’s Tawny Man series. Sure, each book has a story that can stand alone, but in fact they all build together toward a series climax. You really can’t read one of the later Harry Potter books without all the knowledge embedded in the earlier ones.

Loosely Related

Then there are the generally related novels, often set in the same world but about different characters. Sometimes an old friend from one book makes a cameo in another. Ursula LeGuin’s Earthsea books are like this. Several more closely related series can be clumped together in a larger world-sharing. A great example of the latter is the relationship of Julian May’s Pliocene Exile and Galactic Milieu series within a larger framework.

So What Is The Secret?

Is either form of the series better than the other? Not for my money, although I think the interlocked series must be harder to write. They have to be conceived as one long novel, with subplots that must all be tied up at the end, so a lot of careful planning is necessary. Not for “pantsers,” I think.

What fans love—and series do generate loyal fans—is the luxury of remaining in a comfortable, familiar world with characters they feel close to. There may or may not be suspense from one book to another, but there will always be a strong attachment to characters and places. As a reader, all I ask is more, please!

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OUT NOW on #vella - my new #EmpireAtTwilight novel in serial form! Check it out here: https://amzn.to/3wQT2kd ✨ And don't miss all the other great serial books from @redadeptpublishing like Way Walkers: Clan Lands! #fiction #serials #redadeptpublishing #NLHolmes #series #newrelease #Amazon #novella #novels #historicalfiction https://www.instagram.com/p/CSe2YWgFSE7/?utm_medium=tumblr

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Ehli-nikkalu, his overlord’s daughter, marries a vassal king but bears no heir, so finds herself abused and isolated. Longing for her beloved family, she gets involved with a mad pretender, a conscienceless extortioner, and a royal concubine. Only a poet, an indebted scribe, and a young girl get her home safely, and teach her the meaning of love. Visit the link in my bio to get the first 3 chapters for free! #historicalfiction #historicalromance #nlholmesbooks #nlholmes #themoonthatfellfromheaven #newbook #newrelease #Vella #bookdoggy https://www.instagram.com/p/CRyzEsZMWzU/?utm_medium=tumblr

Book 4 in The Lord Hani Mysteries is now on sale for just $0.99 through July 23! (Not shown actual size, you understand!) Link in bio to shop ✨ #thenorthwinddescends #nlholmes #booksale #99centbooks #nlholmesbooks #historicalfiction #historical #lordhani #lordhanimysteries #mysteryseries #onsalenow #amazon #ebook #linkinbio #historicalnovel #ancientegypt https://www.instagram.com/p/CRmRpH4spDH/?utm_medium=tumblr

Thank you, Blue Ink Review!

A big thank you to Blue Ink Reviews and their reviewer for this wonderful accolade!

STARRED REVIEW

The Queen’s Dog: An Empire at Twilight Novel N. L. Holmes WayBack Press, 378 pages, (paperback) $14.99, 978-1734986877 (Reviewed: May, 2021)

"Nothing short of a towering masterwork of historical fiction, The Queen’s Dog is the third installment of Holmes’ Empire at Twilight saga, a series of standalone novels set in and around the Hittite empire in the 13th century BCE. It chronicles the story of Naheshi, a lowly eunuch slave who becomes entangled in a conspiracy that could cost him his life—and ignite a war between Late Bronze Age kingdoms.

Sold into slavery by Assyrian parents at a young age and castrated by his new owner, Naheshi is now living in Ugarit, a small but wealthy nation whose relationship to the Hittite Empire is that of a vassal: “semi-independent but owing their imperial overlords obedience, trade privileges, and military assistance.” Working as the young queen’s chamberlain, the now 38-year old eunuch is pulled into his queen’s dangerous machinations.

The queen, Taddu, is the beautiful daughter of the king of Amurru and married to the Ugarit king Ammishtamru. She’s not only having an affair with her husband’s younger brother, but she’s plotting with him to overthrow her husband and radically change the kingdom’s foreign policy. When Ammishtamru’s mother, the dowager queen, enlists Naheshi to spy on Taddu, whom she suspects of treachery, Naheshi is forced to make difficult decisions that could impact the peace and prosperity of the entire region.

While no novel is flawless, this one comes close. It offers deeply developed characters, a meticulously researched and vividly described setting, a complex plot, and relentless pacing that keeps readers turning pages. Simply put, this is a supremely gratifying reading experience.

Anyone who has had the opportunity to read Holmes’ Lord Hani mystery series or her Empire at Twilight saga will agree: Holmes should be a household name in historical fiction circles.

Hopefully, she won’t remain a secret for much longer; these novels are precious literary gems.

Also available as an ebook."

Not as Bad as All That: Bring on the 3D Villains

More than once, I’ve read a book that I considered pretty good, but the villain was so cartoonish and two-dimensional that it ruined it for me. Disclaimer: books are only as good as their characters for this reader. Nothing, but nothing, can make up for shallow characters. And a cardboard villain is a deal-breaker.

The principle is always that fictional characters, no matter how quirky or exceptional should be true to life. You should be able to recognize them on the street, so to speak. You should be able to love them, despite their foibles, just as we do our foiblous family and buddies. OK, maybe just a little bit.

Love That Villain

But a villain should be evil, you say. He’s plotting to blow up the world—or steal the hero’s girl, or something BAD. True, but I would submit that no sane human being is without some attractive qualities. No one is without some interior rationale for what they do. Often the person we consider a villain simply has a different agenda than we, or their point of view is skewed by their past. That’s why backstories are so important in characterizing your villain. It should be possible to feel a sneaking sympathy for him or her. Would a little remorse, a little internal conflict make their evil actions less evil? It would certainly make them more human. People who slash out at others are often in pain themselves. You may have noticed that kids frequently identify more with the villain than with the hero. Why? An outcast? Someone who feels he has to prove himself? Or maybe he’s just a more interesting, nuanced fellow.

The Mug Shot

So what does a villain look like? If you believe the pulps, they are often deformed or scrawny. Or else impossibly handsome and polished, with an impossible (and it usually is) armory of high-tech weapons at their disposal. They are probably smart because these are not your bully boys. The latter are big and muscular, generally ugly, but not smart. They’re the goons of the villain. Sounds like we have some stock characters here, doesn’t it? Alas, bad novels are full of them. I recently read a historical (in another language, so no toes stepped on here) where it was pointed out repeatedly that the villain had a hyena-like laugh. Overkill. In fact, bad people are just people. They look—and laugh—like everybody else.

Soften ‘Em Up

Unless one of your points of view is that of the villain, it may be a little harder to work some humanity into her. But the way other people view her may be telling. Are her henchmen devoted? Does she love her cat? Does she at least have good manners? Is her motive for evil an altruistic one? An editor once commented that one of my villains, a completely mad one, was the most delightful character in the book. But evil, nonetheless. Bwa-ha-ha-ha!

Florida Writers Book Expo, May 1st-10th!

NEXT WEEKEND - I'm participating in the Florida Writers Association Book Expo running from May 1st-10th! 📚

Book lovers won't want to miss out - you can browse sixty booths across genres, all with books by Florida authors. And you shop from the comfort of your home. They even have freebies at every booth! Even better? They have a Reader Rewards program, so the more you spend, the more ebooks you get for free!

There are so many amazing authors, and I’m excited to be one of them. That’s right, I will be featured at the expo, at 10AM EST on May 1st! So mark your calendar—the Florida Writers Book Expo will be starting this Saturday, May 1st and going until Monday, May 10th.

Hope to “see you” there! ✨

-N.L. Holmes

Thanks to BooksShelf.com for the feature about The Lightning Horse!

https://bit.ly/3euf8lJ

Thanks to IndieReader for the interview!

What Are They Saying About Your Character?

We all know that it's better to show your protagonist's (or any other personage's) character than to tell the reader about it. That way, we're “watching the movie,” not having someone review it for us. The main way to do this, of course, is to build the character's personality into his or her actions. If they're shy, show them hesitating to speak out. If they're super-emotional, show them weeping at something touching. But because any one character is embedded in a world full of other people, their personality is also reflected in the way other people act toward them and speak of them. Showing this in fiction might be easier if there are multiple points of view rather than just the protagonist's, but in fact a single POV isn't a deal-breaker either.

He Says, She Says

Including references to a character in dialogue is especially straightforward when that character is absent. Just think about how we talk about our absent friends (not to mention adversaries) in real life! It can be gentle—“I don't think Peg'll ever quite get over his betrayal”—or snarky—“Keep the bottles away from Jane!” People's words not only say something about the topic (Peg is devastated; Jane is a lush) but also about themselves, so you've given your reader some clues about two folks at once. Although sometimes what is said behind a person's back isn't true at all. And this offers a chance to build in some mystery: is Jane really a drinker, or is the speaker exercising a little character assassination? The readers will have to make up their minds. But unless the speaker has already been shown to be a liar, that comment will float out there and inflect what readers think about Jane unless or until you prove it slanderous. Just, alas, the way such remarks do in real life. Especially if everyone sees Jane in the same way. In fiction, this has possibilities. Maybe the person everybody dismisses as a coward isn't one...

Treat Them Right

In addition to speaking about other personages, your characters address them directly and act upon them. Have you ever noticed how the same speaker may take two very different tones toward two different people? Part of this is conditioned by the social hierarchy (better not treat your boss patronizingly!). But in part, the personality of the addressee colors how we behave toward them. Some people invite familiarity; others are intimidating, and even their friends may feel obliged to maintain a little formality.

To some, we are free to speak the hurtful truth; to others, we feel we must offer a candy-coated version. No one would dare speak down to a proud, self-confident person—at least, not more than once. This, again, says something about us and about our interlocutor.

May I Have a Reference?

In short, don't neglect the reflected opinion—yet another way to establish the personality of your characters. Just as you'd check what previous employers have to say about a prospective hire, interrogate your characters about your protagonist or others.