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    Thoughts on Veronica Mars and more …

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    As I was reading the Veronica Mars essay book, I started thinking about my own books, specifically the Assassin urban fantasy series that I’m working on right now.

    The Assassin book, titled Gin on the Rocks, is about Gin Blanco, an assassin who moonlights (daylights?) as a cook at a barbecue restaurant called the Pork Pit. When Gin is double-crossed during a job and her mentor/handler is murdered, she goes looking for the people responsible.

    Why did the VM book make me think about Gin? Because it made me realize I’m writing a form of Southern noir. VM, of course, is California noir, with movie stars and millionaires and the ocean. My book? Well, it’s set in a fictional city called Ashland, which sprawls over the spot where Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia meet. Instead of a California landscape, I’ve got barbecue joints and debutantes and antebellum mansions. And corruption, of course. It’s not noir, unless there’s corruption. 😎

    The essay book also made me think about other similarities between VM and Gin — and why I like VM so much. Both feature strong heroines with troubled pasts. Veronica’s friend was murdered; Gin’s family was murdered when she was 13. Veronica wants justice for herself and Lilly; Gin wants justice for herself and her mentor.

    Don’t get me wrong. My book isn’t a VM rip-off. Quite the opposite. My book has magic and giants and dwarves and runes. I wasn’t even thinking about or watching VM when I wrote it. And Gin is very, very different from Veronica. For one thing, she prefers to kill first and ask questions later.

    But the essay book really made me think about and examine what elements appear in VM and my own books. What sort of themes I use over and over. The big stuff, so to speak.

    A strong heroine is a must for me, whether I’m the author or the reader. I hate silly, weak characters, especially ditzy women who can’t take care of themselves. As far as getting revenge or justice, it’s a great way to motivate your character and drive your plot. Carmen Cole, anyone? 😎

    I also like using symbols and symmetry. Often, my characters end up in the same place they started out from, albeit with a completely different perspective. Like Karma Girl opening with Carmen’s wedding — and Hot Mama doing the same.

    And I really enjoy giving my characters little quirks, like Carmen always wearing jeans and cutesy T-shirts. Or Fiona Fine eating everything in sight and wearing zebra stripes with hot-pink polka dots.

    As far as the Assassin book goes, Gin almost always wears long sleeves (the better to hide her knives). Gin also loves to cook, so most of her shirts have some sort of food item on them, like blackberries or tomatoes or key limes. She’s also enjoys watching the Food Network, and she shows her love for the few people she cares about by cooking for them.

    Okay, I’ve rambled long enough for one post. What are some of the things you enjoy about VM, the Bigtime books, or your own writing? What kind of themes and characters do you like to see? Share in the comments.

  • 892 and counting …

    Finished Neptune Noir: Unauthorized Investigations into Veronica Mars, edited by Rob Thomas. This is a book of academic essays that looks at various aspect of the VM television show. I won it last year over at Diana Peterfreund’s blog. She too is a die-hard VM fan.

    I don’t read a lot of academic or non-fiction, mainly since I had to slog through so much of it in college, along with all those so-called fiction classics. Blech. When I read, I want to be entertained, plain and simple. I want fun. Give me action, adventure, explosions, and a love story, and I’m satisfied. No deeper meaning or deconstruction is required. So I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this book, which is decidedly academic. But I was pleasantly surprised.

    The book features several essays, each of which looks at a different aspect of the television show. The essays cover everything from Veronica as a vigilante; to how the characters’ cars reflect their personality; to analyzing justice and the depiction of law enforcement officials in Neptune. VM really is deep, once you think about it.

    My favorite essay was the one on Logan and Veronica’s ever-evolving, love-hate relationship. For me, the chemistry between L&V totally made the show. The essay author points out that despite Logan’s so-called jackassery, you always wanted to see more of him. Couldn’t agree more. Duncan was so boring, so wishy-washy, so vanilla. He just didn’t have much personality. I never really thought Duncan and Veronica could be happy together.

    The essay author also points out that Duncan just wasn’t strong enough to keep up with Veronica, but that Logan was. This is so true, if you think about it. Logan was the one who heard Veronica was in trouble and came to rescue her at the hotel. Logan was the one who grabbed Veronica’s hand during his surprise party and announced to everyone they were a couple. Logan was the one who was there on the rooftop with her and Cassidy. Even when he was being an ass, you knew that Logan cared about Veronica.

    Duncan? Well, he pretended like he hadn’t slept with Veronica, making her think she’d been raped, and pretty much ignored her after Lilly’s death. He also neglected to mention to her that they might be brother and sister. And he also gets his current girlfriend, Veronica, to help him kidnap his daughter by his old girlfriend, Meg. What a prince.

    Another interesting essay talked about Lilly and Veronica’s relationship. I have to admit I never liked Lilly. I thought she was spoiled, selfish, and not a nice person. She slept with her boyfriend’s father, for crying out loud, and was going to expose their relationship with no thought about how it would hurt Logan or anyone else.

    Basically, the essay talks about how Lilly’s murder froze her in Veronica’s mind and helped make their relationship this idealistic dream Veronica holds onto. The author wonders what Veronica would have done if she’d found out about Lilly sleeping with Aaron before Lilly died. Me too. I like to think that would have made Veronica see the person Lilly really was.

    Since this is an academic book, some of the essays are a little dry and out-there, like the one analyzing why conservatives like VM. Seriously, why bring politics into it? VM is a smart, funny show with a strong, female heroine. Isn’t that reason enough for folks to love it?

    But I enjoyed this book very, very much. Thumbs up. If you’re a big VM fan, do yourself a favor and get this one.

    In fact, I liked this book so much I’m thinking of trying some of the other BenBella pop culture books. (I’m also going to do another post about how the VM book made me think about my own writing. But that’s for later on.)

    Up next: Soon I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman or something else from the TBR pile.

    Books in my TBR pile: About 16.