What Makes a Novel Memorable by Victoria Chatham

Our topic for July is: What makes a novel memorable? For me, it is the characters every time, no matter what the genre.

I have my preferences, of course. I mostly read historical romance, and then western romance (historical or contemporary) and anything and everything in between. I rarely read science fiction, fantasy or inspirational. Not that I haven’t, those categories just don’t come high on my list of preferred reading

My most favorite and memorable historical characters are from Georgette Heyer’s Regency romance Frederica. Freddie is such a managing female! And really, any heroine in any genre has to be a bit out there for me to be engaged. I have read many books where the heroine has been TSTL, too stupid to live, and consequently I have consigned her and the book she appears in back to the shelf.

Heroines in any genre or era need to have some element of courage in their character. Whether it is standing up to their families or the mores of their society, the more courage shown by a character in standing up for what they want or what they believe in, keeps me reading. Wimpy heroines need not apply.  

Snappy heroines that immediately come to mind, after Frederica, are any of Jane Austen’s leading ladies. Okay, I’m probably giving my age away here but I don’t mind. Of more recent years there’s been Janet Evanovitch’s Stephanie Plum and Tami Hoag’s Elena Estes, also Lisbeth Salander from Stieg Larsson’s The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.

My heroes have to be strong, too, but they can be strong in different ways. Lord Alverstoke, Frederica’s nemesis, is everything a Regency hero should be. Something of the bad boy in his youth, but an athletic, muscular figure whose place in society gives him a great sense of self within the propriety of his era. That he gradually falls in love with the aforesaid managing female makes for a delightful character arc as his views change.

Another of Tami Hoag’s characters, Lucky Doucet, is almost an anti-hero. A war-damaged vet,  Lucky retreats to the dark bayous of Louisiana. Even though he’s chosen to live this way, he still manages to help people where and when he can. Love leads to Lucky making his way in the world beyond the bayou with an unexpected and satisfying twist at the end of the tale.

Though they are two very different types of character, the one suave and elegant and the other very physical and damaged, they both held my attention. The more empathy I can feel for the characters, the more I can identify with them then the more real they become to me and those are the books I have no problem returning to again and again.

Do the characters that mean the most to me reflect elements in my psyche? Maybe. Those characters are people that I would like to meet and spend time with, characters whose values and experiences I could imagine sharing with them as I would a good friend, might—after all—be just like me.

See what other authors in our Round Robin group have to say on this subject:

Judith Copek http://lynx-sis.blogspot.com/
Beverley Bateman http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/
Skye Taylor http://www.skye-writer.com/blogging_by_the_sea
Dr. Bob Rich http://wp.me/p3Xihq-I4
Helena Fairfax http://helenafairfax.com/
Marci Baun http://www.marcibaun.com/blog/
Rachael Kosinski http://rachaelkosinski.weebly.com/
Connie Vines http://connievines.blogspot.com/
Rhobin Courtright http://www.rhobinleecourtright.com