My guest this week is Ramla Zareen
Ahmad, who is an avid reader rather than a writer. Sometimes it’s beneficial to
hear a reader’s viewpoint, and such is the case this week. She’s going to give
us her impressions of love triangles in cozy mysteries.
Ramla Zareen is originally from
Pakistan, but now lives in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, with her husband and
young daughter. Not only is she an avid reader, but she now has two blogs – one
about mysteries and books, and one regarding lifestyles.
Welcome, Ramla Zareen! I’m glad you
could stop in and discuss love triangles in cozy mysteries with us.
ON 'LOVE-TRIANGLES' IN
COZY MYSTERIES
In Cozy Mysteries, the various characters and their relationships with one another are an important aspect in the stories ...which often makes a romantic sub-plot inevitable.
I
enjoy the romance element in Cozy Mysteries, but as a reader, my preference is
that it should be discreet with intimate details avoided.
Moreover,
I usually desire the protagonist to be happily involved with a steady partner
:-)
If
the protagonist is not a part of an established couple right from the first
book of the series, then I prefer the romantic aspect in the Cozy Mystery
series to make natural progression, from initial interaction, between the
protagonist and a single member of the opposite gender, to gradual friendship,
to romantic relationship, to marriage, etc.
And
it's perfectly fine if there are ups and downs, and some romantic tensions, in
all of these phases.
But
the overall trend should always be to move forward ...and for the relationship
to develop, grow and become stronger :-)
I
strongly hesitate to get involved in those series where I sense a prolonged
'love-triangle'.
I
think this is mainly because, to me, 'love-triangles' create uncertainty ...and
diminish the sense of comfort and pleasure that I usually get while reading
Cozy Mysteries ...basically by creating a doubt in my mind whether the
protagonist will be able to achieve a 'happily ever after' with the 'right person
for him/her', or not!
When
the protagonist spends a lot of time, that is, more than 6 to 8 books in the
series, in trying to resolve this issue ...it can sometimes make him/her seem
stupid and immature ...and it also makes me feel bad if it turns out that I had
been rooting for the one that the protagonist doesn't chose!
Negative
emotions are also invoked in me when a 'love-triangle' is introduced after a
couple is already established ...especially if I happen to be fond of the
original couple ...and this can also at times make the protagonist come across
as a fickle person.
All
this further reduces some of the joy and comfort of reading a Cozy.
Moreover,
often much attention has to be given for the protagonist to resolve the issue
of 'love-triangle' ...and this prevents the main focus to remain on the
mystery!
Whereas
I feel that though the romance should definitely be present, as it adds to the
reading pleasure, it should be in the background, as a secondary part of the
story.
Having
said all this ...I think that it's only fair to mention that while it's true
that I usually find 'love-triangles' annoying ...but I sometimes do manage to
ignore them ...if the other factors, such as writing, mysteries, characters,
humour, setting, ambience, etc ...are especially well done.
However,
I would like to emphasize, that in such cases, I read the books in spite of the
'love-triangles' ...not because of them!
So
my respectful and sincere request to Cozy authors is that instead of the
'love-triangles', please use the 'mystery plots' to create the suspense ...and
depend on the quality of writing to entice the readers to read the next book in
the series. If there is a strong need to incorporate ' love-triangles', then at
least please try not to prolong them too much!
Thanks! :-)
Now I would like to conclude by thanking Marja McGraw for providing me with an opportunity to share my feelings and thoughts on this topic:-)
Also
much thanks to everyone for their time and patience to read my post :-)
Thank you for your
thoughts, Ramla Zareen. I hope you’ll return for another “chat” one of these
days.
Those
interested are welcome to visit my blogs:
A
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MAGAZINE AT BLOGSPOT
CLICK HERE to
visit Marja McGraw’s website
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Thank you so much, Marja, for providing me with an opportunity to share my feelings and thoughts on this topic ...it is truly a big honour and a great pleasure for me to contribute as a guest writer on your blog...! :-)
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Ramla Zareen, and thank you for offering your opinions today. I have to agree with what you've said.
DeleteThanks Marja ...and I am glad to know that you share my thoughts on this topic :-)
DeleteRamla Zareen, wonderful post about love triangles. I agree, intimate details of romance should be avoided. I'm not interested in spending my time, reading about those.
ReplyDeleteAlthough my mysteries do not have a love triangle, one of the main characters goes from book one to dating different men, to book two settling down to one man, to book three, marriage. It is a fun progression. By the way, (This was not a spoiler to the plots of my books mentioning this.)
Enjoyable post. Thank you, Marja and Ramla Zareen for such inviting websites and interesting discussions.
Hi Susan, I am glad to know that you found my post enjoyable :-)
DeleteActually, the 'romantic development' you mentioned as having implemented in your series is pretty much according to my preferences ...as I believe that it would serve to create a mild suspense in the beginning and then go on to enhance the joy and comfort of a Cozy...!
Anyway, thanks for reading my views on this topic ...and for your words of appreciation about my post as well as my website :-)
I enjoyed your post, Ramla. It was interesting to hear from an avid reader.
ReplyDeleteI read and write mysteries and I feel the same way you do about romantic involvement in cozies. To me, watching the characters change and grow throughout a series and, of course, seeing their involvement in various mysteries is the most important part.
Hi Patricia, it's good to know that you found my post enjoyable ...and that you have similar thoughts as me on this topic :-)
DeleteThanks for reading my post ...and for your words of appreciation :-)
I agree about love triangles and intimacy. There's a place for them, but not in cozies. A cozy should be just what it implies.
ReplyDeleteHi Morgan, you put it beautifully :-)
DeleteI also believe that one of the greatest appeal of a "Cozy Mystery" is it's pleasant and comfortable ambience.
Anyway, thanks for reading my post ...and for commenting...!
Thanks so much for your insight as a reader regarding this subject. To be honest I don't care much for love triangles in cozies or other mysteries. One of my former favorite authors writes a series with the heroine never making up her mind about which of the two men she cares for will be the "one". After fifteen books in the series I quit reading her. The characters never grew. The mystery plots were hilarious but the heroine could never make up her mind regarding the two men. I just got tired of it.
ReplyDeleteHi Palmaltas, it really is sad when we have to contemplate discontinuing a certain series just because of an annoying thing like a prolonged love-triangle ...especially when we find the other aspects of the books quite appealing...!
DeleteAnyway, thanks for reading my post ...and for appreciation it :-)
Like you, I think it's absolutely necessary to have a protag grow and change and so should her relationships including a love relationship. Because I write humorous cozies and one features a really in-your-face and zany woman who has suffered gthe death of her parents at an early age and a failed marriage, it is hard for her to trust and commit, so she is struggling through at least book three with these relationship issues. I intend for her to finally "get it", but I think my readers are enjoying her challenges.
ReplyDeleteHi Lesley, it's good to know that you agree with me that the protagonists and their personal relationships need to develop and progress ...and that you intend to implement this in your series as well :-)
DeleteAnyway, thanks for reading my post ...and for commenting...!
Excellent post. And I totally agree with your views.
ReplyDeleteHi Maha, glad to know that you agree with me and that you liked my post ...thanks for commenting...! :-)
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ReplyDeleteHi Maha, glad to know that you agree with me and that you liked my post ...thanks for commenting...! :-)
DeleteHi Marja, I just wanted to Congratulate you on running such an interesting blog. I am glad I discovered your blog :) keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Maha! I didn't want to do a blog, but soon figured out that it can be a lot of fun.
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ReplyDeleteGreat article, Ramla! Makes sense. Do you find that, sometimes, in a "love triangle" situation, there doesn't seem to really be a real conflict between the two potential mates? I have found that recently with some books, mostly urban fantasy/paranormal fiction, where this is a romantic subplot. A third character (second male character) is introduced, but apparently mostly to create some drama. I still enjoyed the books I read that had this element, but it was pretty clear who the heroine was going to end up with.
ReplyDeleteHi Maria, over the years I have encountered many variations of the 'love-triangle' theme, including the one you described....!
ReplyDeleteEven though I am not usually fond of any sort of love-triangles in Cozy Mysteries, especially if they are unnecessarily used and unreasonably prolonged ...but still, like you, I am able enjoy the books in spite of this, if the other aspects are appealing enough.
Anyway, thanks for reading my post and for appreciating it...! :-)