Monday, April 27, 2015

Ramla Zareen Ahmad, Guest Reader



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 COZY MURDER IS ANNOUNCED




THE MAGAZINE AT BLOGSPOT


CLICK HERE to visit Marja McGraw’s website
CLICK HERE for a quick trip to Amazon.com

26 comments:

  1. 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...! :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're welcome, Ramla Zareen, and thank you for offering your opinions today. I have to agree with what you've said.

      Delete
    2. Thanks Marja ...and I am glad to know that you share my thoughts on this topic :-)

      Delete
  2. Ramla 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.

    Although 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.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Susan, I am glad to know that you found my post enjoyable :-) 

      Actually, 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 :-)


      Delete
  3. I enjoyed your post, Ramla. It was interesting to hear from an avid reader.
    I 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.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Patricia, it's good to know that you found my post enjoyable ...and that you have similar thoughts as me on this topic :-)

      Thanks for reading my post ...and for your words of appreciation :-)

      Delete
  4. 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.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Morgan, you put it beautifully :-)

      I 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...!

      Delete
  5. 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.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi 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...!

      Anyway, thanks for reading my post ...and for appreciation it :-)

      Delete
  6. 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.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi 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 :-)

      Anyway, thanks for reading my post ...and for commenting...!


      Delete
  7. Excellent post. And I totally agree with your views.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Maha, glad to know that you agree with me and that you liked my post ...thanks for commenting...! :-)

      Delete
  8. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Maha, glad to know that you agree with me and that you liked my post ...thanks for commenting...! :-)

      Delete
  9. Hi 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.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Maha! I didn't want to do a blog, but soon figured out that it can be a lot of fun.

      Delete
  10. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  11. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  12. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  13. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  14. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Great 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.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hi Maria, over the years I have encountered many variations of the 'love-triangle' theme, including the one you described....!

    Even 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...! :-)

    ReplyDelete