NOTE: This an updated and edited blog entry from GR Apr 7, 2013.
When I wrote Red Rover, it was meant to be a Paranormal Romance / Adult Contemporary novel. It was tough to classify because we have a level-headed woman blinded in an accident who get's a German shepherd she finds she is able to mentally communicate with- paranormal, right? Sigh... it should be so easy.
The book doesn't have the feel of a paranormal book because the book is completely taken over by the dog, Red, and his snarky, witty dialog, sans filter. So, humorous, right? Sigh... Nope.
I had to make myself crazy and I added two hot guys that decide to compete with each other for her affections (think hijacked dates, and sabotaged good-night kisses). So, romantic comedy, right? Heavier sigh.
Then comes the inevitable intimacy... couple this (no pun intended.... mmm, well, on second thought, maybe the pun IS intended) with the humor or the book, and readers were getting opinionated. What? Cute dog and fun laugh-out-loud dialog, now the writer is adding sex? Yep, I know, funny smart people with talking dogs don't have hot sex, right? *Snort* They do in my world (and remember- this is all about me).
But wait! I could have stopped there, but no- I obviously wasn't done messing with everyone's head (or my own, apparently) so I added that the dog has awesome tracking ability that brings him to the attention of the Police department which decides it can take advantage of the unique talents "Team Red" can bring to some of their trickier investigations.
See what I mean about trouble finding a good genre fit? Well, amazingly enough, people are reading the book. But, due to the explicit content, readers asked for a Young Adult version because their kids expressed an interest in reading about the talking dog. Sigh... the book genre angst wasn't complex enough on it's own, now the readers are getting me back by asking for a re-write?
Always one to bow to peer pressure (If you knew me, you would not only be laughing hysterically over this idea, but you'd be insisting there is validity to the Stepford Wives book) I was able to modify the story enough to get close to what I believe to be the equivalency of a PG-13 movie and still retain the elements I most enjoyed about my book: the character relationships. In the Special Edition, I was able to turn my 30-40 year old's into 20-26 year old's (the magic of the computer, and an awesome writer imagination (yep, I just snorted again)). The underlying adult theme of the book was removed to add different backgrounds and a slightly modified plot to make it more acceptable to the 16+ crowd.
While both series contain the same character names and a lot
of shared dialogue, the Red series is stripped of graphic sex and language, the
characters are younger, and story line is modified to what I believe is
the equivalency of a PG movie (subjective, of course, other opinions may vary).
The “Blind” version is
written first. Afterward, protagonist ages are reduced to their twenties, and
changes made to tone down adult themes and language, making the “Red” version a
new story, with obvious mirrored elements of the original (such as the dialog).
Some people enjoy following both storylines.
Team Red ‘Blind’ Adult version:
Blind Seduction, Book
1
Color Blind, Book 2
Blind Faith, Book 3 (coming Winter 2013)
Blind Rage, Book 4
(coming Spring 2014)
Team Red ‘Red’ New Adult version:
Red Rover, Book1
Red Zone, Book 2
Seeing Red, Book 3 (coming Winter 2013)
Want a fun, spicy, romantic read? Do you like a touch of the paranormal (Teresa has mental communication with her dog; my options were paranormal or schizophrenia, right?). Laughing out loud is guaranteed (I apologize in advance for all the people that stare at you while you read the book).
AMAZON LINKS:
Blind Seduction (Book 1): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00C8UB0JK
Color Blind (Book 2): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00E652OTK
Red Rover (Book 1, of New Adult version): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BQEUEFA
Red Zone (Book 2, of New Adult version): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EOZFSM2
B&N LINKS:
Blind Seduction US: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/blind-seduction-t-hammond/1116520185?ean=2940148585398
Color Blind US: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/color-blind-t-hammond/1116518426?ean=2940148549895
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