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Didn’t I just read this?
 By Dara Girard
Hmm…notice anything familiar? Some say shame on McCollough because her book is eerily similar to Montgomery’s. I say bravo. Yes, there are striking similarities, but delicious differences too–the Australian landscape, the leeches, the hero, the ‘bath’ scene. To me these two books show how talented authors can take a similar premise and tell two different stories. Some writers experience synergy, I can’t fault them for that. Have you ever read remarkably similar stories? Oh and as a shameless plug please visit the new page for my upcoming series The Black Stockings Society. Sign up for my newsletter and be eligible to win thigh high stockings (one size fits all) and a special prize. 5 Responses to “Didn’t I just read this?” |
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May 2nd, 2008 at 6:34 am
I haven’t read either of these books but they sound really good.
The 2 books I think of are Sherrilyn Kenyon’s “Dancing With the Devil” and JR Ward’s “Lover Awakened”. Their heroes were extremely similar that it’s almost jarring.
May 2nd, 2008 at 8:57 am
It is said that there are only so many different plots, and when summing up any book in a hundred words or so, many will sound startlingly similar, no? However, it’s up to each writer to imprint her characters with her unique voice and perspective, make them hers, and the story new.
Right now I can’t recall any two stories that were truly so similar I was compelled to look for the other one, though.
Best of luck with the new series, Dara!
May 2nd, 2008 at 12:27 pm
Well, they always say there are no new ideas, and whenever there is the rare new idea, everyone has to copy it. LOL So sure, I’ve read books with similar premises or plots or whatever, but in the end, the author puts there own spin to it, and not copying the original practically word for word. But arguably, that’s why we read our favorite plotlines - we like a certain something, but we also don’t want to read the exact same thing every single time we pick up a different book by a different author. :)
Lois
May 2nd, 2008 at 1:18 pm
I haven’t read either of the two books. I can’t think of any books that are similar. Today, we had a reader’s advisory meeting and my director mentioned that Gemma Halliday and Janet Evanovich (Stephanie Plum series) seems to be alike. I thought maybe Patricia Smiley would be one to. Any Janet Evanovich fans out there? If so, do you know any read-alikes? :?:
May 8th, 2008 at 4:32 pm
Dara, those are two of my favorites, too! I generally read them together, “Blue Castle” first and “Ladies of Missalonghi” after, since reading the one always puts me in the mood for the other. In the case of these two, their similarity always struck me as a boon, because you get to stay in the same frame of mind for the span of two books– and the writing in each is so strong that there’s no feeling of poor imitation.