Presenting Lenore Presents Thomas Randall
Today's stop on the Thomas Randall blog tour: Presenting Lenore! Take a peek:
Kara and her father move to Japan after her mother dies. Why are authors always killing off mothers?
Bad childhoods? :) Just kidding. It's very practical, to be honest. Writers often kill off both parents, forcing the young protagonists to make their own way in the world. It's a classic conceit of children's literature. If the reader is identifying with this character, the first thing you've done is made the reader understand the peril the character is in...what would THEY do without their parents to take care of them? Many of the greatest stories in children's literature simply wouldn't happen if the parents were around to take care of the young protagonists.
In killing off just the mother, which is another common tactic, you've similarly denied the main character something, but it's a different something. Fathers are often seen as more distant or befuddled or less caring than a mother would be. That's not the case with Kara and her father in THE WAKING, but even in this trilogy, there's a comfort and an understanding that Kara might receive from her mother that her father has a difficult time providing. Not to mention that in order for them to both feel cast adrift while starting anew in this strange land, they need to feel loss. The absence of Kara's mother is just as important to the story as the presence of her father. So, no, it's not a conspiracy against moms. :)
Keep reading! Click here to visit Presenting Lenore.
Follow The Waking blog tour to learn more about Dreams of the Dead, the first book in this thrilling YA series, and its author, Thomas Randall.
Monday, September 28th: An interview with Little Willow at Bildungsroman
Tuesday, September 29th: Author Q&A with Courtney Summers
Wednesday, September 30th: The Mind of a Girl, a guest blog about writing from the female POV, at readergirlz
Thursday, October 1st: Strange Girl in a Strange Land, a guest blog about researching Japanese culture, at lectitans
Friday, October 2nd: An interview at Sarah's Random Musings
Friday, October 2nd: An interview at Steph Su Reads
Monday, October 5th: The Cold Open, a guest blog about writing mysteries, at Books By Their Cover
Tuesday, October 6th: Author Q&A with Kim Baccellia
Tuesday, October 6th: An interview with Book Chic
Wednesday, October 7th: An interview at Presenting Lenore
Thursday, October 8th: Special post for Michelle at GalleySmith
Friday, October 9th: Last stop with Kelsey at Just Blinded Book Reviews
Kara and her father move to Japan after her mother dies. Why are authors always killing off mothers?
Bad childhoods? :) Just kidding. It's very practical, to be honest. Writers often kill off both parents, forcing the young protagonists to make their own way in the world. It's a classic conceit of children's literature. If the reader is identifying with this character, the first thing you've done is made the reader understand the peril the character is in...what would THEY do without their parents to take care of them? Many of the greatest stories in children's literature simply wouldn't happen if the parents were around to take care of the young protagonists.
In killing off just the mother, which is another common tactic, you've similarly denied the main character something, but it's a different something. Fathers are often seen as more distant or befuddled or less caring than a mother would be. That's not the case with Kara and her father in THE WAKING, but even in this trilogy, there's a comfort and an understanding that Kara might receive from her mother that her father has a difficult time providing. Not to mention that in order for them to both feel cast adrift while starting anew in this strange land, they need to feel loss. The absence of Kara's mother is just as important to the story as the presence of her father. So, no, it's not a conspiracy against moms. :)
Keep reading! Click here to visit Presenting Lenore.
Follow The Waking blog tour to learn more about Dreams of the Dead, the first book in this thrilling YA series, and its author, Thomas Randall.
Monday, September 28th: An interview with Little Willow at Bildungsroman
Tuesday, September 29th: Author Q&A with Courtney Summers
Wednesday, September 30th: The Mind of a Girl, a guest blog about writing from the female POV, at readergirlz
Thursday, October 1st: Strange Girl in a Strange Land, a guest blog about researching Japanese culture, at lectitans
Friday, October 2nd: An interview at Sarah's Random Musings
Friday, October 2nd: An interview at Steph Su Reads
Monday, October 5th: The Cold Open, a guest blog about writing mysteries, at Books By Their Cover
Tuesday, October 6th: Author Q&A with Kim Baccellia
Tuesday, October 6th: An interview with Book Chic
Wednesday, October 7th: An interview at Presenting Lenore
Thursday, October 8th: Special post for Michelle at GalleySmith
Friday, October 9th: Last stop with Kelsey at Just Blinded Book Reviews