Friday, November 18, 2011

Blending History and Pop Culture By Shana Galen


Do you guys remember that book I was raving about a few weeks back? LORD AND LADY SPY by Shana Galen? Dude! Check it out! She's here today and has a copy to give away to one lucky reader! Squee!




When Brooklyn Ann invited me to blog here and suggested this topic, I was really excited. I can’t believe I haven’t ever blogged on the blend of history and pop culture before. In fact, I was so excited to blog on it, I couldn’t concentrate on the proposal I’m writing and had to work on this blog instead.

First, some background. I think the reason Brooklyn asked me to blog on this topic is because my most recent novel, Lord and Lady Spy, is a Regency-set wink at the movie Mr. and Mrs. Smith starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. I say wink because the book and the movie don’t have much in common except the basic premise. Here’s a little about the book.


No man can outsmart him...

Lord Adrian Smythe may appear a perfectly boring gentleman, but he leads a thrilling life as one of England's most preeminent spies, an identity so clandestine even his wife is unaware of it. But he isn't the only one with secrets...


But one woman almost certainly can...

Now that the Napoleonic wars have come to an end, daring secret agent Lady Sophia Smythe can hardly bear the thought of returning home to her tedious husband. Until she discovers in the dark of night that he's not who she thinks he is after all...
The idea of taking a well-known premise, like Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty, and tweaking it into something different but familiar isn’t new at all. I’m sure you’ve read at least one book touted as a re-telling of a fairy tale. And we are always taking history and making it pop culture. Think of Bridget Jones’s Diary, a retelling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, or Clueless, a re-telling of Austen’s Emma. And, although I wish I was the first to take pop culture and blend it with history, I’m not. I don’t know who the first was, but I do know Jenna Petersen did this years ago with her Lady Spies series which was an historical Charlie’s Angels.

But here is what I think makes blending pop culture and history so much fun, and why I think we’ll see more of it.

  1. Pop culture is accessible. Adrian and Sophia in Lord and Lady Spy don’t have access to grenades, automatic weapons, fast cars, or helicopters. I had to make a carriage chase and good old hand to hand combat fun and exciting. No special effects, which, let’s face it, don’t really work in books anyway. But I think the lack of special effects makes the story all that more accessible to readers. They know they could never be Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie firing those machine guns. But they could be Adrian or Sophia and run after a bad guy.

  1. Pop culture is familiar. One of the things we love about re-tellings of fairy tales is the blend of the familiar and the novel. What will be the same? What will be different? This is why we see the movie version of books we’ve read. We already know the story, but we wonder how the director and actors will change it, and if they’ll keep our favorite parts the same. I was really conscious of this when writing Lord and Lady Spy. I didn’t want to re-write Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Honestly, I didn’t even love the movie that much. But I did love the premise, and I thought there were certain scenes I could make work in a book. For example, somewhere in the movie—maybe when Brad and Angelina have finished destroying their house—they sit down and compare “war” stories and wounds. I knew I wanted a similar scene. It wouldn’t be the same by any means, but it would be familiar to readers and fun because of the new way I’d envisioned it.

  1. Pop culture is enduring. This isn’t to say that two hundred years from now, writers will be waxing poetic on Jersey Shore or Grey’s Anatomy, but the pop in pop culture stands for popular. If a movie or TV show is popular it must have some element that resonates with viewers. I believe the idea of a husband or wife having a sexy secret is what made Mr. and Mrs. Smith a success at the box office. Who, after a few years of marriage, wouldn’t be kind of excited to find out your other half is really a secret agent? And who wouldn’t also be royally annoyed that he or she kept such a secret? This is the element of Mr. and Mrs. Smith I focused on in Lord and Lady Spy. I wanted to know, how does a married couple keep such a secret and at what price? Further, can a marriage recover from such duplicity? Those are questions any romance author could write a book around. Adding the pop culture element makes it much more fun.

I want to thank Brooklyn Ann for asking me to blog today. And I’d love to give away a signed copy of Lord and Lady Spy to one person (open internationally) who comments today. Do you have a favorite story re-telling?

Bio

Shana Galen is the author of numerous fast-paced adventurous Regency historical romances, including the Rita-nominated Blackthorne’s Bride. Her books have been sold worldwide, including Japan, Brazil, Russia, Spain, Turkey, and the Netherlands, and have been featured in the Rhapsody and Doubleday Book Clubs. A former English teacher in Houston’s inner city, Shana now writes full time. She’s a wife, a mother, and an expert multi-tasker. She loves to hear from readers: visit her website at www.shanagalen.com or see what she’s up to daily on Facebook and twitter.


21 comments:

  1. Thanks so much for having me today! I'll be checking in all day.

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  2. Great interview! It's interesting to see what happens when you take a familiar story line and add your own little twists and quirks. I personally love the fairytale redos! Beauty and the Beast is my favorite. Keep up the great work and I can't wait to read Lord and Lady Spy, it sounds like it might be a fun read!

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  3. Thanks, Candy. There are so many directions an author could take the Beauty and the Beast storyline. It's one of my favorites too.

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  4. I always like stories where the characters discover that there is always something to learn about the person they think they know ALL about..

    girlygirlhoosier52 (at) yahoo (dot) com

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  5. Thanks so much for coming today, Shana! I think my favorite movie re-tellings are Ever After (Cinderella)and 10 Things I Hate About You (The Taming of the Shrew)

    As for books, Eloisa James did awesome with WHEN BEAUTY TAMED the BEAST. The "Beast" was like a Regency Dr. House!

    I will announce a winner on Monday!

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  6. I love the retellings of fairy tales that have the herione (princess) saving herself as well as the prince. A much better message for girls, IMO =)

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  7. I would the one that was royally annoyed if I found out my hubby was a secret agent. First of all because I think I am an expert sleuth, and would have a hard time believing that he could pull one over on me. :)

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  8. This sounds like such a fun ride! So glad I stopped by today!
    Edge of Your Seat Romance

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  9. I don't know that it would be considered a "retelling" as it has been altered from a written story to a visual story, but I adore the version of Alice in Wonderland with Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter. I loved that it was the only version of the movie that had the Bandersnatch as a character in it. I also enjoyed Ever After (a more "modern" take on Cinderella) where she not only overcomes the adversity of her social class, but also puts those below her social class on par with herself or higher.

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  10. Oooh, I agree on ALICE AND WONDERLAND! It was such an awesome re-imagining.

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  11. Girlygirlhoosier52, I've always liked stories like that too, but whenever I attempted one, it never seemed to work out. Finally, I found the way to make it work.

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  12. Ooh, those are both awesome films, Brooklyn--two of my favorites. I love all of Eloisa James's books, and I heard her talk about writing the hero in WHEN BEAUTY TAMED THE BEAST. Really interesting process.

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  13. Jaymzangel, I like those as well. I can promise you my heroine does not need saving.

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  14. Gayle, my husband can't hide a Christmas present much less a secret identity. Just shows how good Adrian really is.

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  15. Thanks, Raquel. I'm glad you stopped by too!

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  16. LadyRed, I haven't seen Alice in Wonderland. I've been wanting to see it, though. I agree about Ever After. It's a fabulous movie on so many levels.

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  17. I love the idea of blending history and pop culture and to do it by taking a modern tale and telling it in a historical setting. I love that twist on the traditional way of taking a classic and setting it in a modern setting.

    One of my favorite blends of history and pop-culture is the British mini-series LOST IN AUSTEN. It's kind of like a Alice in Wonderland in that modern Amanda finds a door in her bathroom that leads to the world of Pride and Prejudice. By showing up, she has upset the plot and spends the rest of the episodes trying to right the plot and not fall in love with Mr. Darcy. Elizabeth Bennett finds the portal to the modern world and gets a haircut and a job.

    You can get all the episodes as one movie on Netflix. It's really funny and a great romantic comedy.

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  18. OMGm Asa, that sounds so awesome! I'm putting that in my queue right now!!!

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  19. Asa, I just asked for LOST IN AUSTEN for Christmas! I've heard such great things about it. Glad to know you also recommend it.

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  20. Dang ti!! I missed the entrance for the book. Oh well! I absolutely LOVE Gregory McGuire's Wicked and Son of a Witch!! I never really liked Dorothy all that much and thought there HAD to be something behind the evil witch's motivations. I mean, there just HAD to be. It is my favorite retelling thus far and I can't wait to read yours Shana.

    I have to agree that pop culture has a lot of sway on what will sell. Just look at how many teen vampire stories there are now in the wake of Twilight. But I do have to disagree somewhat, in that I like the return to folk tales. Dracula and European werewolves and magical legends hold so much mystery that there are a thousand different ways to spin those premises.

    As a final comment I have to say that my favorite movie adaptation of a fairy tale retold is Hoodwinked the new story of Little Red Riding Hood. Hilarious! But, I will have to check out Lost In Austen because that sounds fantastic!

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  21. Hi Shana,

    my re-telling story is cinderela and beauty and the beast, i could see the both movie 10 or more times, and sometimes i think is there any real story in this world ;)

    eli_y83@yahoo.com

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