It’s eight years since I made my first sale to Silhouette, and I still remember the jubilation, the excitement, the sense of accomplishment, and the sheer unmitigated terror. What if there’d been some awful mistake? What if the editor who’d bought me left the next week? What if I couldn’t get the revisions right? (Yes, it’s true, authors live by the What if? questions.)
My editor didn’t leave and I still remember my anxiety over those revisions. I also recall two pieces of advice she gave me when I called to discuss them. The first: “we’re talking fantasy, Bronwyn, don’t confuse me with reality.” My detail-oriented brain still has trouble with that one. Yes, I create larger-than-life worlds of wealth and privilege in my books, but I try to ensure that the facts underpinning the story are correct. For example, if my characters marry or divorce or adopt a child or inherit a fortune, then I want them to do so according to their country or state’s laws.
The second lesson: “these books are set in the eternal present.” That was in relation to some changes she wanted in my book. A couple of brand names, the music my heroine listened to, a designer who was popular at the time. We had quite a discussion about this.
I wanted my contemporary world to be contemporary, up to the minute, reflective of my twenty-something heroine. I believed–I still believe–that specific detail paints a more vivid and meaningful picture that enhance character. She wasn’t listening to popular music, it was Coldplay. She wasn’t carrying any purse, it was the latest Prada it-bag. She didn’t flick her TV to her favourite sitcom, it was Friends.
My editor’s argument was that such references would date the book. In five years time, Coldplay might be old-school, Prada no longer ‘it’, and Friends something seen only on cable replays. Point taken. 
And although category romance like my Desires have a short shelf life in America, they’re reprinted and republished globally for years and years afterward. My first book was out July 2001; in 2007 it was finally picked up in France.
(Aside: I could add here that the perfect argument for dating a book lies in the name of the heroine of that first book, In Bed With The Boss’s Daughter. Cringe along with me when I say her name was Paris. And she was an heiress. Not a name I’d choose if I were writing this book today.)
With digital publishing the life of today’s books should, theoretically, be eternal. Backlist will remain available. The concept of “the eternal present” makes a little more sense, at least in terms of popular culture references.
But what about the other giveaway, technology? In books of ten years ago did everyone have a cell phone? Did they listen to music on their iPod or did they have a Walkman? When they wanted to check someone’s background, did they start by googling their name or checking for a MySpace page?
And if we use such references in books we’re writing this year, how dated will they appear in five years time? Will readers in 2018 know what we mean by Bluetooth or a Blackberry?
I pondered these questions today, walking with my iPod and my smartphone.
Can you really write a contemporary book set in the eternal present? I think not; there are just too many cues, brands, words-of-the-day and references that give away when a book was written…or is that just brand-obsessed, pop-culture-addict me? What do you think?
My latest contemporary TYCOON’S ONE-NIGHT REVENGE is an April 08 release from Silhouette Desire. It is set in a remote wilderness resort in Tasmania with no cell phone coverage. I’m pretty sure that this will date the book in years to come, when there will be nowhere to escape the irritation of bad ringtones.
April 8, 2008 at 10:01 am
First off, before actually reading the post, I thought that by ‘eternal present’ in books, you meant the fact that books can–and are–read multiple times through the years. Great books will give their reader something new with each pass, and in that sense, they are an eternal present (gift)
On the actual topic, I think that all too often we are not aware of the many things that are commonplace, household names now but that were rare just a few years ago, and that could have disappeared completely just a few years down the road.
So I don’t think anything can remain contemporary for longer than a (relatively) short period of time.
As you mention, there’s technology, and how it has become embedded in the fabric of everyday life. Apparently, we can no longer live without cell phones and text messages, or without chatting and emailing every other day. Just a decade ago, having a cell phone was not only optional, but in many ways a luxury.
Once upon a time, there were personal computers. Now we have desktops and laptops, notebooks, pdas, smartphones, etc. Who knows what will be next.
And then there’s the impact all of these have on everyday language. We used to call each other on the phone; now we either use our cell or text each other. We researched, now we google. The list truly is endless.
April 8, 2008 at 11:03 am
Congratulations on your sales over the past eight years, Bronwyn!! The hero on your latest cover is drool-worthy.
You’ve raised some interesting questions. I was dealing with the same concerns in my latest revisions. The book covers thirty years of the couple’s life so as I went back in time, I had to keep checking about what they had or didn’t have.
In one chapter, they live in separate towns and have to be careful not to rack up a huge long-distance bill, something that’s not the same concern with cell phones.
I can’t remember when I got my first cell phone anymore — seems like it’s been with me forever (same with remembering what life was like before kids!). We’ve had computers forever but not the Internet. I think, though, a good story is a good story and that’s the eternal present that we strive for!
April 8, 2008 at 11:29 am
With everything you just mentioned, it doesn’t seem possible to write a book in the eternal present. Even places and names change. Some countries no longer exist, like Yugoslavia and some cities names have changed, Bombay is now Mumbai.
April 8, 2008 at 12:29 pm
Great post, Bron! And I agree with Jane about how hard it is to remain always in the eternal present when everything is in a constant state of flux.
Faye
April 8, 2008 at 1:02 pm
Hi, Bronwyn
Loved reading your post and learning some new things… like what an eternal present book is 
Looking forward to reading more of your work 
By the way, I recently purchased your latest release, Tycoon’s One Night Revenge, and loved it… definitely needed tissues when I read that one
April 8, 2008 at 2:32 pm
Hi Bronwyn. I have to disagree with your editor on the “eternal present” idea. I think of authors like Mary Stewart who wrote all those great RS’s such as “My Brother Michael”. *Those* were contemporaries in her day, as she wrote them, and yet reading them now the “anachronisms” she mentions just give them more punch. It makes the book richer, to my mind. And congrats on selling the French rights to your very first book!
April 8, 2008 at 2:42 pm
i dont even have a cell phone but it canbe diffucut
congrats on your book
April 8, 2008 at 5:32 pm
AL, isn’t it funny how we can look at the same phrase and see a completely different meaning? Mind you, the best books definitely are an eternal present, their message and their impact staying with you forever.
On the topic, it is definitely the technology that ties me in the most knots as a writer. I mean, what else can you call a Blackberry other than a Blackberry? Same with iPod. These are part of my contemporary characters’ everyday lives and trying to write around them or to use a more generic term that won’t date the book drives me nuts.
Bron
April 8, 2008 at 5:38 pm
Tessa, he is rather watchable, isn’t he?
As an aside: at the time I first sold Desire had a Man of the Month feature — one book wore that flash and was a hero only cover. I loved them and wanted one of mine own. Every book I submitted at least one idea for a hero-only cover but I never got one…until I gave up and stopped submitting them in my art fact sheets. 
Oh, I understand yr pain about that timeline and keeping the technology straight. I’ve seen a few movies recently from 10 or 20 years back and the lack of technology (by today’s standards) helped the plot. If they’d had cell phones or easy internet access or sat-nav, then plot would have been solved or would not have escalated into a plot.
Makes me consider writing a book set in days of yore.
Bron
April 8, 2008 at 5:47 pm
Jane, I didn’t even think of the geography part. You are so right! On a more local geography level, this is the reason I invent places, restaurants, streets, etc, even in a city or an area. I often base them on a real one, but what if it closes down or changes name or loses reputation in a yhear or ten’s time? The places in Tycoon’s One-Night Revenge are all my own creations, even though I could have used actual resorts and places. I did listen to Leslie’s voice telling me about “the eternal present”.
Bron
April 8, 2008 at 5:51 pm
Faye, constant state of flux is spot on. In my post I talk about years’ time but really it is a constant change, day to day.
BTW, I’ve been meaning to say how cool your cover looks. How exciting!
Bron
April 8, 2008 at 5:55 pm
Ali, you loved my book? I made tears?? Bless you for putting this big smile on my face this morning, as I’m about to open my file and start today’s pages.
Kim, you are absolutely not alone and more power to you. As convenient as cell phones are, there is also their insidious presence. Can ruin a day, a train trip, a walk in the park, the plotting of a book.
Bron
April 8, 2008 at 6:05 pm
Laurie, I absolutely agree. I love specific detail that paints a picture of That Place In Time, whether in historicals or in contemporaries of their time, and even in the hip, ultra-modern books that are brand and pop-culture rich. That detail comes through setting and description and word choice, but also through character, their beliefs and value systems, what they find important, how they live their days. All the detail that adds richness and texture.
Bron
April 8, 2008 at 6:51 pm
Bronwyn, the iPod and Blackberry thing are some of the things that I wonder about, because really, in a book published today in which a successful entrepreneur, or high level manager, doesn’t have one… well, it would pull me out of the story if instead of ‘Blackberry’ it said, for example, “top of the line cellular phone.”
I mean, for one gadget, sure, but for every gadget through the entire book? And really, what do you call the iPod? miniature music storage and reproduction device?
April 8, 2008 at 8:45 pm
I believe you are right. Just as I feel that it is impossible to write every
novel set in the past without making even a teeny, tiny slip-up.
Consciously – No! Subconsciously – most likely! In the same way, it can happen with the modern-day novel!
Pat Cochran
April 8, 2008 at 9:24 pm
Exactly, AL. I mean, this isn’t even brand specific necessarily. I refer to my MP3 as an iPod even though it isn’t, because then it’s instantly recognised for what it is. A miniature music storage and reproduction device. LOL.
I think you could probably refer to the top-of-the-line cell phones that do everything as smart phones, but does that make the rest not-so-smart?
Bron
April 8, 2008 at 11:37 pm
While brands can date a book, I think what dates a book more is the storylines. A lot of earlier category romances have very distant overly alpha heroes that at times you want to hit. I know that a good friend of mine dislikes Sarah’s Child by Linda Howard because she feels the hero is almost cringe-worthy.
I’m pretty much out of touch with the latest brands so it doesn’t date it for me.
April 9, 2008 at 1:30 am
I don’t think you can write a book for the eternal present – there is only one – the Bible. Things change over time. Words, clothes, people, environment, etc. so no matter what a book won’t live forever. Books only stay on the shelves for so long at a time that they don’t even live on forever. However the classics that stand out and are still around were written for the period they were in and everyone excepts that.
I just wanted to let you know I read your blog.
April 9, 2008 at 11:54 am
Great post Brownyn.
I think about this when I write, but it’s hard to really cut out all references that will date a book.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
CC
April 9, 2008 at 4:29 pm
I don’t even have a cell phone. Hubby has one but I don’t even know how to use it.
April 9, 2008 at 5:26 pm
Hi Patricia.
it is impossible to write every
novel set in the past without making even a teeny, tiny slip-up.
Absolutely. I love historicals. Love reading them, love the world they create, and because I’m not a history buff or scholar I’m sure plenty of anachronistic slips slide right by me. Especially when I’m engrossed in a well-told story.
I’ve often wondered about writing one. The world of the past is already there, the world created, the research available. There is scope for storylines we can’t do today, because the world and social mores have changed.
But I’m afraid of making terrible blunders in language usage etc. Maybe, one day, I will be brave.
Thanks for dropping by and commenting. Hope to see you here again.
Bron
April 9, 2008 at 5:47 pm
While brands can date a book, I think what dates a book more is the storylines. A lot of earlier category romances have very distant overly alpha heroes that at times you want to hit.
Great point, Ann. Those books were also written from female POV, which didn’t help understand his motivation. I know there are some readers who still crave those books with the enigmatic hard men. Not me.
And re the brands: I’m a bit too aware, being a glossy magazine addict.
So good to see you here at 2BR. Hope you’ll bookmark us and visit often.
Bron
April 9, 2008 at 6:13 pm
Jane, absolutely agree about books dating themselves with so many elements and with the physical print book itself not lasting forever. However, with digital publishing (eBooks, audibooks) that is no longer the case. Books which previously had a limited on-sale date will now be available as eBooks for…who knows how long? Although the technology in how we read and/or listen to them will continue to evolve and change.
Thanks for visiting and commenting.
Bron
April 9, 2008 at 6:18 pm
Christie, hey and hi. It’s always comforting to know I’m not alone in my obsessing over details
Hey, Virginia. Are you in cell phone denial or do you just not need one? My dh was in denial for years; would not have one out of sheer cussed stubborness…and because his sons insisted he needed one. Eventually he caved and carries it everywhere with him. He won’t learn to text though.
Bron
April 11, 2008 at 2:56 am
I think you can get away with reference to contemporay technologies and so on. Many people who read want to get away, in fact, from stuff like that, anyway (why is a reference to an ipod so important?).
When I read I want strong characters and see how they develop. I don’t really care when the story is set (it could be contemporary or not). Bonfire of the Vanities is one of my favourite books of last 30 years or so. Yes, you can kind of tell it is from the 80’s (if you really think about it). But it could, also, easily pass for a contemporary book as well.
Forget the ipods (who cares?!). And good luck!
April 11, 2008 at 2:57 am
‘I think you can get away with reference to contemporay technologies and so on’ – I meant: you can get away WITHOUT reference to …