Oooh, this is a good daily prompt because I’ve been thinking about this a lot. As I get into my final edits with Jewel of the Thames, one of the scenes that became a sticking point between my editor and I brought up the startling idea in my mind: do they know that Portia is not ‘nice?’
The scene (without giving too much away) was meant to show how Portia figures out the methodology used by the jewel thief in her first case. It requires that she do some research on death and dead bodies.
When my editor pointed out that the scene was needed, I agreed right away, and I even had an idea in my head as to what I wanted to happen.
Problem is that when I delivered the scene, everyone, from my editor to my publishers, felt it was too macabre. Yes, some mice got killed, but it was off-camera and I swear, in the name of science!
This brings me back to the point of the daily post: Portia is NOT nice. She is actually far too analytical to be considered nice, and will often do and say things that are seen by the general public as cruel or unemotional.
That is who she is, and I had to call my publisher in a bit of a panic to make sure that they KNEW that. Because if they didn’t… whoo boy were they in for a surprise in book 2!
Turns out they were aware of it, loved Portia for that facet of her personality, but encouraged me to find a less-PETA-opposing way of demonstrating her science over sentiment personality.
Phew! Someday, after publication in March I think, I will post the original scene and see what you guys think (and hope that PETA doesn’t notice).
Who cares if PETA notices? They’re a bunch of fanatics with some very strange ideas, so just about everything gets on their nerves. And between you and me, I’ve never heard of a “nice” detective. I’ve heard of plenty of good ones, but not nice. Nice people, in my opinion at least, wouldn’t have the stomach for police work and all the horrible stuff and people that cops must deal with. They need a certain hardness about them to get past the horrors they witness on the job every day. It’s not pretty, but it’s a fact of the job.
Another thing, is that “nice,” as defined by PETA, is anachronistic for Portia’s time period. The humane societies that existed then would not have been very interested in protecting mice, which, like rats, were vermin that destroyed property and food, carried pests and were vectors for disease. That’s one of the reasons why they were used in scientific experiments. Nobody cared about mice.
No kidding. I didn’t know that.
Lol; I knew you would approve of Portia’s lack of nice-ness, Rami. I will for sure post the mice-murdering scene after publication.
We’re talking “Young Adults,” here, not “Juvenile Fiction,” right? So, as far as I’m concerned, PETA can kiss Portia’s grits.
lolol.