I was wondering if this sounded Chick Lit.....
My MC is a young woman who is desperste to get pregnant. The book opens with her taking a positive test. about 5 months into the pregnancy her husband starts acting strange and a few chapters later she discovers him cheating on her. She faints and dreams about her own childhood her father being abusive, and killing her mother, and her running away to live on the streets only to be "saved" by an abusive boyfriend whom she almost marries, but the man fathering her child saved her from him (All of this isnt revealed in the dream but actually at different points when talking to friends, and analyzing the situation to herself). When she wakes up in the hospital she decides to kill herself and attemps to jump off the roof of the building. A service man (marine or Air force haven't decided yet....I have a real person Im nodeling this character after, but I am not sure if I want it to be TOO obvious), who is having surgery at the same hospital finds her while he is on the roof smoking and convinces her to live. When she falls into his arms he looks into her eyes and realizes she was his best friend's sister growing up. He and her brother and her sister-in-law help her through the pregnancy, and she has the baby. I sitll haven't decided if the MC and her husband get back together or if she completely falls for the service man. anyways, I dunno if it really is chick lit or not
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38,749 / 50,000
Oct 19, 2007 - 22 01
I don't think so but I could be wrong. Search the Chick Lit Forums. There are some really good ones listed on this topic.
53,318 / 50,000
Oct 20, 2007 - 03 03
If it is, I would say it's a... fairly morbid version of chick lit. :) Which is a nice change. I don't know what else it could be though. I'll vote yes, it is.
Can you please make her get with the service man? Her husband made her want to commit suicide, I hate him already <<; He doesn't deserve to be apart of the happy ending!
----------Christina
ML of Adelaide
All we can do is keep breathing...
23,120 / 50,000
Oct 20, 2007 - 06 44
I agree on the husband issue. It is pretty hard to love a guy who was actually unfaithful instead of maybe just being misakenly unfaithful. If you want her to be back with the husband there needs to be a pretty big resolution in there so that we don't walk away thinking the heroine is a twit for taking him back.
As for your original question, I don't think it is Chick Lit, since it seems to aim at an older audience. Most Chick Lit readers like to read about single girls finding love...Your character is married and dealing with an entirely different dynamic. I have read several romance novels that start off with a similiar premise. But in the romance realm you must have a happy ending and the probably means losing the cheating husband very early in the plot line.
50,991 / 50,000
Oct 21, 2007 - 05 39
Yeah, I think the emotional intensity of this story may be more suited for a modern literature audience... I just read The Memory Keeper's Daughter, and your story reminds me of it in the sense that it revolves around highly tragic circumstances and the dynamics that arise around that tragedy through the characters involved.
That doesn't mean we wouldn't love to have you stick around and chat with us in this forum for fun, though!
54,246 / 50,000
Oct 21, 2007 - 11 11
I think your story sounds more like mainstream 'women's fiction' [a la Maeve Binch], unless you plan to tell the story with a humorous or wry tone, somehow (tricky given the circs)
Chick lit has grown beyond the original formulas of 20 something singles seeking love and success in big city, interspersed with shopping, drinking cosmos, and bedhopping....
The genre is such hit that there are now lots of 'chick-lit' spin-offs -- bride lit, mommy lit, hen lit [40-60 yo MCs], tec lit. What keeps them all under the 'chick-lit' umbrella seems to be primarily a matter of tone --
http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA623004.html
"What makes a novel chick lit, anyway—the marketing and cutesy, often hot pink, cover? And how does this kind of book differ from "women's fiction" and regular romances? Both mainstream women's fiction and chick lit deal in similar themes—love, marriage, fidelity, work, friendship—and are written by women for women. As ChickLitBooks.com convincingly argues, the difference is largely a question of tone. Regular women's fiction, à la Maeve Binchy or Elizabeth Berg, takes life just a bit more seriously. Chick lit, on the other hand, is distinguished by its humor—wisecracking characters or ridiculous situations, usually involving work or dating.
Look also for a big helping of pop culture—great shoes, trendy drinks, celebrities, jobs in publishing. The characters' ages should also tip you off. Chick lit almost always posits young women setting out to make their mark in the world. Add to this mix an urban setting and a heroine who interacts with the world (whereas in a typical romance, the action is highly internal, mainly between the heroine and the hero), and, presto! you've got yourself a chick lit book."
25,325 / 50,000
Oct 23, 2007 - 07 55
Women´s Fiction for sure, Chick lit, not so much...
Just my opinion : )
140,257 / 50,000
Oct 23, 2007 - 11 31
While I don't have a lot of input on how to categorize your story, I just want to put in a "good" word for the estranged husband that everyone hates...
I mostly agree that he should get dumped, definitely, but at the same time... when you take a vow to get married, you agree to stay with that person, for better or for worse. If the husband ends up seeking redemption, I wouldn't write him off (literally and figuratively) so quickly. Exploring the struggle of finding reconciliation again after an affair could provide some very interesting material.. People have managed to salvage their marriages after affairs and being part of that minority could make the plot that much more interesting. OBVIOUSLY the husband has to be sorry. Incredibly sorry. And understand that he's going to be regarded as a piece of crap for a while, and should accept it. It shouldn't be an easy road at all. BUT... just thought I'd put that out there.
-----------Stacy. Just Stacy.
5,775 / 50,000
Oct 23, 2007 - 14 08
Yeah, I haven't quite decided what to do with that yet, I think Im going to let my story take me where it needs to go. The wholoe thing is very loosely based on my life, and the character is baisically going to be my husband in real life, and although he has never cheated on me, Im kind of looking at this as if it were really him, and what my reaction would be, so we shall see. I usually get pretty emotionally attached to my MC so thats why Im waiting to see where my emotions take me!! but I will keep all of it in mind!!
44,614 / 50,000
Oct 23, 2007 - 14 28
Intriguing point smwalter. I'd like to add something to that.
Another here in support of the estranged husband. Infidelity in an assortment of forms is the number one catalyst for relationship growth. Could an erotic liaison between your pregnant MC and the service man who 'saves' her gives her insight into her own marriage? Desire is often re-ignited at the possibility of losing a lover/husband/father for your baby. An unhappy ending would not be very marketable I think - especially considering the baby.
10,020 / 50,000
Oct 28, 2007 - 00 37
I agree that this doesn't sound very chick-lit, but more womens' fiction/mainstream. Love the idea though! :D