Falling in Love

I got one of those rejections today that makes you want to scream. Oh, not because it was mean or got my name wrong or was a form letter. No, it made me want to scream because it was nice and complimentary, but ultimately amounted to an "I liked it, but I didn't love it" with no real explanation of why.

But that's just the thing, isn't it? Love is irrational and, when you get right down to it, impossible to truly justify. Oh, you can always cite reasons. But in the end, it comes down to chemistry, to that indefinable quality that one person (or book or movie or work of art) has and another doesn't.

For example, I love House. The show and the character. Passionately. He's sarcastic, self-centered, and manipulative, not to mention a drug addict, yet there's a wit and a vulnerability there that I just can't resist. I've introduced a number of my friends to the show since I discovered it a little over a year ago, and you know what? They don't all love it! Are they mad? Yes. But they're not wrong.

On the flip side of the coin, I have friends who adore the Vincent D'Onofrio character on Law and Order: Criminal Intent. I've watched the show fairly often (it's in reruns almost every night, so there are many times it's the only thing on that I'm remotely interested in watching him), yet I've never understood my friends' fascination with him. I don't dislike the character, but I feel no particular affinity for him, either. Am I mad? Possibly. But I'm not wrong.

For those of us who write romance, I think there's a fascinating duality here. We write about a process that is ultimately inexplicable. Through our writing, we try to engender in our readers the emotions they would have if they were falling in love. At the same time, we're hoping they'll also fall in love with our writing, our stories, our characters--especially if those readers happen to be agents or editors who can help us get published.

But if the magic doesn't happen--if they like our story, but don't love it--we perhaps shouldn't expect a justification for that, nor fall into despair in fear that no one will ever love it. Just remember, "I say Hugh Laurie, and you say Vincent D'Onofrio..." (Okay, so it doesn't fit the meter. You get the idea!)

YOUR TURN: Ever been the victim of a "I like it, but I don't love it" rejection? How did you cope with it? What things do you love that other people don't? And vice versa. Do tell!