Tag: Contemporary Romance

Why I Love Historical Romance

Photo of luxurious fabric to be made into a cape.Last week in my accountability group’s HOW I WRITE series, we talked about 3 Things I Love About My WIP. This week we’re talking about why we write in a particular genre and what attracted us to it. Also, we were asked if we like to read any genres we don’t or can’t write? Why? And would we like to try a different genre? I’ve already answered the “Why Romance” question, but I’m not sure I’ve ever covered Why Write Historical Romance, and Regency Romance in specific.

What attracted me to Historical Romance?

I grew up reading a variety of historical romances pilfered from my mom’s stash: Kathleen Woodiwiss, Kat Martin, Rosemary Rogers, Shirlee Busbee, Virginia Henley, Johanna Lindsey, and many, many, more. I’ll freely admit I was looking for escapism and a bit of the bodice ripping excitement promised by the covers. It was a slightly different kind from what I was finding in Science Fiction and Fantasy in that this was real world stuff, not wholly made up! Westerns/Colonial American, Medievals, Regencies… all were fair game. I never read the contemporary romances then. Probably because they all had boring object covers instead of those wildly passionate clinches.

So why settle into the Regency Era?

The romantic notions like titles and balls, the escapist fantasy, the slower/different pace of life, the layers and intrigue in the rules of society. The descriptions of men’s fashions, especially the mysteries revealed when a man removes his cravat. While I love me some eye-candy, there’s something to be said for leaving things to your imagination too.

They’d also just done away with the powdered wigs, patches, and panniers of the Georgian Era. Nasty stuff. Not practical and not attractive. Medievals were too much fantasy compared to the historical reality of fleas, sandy grit in the bread, women being literal property. In the Regency that last hadn’t changed legally, but the authors were showing their heroines more as partners than dependents. Victorian Era was too hypocritical for me in many of its attitudes around sex. I never really got into Edwardian Era books because anytime they drive up in a car or the phone rings, my immersion is shattered. Yes, I love Downton Abbey, but yup, the phone and the cars were jarring at first there too. I suspect my problem is more with books where the setting isn’t firmly established in the beginning and those things sneak up on me.

What else do I read besides Historical Romance?

What don’t I? The most represented genres on our shelves (well, the ones *I* read anyway) include Science Fiction, Fantasy, Young Adult, some Contemporary Romance, some Romantic suspense, historical time travel, a handful of chick lit mysteries, and a selection of urban fantasy. Again, it’s usually the escapist aspect that draws me to these genres, something removed from my ordinary world.

If not Historical Romance, what else would I try to write?

Maybe contemporary romance, Urban Fantasy or some fantasy, but it’d probably be flavored in some way by the historical aspect and it’d likely still have lots of romantic elements. But for now, I’m focused on finishing the current crop of characters in my head who all reside firmly in Regency London.

And if you’d like to read more about what’s got the rest of the group excited about their genres, you can find their blogs here:

* Alexia Reed * Kimberly Farris*
* Angeleque Ford * Danie Ford * Emma G. Delaney *

Your Turn: What’s YOUR favorite genre of book to read and why?

My Top 9 Books for 2011

Last week, our How I Write series laid out our writer’s toolkit and resources. This week we were asked, “Which books that you’ve read this year would you put into a time capsule for 2011?” It’s funny how you can almost tell who picked the questions each week by how whimsical or practical they are. This week’s question was put on the list by Alexia, but I picked it.

I read a wide variety of books. Our house is filled with Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, Non-fiction, and even numerous collections of poems and literary short stories. Oh and comic books. I don’t just mean graphic novels, I mean individual issues as well as collected editions. Yes, many of those are not mine, but I’m often just looking for something different to read.

I wish I had kept up with keeping my reading list current in GoodReads, but I’m going to make an effort to do so again this coming year.

In reverse amazon purchase order, here’s my top 9 books for 2011:

The Black Hawk by Joanna Bourne
I love the way Joanna Bourne uses language. That shouldn’t be a secret by now. Adrian’s story was one I eagerly awaited and while it wasn’t what I was expecting at all, in no way did it disappoint. In addition to her command of language in general, she also uses it in such a way that her characters are expertly drawn and brought to life with their very own voices.
Pure Red by Danielle Joseph
I read a lot of YA, mostly to know what my daughter’s reading, but also to scout out great books for her to read. This one caught my eye because it tackles the topic of searching for your passion. An excellent read for anyone on this journey of self-discovery, I can only wish it’d been around when I was my daughter’s age.
A Night to Surrender by Tessa Dare
This is the first book in The Spindle Cove series and it packs a wonderful sense of humor and also addresses some serious topics at the same time. I fell in love with the main characters, but also several of the secondary characters. If you haven’t read the companion novella for this series: Once Upon a Winter’s Eve, You’ll want to go grab a copy and settle in for a cozy winter’s night read.
We Are Not Alone by Kristen Lamb
This book is a must read for the person who isn’t technically savvy or is new to social media. I sent a copy to my father-in-law, it was so useful. I’m still working on fixing a couple of mistakes Lamb pointed out from learning the hard way, first hand experience. Great advice, very personably and entertaining voice, and a great sense of cheering you on in your efforts. Lamb also encourages people to use the #MYWANA hashtag on twitter for additional conversations with others in the same boat.
Thief of Hope by Cindy Young-Turner
One of my friends from college published her first book this year. She had me at “thief”. But you add in a fantasy world with an interesting magic and political atmopshere, and you’ve got a fantastic read.
Texas Gothic by Rosemary Clement-Moore
Yep, more YA. I know want to go read more about the other Goodnight witches. Paranormal with lots of wit and real life dilemmas for the characters. I have yet to read a book by Clement-Moore that I didn’t love.
Too Hot to Touch by Louisa Edwards
If you love food and you love steamy romances, you need to indulge yourself with the richness of Louisa Edwards’ culinary explorations. She’s earned her kitchen credentials and is a bona fide foodie and it shows in her books.
Story Engineering by Larry Brooks
I love Larry Brook’s website Story Fix Lots of practical information for this theoretical plotter. I’m not sure I’d recommend it for pantsers, but if you’re interested in what makes a story work, this is a great read.
The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
I was on a big kick last year with Sun Tzu’s The Art of War and The Art of War for Writers: Fiction Writing Strategies, Tactics, and Exercises by James Scott Bell, so this one by Pressfield was a natural follow-up. Learning to be an artist is definitely a lot different than strictly practical professions such as business and economics. You may need some of those skills, as well as many more today, as artists are no longer relegated to garrets or ivory towers.

YOUR TURN: What books would you put in a time capsule for this year?

If you’d like to see what’s in my friends’ time capsules, you can find their blogs here:

* Alexia Reed * Kimberly Farris *
* Danie Ford * Emma G. Delaney * Angeleque Ford *

What’s on My Shelf?

This week my accountability group is blogging about what our bookshelves are like and which authors have influenced us. Last week’s post on Hobbies is also part of our How I Write series.

My husband and I are bona fide bibliophiles. Movers hate us because we have so many books. We just lost a large built-in shelf at the old house last Spring, so we’re in the process of converting the majority of our shelving into double-stacked shelves where you can read both spines. We bought 4×4′s at Home Depot and had them cut to length. Not the prettiest in some places, but functional and needed.

Photo of a crazy bookshelf house. No walls, just shelves.
We so need a house like this!

I think we’d be quite happy with a house like the one on the right (BTW – You can click on any of the images to enlarge them!). As it is, we have covered 2 windows with bookshelves and turned the common wall of the dining room and family room into one long shelf unit for books, movies and games. We keep joking that we need to find a library branch that’s closing and tell them don’t move anything, we’ll just move in around the existing shelves and books. Needless to say, after a couple of moves, we’re tired of not being able to put our hands on a book easily. We have roughly 76 – 40″ shelves and 45 – 20″ shelves full. This works out to 3940 linear inches or 328 linear feet of books! No. We have no idea how many individual books that comes to.

A photo of my Historical Romance Shelf
Historical Romance Shelf

But let’s take a closer look at my romance shelves. These I have separated out and organized. I’ve put all my Historical Romances which are set mostly during the Regency on a 40″ bookcase. If we wanted to name favorite authors, there are quite a few: Victoria Alexander, Mary Balogh, Shirlee Busbee, Suzanne Enoch, Galen Foley, Karen Hawkins, Eloisa James, Sabrina Jeffries, Lisa Kleypas, Stephanie Laurens, Amanda Quick, and Julia Quinn. I’ve also picked up some new favorites: Tessa Dare, Anna Campbell, Joanna Bourne, and Anne Gracie.

I love authors with big sprawling series like JQ’s Bridgertons, SL’s Cynsters and Enoch’s books which have a few token characters who return on the fringes book after book. Love the inter-connectedness that makes it feel like a coherent society.

A photo of my Contemporary & Paranormal Shelf
Contemporary & Paranormal Shelf

The Contemporary Romance & Paranormal Romance books are on a 20″ bookcase. Janet Evanovich amuses me, both with her old contemporary romances — it’s fun to see where she was practicing with certain characters — and the Stephanie Plum series. I’m so not sold on who they picked for Ranger in the movie either. Anyway…my other go to authors for contemporary are Suzanne Brockmann, Jennifer Crusie and Louisa Edwards.

For some reason, all my Lynn Kurland time-travel books seem to be on the historical shelf, instead of with the contemporary/paranormal ones. I think this is because they scream historical to me even if the couple ends up in modern times at the end of the book. I know where to look for them anyway.

I also read a lot of YA in hopes of getting my daughter interested in ones beyond what’s just wildly popular (She hated Twilight, LOVED Hunger Games) and I’ve had limited success with that since she’s crazy into anime and manga. On the other hand, I’ve had great success in finding fun and entertaining authors for myself like Rosemary Clement-Moore and Tera Lynn Childs. DH is the one who reads SF/F so has introduced us to Cory Doctorow (Little Brother) and Scott Westerfeld (The Midnighters Series, Pretties/Uglies/Specials and Leviathan/Behemoth/Goliath) and he’s had some success in getting me and our son to read them. The boy is happily reading a string of 19th century stories and novels like Frankenstein. Don’t think I can sell him on Jane Austen though.

My "To Be Read" Shelf
My TBR Stack: Can you spot the duplicate?

I’m also falling behind in my reading. While I was tracking on GoodReads, I was reading about 2-3 books a week. I should go back to doing that again, it was fun to see everything back-to-back in a list like that. But from this shelf, the proportions are fairly well represented: mostly Regency set historicals, 3 other. What you can’t see behind there are craft books (read) and some reference books (most read).

I hope you enjoyed this little tour of my books.

YOUR TURN: Who are your favorite authors? What do you recommend that I add to my TBR pile now that you’ve seen what I like?

And if you’d like to read about what the rest of my group does when they’re not writing, you can find their blogs here:

* Alexia Reed * Angeleque Ford * Danie Ford *
* Emma G. Delaney * Kimberly Farris *

The Burden of Experience

I answered “why romance” a few years ago on my blog — why read romance, why write romance. But I don’t think I ever got into why historical romance or even why set during the Regency specifically.

I recently joined RWA (Romance Writers of America) and two chapters: my local in-person chapter here in San Diego and an online special interest one, The Beau Monde (a play on the French phrase for society — the Beautiful World).

I’m mostly lurking on the Beau Monde mailing list. I feel like a debutante testing the waters at the first ball of her first Season. Everyone there is so knowledgeable and has strong opinions about what a Regency set historical should look and read like. I’m sure I do too, but I’m doing the email equivalent of smiling and nodding right now.

One of my friends has recently started reading more historical romances. She’s working her way through a lot of my favorite authors, but today she threw me for a loop with a couple of questions about why she was always seeing the same places mentioned.

You’ll see it in contemporaries as well, especially ones set in large well-known cities like New York. I mean, could you have a novel set there without mentioning some of the more prominent landmarks like Central Park, Times Square or even the ubiquitous food carts? The things she asked about were the Regency equivalents. It’s funny what I take for granted as commonplace terms and landmarks after reading historical romances for close to 30 years. And I just realized my friend’s birthday the other day marked about the same number of years.

Man, I feel old now.

I think I’ll wait a bit longer before asking any questions on the Beau Monde list, lest I make them feel the burden of their experience as well. =)

Fan Girl Moment

Suzanne Enoch and Teresa Medeiros at Romance World in El Cajon, CA on 8/3/08.
Suzanne Enoch and Teresa Medeiros
at Romance World in El Cajon, CA on 8/3/08

On Sunday, I dragged my kids with me down to El Cajon to the Romance World bookstore. Two of my favorite Avon authors, Suzanne Enoch and Teresa Medeiros were signing their newest books, Before the Scandal: The Notorious Gentlemen and Some Like It Wicked. After attending the Janet Evanovich event here at Borders, I was a bit apprehensive, but we set out and got there when the store opened. And yes, I took my camera this time!

The kids were predictably bored. Especially the boy. Their kids section was limited and they only had 2 Star Wars books, one of which we own. DD did much better and I think she ended up with more books than I did.

There were maybe a dozen people in the store including the staff. So it was nothing like Janet Evanovich’s event. Although I hope their Borders event later this week is as well attended as that one!

I love the books these ladies write. I got about 9 books signed and managed to get thoroughly tongue-tied and not manage very coherent sentences. Suzanne did remember my name when I mentioned I was the one who blogged about England’s Perfect Hero (Lessons in Love, Book 3) being one of my “comfort reads” back in April.

My daughter impressed Teresa with her love of reading and ability to speak better than her mother. She even wrote down the names of two of the authors my daughter recommended. When she found out DD had written a story for my birthday, she encouraged her to keep up with her writing. DD came home and wrote two pages of a new story. Sad to say that’s more than I accomplished yesterday.

And, Suzanne? A full resolution copy of this picture should be in your inbox as promised.

Hot Contract Now Available

I haven’t done this before but I can’t keep quiet about this one. Jodi’s book just came out over at The Wild Rose Press and I’ve been waiting for this one. Now, I haven’t finished it yet, so this isn’t a full-fledged review. However, lemme tell ya, I’m lovin’ what I’ve read so far! I’ll be back to rave later this weekend, I’m sure… but for now, check it out for yourself!


Hot Contract

by Jodi Henley

When Jen Stalling, chief geologist on a new magma-based power plant known as the Pele Project witnesses the murder of a fellow scientist, Project officials don’t want the negative publicity of a murder investigation. “An accident,” they say. Jen knows better. So does her father, billionaire Art Stalling. But having pushed Jen away years ago, he can’t now reveal his interest without exposing her to danger. He hires DalCon, a Seattle-based security group to watch over her.

Keegan Dalfrey has his own problems. Four days ago, during a routine mission gone wrong, his brother was captured by South Pacific extremists. They want two million in ten days. Keegan can make that in nine days by neutralizing the threat to Jen. It’s an all or nothing gamble with his brother’s life in the balance. He never expected to fall in love.

Read An Excerpt or Buy it now!

Rose (220 pages) Spicy

PRINT ISBN 1-60154-208-9 Also Available In Print Sep 2008

Review: Wife For Hire

Wife for Hire by Janet EvanovichI was first turned on to Janet Evanovich and the Stephanie Plum series a few years ago by the wife of DH’s boss at the time. I went through them like candy. The only problem is now that I’m caught up, waiting for the paperbacks to come out a year after the hardbacks are released really sucks. If you haven’t discovered the Stephanie Plum Novels, they’re a fun read. Plus they’ve got Morelli and Ranger!

Wife for Hire is another of her re-releases from the time before Plum. These books seem to have been practice for the Plum books. You’ll run into some characters which feel very familiar after you’ve read the Plum books, but these short contemporary romance novels also pack in some great stories along the way. This is one of them.

Aspiring author Maggie Toone, desperate to escape her hometown of Riverside, NJ where everyone knows your business, never hesitates to judge you for it and remembers everything you ever did, especially if it’s bad, meets with Hank Mallone to discuss a business deal to spend six months with him in Vermont so she can work on turning her aunt’s diary into a novel while posing as his wife. Maggie and Hank struggle with their growing attraction to one another as well as the notoriety and sudden crime spree surrounding her aunt’s diary while attempting to present a stable, settled front for his father, the president of the bank who can’t believe his ne’er do well son has changed his ways and can responsibly run the family orchards and refuses to approve his loan application. Will Maggie learn the lessons she discovers while fictionalizing her aunt’s diary or will she return home to Riverside at the end of their deal, leaving behind the man she loves, his expanding orchard operations and everything else she has come to love about life in this small, rural New England town?

Maybe it’s because I grew up in a small, rural community and I’m also attempting to write a novel that so much of this is familiar ground. However, this story, like many of the others from this stage in Ms. Evanovich’s career, is sweet with just the right amount of sexual tension and release to satisfy everyone. If you’re looking for a few hours’ escape, this book fits the bill.

Review: A Touch of Minx

Suzanne Enoch has become one of my favorite authors. I forget where I first stumbled across one of her books. It was likely recommended by Amazon as something I’d like because of reading authors like Julia Quinn. I went through her available books still in print and then went and specially ordered a couple because the stories and characters are so good. My favorite book of hers has to be England’s Perfect Hero (Lessons in Love, Book 3) — wonderful story and magnificently told. It definitely stands up to rereading also.

A Touch of Minx is the 4th full book to feature the heroine, Samantha Jellicoe — a retired cat burglar, and her hero, Rick Addison, a wealthy businessman and titled English Lord. This couple also featured prominently in her historical romance, Twice the Temptation.

As usual, the story focuses on Sam and Rick’s differing worlds and how Sam slowly settles deeper into his life, which is complicated when Sam must solve two mysteries within the week and Rick is kept busy in his attempts to keep her out of trouble. Tensions are wound tight as Samantha investigates the mysteries and the stakes are raised when Rick starts talking marriage. Can there be a happily ever after in this couple’s future or will they always be stuck with happy for now endings?

Along with all the others in this series, I enjoyed this book. Sam and Rick have great chemistry and the rich characters (even the recurring secondary ones) draw you into their world. Every time Jellicoe pulls away from him, you want to smack her for being so dumb, but you also understand why she is emotionally distant and unable to settle easily. Addison is a great hero. He’s not obviously troubled or broken, but has a few issues of his own. You can tell he genuinely loves his little cat burglar and not just because she saved his life back in book one. I was eager to read this book since Enoch has such a fantastic track record and I needed a refreshing, fun and solid series entry after the last couple I’ve read.

Other titles in this series:

Flirting With Danger
Don’t Look Down
Billionaires Prefer Blondes
Twice the Temptation

Review: Anyone But You

Jennifer Crusie's Anyone But YouYesterday, DH needed to visit a bookstore to prepare for an overseas flight. This might sound strange to some folks, but he’s a voracious reader. He has been known to finish a 300 page book on an hour and a half flight.

My other errands finished, I met up him at the bookstore. I didn’t want to buy another thick, historical romance. I’ve still got a couple here on my TBR pile that are feeling unloved and neglected. I needed something light and quick.

Now, I’ve read Janet Evanovich‘s old romances along with the Stephanie Plum series, but I don’t usually read contemporaries. Nothing wrong with it, it’s just habit to look at the historicals.

The comments on yesterday’s Thursday Thirteen and my recent forays into contemporary short stories got me thinking. I decided to check out Jennifer Crusie. The one that caught my eye was Jennifer Crusie’s Anyone But You. How can anyone resist picking up that adorable, sad basset face?

I finished it at midnight. I’m not as fast a reader as DH and I usually have other demands on my time. Still not bad for 8 hours in my possession with interruptions for homework, laundry, dinner and about 3 hours of television.

In the preface of the new edition (it was originally published in 1996), Ms. Crusie mentions how the dog, Fred, steals the book. Yes, I thoroughly enjoyed Fred’s Book too. The opening scenes when the heroine picks him out and brings him home were fabulous. Part basset, part beagle, part scene-stealer. Awesome!

The biggest conflict in the book centers on the age difference between the hero (Alex) and heroine (Nina) — he’s ten years her junior. The subplot of the Nina’s best friend and the small press for which Nina works was extremely well done. In the end, both friends learn the importance of accepting unconditional love. There were times when I wanted to smack Alex and Nina’s heads together and tell them to wake up and smell the coffee, but Crusie managed to string along the relationship in a plausible fashion. The ending felt a little rushed and neatly tied up, but the ride was worth it for me.

Jennifer Crusie is definitely on my “to buy more of” list of authors now.