January 28th, 2010 — About, Character Type, Erotica, Genre, Sheik/Desert, Story Hook
This question has been asked in one form or another since romance novels went mainstream. Authors have been dismissed because they write romance instead of science fiction or crime books or other normal genres. If the cover has bulging pectorals and swooning women then it must be girl porn. Shame on you, haven't you heard the advice never judge a book by its cover?
Romance has been dismissed and labeled by many derogatory terms such as trashy romance novel, bodice-rippers, girl porn, chick porn, chick-lit, virgin bibles, horny hystericals, etc. Some of these terms like trashy romance novel have become a badge of honor to declare with pride by readers. i.e. "I love trashy romance novels!" Similarly there are people out there who will tell you they are proud that they don't read them. Did you know that the romance industry sells over 50% of all paperback books? Looking at figures like those, it's hard to mock romance.
Writing a romance novel takes a lot of work. What happens if you start off with characters and can't make them come together romantically in a believable way? You'll wind up with the square pegs in round holes syndrome and a book you can't possibly sell. Just look at JKR's Harry Potter Saga
- the best romance in the book is the only one she didn't attempt to show or explain and that was James and Lily Potter. Clearly writing romance is not Rowling's forte. So if a world renowned author can't write romance believably wouldn't that prove it's a tough quota to fill?
To be able to repeatedly produce quality heroes and heroines that fall in love, have sexual tension, and resolve all their issues is phenomenal and should be awarded not punished.
But the sex and the sin!
A lot of people are under the misapprehension that sex, marital or otherwise in a romance is sinful and shouldn't be read. Romance novels are only okay if you can read them to your grandmother. But what if you're grandmother is particularly savvy and cool? Wouldn't this test be disqualified?
On an interesting note the romance industry not too long ago, think 80s and earlier, thought premarital sex would turn readers away. This is where the term bodice-ripper is derived, specifically in conjunction with Desert and Sheik love.
Erotica writers take sex in romance to a new level - is this a bad thing? No, I say, it's not. Sex has its place, so does plot, dialogue, and deux ex machina. It's hard to write - just read the author interviews here on this website and you'll see what I mean.
So I say to the unenlightened, this is the new millennia. Get over it or please tell me you only watch Bollywood movies where even kissing is taboo in most cases. (Though Bollywood movies can easily pour on the heat - it's all that unrequited tension! Yum!)
Does that mean that all sex is good sex in a romance or in other words when is sex gratuitous like a bathroom scene in a movie? The answer again is no. I think sex is gratuitous when it serves to just be there as page filler just like the bathroom scene in a movie.
Conclusion:
Clearly, I think the issue lies with personal phobias. The idea of being caught with a romance novel is embarrassing to some. These are the people I feel should most definitely be introduced to romance novels. It's okay, we're here to hold your hand and if absolutely needed, you have our permission to read it under the covers with a flashlight.
In the end I must ask, who's out there demeaning men for watching dare I say it - man porn?
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Originally posted 2008-12-05 18:53:01. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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January 28th, 2010 — Contemporary, Guest Blogger, P-R, Writing Tips
by Linda Poitevin, guest blogger and author of A Fairy Tale for Gwyn.
By the time I wrote A Fairy Tale for Gwyn (AFTFG), I had been writing “seriously” (aiming for publication) for about nine years. In that time, and in between various other life events, I had completed two other manuscripts, one of which never saw the light of day (and never will) and the other of which had been rejected by every publisher I sent it to.
The truth is, I went into my writing career with a pretty fair-sized ego – and the main reason my first two manuscripts will never see publication is because I wasn’t ready to learn the craft of writing. Well-meaning relatives told me I had a gift, you see, and I believed them. When my second complete manuscript tanked, however, I began to rethink my approach to writing, and to be a LOT more open to the advice being given by my very patient critique partners. So when I began work on AFTFG, I also began learning my craft. I’d like to share three of the lessons I’ve learned with you.
Lesson One: External conflict isn’t enough. While the universe may be conspiring to keep our hero/heroine apart, our characters’ own personal demons need to be in on the act. If a real estate developer is trying to turn an apartment building into luxury condos, you can see how the attractive lawyer hired by the neighbours might not want to become involved with him. If the real estate developer’s entire family is depending on him to pull off this one project because the business started by his great-grandfather will fold without it, we up the stakes a little. And if opposing counsel’s grandmother is one of the homeowners facing eviction, things get even more tense. But those are all external conflicts: events happening outside of our characters. If our developer is the prodigal son trying to earn his way back into the family, however, and the attractive lawyer feels honor-bound to look after the grandmother who paid her way through law school...then we have internal conflict. And that brings us to...
Lesson Two: Character development. You may never use half the information you compile, but you must know your characters almost as well as you know yourself. Actually, you may end up knowing them better, because we rarely question our own motives the way a writer needs to question her characters. If the heroine’s favourite color is blue (and this factors into your story), you need to know why. Does it remind her of something from her childhood? Her grandmother’s eyes? Know what drives your hero and heroine, what they like and dislike, what they’re afraid of, what their goals are, and what holds them back from achieving those goals. The better you know them, the more believable they’ll be to your reader. And the easier it will be to uncover those internal conflicts.
Lesson Three: Some of the good stuff has to go. In my first draft of AFTFG, I’d written a hot dance scene. A really hot dance scene. I loved that scene, but it honestly didn’t fit with the story. It took me weeks to stop trying to make it work and set it aside, but the lesson was invaluable. So be honest with yourself. Be honest with your story. If it doesn’t work, let it go and move on.
So there you have them: three of the many, many lessons I’ve learned from writing this story. Three of the many, many more I expect I will continue to learn as I continue to write, because I don’t think I’ll ever stop learning. I certainly hope not, because really, isn’t the biggest lesson in life that the learning never ends? 
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Gwyn Jacobs doesn’t believe in happy-ever-after.
Ever since her ex-husband walked out four years ago, abandoning her with a toddler and infant twins, Gwyn has been mother, father, and bread-winner all rolled into one. Her own scarred heart and failed marriage aside, she is determined not to open up her children’s lives to the possibility of another heartbreak...until her very own fairy tale falls into her lap -- and the hero won’t take no for an answer!
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Excerpt:
Gareth emerged from the bathroom as she reached the top hallway, the gurgle of draining water from the bathtub accompanying his appearance.
“All done,” he said, a triumphant look on his face, a bucket of congealed ick in his hand, and his soaked shirt molded to the lean six-pack beneath it.
Gwyn clutched at her resolve with both hands and moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue. What was it she’d intended to say? Oh, yes.
“Thank you,” she said. She set the books on the folded clothes and shifted the basket to her other hip. “I’m sorry if I sounded ungrateful earlier. I really do appreciate your help. Not just today, but all of it. I don’t know what I’d have done without you this last couple of days.”
Gareth shook his head at her, looking both amused and exasperated. “You sound like a kid who’s been coached in what to say to some cantankerous old uncle. You don’t have to apologize, Gwyn.”
“I just don’t want you to think I’m not grateful.”
“I never thought that,” he told her, smiling in a slow way that had her toes digging into the hall carpet-runner. “Besides, I’m enjoying myself.”
“Entertaining my sick kids and cleaning out my bathtub?” she asked dryly, hiding her involuntary reaction behind skepticism.
“No, being with you.” Gareth dropped a towel onto the floor near the top of the stairs and set the bucket on top of it.
But before Gwyn could do more than draw a startled breath at his unexpected, and confounding honesty, he added, “I’ve missed out on the family thing, remember? It’s nice to be a part of yours for a while.”
Oh.
“And besides, I have ulterior motives.” He plucked at his soaking, oatmeal-flecked shirt. “You wouldn’t happen to have something dry I could borrow, would you?”
“Pardon?”
“Something dry.”
Gwyn refrained from shaking her head to clear it, feeling very much like she’d fallen three steps behind in this conversation. “Yes, of course.” Sandy’s husband, Rob, had left a sweatshirt behind on a visit once that she kept forgetting to return. It might be snug, but “I meant pardon about the other thing. What ulterior motives?”
Gareth began unbuttoning his shirt. “Sorry, that’s a secret.”
He hadn’t moved in her direction, but she couldn’t help but shift the basket again, holding it like a barrier between them. The temperature in the hallway seemed to have risen several degrees, flushing her cheeks with heat and turning her mouth dry.
“A s-s-secret?”
Lord, ‘s’ was a hard sound to make with your tongue cleaved to the roof of your mouth. She tried very hard to keep her eyes on his face rather than the fascinating trail his hands were taking. The heat in her cheeks snaked a slow, tantalizing path to other parts of her anatomy. Any resolve she’d had when she’d climbed the stairs became a fleeting memory.
“Mm. But I’ll give you a hint. It hinges on kids recovering and turning their mother free again.”
Gareth slid the shirt from his shoulders and Gwyn’s knees very nearly buckled. The laundry basket shook in her grasp and she forgot all about not staring. The big screen didn’t even come close to doing the man justice.
His shoulders…broad, defined, offering a woman’s head a sanctuary like none she’d ever known. His chest, deep, powerful, inviting her touch, and promising.
Gareth cleared his throat and Gwyn’s gaze flew back to his. As if she’d spoken her every thought aloud, his eyes danced with mischief and smoldered with something darker, deeper.
“A dry shirt?” he reminded her huskily.
She fled.
Buy: A Fairy Tale For Gwyn
Buy AFTFG on Wild Rose Press.
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Author Bio
Linda Poitevin lives just outside Canada’s capital, Ottawa, with her husband, three daughters, and a varied collection of animals. In her spare time, she gardens (organically), cans and freezes the family’s winter fruit and vegetable supply, knits (basically), crochets (better), and starts way more projects than she ever finishes. (Fortunately that doesn’t hold true of her books!) She loves spending time with her family, having coffee with friends, walking by the river and watching thunderstorms…in about that order.
Giveaway: Linda will be giving away a pair of artisan-crafted earrings as well as a $10 gift certificate to The Wild Rose Press (a total prize package worth $20) to one lucky commenter during the blog tour. Comment here and on other blogs to enter and increase your chance to win. Ends February 5, 2010.
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January 1st, 2010 — 4.5 Stars, A-C, Blind, Book Review, Counts, Marquis, Viscounts, Governess / Companion, Great Britain, Historical Romance, Poor Eyesight
I loved The Viscount in Her Bedroom by Gayle Callen the third in the Sisters of Willow Pond Trilogy. What I like about Gayle Callen is that you don’t have to read the first two in the trilogy to really enjoy this book. You can pick up at the end and go backwards and have just as much pleasure in the reading of the love matches. The descriptions in this book are so sensual and touching.
The sisters of willow pond found themselves out of money and out of favor in little society, not to mention big society when their father died. Louisa Shelby is the last remaining sister to be unmarried. She doesn’t need to work anymore, but Louisa has found comfort in helping others. Being a companion to elderly women; reading to them, writing letters for them, singing and talking to them makes her feel useful. Louisa left her previous position when the men in the family pursued her as if she were nothing but a common whore. She couldn’t believe that men would treat her differently just because of a lowered status. Never again, she thinks. But when Dowager Wade asks her to come be her companion, Louisa can hardly resist, especially when she factors in Simon Wade.
Simon Wade was blinded in a riding accident. Adrift in the world of the seeing, Simon retreated to his grandmother’s estate. There he has learned to cope reasonably well with being blinded and his manservant Manvil is there for him when he can not let his family into his world. Mostly he is afraid of being seen as a creature to be pitied and refuses to show his personal accomplishments in front of his grandmother, sister… or one Miss Louisa Shelby. Simon is especially worried about Miss Louisa Shelby, before his accident he had heard that she was fast. What kind of an influence would that be on his poor already socially awkward sister? He is determined to make sure nothing untoward happens, but the more he supervises Louisa, the more he’s sure those awful words against her are just that words. Now, however, he wants to ruin her reputation worse than any rumor. He wants her for his own.
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Buy: The Viscount in Her Bedroom
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Happy Readings!
Originally posted 2008-11-20 17:15:37. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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September 28th, 2009 — 4.5 Stars, ARC, Counts, Marquis, Viscounts, Duchess, Countess, Marchioness, G-I, Great Britain, Guest Reviews, Regency, Rogues and Rakehells, Sports
by Susan Sigler, guest reviewer
A Marquis to Marry exemplifies the very essence of what a romance novel should be. It was superbly written and I’ve added Amelia Grey to my list of top authors. This is a novel I’ll read time and time again!
I recommend this book to every romance lover, regardless of their favorite sub-genre. This was a happy, witty, feel good romantic tale I know you’ll love.
A Marquis to Marry is book 2 of Grey’s (The Rogues’ Dynasty Trilogy). It completely stands alone, and you do not need to read book 1 A Duke to Die For in order to follow the story.
The Marquis (Alexander Mitchell Raceworth) is absolutely stunned, when a young Dowager Duchess by the name of (Susannah Brookefield ) accuses him of having “her” grandmother’s Talbot pearls. The very pearls “his” grandmother (Lady Elder) left to him in her will.
Susannah travels from Chapel Gate to London, with the misconception that all will be resolved quickly. What she didn’t foresee was that Race would be so stubborn! It seems she’s not the only one after the pearls; there are 3 men who also covet them. When the pearls are stolen, it’s a race against time to find the thief and recover the pearls.
Susannah has a lot to accomplish: retrieve the pearls, resist Race’s handsome good looks, convince him the pearls belong in her family not his, and re-enter London’s Polite Society despite her tarnished reputation of youth.
Every time Race calls the Duchess by her Christian name Susannah, it made my heart skip a beat. Grey has you feel the emotion & want, that emanates from the hero.
Things I enjoyed:
- Race’s shock when Susannah invites him to her bedchamber
- The camaraderie between Race, his cousins, and their older friend Gibby
- How Race pursues Susannah
- His informal notes to her
- The way Grey expertly transitions you from reader to character, you’ll feel every emotion as Susannah and Race fall in love
I didn’t grant this book the full 5 stars because of the pugilist (boxing match). It stole time away from the main characters, time I wanted for Susannah and Race.
A Marquis to Marry was absolutely beautiful! I’m eager to read book 3 An Earl To Enchant, which is set to release in April 2010.
Rating- 4.5 Stars
Buy: A Marquis to Marry
Regency Romance, ARC, Trilogy, Sourcebooks, Inc., Casablanca, October 2009, Print Pages 359.
ISBN-10: 1402217609 ISBN-13: 978-1402217609.
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September 11th, 2009 — 1 Star, Africa, Book Review, Category, Contemporary, Estranged, Executive, Mistress or Courtesan, Rogues and Rakehells, S-U, Virgin Heroine
FYI: This is basically a rant review with spoilers.
Freya Addison once loved Zac Deverell with all her heart, but Zac was a billionaire playboy used to getting what he wanted when he wanted. After pursuing Freya, enticing her to first work as a stewardess on his yacht then seducing her into his bedroom he is both amused and bemused by how innocent she turned out to be. He persuades her to become his mistress and the little fool agrees. He breaks her heart three months later when she tells him that she's pregnant, by hotly denying it, calling her a two-timing gold digging whore and throwing her out of his penthouse.
Two years later Freya gets into a car wreck and her daughter Aimee is supposed to be in the care of Freya's grandmother. The grandmother is a heartless woman who only tolerated Freya in her life because of what the neighbors and little old bitties she hung out with would think. Freya's mother ran off years ago and hasn't been seen since and doesn't make an appearance in the book. The grandmother decides she's going on her world cruise, manages to find Zac Deverell at his London offices in the midst of a press conference and passes the baby along causing a scandal.
Zac is furious with Freya and the grandmother thinking they cooked this up on purpose. He doesn't blame the two year old baby and tries to temper his voice when he storms Freya's hospital room. He frogmarches Freya to do what he wants; which is to take her and Aimee to Monaco and getting a paternity test done so he can once and for all prove Freya the tramp that she is. Zac is highhanded, arrogant to the extreme, belligerent, and mean spirited. He takes great pleasure pursuing Freya for his pleasure while calling her names. Freya has no pride or self confidence and can't seem to ignore the passion he stirs in her blood. They have several intimate encounters, many leading to full blown sex.
When the child ends up being his he gives a two second apology and gets Freya to agree to marry him. We're about two thirds of the way through by now. This book is not that long... but of course he changes in the last like 3 pages, while appearing to exhibit no real changes.
From his side that we never see:
Doctors told him long ago he had 50% chance of holding the same gene. The disease wiped out his twin sisters before they were a year old. He vows never to have kids and gets a vasectomy. Then he finds out he's a daddy - is terrified but happy because his daughter hasn't shown signs of the disease his parents carried genes for. Goes to doctors and finds out there's a reliable test now to see if he carries the gene.
Meanwhile he wants to have sex with Freya all the time because he can't formulate his feelings and decides to show her by aggressively pursuing sex off and on (which she interprets as he wants me and now he doesn't all the while thinking in abject despair how is this ever going to work? and he's always intentionally hurtful and terse in his comments.)
Now we're at the end and he still hasn't got the results yet, but he suddenly can't go through with the wedding he insisted on. She thinks its because he doesn't want her and wants the woman who came up to her at a party and claimed to be his lover. Woman also said that whenever Zac told Freya he was working he was really with her playing.
When he hotly denies that Freya is all heartbroken AGAIN and tells him if he can't go through with until he tells her something she says she knows what it is and understands that he doesn't love her.
To which he then asks if she's an idiot (ok not really but still) and proceeds to finally open up and explain about the gene that he potentially was carrying and why he had a vasectomy in the first place yadda yadda and that he on some level knew he loved her which is why he was so furious when he thought she'd cheated on him two years ago with the street artist.
Kiss. Sex. Wedding. Epilogue. HEA.
I mean really what is this garbage? Don't read this.
Rating: 1 Star and only because sometimes the sex was decent.
Originally posted 2009-01-14 05:21:39. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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May 10th, 2009 — About, Author Interviews
This is part two to my Twitter query series about defining emotion and passion. Part one can be found here. This series is devoted to asking romance authors and readers to explain the driving forces behind the concepts of love and desire by sharing their opinions and stories.
What is love? How do you define it?
Sèphera Girón: Love is unconditional acceptance and nurturing protective feelings towards another human being. Romantic love would add sexual chemistry and the idea of wanting to "do anything" for your partner both in the bedroom and out.
Stephani Hecht: A few years ago my grandmother was in the hospital. She'd had emphysema for a while and we all knew she was dying. Most of the time she was unconscious, but we still took turns being by her bedside so she wouldn't be alone. I was taking the midnight shift when my grandfather showed up. He came to her bedside, took her hand and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.
"I still remember the first time I saw you," he said, as he stoked the back of her hand with his thumb. "I was fourteen, you were twelve and I spotted you across the school yard. You had on this really pretty yellow dress and there was a ribbon in your hair. As soon as I saw you I said to myself, That's the one. That's my girl."
Now that was true love. My grandmother died hours later and my grandfather has never really gotten over losing her.
What makes a great bedroom scene?
Sèphera Girón: I'm talking about one man and one woman in this one: Anticipation and tension sexually and emotionally before they hit the bedroom, leading to sensual touching and exploring, with the woman coming first at least once and usually it's because the man has full attention on her either oral sex or fingering her. Both partners are lustily into the moment and sometimes it's nice if both can come together for the finale. Descriptions and dialogue should be realistic and to the point, including talking during lovemaking even though it feels weird typing "oh yeah" but when you read the work outloud, it's real. "Cute" words such as cunny, and creamy, turn me off.
Stephani Hecht: If you can make the reader "feel" the character's fears, passions and desires, then you have done your job as a writer. I want the reader to be cheering when the hero and heroine finally get together.
To read other responses to these questions, check out Love Romance Passion's additional author interviews.
If you would like to participate officially in this series send your responses to Keira: reviewromancenovel[at]yahoo[dot]com. Additionally, you can send up to two links to connect readers to who you are and where to find you.
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Originally posted 2009-01-10 11:49:43. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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