February 2nd, 2010 — African American, Black, Defining the Genre, Ethnicity
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Black romance is a blooming section of romance industry and is still growing. Officially having its start in 1980 with Entwined Destines written by Rosalind Welles, black romance has expanded and taken shape over the years. While it's true that the genre could benefit from more authors and more books, black romance is a force to be reckoned with and getting stronger all the time. It is my hope to see the genre grow out of its own publishing lines (by sheer volume) and start to mingle alongside romance about white leads. Part of what will make this happen is for the genre to see writers become as influential and iconic as Nora Roberts
, Danielle Steel
, and LaVyrle Spencer
. If authors become a household name to buy, sales will pick up and the genre will be more validated as whole.
It is said that the head of Kensington Publishing had been visiting New York bookstore when he overheard two black women wishing for more African American romance. In 1994, Arabesque was created as the first major line for black readers. Since that point 250 titles by approximately 50 African-American authors have been published.
Arabesque was later bought by Harlequin, increasing the number of released books to 450. Now Arabesque is the nation's leading line of single-title African American romance. Besides publishing Arabesque, Harlequin also publishes Sepia, New Spirit, and Kimani Romance lines. Kimani is a female African-American name that means "sweet and beautiful." Kimani is Harlequin's equivalent to category romance as Kimani novels are mass-market paperback series.
I'm curious to learn if there are Caucasian writers writing about black leads and African American authors writing about white leads? After all we already know there are male authors producing novels that we love... this can't be too far of a stretch.
Photo Credits: 1, 2
Originally posted 2009-01-02 05:07:16. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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January 11th, 2010 — 3 Stars, Africa, Baroness or Viscountess, Category, Children, Contemporary, Divorced, Gambling, Great Britain, Guest Reviews, P-R, Racing, Scarred Hero, Virgin Heroine
By: Cara Lynn, guest reviewer
This one had a few twists and turns I didn't see coming, and it was more believable. The background of the leading characters unfolds throughout the book, and some of it you don't find out until mid-point.
Samantha van Bergen is in a disastrous marriage, mothering a step-daughter that she dearly loves. This little girl is bright and precocious, and knows more than anyone realizes she does. Her mother died, and Samantha had been her nanny.
The book begins with a bang. Samantha's husband, Johann, is a compulsive gambler, who has gambled away a family fortune. He loses it all to Cristiano. And come to find out, he has tossed in Samantha to sweeten the pot, but only after he offers his daughter first (nice guy, right?!) but Cristiano rejects this.
Of course, Cristiano has fallen in love with Samantha at first sight. He knows that the little girl will come with her stepmother.
The question is why is he going to this trouble? And what other unfoldments might we find along the way that unlock the puzzle?
Sam takes Gabriella and goes to England from Monte Carlo. When she is there, we learn more about her early life. She is definitely worthy of the best.
Lucky for her, Cristiano agrees with this. He wants to settle a fortune on her in a pre-nup, but she isn't interested in his money. They marry without a pre-nup, and when a divorce seems imminent, he wants her to use an attorney to guarantee her rights.
Instead, she decides to fight her fears, and she is successful.
She is a plucky heroine and you root for her when she comes out on top. There's very little fighting or whining; there is a strong, wealthy and scarred hero.
I give it a 3. Have you read it?
If you'd like to submit a review on a novel you've read, check out LRP's guidelines for submission.
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Originally posted 2008-08-26 05:44:56. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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November 27th, 2009 — Arabia/Middle East, Australia/New Zealand, Contemporary, Guest Blogger, M-O, Soldier
by Shelley Munro, guest blogger
Thanks so much for having me to visit today. My name is Shelley Munro, and I write both contemporary and paranormal romance for Ellora’s Cave and Samhain Publishing.
I come wearing my contemporary author hat today. Like many other readers and authors, some of the earliest romances I read were Harlequin Mills & Boon. They were contemporary stories set in exotic locations, both in the country and in cities. The stories I read actually fueled my desire to travel. I wanted to see the Greek Islands, the Italian cities and French vineyards. I wanted to see London. Yes, I definitely started my love of contemporary romance at an early age.
So why do I like contemporary romances so much?
- The stories are set in this world in recognizable settings.
- The heroine is often someone who is just like me. It’s easy to step into her shoes and experience the ride.
- The problems the hero and heroine face during the story are ones the reader can empathize with because often they have experience with the same problems or know of someone who has. This can make the story more meaningful.
- The reader can armchair travel to exotic locations.
- The stories are often more light-hearted and less dark than in other genres.
- The stories are often set in small, close-knit communities.
- The stories have happy endings.
Luckily for me, after a bit of a drought in the contemporary genre, there are some great ones around this year. Some of my favorites include Lorelei James with her hot cowboy series, Robyn Carr with her Virgin River series and Victoria Dahl. All three authors have set their stories in small country towns. Everyone knows their neighbors and often their neighbors’ business, which can add to the story conflict. Some of the stories have a slight suspense element to them, but mostly the stories are character driven.
Authors Natalie Anderson and Sarah Mayberry are both Down Under authors. Natalie writes for Presents and Sarah writes for Blaze and Superromance. Both write wonderful contemporaries, often with quirky characters and a little humor. I snap up their books as soon as they come out.
Erin McCarthy is personally responsible for me losing sleep because I couldn’t stop reading her Flat-Out Sexy
, a contemporary set in the race car world. Maya Banks and Beth Kery write hot, hot, hot stories that leave the reader needing a cold shower or better yet, their favorite man.
My recent contemporary release Soldier of Fortune is set in both Iraq and New Zealand. My hero Louie Lithgow and heroine Joanna “Mac” McGregor are both soldiers who face danger every day while working for a private security company. Both have taken the job to earn big money. Louie intends this tour to be his last one while Mac needs to sign up again to support her father. I did lots of research while writing this story and hopefully I’ve managed to blend the danger and romance in a way that readers enjoy.
Here’s the blurb:
Joanna “Mac” McGregor loves her father, and she’ll do anything to keep him safe after Alzheimer’s starts to steal his mind. That takes money, and Mac uses her only skills—those of soldiering—when she takes up a security contract in Iraq. She doesn’t have time for men, her last vacation fling in Fiji relegated as one perfect moment to hold close during the grim reality of war.
Soldier Louie Lithgow is tired of fighting, the constant danger, and has decided this is his last contract. He wants to retire, sink his savings into a place on the beach, and find the sexy Joanna, his holiday lover.
Mac’s arrival in Iraq causes consternation. They’ve both been economical with the truth, but the attraction sizzling between them flares hot and bright. They embark on a clandestine affair—professional and confident during their high-danger day, passionate with the release of emotional stress during their torrid nights. One thing is clear—they have different goals and the future is both murky and dangerous. If they survive their contracts.
Buy link: http://www.jasminejade.com/pm-7810-127-soldier-of-fortune.aspx
Website: http://www.shelleymunro.com
Blog: http://www.shelleymunro.com/blog
Do you enjoy reading contemporary romances? Why or why not? Do you have any favorite contemporary romances you’ve read this year that you’d like to recommend?
Giveaway: One commenter will win a download of Shelley Munro's e-book Summer in the City of Sails
, which is the book where readers first meet Louie Lithgow, the hero of Soldier of Fortune. Enter by answering Shelley's questions about contemporary romances. One entry per relevant comment; multiple entries allowed. Ends: December 4, 2009.
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November 21st, 2009 — 1.5 Stars, Book Review, Business, Category, Contemporary, Gentry, Interracial, Love Triangle, Marriage of Convenience, Ranching, Rape/Abuse, S-U, South America, Virgin Heroine
MOC + second suitor + jealousy = win! Or… maybe not.
When a tour mixes up dates, Lian is stranded in Argentina with a minimum of Spanish. She takes a job as a hostess at a club only to find to her horror that a hostess is really just a polite word for prostitute. Help comes in the way of Ricardo who tells the owner and a client that Lian is his already for the night. He then proceeds to get her out of there and off to the nice hotel where he is staying.
His help come at a price. Lian must agree to a marriage of convenience or he’ll send her back to the club. Lian chooses marriage. Ricardo reveals he was bluffing. They marry and set off to his smallish plantation with a pit stop at the wedding of his half brother Carlos to prove he was wed first and retains all legal rights to the plantation.
Things progress semi-normally, at least for what one can expect from an older Harlequin. Then a acquaintance of Ricardo’s shows up. Lian is a little too friendly with Grant and earns a fierce rebuke from Ricardo. She defies him and maintains her overly friendly ways all the while attempting to figure out how to escape her MOC. When Grant suggests flight for the 8th time she agrees and off they go.
Ricardo tracks them down. Detains Grant and forces Lian back home where he proceeds to forcefully claim all his marital rights and tack on a required male heir stipulation before he’ll set her free. Martial rape… again. Why is this a consistent theme in older Harlequins/romances in general? Is this the only way a man is capable of sharing his “feelings” until the heroine cracks and says “I love you!”? Let me repeat this once again… rape is not romantic.
One of the better things in this novel was when the heroine rescued the hero at the end of the novel. The ending high is very nice.
Rating: 1.5 Stars
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October 25th, 2009 — 4 Stars, Book Review, Category, Contemporary, Great Britain, M-O, Travel, Writer
First off I don’t get the title. I suppose I’m missing something, but nevertheless it’s very strange and I couldn’t spot a correlation to the story.
This book is another Harlequin Presents oldie. The hero is two years younger than the heroine’s father and more than double the heroine’s age. The author made a strong case for their romance while she built up the hero’s uncertainty and self-disgust until it fractures and breaks apart in a shower of pretty sparkles. It’s very rewarding.
Our heroine is seventeen and made a point early on in the novel about the arrival of a new stepfather. She’s no longer really welcomed. Her mother in a few short pages makes it plain in several ways that Tamsyn is an intruder in her own home. (She ignores Tamsyn or sends her from the room. She talks to Charles and doesn’t talk to Tamsyn the way she used to, etc.)
She’s leaves for Wales when her mother and stepfather take off for their honeymoon. This is the first time the heroine has ever really spent time with her father. She’s surprised to find her stepmother ten months pregnant (joke). She’s taken from the airport in Wales to her father’s home by her stepmother’s cousin, Hywel Benedict. He’s a writer and a preacher (after a fashion, he stands up and gives sermons in place of a real one because the town is so small.) Tamsyn finds him fascinating and frustrating and the rest as we say is history.
Rating: 4 Stars
Buy: Chase a Green Shadow
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October 22nd, 2009 — 3.5 Stars, Book Review, Category, Cinderella, Contemporary, Dukes and Earls, Farming, Governess / Companion, South America, V-Z, Virgin Heroine
I would never pick this book up in a secondhand bookstore because the title is strange and the cover is weirder. No wonder Harlequin puts the money and effort into consumer research. It’s all about pretty covers and catchy titles!
The romance takes place in Brazil with references to England and Portugal. Goldenhawk is the name of the hero’s best estate.
The heroine is a very plain girl. Her name is Jaine, appropriate for the phrase plain Jane. Quite often in the novel she is mistaken as a boy. I wanted to jump into the novel and tell her to grow her hair longer and wear less concealing clothes because it’s obvious she’s plain only so much as her aunt and cousin made her so.
Jaine is basically an indentured servant to her cousin and aunt. She’s an orphan and poor relation. Jaine is sent off to take the wrath of the hero as her cousin and aunt depart days before the cousin’s wedding to Pedro de Ros Zanto, a very wealthy landowner and a Duque.
Pedro is amused and determined to hire Jaine out from under her aunt. He promises a life outside of the colorless drab world she’s in and enough money to make it lucrative. Jaine accepts and becomes his son’s companion and caretaker. The son, quite frankly, reads as an excuse for her presence because even with his disability the boy never really makes a big splash or seems to have purpose.
The story is very chaste. We never see anything beyond some passionate kisses. It ends in a bittersweet way similar to Sound of Music. They’re together, but they’re leaving a lot behind in their effort to make it to safety.
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Buy: The Girl At Goldenhawk
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September 20th, 2009 — About, Between the Sheets, Guest Blogger
by Susan Sigler, guest blogger
I’d like to take a moment to applaud the following publishers. Not only do they publish the greatest books ever, but they offer wonderful discounts, sponsor contests, most keep up blogs, and many have Yahoo groups. It goes without saying, authors work extremely hard to bring us beautiful stories with their imaginative plots, but credit should be given to those behind the scenes to publish the author’s vision. So without further ado, here are ten publishing sites I visit regularly. I hope many of you will visit, and it’s my wish you will win their contests or find new authors that peak your interest.
Publisher #1 St. Martin’s Press
http://us.macmillan.com/SMP.aspx
2 of their authors- Sherrilyn Kenyon and Cherry Adair.
Publisher #2 Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
http://samhainpublishing.com/index.php
Samhain has monthly ebook and print contests.
Publisher #3 Sourcebooks, Inc.
http://www.sourcebooks.com/
Sourcebooks has special offers and great discounts, beautiful Jane Austen E-cards to send to friends and family. They also have authors Amelia Grey, Carolyn Brown, and others.
Publisher #4 Ravenous Romance has a free short story, discounted books and audio books. Two of their many authors- Isabel Roman and Cecilia Tan.
http://www.ravenousromance.com/
Publisher #5 Harlequin has publishers like Mills & Boon, Harlequin, Silhouette, MIRA, and Steeple Hill. Harlequin offers Free Book Fridays and gave us 16 free books to celebrate Harlequin’s 60th anniversary, aren’t they divine?
http://www.eharlequin.com/
Publisher #6 Loose-Id is an erotic romance e-publisher With authors like Cheryl Dragon, Marie Harte, Ann Lory and Moira Rogers, is it any wonder we love them.
http://www.loose-id.com/
Publisher #7 Kensington Publishing Corp. they have contests. Listen to these authors: Delta Dupree, Heather Graham, Devyn Quinn, Lynsay Sands, and Sasha White.
http://www.kensingtonbooks.com/
Publisher #8 Ellora’s Cave has free short story reads and authors like Jaci Burton, Tracy Cooper-Posey, and Marie Treanor.
http://www.ellorascave.com/
Publisher #9 The Wild Rose Press has free reads and the author J.L. Wilson.
http://www.thewildrosepress.com/
Publisher #10 Hachette Book Group (HBG) has approximately 9 publishing groups with links to contests you can enter. One of the authors they publish for is Jennifer Haymore, remember A Hint of Wicked? If you enjoyed it, thank HBG.
http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/
This is not a comprehensive list it’s a summary, there are many other publishers I’m not familiar with and therefore didn’t mention. Please note, due to limited space and time constraints, I did not name the many hundreds upon hundreds of authors they publish. I simply made reference to my favorites, and the ones I believe you’d recognize upon reading.
If you can enlighten me with other publishers, by all means tell me. I’d love to hear about them.
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September 18th, 2009 — 2.5 Stars, 3 Stars, Barons and Baronets, Book Review, Category, Children, Comedy of Manners, Counts, Marquis, Viscounts, Entrepreneur, Great Britain, Historical Romance, M-O, Mistaken Identity, United States of America, Victorian
I have to say I’m way impressed by Harlequin’s historical line. The covers on these romances are awesome and singularly stunning. Especially this one [WMSB]. I love how the heroine’s head is tilted back; it’s provocative and slightly defiant. She looks like she is in the middle of a particularly sassy set down. He looks smug, confident, and ready to stop her tongue lashing with one of his own. His hair is a bit weird, but he makes up for it with great posture and his strong jaw.
See my cover below:
This Victorian novel takes place in England at the time when trains are being built and the at the beginning of the times when a man earns fame and respect by his deeds not by who his daddy was. Myles Moorcroft is a third generation nobleman, who started his career as a navvy (short for navigator) and worked his way up to being in charge of contracting new lines and building the rails for his father’s company. On an outing surveying the land for the straightest, easiest route from east to west, Myles has an encounter with Lucinda (Lucy) Vernley, an earl’s daughter.
Lucy is stunned speechless by this man. He has a body to jumpstart a corpse’s pulse. Unlike any man she met during her debut season in London, the navvy stirs her blood and her heart. However there is no way her father would ever let her marry a man like him. Her parents are pushing the heir of a viscount at her. Lucy finds Edward cold, but struggles to find something redeeming about him to latch onto in hopes it’ll be the starting point for love to grow between them. Rank and apparent wealth make Edward the ideal candidate, but is he? Will Lucy follow her heart or her father’s dictates?
It was tough going getting into the novel at first. On top of that I thought they fell in love with each other much to quickly, I didn’t see or feel it happen, but it did. Also there were several cliché plot devices one of which include near rape, getting lost in a blizzard, and attempted murder. Very chaste, no sex.
Rating: 2.5-3 Stars
Originally posted 2009-01-21 05:50:09. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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September 14th, 2009 — About, Gifts, Paranormal, Vampire, Young Adult
For a long while I was a fan of Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series. Anita Blake was a kick-ass heroine who's policy was shoot first, apologize later if wrong. Her story started out overcoming her hatred of all things vampire. In the beginning a couple of books into the series she had a werewolf boyfriend and a vampire who wanted to be her boyfriend. The vampire had already made his claim (by some metaphysical vampire mojo) on Anita by making her his 'vampire servant' except instead of being servant like they were equals. The series was full of sass and bad guys getting mowed down. Anita is like a metaphysical sponge, she touches (not literally) another's power and if it's at all related to passion or death she can practically replicate the power on her own, which was definitely interesting to read as she struggled to cope with powers that seem to war with each other.
Now there are too many characters, too much gratuitous sex scenes - especially with characters I couldn't give a hoot one way or the other for, and Anita seems like a whole other character than when she started. Mostly my complaints are the editions of the London vampires that basically came out of nowhere and seem to be extremely important. I haven't read the latest one with adorable werewolf Jason (Blood Noir
) because I was so disappointed with the last book (The Harlequin
) and I hear another one is coming out in June (Skin Trade
). Does anybody still read these as a huge fan of the series? I would love to get back into the series but only if I hear the last one/two books are better than what has come before.
Another vampire series are the Vampire Academy books by Richelle Mead. She is contracted to write five of them and three are currently for sale, so there are plenty of chances for the series to take off like Twilight by Meyer. I haven't had a chance to read these yet and I'm hoping one or two readers have and can shed some light on them. From what I can tell you have mortal vampires and immortal vampires, in particular a mortal vampire princess must be protected from the fierce immortal breed all the while having to go to the vampire version of high school. Why must she be protected? and what's the forbidden love that's mentioned on the backs of the books? Inquiring minds want to know...
Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer
Of course, Twilight makes this list. A brief synopsis: Supernatural male + vulnerable female set in high school find true love in each other and must fight to keep it. Read my take on the whole series and individual books by starting here on Twilight Saga.
Sookie Stackhouse by Charlaine Harris
I keep hearing of the Sookie Stackhouse series. I need to pick these up asap! Especially now that it's a television show on HBO by the name True Blood (First Season
, Second Season
.) If you are like me and haven't started the books get the Sookie Stackhouse Box Special with Books 1-7
. Enjoy!
What vampire books / series are you currently reading? Let us know - leave a comment!
Photo Credits: 1
Originally posted 2009-01-17 15:09:22. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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September 5th, 2009 — Authors, Contests, Guest Blogger
by Susan S., guest blogger
LRP readers are you ready for round two? Right now, I’m sipping an iced mocha while eyeing 2 beautiful Harlequin Blaze romances. If you’d like a chance to win one, get your fingers ready to google. I’ve reduced the number of questions from 20, down to 10. Not only will this make it easier on your Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, but guess what? Some of these have the book title, yes you read correctly. Easy peasy right? Before we begin though, there’s good news and bad news.
The good news is this month’s contest is easier; the bad news is you’ll have to work out the answers without Ms. Merryweather’s help. If you’ll recall, Ms. Merryweather was our kind librarian. For some reason she resigned, we can find neither hide nor hair of her. I haven’t seen her since, well, um…since the day of our last contest. No matter, I’m sure you’ll do just fine on your own. Remember I only need author names, titles are not necessary.
Prizes: The Right Stuff
by Lori Wilde or Always Ready
by Joanne Rock.
Winner #1 with the highest number of correct answers will have 1st choice; winner#2 will win the remaining book. If there's a tie for either or both positions, the winner(s) will be drawn from the tied entries by a random generator. You must be 18 years or older to participate. Good luck!
Beginning date: September 5th, 2009
Ending date: September 12th, 2009
Author #1 The title of her new book was a song from the movie soundtrack An American Werewolf in London.
Author #2 Her heroine is a telepath; that gets erotic with a sexy private investigator.
Author #3 If you need a reason to ring in the year 2010, how about Velvet Haven.
Author #4 Are you part of team Edward or team Jacob? I’m neither, being such a Jasper fan and all.
Author #5 Go to Breathlesspress.com, look under erotic heading. The cover art shows a woman holding one wicked looking sword hilt.
Author #6 Mei Ling orders Chinese takeout, but doesn’t understand why the restaurant is listed under the escort section.
Author #7 It seems little red riding hood is all grown up, sure wouldn’t mind being bitten by that Wolfe.
Author # 8 Cover shows a wolf on the top portion of the book and a couple on the brink of kissing towards the bottom. Hint: Author’s last name rhymes with Dodgers.
Author # 9 Lover Avenged from the Black Dagger Brotherhood Series.
Author # 10 & this concludes our contest. If you visit her website you’ll see a cemetery with a red headed, red lipped, green glowing eyed woman on the right hand corner. Spooky! Hint: Author writes urban fantasy romance.
Photo Credits: Leo Reynolds
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August 23rd, 2009 — Links and Challenges
There are over 50 hand selected links in this edition. That's pretty fan-freaking-tastic if I do say so myself. Due to the crazy amount of awesome content linked to below, I pulled out what I think are the top 10 articles from the batch. If you read nothing else, read these. Have a great Sunday!
Jump to Navigation: Top 10 Posts, Book Reviews, On Genre and Subgenre, Author Interviews, Misc. Fun, On Romance Writing, Book Promotion, Between the Sheets.
That concludes this awesome blow out edition! Submit your blog article to the next edition of romancing the novel using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.
Technorati tags: romancing the novel, blog carnival.
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May 20th, 2009 — News, Paranormal
If you haven't already heard about it, Harlequin is celebrating 60 years this year! Seriously though, you couldn't miss it with all the promotion from the news to their site to the 16 FREE ebooks! But there's still more happening!
In just 10 short days you can go out and celebrate with Harlequin at their upcoming event at Openhouse Gallery in New York, New York. They are exhibiting cover art from 1949-2009.
Yes, I know I said earlier that the clinch covers drive most romance readers batty, they are also a lot of fun! Go with a few friends and see how many mullets and swooning females you can find.
Make it part of a day trip into the city for all those romance readers in the surrounding area. It is open to the public and FREE! (Good date idea!) I hear it's really an amazing sight to behold so don't miss it!
Below is all of the pertinent event information you will need:
Who: Harlequin
What: Celebrating 60 Years of Cover Art
When: May 30 - June 12, 2009
Where: Openhouse Gallery,
201 Mulberry Street, New York NY 10012
For more info: Harlequin Event at Openhouse Gallery
When you go, take pictures and send them into me at reviewromancenovel@yahoo.com so I can share them with other readers!
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