Recently I was involved in a discussion of the differences between a love story and a romance. We all know that up until the twentieth century, a “romance” was any tale of derring do, knightly adventures, swashbuckling, etc. In the twentieth century, that continued for a while with the works of Rafael Sabatini, for instance … Read more
Romance novels were popular all throughout the 20th century, but in the late 1970s, they exploded. Within a few years, just about every commercial fiction publisher had a line of contemporary or historical romances (or both). As they vied with each other for market share, romance readers pursued information about the authors whose books they … Read more
From time immemorial, men have urged women to have sex with them, or tried to force themselves on women, or even abducted women for sexual purposes. The Sabine women story of ancient Rome was a tale of a mass attack on another village in order to steal their women and force those women into prisoner-wifehood … Read more
Tis the season to WRITE! As cooler temperatures keep you indoors, we invite you to take a stab at our 2014 Christmas Story Contest. The theme this year is A Christmas Romance. Entries must be original and unpublished. Entries will be judged based on originality, writing skill, and heart! And like all true romances, must … Read more
Don’t you think it’s kind of odd that no one has written a romance that tries to capture any of the amazing moments in Hillary Rodham’s life? (To enable her political career, Hillary has had to use Clinton instead. Unlike, say, in Belgium, only 10% of American women keep their maiden names upon marriage, which … Read more
I was a little surprised to hear that, but it does mirror the situation described recently in a cute little article called “How to Meet the Love of Your Life on Twitter in a Few Easy Steps.” Except that it described forty-one (!) steps. That romance developed over two years and then another year and … Read more
Romance authors used to just write books. Now, they often self-publish them, or even if they get a contract with a major publisher, they self-promote them. Which leads to some mistakes and some hits. I picked up some vivid examples of promotional materials at the New Jersey Romance Writers annual conference to share with you. … Read more
Ever hear of hooking up? Sure you have. It’s supposedly what every single person under the age of 30 does. Specifically, they all get drunk and have sex (or something) with people they hardly know and are not dating. And after the sex, they continue with their regular lives, without having any further relationships with … Read more
Have you ever wondered why romance heroines don’t have mothers? I’ve read at least a zillion romances, and the heroines almost never have a living, healthy, normal mother. They also almost never have a capricious, demanding, insensitive, abusive mother. They don’t have a mother who gave up her career to be a housewife and then … Read more
Romances are the largest fiction genre, and like all novels, chiefly are sold through word of mouth. But reading is usually a solitary act. Quite the contradiction, isn’t it? Unlike the Victorians, who liked to gather in their parlors and read Charles Dickens’ novels aloud, we read alone. Then we blab to our friends and … Read more
