Last month I ran across this headline: The Billion-Dollar Romance Fiction Industry Has a Diversity Problem. I was surprised by the headline until I read the accompanying article. The article, written by NPR’s Emily Sullivan, was not actually about romance fiction as a whole. It was about a particular organization, namely Romance Writers of America […]
Have you read New Adult romance? When I’m in the mood, it’s tons of fun. New Adult Romance The major characteristics of New Adult romance usually include: Present tense, first-person narration, often only from the heroine’s POV, sometimes split between hero and heroine; A big, broody hero who is likely a tough guy in a […]
#metoo and Valentine’s Day Two days ago was the first Valentine’s Day since the #metoo movement began. Bill Maher made this point on his show last Friday (February 9) in anticipation of the 14th. Listen to the exchange between Bill Maher and Bari Weiss, a columnist at the New York Times: As a romance writer […]
Live stream: the symposium Gender, Sexuality, Feminism and the Romance Novel is being live-streamed on Friday, February 10 from 2:00 – 5:00. The speakers are New York Times bestselling authors Ilona Andrews (the husband-wife writing team of Gordon and Ilona), Sarah MacLean, Alisha Rai, and Mary Bly (known to her readers at Eloisa James). The […]
I originally published this blog about romance novel myths on my Goodreads page. Romance Novel Myths #1: Romance novels are stupid. Upfront: yes, some romance novels are stupid. So are some mystery novels, science fiction novels, slice-of-life novels, TV shows, magazine articles, op-ed pieces, political speeches – the list here is endless. No genre has a […]
When discussing whether or not a romance novelist is successful, many people focus on how much money for romance novels sales the author makes. However, is that really the only piece that determines whether or not a romance author, or…
Pornography: “I know it when I see it.” This phrase was famously used in 1964 by United States Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart when he ruled that the French film, The Lovers, was not obscene and therefore not subject to banning from theaters. He saw the film and did not see pornography in it. He […]
I’ve just finished Creation of the Sacred. Tracks of Biology in Early Religions by Walter Burkert, Professor of Classics at the University of Zurich, who writes: ”We must acknowledge the highly ambivalent status of sex in all human societies, with all sorts of disclaimers, secrecy, and repression, and the concomitant possibility of outrageous reversals.” (1996:90). Among outrageous […]
An example of good genre etiquette: Jane Austen sets the good genre etiquette tone: “If the heroine of one novel be not patronized by the heroine of another, from whom can she expect protection and regard?” Northanger Abbey The broader context of Austen’s authorial intrusion is the following: “I will not adopt that ungenerous and […]
Yay to The Mindy Project for introducing the character of Abby Berman. She appeared for the first time in the episode entitled Caramel Princess Time. Abby is smart, likeable, and a historical romance writer who describes the genre as “pornography you’re allowed to read on the subway.” Since it’s The Mindy Project, and everything is […]