Romancing the Blog | Romance Authors and Readers Who Blog

I’m nearing the end of the draft of a book I have due on March 16th. That means I have very little time to accomplish a whole lot. I’d, of course, rather be playing FreeCell than working on revisions (the dreaded reworking of scenes that didn’t work and often end up getting tossed) so I have to motivate myself to work.

My usual motivation is a chocolate bar, but with spring and summer just around the corner, the chocolate bar is not a good choice because I’m on my annual fit-the-suit diet. I might as well just apply it directly to my thighs and buy a brown one-piece with a flouncy skirt.

My other usual motivation is shopping. But given the above-mentioned fit-the-suit diet, that’s not an option either. I don’t want to buy things that depress me because I can’t fit them and I definitely don’t want to buy the “fat” clothes to tide me over. (Why don’t they make at-home liposuction machines so I can just take care of those Christmas calories in an afternoon?).

So I’ve had to find a new motivation that doesn’t involve food or money. Yeah, I know, you’re saying, “What else is there?”

Books.

I am rewarding myself at the end of the day if I have worked really hard and made my goals by…reading. I’m scaring myself with Lisa Jackson, tearing up with Kristin Hannah and dangling the carrots of Suzanne Brockmann and Janet Evanovich as the ultimate reward.

It may seem counter-intuitive, considering I have spent my entire day creating, ripping out and spell-checking words, but reading has become a nice escape when I am through with the manuscript. It takes my mind off the thousand and one things I obsess over changing and helps me avoid looking at the mounting pile of laundry. (Really, who motivates themselves with getting to those dirty BVDs?)

And, it gives me something to aspire to. The authors that I am reading now are some of my all-time favorites who have writing talents I admire and envy. The not-sure-I-can-turn-the-page suspense of Lisa Jackson, the rip-your-heart-out emotion of Kristin Hannah, the sexy-as-sin heroes of Suzanne Brockmann and the double-over-in-fits humor of Janet Evanovich.

When I go back to work in the morning, it’s with the fuel of striving to be better. I know that paragraph I wrote the day before could be stronger. Evoke more emotion. Wring one more laugh out of my reader. So I sit down at my desk, and with the specter of those amazing writers surrounding me, I get to work.

Besides, with a book in each hand, it’s a lot harder to juggle a Hershey bar into my mouth.

I have at least a half-dozen books on my bookshelves I can’t read. I’d like to read them, but I can’t.

I chose each one on impulse, brought it home, and then discovered it was part of a series. And it wasn’t Book One. Some people can jump right into the middle of a series, then glom the backlist. I have to read a series in order. No exceptions. And those books will languish on the shelves until I find their predecessors. (And please, if you write a series, have a page like Lori Foster’s connecting books page. ) Despite the annoyance, I love a good series. Why?

As a writer, the benefits of a series are clear to me. You build a readership, and you can give your publisher a good reason to keep your backlist active. People don’t just want your next book, they’re eagerly awaiting it! If you write a miniseries for Harlequin or Silhouette, you get a special flash with the series title, and a little more love from marketing. A successful series is probably the closest a single-title romance writer can come to job security.

As a reader, you get to revisit characters you met in the earlier books. If you loved the first book, chances are you’ll love the next one. Whether you follow two main characters through many adventures (J.D. Robb’s In Death series) or you fall in love with many different interconnected characters (Suzanne Brockmann’s SEAL series), you get to know the characters in a way one single title book doesn’t allow.

But I imagine there are drawbacks to writing a series. What if the writer just doesn’t want to write albino psychic were-vamps anymore, but her publisher isn’t about to let the cash-cow wander into another field and breaks out the thumbscrews? What about the writer who doesn’t seem to be aware her series has jumped the shark? (I’m not going to name any names, but I’ve heard of at least 3 major series that have crossed that unfortunate thresh-hold with the most recent release or two.) Can fans of a series become too…proprietorial? An author tries to shake things up with a beloved character and the message board walls tremble. Or imagine an anal-retentive reader like me anxious to catch up with the series finding out I can only get Book One on eBay, and it’ll cost me a car payment.

But there seem to be more and more of them out there. And I see a lot of aspiring writers trying to develop a series with which to impress the editors. So, from your side of the table–writer, reader, reviewer, editor, visitor drinking your morning coffee–how do you feel about series?

Part of what I love best about romance novels is that there’s always something new to try. And I’m having a great time with my newest glom. I guess you could say that Harlequin Presents novels are my “incomparables” in the world of guilty pleasures.

Last June I reported on AAR’s third reader/publisher preference poll, and something that stuck in my memory was how readers described the Harlequin Presents line. Terms such as “old-fashioned” and “out of date” were bandied about, and these books’ heroes were described as “over-bearing” and “over-the-top-macho.” To be honest, I’d never even considered reading a Harlequin Presents, based on book titles alone. Come on…The Billionaire’s Pregnant Mistress? The Secret Virgin?

And then I read and fell in love with Lucy Monroe’s 2004 Brava release, The Real Deal. In checking out her backlist, all I saw were HP titles, including the aforementioned The Billionaire’s Pregnant Mistress. I decided that even though I loved The Real Deal, nothing could induce me to read from a line of books that prominently featured the word “mistress” in so many of its titles.

But on one of my too-many trips to the UBS, I gravitated toward the HP section, and selected two titles - Monroe’s The Italian’s Suitable Wife and Cathy Williams’ His Virgin Secretary. Both were as wonderfully over-the-top as promised, and while my grades for these books weren’t terribly high, when I wandered into my regular romance-friendly bookstore a few days later, I had a long talk with the owner, who shared with me that HP’s were her first romances, and that she still has the first 850 titles at home. Dolores admitted that the titles, heroes, and storylines are simply not to be believed, but said, “So what? They’re fun.” I couldn’t have agreed more and, using part of my huge trade credit, picked out several. I honestly wanted to choose more but didn’t want to be a pig about it.

Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve read nearly a dozen Harlequin Presents. Though my grades are mainly in the C range, I seem to like them better the more I read, so I plan to continue this glom for now. My friends at AAR tell me HP’s used to be far better, so I’ll definitely pick up some earlier treasures on my next trip to Dolores’ store, but as I told my husband the other day when he caught me reading with a huge grin on my face, “These books are exactly what I thought romance novels were like when I was too much of a snob to read one. But you know what? They’re fun!” They are fun - and I always have a smile on my face when I finish one. And isn’t that enough?

So my questions to you are:

• What are your guilty pleasure reads?
• Have you read any Harlequin Presents? If so, what would you say about them?
• What are the silliest romance novel titles you’ve ever come across?
• Are there books you can’t help but read even though you know they’re a little ridiculous?

TTFN, Laurie Likes Books

Here are reasons why I have an issue with the general portrayal of disabled people in romance novels:

• Some authors make a long-term disability the central part of all aspects of the character’s life.

• Some authors have used disability for shock value or to create conflict. Yes, having a disability can create conflict, but it shouldn’t be the only conflict in the story. As for using disability for shock value? How cheap.
• Some authors make a long-term disability the hero or heroine’s only personality or defining character trait.

It’s easy to see how these authors imagine having a long-term disability. When they imagine, they see vulnerability, emotional struggle, courage, shame, alienation, etc. The problem is these are usually associated with those who recently become disabled or - for those grew up with their long-term disabilities - with teenage years. So, when they try to imagine, they don’t usually see the person with that disability. Instead they see the disability. Sometimes that’s all they see. And it shows in their romance novels.

Do you wear glasses? If so, do you think about your long- or short-sightedness on a daily basis? I think it’s safe to assume that you don’t. [Well, I’m sure you did during your teens! :grin:]

What if the author makes short-sightedness the heroine’s only personality trait? The source of all her thoughts and emotions? The main reason why other characters view her in sympathetic light, deeming her heroic, noble and brave? The only conflict of the story?

I think the most common misconception is people with disabilities have nothing else. That their whole life, personality, and all their thoughts revolve around their long-term disabilities. [Of course there are some that do, but they are exceptions to the rule.]

Many make their long-term disabilities part of their lives, so much that they rarely think about them. They only ‘notice’ when practical problems crop up. A woman is reminded that she’s a small person when she can’t reach the numeric panel in a lift. A young man is reminded that he’s deaf when TV subtitles don’t work. A young woman is reminded that she’s on crutches when the dance floor is wet with spilt drinks. And, of course, these strangers’ reactions - from blatant discrimination to choir-singing sympathy - to remind them all.

When those reminders don’t get in their way, they usually live their lives, dealing with same issues that affect “normal” people: there are bills to pay, dirty dishes to do, doctors to see, taxes to dread, children to feed, events to attend, etc. How they deal with all these very much depends on their personalities. The rest - their beliefs, attitude, behaviour and general outlook - are based on who they are, not what they are.

When a hero or heroine in a romance has a long-term disability, I believe it’s important to show that there is more to their characterisation than just their disability.

I like to talk to my readers. Not just because they’re exceptionally smart, have good taste, and are incredibly attractive, but also because I like to hear what it is they think about things. That they like my books means we have something in common (usually a warped sense of humor, and appreciation for dishy guys), but beyond that, it’s fascinating to me to find other common ground.

Recently, I’ve started asking my readers questions…but they’re not questions that most authors ask their readers—you will not find included in my list questions about what sort of heroes they prefer, or whether they like contemporary romances over paranormals, or even if they like alpha over beta heroes.

No, not for them the standard romance book questions. My readers demand something out of the ordinary, and that includes the sort of information they want me to know about them. And bless them, they tell me! They send me lots of e-mail, they post on my message forum, and they comment on my online journal. Since writing is such a solitary act, this contact with readers is precious to me—it’s the only way I have of knowing what people think of the stories I tell. More than that, the e-mails and journal comments give me a way of reaching out, albeit cyberly, and connecting for a few minutes with someone whose life might otherwise not touch mine.

And that is a very cool thing.

Although the readers of this blog are made up of people who quite likely have never read one of my books, I thought it would be fun if we indulged in a round of To Tell The Truth. I’m looking forward to seeing how the answers here compare to the answers of my readers. Naturally, you don’t have to answer the questions. But if you do, be honest.

Ready? Here are five questions I recently asked my readers:

1. How frequently do you wash your sheets?

2. Do you eat a piece of food if you’ve dropped it on the floor?

3. If you could switch bodies with someone for a day, would you do it?

4. Do you hold a grudge?

5. If you were a breakfast cereal, which one would you be?

The subtitle of this site is: “Romance Authors and Readers Who Blog.” When I first noticed that, I thought to myself: Self, you’re not a romance author or a romance reader. Why have they asked you to be part of this? Well, because you’re a literary agent, probably… And I realized almost immediately that I had just done something to myself that I have, in the past, objected to - the categorization of agent as a non-reader. So, I started to pick away at why I might have done that and it got me thinking…

One of my clients occasionally waxes eloquent on the “reader-writer transaction,” or more specifically on the notion that once the piece of writing has been released into the world, the author is then dependent, to a certain extent, on what each individual reader brings to the table from their own experience(s) and how that will affect their response to the writing. With regard to the romance genre, it seems to me that this transaction is extremely applicable. Romance is designed by its very nature to pluck at the heartstrings and engage the innermost feelings of the reader. This, then, should be the most important relationship for the writer to cultivate. Not the one with their publisher, their editor, or their agent. But the one they have with each individual reader, which includes those three parties and more. Of course, it’s pretty much impossible for an author to meet each reader that has picked up their book. Or is it? Don’t they meet the writer through the pages of the book itself? This relationship is even more tenuous than the one I might have with anyone who reads this entry online. They may have the opportunity to comment, but the reader of an author’s book does not. Or at least, usually not directly. But it does come back. Through letters, perhaps. Through word-of-mouth. And eventually the writer will know they’ve reached someone. And it only takes one for the transaction to be made.

I might sometimes only be a reader in the context of being an agent. But I was a reader long before I was an agent. My dad brought home science fiction and fantasy from the library and my mother brought home mysteries and romance novels. I was snitching from their piles when my own books had been read long before I had even heard of query letters. And if, for some inexplicable reason, I find myself in a world where I am no longer a literary agent, I will remain a reader. And that relationship will be just as vital, if not moreso, to the future careers of writers as the one I have now.

My name is Beth Ciotta and I’m a textbook goody-two-shoes. I don’t break rules because I always get caught. I say no to drugs. I don’t smoke and I don’t swear. I’m addicted to happily-ever-afters. I’m partial to alpha-males and waif or spunky-kid heroines.

But that’s me.

If my books were populated solely with characters like ‘me’ they’d be darned boring, definitely unrealistic. My friends and associates are colorful people. Real people. People who have vices, quirks and faults. People involved in straight relationships, alternative relationships, and no relationships. People, men and women, whose conversations are peppered liberally with the “F” word. Did I just push some buttons?

I grew up in small-town, Indiana. Men tempered their language around women. Women, at least the ones I grew up with, never said the ‘F’ word. Then I moved to a more urban area of New Jersey. Talk about culture shock. At first I was offended by the excessive swearing, now I’m numb to it. Mostly. It depends on who’s doing the swearing. I feel the same way about characters in film or novels.

I’ve already established that I’m a goody-two-shoes. Yet I’m a fan of several HBO series—all graphic. Let’s talk ‘Six Feet Under’. Quirky and clever. Great characters. The language is often vulgar. It didn’t bother me at first. Most of these characters were edgy and young. They live in a big city. I totally bought that they would talk this way. The writer lost me in the episode where he had the conservative mother say F***. It didn’t ring true. It turned me off and made me conscious of how many times that word was uttered per episode. I stopped counting once at twenty and I wasn’t even midway through the program. It wasn’t the word that offended me, but the overuse…misuse.

Do I sound like a prude? I’m not. I adore Suzanne Brockmann’s Navy Seal single-title series. Those stories are filled with raw language. It doesn’t faze me. The author is being true to her characters. Those people in those situations would absolutely talk like that. To me, it’s not offensive, it’s real life.

When researching and creating my own contemporary trilogy, I paid special attention to the characters’ roots and influences. As a result there is swearing, when appropriate. Smoking and drinking, when appropriate. If you’re turned off by alternative relationships, beware I have recurring gay characters. Not because it’s trendy or shocking. Nor was I trying to make a statement. But because it was appropriate to my fictional world. It’s not my intention to offend anyone, but I am passionate about delivering a heartfelt story with genuine characters. Sometimes I’m gritty, sometimes I’m sweet. Hopefully, I’m always real.

“Warner Books is entering the chick lit market with a new imprint—5 Spot—which the publisher says will have something special to help it stand out in the crowded field. ‘We’re smart,’ says Amy Einhorn, VP, executive editor and editorial director of trade paperbacks. ‘And I think smart does sell well. Unlike a lot of chick lit,’ says Einhorn, ‘5 Spot’s books will be more than: ‘I don’t have a boyfriend and I need to go buy a new pair of Manolos.’ “–-The Book Standard

Okay. Smart marketing, I’ll give them that.

To effectively position yourself in a crowded, competitive marketplace today, you need an angle, and an angle that addresses the chick lit backlash is as smart as Warner’s new imprint professes it will be. My problem with the spin is that it flat out says that most chick lit is stupid because it’s about women looking for boyfriends and shopping for shoes. That’s exactly what non-chick-lit readers and bashers believe. So again, smart marketing, Warner.

The thing is, I’ve read a lot of chick lit, and I’ve yet to read one about a woman looking for a boyfriend and shopping for shoes (including my own debut novel, which has the word date right in the title). Chick lit, whether frothy fun or literary or anything in between, has never been about boyfriends or shoes. Chick lit is about a woman’s journey toward fulfillment. Does that journey often include romance? Yup. Is that stupid? (And by the way, only Carrie Bradshaw, in TV land, can afford Manolos.)

When people harp at women for daring to say they want love in their lives, I want to scream. Do bashers really think that women want boyfriends or shoes at the expense of everything else? Getting back to Carrie Bradshaw, The Sex and the City characters were intelligent, vital, super successful women. They wanted someone with whom to share their lives, someone to come home to at the end of the day, just like I did. Just like chick lit heroines. Why is this stupid?

“Chick lit heroines are allowed to want love, but do they have to WHINE about it?” a friend asked recently. “That’s what’s stupid!”

Now, mind you, this is my non-chick-lit-loving friend. All I know is that in 2003, I married for the first time at age thirty-eight. I began dating at what—sixteen? That’s twenty-two years of bad dates and relationships that didn’t work out. I love (and will always relate to) books about single women who are dealing with dating woes in addition to everything else. I love all of what chick lit offers. And there’s an incredibly wide range–from authors’ styles and voices to subject matter.

I’m sure I’ll love Warner’s don’t-call-us-chick-lit imprint too, especially given the fun titles of the inaugural list, such as How To Sleep With A Movie Star. Doesn’t sound like chick lit to me. No, not at all. Back to what I said about Warner’s smart marketing.

My job as writer used to have one part. Okay, two, but I spent most of my time on the first part, writer, and so little on the second, writer business, that it pretty much didn’t count. Then the last six months happened. I went from unpublished novelist to multi-contracted as I sold three novels and a story for an anthology in steady progression. My first and second sales announcements appeared in the RWR and RWA e-Notes. And my job expanded overnight from one part to four.

Part one, writer, hasn’t changed. Although I’m glad I had time to grow into my voice before the other parts came into play, because the writing keeps me centered. If I were newer to writing, I might find myself drifting around in all the marketing currents instead of grounded. But writing time is no longer just for writing, as the second part, writer business, abruptly expanded. Now I’m not just submitting manuscripts, I’m also dealing with contracts, providing bios and other information to my publisher, deadlines, proposals, cover blurbs.

Then came the third part, edits. I revised the daylights out of contracted books 1 and 2 because frankly they needed it. My writing skills had grown a lot since I’d originally written them, and the editorial input showed me still more things I hadn’t even noticed. I spent two full months out of the last six swimming in the red sea of revisions, fixing problems. Revisions made the stories better in every way and taught me a whole new set of skills. I also learned a deep appreciation for what a good editor does.

Part four, promotion, began before the release of the first book. I reserved my domain name, gave thought to what I wanted in a website, and my web designer husband built it. I started to blog. I discovered very quickly that I could spend a lot of time doing promotional things and since my time was limited, I needed to pick the things I thought were important carefully and ignore the rest.

The time wasting opportunities in part four are worth a paragraph of their own. This is the part that made me grateful for the grounding writing provides and for knowing what my real priorities are. My real priority is to write good stories, stories I love and want to read. I enjoy the other parts of being an author that go along with reaching an audience, but the story is first, last and forever. Promotion is part of the job, it’s an important part, but if I take every opportunity I’m offered, the time for writing will shrink and shrink. And if I worry about every marketing trend or opinion, the energy for writing will shrink, too.

Four part harmony can be achieved. I’m still learning the new parts of my job, but writing holds it all together. What helps you balance the four parts?

I think I’m supposed to be one of the funny ones. Next time, I promise.

Must. Get. Sappy. First.

I came to the genre of romance writing late in my career. For a while, I was writing poetry and short stories, and then I moved into the more academic world of studying and dissecting literature and finally teaching. And then I was trying to write the great American novel, but nothing ever came of it. And then I had a baby.

And then my world changed forever.

Romance gave me that brief respite I needed when I couldn’t deal with doctors and nurses and beeping machines and people telling me things might be taking a turn for the worst, and most of all from the guilt of not being able do more to help my daughter. All I could do was sit there and wait. In the romances of Tami Hoag’s Lucky’s Lady, Suzanne Brockmann’s Out of Control and Cherry Adair’s Kiss & Tell, I was able to lose myself in a totally different world, one where happy endings abounded and the hero and heroine saved each other.

I don’t know if any of these authors will ever know how they saved me, but ladies, you did it in a major way. You made me want to pay it forward by writing romance novels and deepened my respect for both writers and readers of the genre.

I also don’t know if romance writers fully comprehend how much good they do, how much joy they bring to people everywhere, every day, but I’m going to attest to it here from firsthand knowledge. I’m not really sure that any other genre can quite claim to do the same thing, so this is my thank you to all of from this reader of romance. Romance writers possess a greater courage than they know (beyond dealing with the stereotypes they’re often labeled with) - they dive into the complex emotions that surround love and sex and men and women, and they delve and prod the human psyche and create characters so memorable I’d swear some of them were alive. And that’s what I strive to do in every book I write.

So, how else do I pay it forward as a writer of the genre?

I try and create heroines I know my daughter would be proud of, or proud to be. They might not be as strong physically as my heroes, but they can kick ass, all-around, any day of the week, once they’re up and running. And yes, they often need to be saved on some level, but don’t we all? I try and explore the symbolism of the save on many different levels – the physical save and the emotional one, the obvious save and the save you didn’t even realize you needed.

My daughter’s getting better every day, and so is my writing. I’m proud to call myself a romance writer, and I just hope that one day I’m given the chance to help a reader lose themselves for just a few hours. Because, in the end, it’s all about giving someone their HEA.

So tell me, as a writer and / or reader, what book or author started your love affair with the genre that Pays It Forward?