While we had a brief, torrid affair during my teenage years, I didn’t start seriously reading the romance genre until ten years ago. For some of you, this may seem like a long time. For the rest of you? I’m a mere infant.
While I enjoy talking to all readers, my favorites tend to be those readers who have been reading romance novels for 25+ years. They have such a wealth of knowledge when it comes to the genre, and they oftentimes have completely different perspectives on books, authors and sub genres, that infants (such as myself) fail to realize.
These longtime romance readers, while readily admitting that many of the books don’t necessarily continue to hold up to this day, can recall how mind-altering reading books like The Flame And The Flower and Whitney, My Love were back when they were first published. How, when they discovered those stories, they were unlike anything else they had read before. You had to be around during that time period to really “get” how revolutionary some of those stories were. Let’s be honest; readers today picking up some of these classics for the first time probably aren’t going to have the same reaction to them. The genre has moved past this ground zero, and we’re in a different space now.
This got me thinking about other revolutionary moments in romance genre history. It didn’t start and end with Kathleen Woodiwiss. We’ve had other ground zeroes before and since. In just my short ten years of reading the genre, two moments really stand out for me personally.
It may surprise readers just coming to the genre now, but there was a time when paranormal romance and erotic romance were downright obscure. At one point, the only publisher consistently publishing paranormal romances was Dorchester (with their Love Spell imprint). When romance readers started congregating online, either on message boards or e-mail loops, a common topic that would pop up with regularity were from readers hungry for any sort of “other-worldly” romances. Vampires, futuristics, time travels – it didn’t much matter at that time because readers were so desperate. Which is why, even though I’m personally burnt-out on all things paranormal, I’ve never begrudged fans of that sub genre the current glut on the market. Heck, they earned it! There were a lot of really lean years.
For erotic romance, while there were a few select authors writing the steamy stuff (Bertrice Small, Robin Schone, Susan Johnson and Thea Devine come to mind), it really wasn’t until Kensington launched the Brava line that the wheel stated to turn. It was one of the first instances where a publisher created a completely separate line for erotic romance. All the reader had to do was look for that Brava “B” on the book’s spine, and they knew it was going to be a spicier story. It took the guesswork out of browsing the bookstore and library shelves. Along with Brava’s success, readers soon had more choices thanks to Harlequin Blaze, Ellora’s Cave, and other erotic romance imprints. Certainly while there are some in the romance writing and reading community who still aren’t happy with the mainstreaming of erotic romance, it doesn’t diminish the fact how amazing these imprint launches were for many readers, myself included. Finally. If I wanted a spicier read, if that’s what I was in the mood for, it was readily available, easy to find, and I was no longer stumbling around in the dark.
Genre fiction, not just romance, is very much rooted in the present. As time marches on, mores and values shift and change. Genre fiction, it’s authors and readers, take notice, with the books reflecting those changes society is going through at that time. While the romance genre might not move fast enough for some, or too fast for others, it provides an intriguing window into the lives of the women (and men!) who write and read within the genre.
What other romance genre ground zeroes can you think of?
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I started to write how I found John Jakes North and South (book and the mini-series) ground breaking for Civil War period stories and then westerns. But the more I thought about it the more I realized. Kathleen E. Woodwiss is truly the queen of ground breaking romance.
The Flame and The Flower and Shanna–high seas adventures and other things
Ashes in the Wind–Civil War romance
The Wolf and the Dove–medieval romance
The list could go on and on. In my mind that’s 3 romance genres that can be attributed to her. Though I’ve been reading romance for 25+ (closer to 30) years, there are probably other early romance writers that were doing similar things at the same time, Rosemary Rogers comes to mind. It was Kathleen Woodiwiss that stuck with me through the years.
I also see Jude Deveraux’s Knight in Shining Armour the ground breaker for Time Travel romance, though there is a part of me that doesn’t really find that to be a romance–those who have read it may agree with me.
I was about a third of the way into writing my first book which I thought was a mystery when my daughters told me it was a romance. To that point (which was only a few years ago), I’d never read a romance.
I’m still discovering the genre and sub-genres. Since I’m still a big mystery fan, I prefer the romantic suspense (but I wish it was romantic mystery) titles, but have been dabbling throughout the realm.
I’m British and I didn’t hear of the US pioneers until the trend was well over.
I started reading historicals, not historical romances, and I devoured Jean Plaidy and Norah Lofts books. Then, ground zero for me was Georgette Heyer. For other Brits it might be Barbara Cartland and the Mills and Boon books, but libraries tended to segregate them, and the others could be found on the regular shelves.
Right at the beginning, it was Sherlock Holmes, and the little touches of romance you could find in the stories, but really, Georgette Heyer.
The first American romance writer I came across was Christine Feehan, and it blew me away. Then Robin Schone, specifically
“The Lady’s Tutor.” I breezed through Mary Jo Putney, absolutely adored the Fallen Angels, ditto Jo Beverley’s Malloren series.
Oh yes, and Dorothy Dunnett. Romantic in the widest sense as well as containing one of the best romances I’ve ever read.
I think Lavryle Spencer really started the trend of families in the romance genre. Her stories revolved around struggle and hardship, family and community, and the enduring quality of love. Nothing was ever easy in these relationships but the story and characters were believable- each saga centered on the healing power of love. Hummingbird is still one of the best books out there. I started reading her books as a teen and I still pick them up, to revisit the sweet, tender romances she created.
I don’t know if anyone came before her (if anyone did I never read them), but to my knowledge, Debbie Macomber started the ‘community’ romances/books that she is famous for today with the six interconnected category books about Promise, Texas. I was struck by them because there were so many heads to hop, and also, because they seemed less romance-y than her earlier Avon stand alone titles.
(I could be totally wrong but please note that my reading choices at the time were limited and my memory nowadays is like Swiss cheese.)
Ah, Heart of Texas was the name of the series.
Great post, Wendy. I was just thinking about this topic (as I try to come up with something to talk about for guest posts! LOL) and…Suze Brockmann’s groundbreaking character Jules Cassidy comes immediately to mind. (Consider my genre, right?)
Yep, Suze has contributed a lot to the genre.
- Navy SEALs
- the Sam & Alyssa overreaching story arc
- Jules Cassidy as a character
- Jules Cassidy as a character with a love interest and his own overreaching story arc
And lets not forget the wonderful WWII stories in the first books of the SEAL Team Sixteen/Troubleshooters series. I think those stopped when Sam and Alyssa finally got their own book. (Too bad, I loved them!)
In every book, she’s a ground breaker–and a rule breaker. OK yes, gushy fangirl moment.
I miss the WWII stories.
I would say that authors like Christine Feehan, Laurel K Hamilton, Anne Rice and JR Ward are very ground breaking when it comes to paranormal romance especially dealing with vampires.
The Mirror by Marlys Milhauser was the groundbreaking time travel. In the story the heroine trades places with her grandmother when they’re gazing into a mirror on her wedding day. Still one of my faves.
http://www.cherylstjohn.net/
Lots of great comments so far!
Tara Marie: Ah yes, those were the good old days. When authors could write in a variety of time periods and settings without the big push from publishers (and readers, to a certain extent) that they “brand” themselves.
I think we definitely need to look at Suzanne Brockmann when it comes to the popularity of the military hero (specifically SEALs). Did others do it before her? Sure. But she took that “type” of hero and totally ran with it. Ask a reader to name an author who writes military heroes, and Brockmann would probably be the first author they’d name.
Spencer, yep. Macomber, yep. Especially when looking at “gentler” family-oriented stories.
Katiebabs: Yes! Feehan! Just for her sheer longevity if nothing else.
You know that the Love Spell books that blew the lid off things were Dara Joy’s, don’t you?
Yeah, there were books by them before her and there have been lots and lots after her (and, uh, her disappearance. 
) but I well remember the impact her first book made. That was a ground zero however one felt about the book itself.
And I’m one of those long time readers – I don’t even want to talk about it in terms of years now – that haven’t actually read Woodiwess. To be honest, I’ve read very few of the so-called real bodice rippers from that era. I’ve gotten a few and can rarely get into them and it’s not always the infamous bad aspects that throw me. It’s the general length of the books because I came at romance during that era from reading categories. In a lot of ways, pretty much the same attitudes existed in many of the Harlequins, just with much shorter stories.
So, for me a major ground zero was the start of the America set lines of categories such as the Silhouettes. That was a huge shift because it wasn’t simply a change in location but also a change in focus in terms of what the stories were about, too. And it was a change that rippled back onto the Harlequin lines because then we got the Intriques and other varieties to choose from.
That’s why it amazes me when people think there’s so little to choose from in this genre. The variety nowadays is amazing.
I would say that authors like Christine Feehan, Laurel K Hamilton, Anne Rice and JR Ward are very ground breaking when it comes to paranormal romance especially dealing with vampires.
I’m sure that Hamilton, Rice and Ward are all great authors and ground breaking in many ways but in terms of romances, nothing compares to the impact that Feehan had in terms of opening the minds of readers to vampire romances in general.
Before Feehan, most vampire romances that came along were fringe stories because you have to remember this was before the paranormal craze we have today. Or the author already had a following to begin with and could indulge in the occasional vampire romance. But even those had to stick to a fairly strict formula. Usually.
Which meant, that, to put it bluntly, there were a lot of readers like myself who wouldn’t touch a vampire-centric romance with a ten foot pole. Why? Because they’re not crazy about or simply don’t read about blood-drinkers. Then, too, there are a lot of readers who just don’t like the dark, brooding, cursed hero template either.
I distinctly remember saying exactly those two things when people were raving about Feehan’s books. Someone explained to me that they were vampires who weren’t really vampires, plus a lot more about the books.
I was curious enough to try the first and kept right on reading them.
So, basically, Feehan managed to break through a barrier there, apparently for quite a few romance readers. Do she do things that no one else had done before? Probably not. But she managed to do them in a package that intrigued enough romance readers to create the necessary buzz and that’s what counts because you can definitely see where the formula was no longer so strict after those books.
That’s a ground zero.
I still have and love those older Bravas.
Wendy, this was a great post. I’m an infrant like you. I’ve been reading romance and women’s fiction for about 10 years as well.
What I find interesting in the the past 10 years how popular the sheikh genre has become and how many new contemporary romance authors are starting to write sheikh books. In fact, Harlequin is starting a new “sheikh” series in 2010.
Author Susan Mallery has written over a dozen books in her Desert Rogue Series with the last one coming out this month.
Olivla Gates who writes for Desire had a great series as well as Alexandra Sellers.
Then there are the Harlequin Presents authors like Kate Walker, Sharon Kentrick, Susan Stephens, Lucy Monroe, Trish Morey, Penny Jordan, Kate Hardy, Jane Porter, Sandra Marton, Annie West and soon Abby Green. Then the new presents authors Sabrina Philips, Kate Hewitt and more to come.
There’s an entire site dedicated to the genre, The Sheikhs and Desert Love. For those authors I review, I stablished a “sheikh review blog”, Romancing the Desert, Sheikh Books.
Seems like a good spot to promote an e-book I’ve just had published with combines erotica and science fiction. It’s the first of five providing Vayna’s story, who is born into slavery and slowly progresses towards the Freedom she so ardently desires. The book’s URL is http://www.eloquentbooks.com/Vayna of the Steppes.html The publisher can be reached at marketingmanager@eloquentbooks.com Thank-you.
Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but weren’t Nora Roberts’ category romances featuring *gasp* intelligent, professional, modern heroines (aka non-simpering misses/non-doormats) a ground zero?
I wasn’t reading romances in the early-80s, but from the reading I’ve done about what the genre looked like at the time, I’ve gotten the distinct impression that Nora was instrumental in ushering in the modern heroines we see in the genre today. And if that’s true, I’m forever grateful to her.
I have a friend who has been reading romance for 30-some years and she says that Nora’s categories were the first ones she remembers reading where the heroines had “non-traditional” female professions. In other words, they weren’t all nurses, teachers, nannies and librarians.
Not that there is anything wrong with librarians. Or those other professions for that matter
::raises hand::
One of the first romance I ever read (30 years ago) was about a lady pirate. Total make believe, I know, but it captured my attention. I was riveted…
and I was forever hooked.
Don’t forget Mary Balogh! She pushed the boundaries of the Regency into more grittiness, more explicit love scenes, and longer stories, and helped break ground for the historicals we read today~
Great post Wen.
I’m 82 years old. I have read many romantic novels. I have experienced many romantic moments of my own. My last romance has so far lasted 57 years. I think that todays romantic novels need more true romance. To many novels consentrate on physical attraction and sexual passion. I no longer read pure romantic novels. My books are all exciting adventures with high passionate romances woven in. However, since I’m a Christian my romances promote Christian values.
Wonderful post & great comments.
[...]In the post Romance Ground Zeroes at Romancing the Blog, Wendy Crutcher discusses the phenomenon of revolutionary books and authors in the romance genre.[...]