Today, she’s published an article about the surge in popularity of Amish-set romance: Romance novels set in Amish country are growing apace:

“It’s a huge, huge, huge trend,” says romance blogger Sarah Wendell, co-author of Beyond Heaving Bosoms: The Smart Bitches’ Guide to Romance Novels….

And that low-tech lifestyle creates a small-town atmosphere, which has deep appeal for readers who may find Wi-Fi-only connections emotionally isolating. “Even within your own neighborhood, you feel alone,” says Jane Little of the influential romance blog Dear Author. In an Amish inspirational, “we’re all one big family,” she says.

“Here you have this agrarian society that is closed to outsiders right in the middle of the Northeast,” says Wendell. “It’s both historical and contemporary.”

I reviewed an Amish-set book a few months ago, Cindy Woodsmall’s The Hope of Refuge, and gave it a C. The themes were fascinating but the religious revelations came far, far too easy.

I don’t think the Amish fascination will decline any time soon, though it eventually will. As complex and connected yet distant as our lives are now, revisiting that type of simplicity in fiction is a curious and compulsive indulgence for many readers.

Romance is often dismissed as mindless dreck with predictable plots, but really, the best of romance is far from mindless and silly. Each of these books — and many others — feature savvy, sharp women, and stories that won’t let go of you.

So they are perfect for a hot, sunny day when you want to relax and escape for a few hours to find your own happily ever after.

I created a hot summer reading list for Salon.com, including books from paranormal, contemporary, and historical authors.

Even if you’re not at the beach or anywhere near sandy relaxation, a great romance novel can provide the perfect escape from everyday stress. The best part of romance fiction is that happy endings are guaranteed. While the perfect tan requires careful sunscreen, enjoying a romance requires only two things: a belief that everyone deserves a happily-ever-after, and the ability to ignore anyone who sniffs at your choice of reading material. A good romance novel is like the perfect day at the beach: wonderful and restorative from start to finish.

The best part, though, are the comments, like this one from Matt: “A friend of mine buys romance books and leaves them around for her teen-age son to pick up. She thinks that the books contain some good role models for the kid, who like many, is growing up with a single parent who hasn’t had a lot of luck in real life romance. I think he probably likes the sexy parts, but if he can learn anything about mutual respect and how not to smother his girlfriends with demands and jealousy, I’m all for it. From what I’ve seen of the new romance novels the female leads are not the weak Cinderella types, either – a lot of them may be insecure but they get their acts together by the end of the books. (Yep, I’m a reader, too – although the pink & rose bodice-ripper covers have to be hidden when I commute to work.)”

And also, this comment from Dabney rocks my socks: “this article, up front and center, about romance novels made me realize that the site still is capable of greatness.” Dabney and Matt, drinks are on me.

Cue my groans and pounding of head on desk at mention of “quivering” and bodices ripping, alas. But I was asked to discuss US historical locations that would work in a romance, and I pointed out that romance already has embraced settings that are historically significant in the USA:

I’m hardly an expert on romance novels—though Lauren Colins’s’ Profile of Nora Roberts certainly brought me a step closer to that lofty goal—so I turned to someone who is, Sarah Wendell, of the blog Smart Bitches,Trashy Books. I asked her if there are any Harlequin titles analogous to “Scandalous Innocent,” and she steered me to “The Rebel and the Lady,” a novel set at the Alamo. She also mentioned the “Luxe” series, set on the Upper East Side of Manhattan at the turn of the century (think of it as a YA version of Edith Wharton). Wendell says the historical setting is just as alluring to American readers as it is to Brits, even if we don’t have quite so many viable romantic settings. “Funny thing about American romance readers: many of us were introduced to narratives focused on the heroine through the Sunfire series from Scholastic. Each book featured a romantic young woman’s story set against an historic event—the Civil War, the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, flood, etc.”

I totally loved the Sunfire series – and I love US-set historicals as well. What about you?

If you haven’t read last week’s post on Online Networking, double back and do so now. With the help of writer Ryan Viergutz, I explained how people use the internet to network and to gather information. In private e-mails, a few of you expressed concern that I was confusing networking with marketing in that post. But I didn’t: as you’ll see in the next few posts, online networking and marketing go hand-in-hand.

I think this is best summed up by Sarah Wendell who, along with Candy Tan, writes a marvelous blog about romance novels called Smart Bitches Trashy Books. Smart Bitch Sarah, as she signed her letter to me, also has her own blog, sbsarah.com.

She wrote, “I network on the internet by talking to people who share my interest or by answering questions from those who are curious. It helps my business, but then, my business is creating a space for conversations about romance novels.”

I found her via Twitter, but I found her blog because of a review of a book she and Candy Tan wrote called Beyond Heaving Bosoms: The Smart Bitches’ Guide to Romance Novels. (It’s in my Recommended Reading list. Check it out here.) What I like about Sarah’s Tweets are the fact that they maintain the same attitude as her blog, but they also provide a link to the romance community online, since she forwards other people’s tweets (called retweeting, for those of you not on Twitter) and she often has links to good blog posts elsewhere.

In other words, her networking isn’t just me, me, me. It’s useful and fascinating and opens doors to other worlds.

Ok, that’s about one of the finest compliments I’ve ever received, especially since I was absolutely dumbfounded by Twitter when I first signed on. “What are YOU doing?” “I’m drinking an import and watching the market returns!” Thank you, Kris!

I had no idea until Genevieve from Tango emailed me – but I LOVE the intro from GLO :

While we’re guilty-as-charged chick-lit aficionados, we haven’t dappled in romance novels much beyond the Twilight series. Yet, we were so enamored by this defense of the genre that we’ve added a few to our spring reading list. Check out the slideshow of Harlequin romances, left.

Yay! More curious readers? Win!

It’s mostly a look at Carina Press and Harlequin, with a discussion of why they are as digitally-centered as they are:

But those readers—women from 31 to 49, in a romantic relationship—are still handling most of the nation’s child care, and that’s without even mentioning professional responsibilities. So e-books are quicker to buy and read on the go.

Online communities of readers are also pressing loudly for more digital options. Two voices have emerged to lead the online chorus for e-books: Sarah Wendell, the co-founder of SmartBitchesTrashyBooks.com, and Jane Litte, the proprietor of DearAuthor.com. Both juggle careers and Web sites, as well as raising young children, and they’ve turned to digital formats for ease. “It’s a form of reading so attuned to a woman’s lifestyle right now,” says Wendell.

I think this is my favorite part of the article though: “So while the bulk of Harlequin’s revenue will still come from print, Carina could attract new customers. Most mainstream publishers won’t jilt their blockbuster authors to dally with new talents in the digital space. But they could learn a move or two.”

]]> http://sbsarah.com/2010/04/the-big-money-digital-publishing/feed/ 0 http://sbsarah.com/2010/03/on-nprs-monkey-see-blog-harlequin-titles-and-womens-desires/ http://sbsarah.com/2010/03/on-nprs-monkey-see-blog-harlequin-titles-and-womens-desires/#comments Wed, 03 Mar 2010 19:19:52 +0000 Sarah http://sbsarah.com/?p=390 I’m over at the NPR Monkey See blog today, responding with a big ol’ DUH to research into Harlequin titles and what they reveal about women’s desires:

Stop the presses: Harlequin titles reveal our — by “our” I of course mean “women’s” — evolutionary coding and psychological desire for … wait for it, wait for it … You sitting down? Good.

We prefer to mate with “a physically fit, financially secure man who will provide the resources needed to successfully raise a family.”

In other news, ice is slippery, water is still wet, and those silly romance readers are once again looking for fantasy men. Pah.

]]> http://sbsarah.com/2010/03/on-nprs-monkey-see-blog-harlequin-titles-and-womens-desires/feed/ 0 http://sbsarah.com/2010/02/romance-novels-smarter-than-you-think/ http://sbsarah.com/2010/02/romance-novels-smarter-than-you-think/#comments Tue, 02 Feb 2010 21:00:35 +0000 Sarah http://sbsarah.com/?p=386 TangoMag asked me to write about my definition of romance, so I drew on a whole lot of romance reading to write a short advisory article on how romance novels can help you keep the romance in your life: Why Romance Novels are Smarter Than You Think:

Romance novels can teach you that romance itself is not merely a single gift or a gesture, and it sure isn’t just knockin’ boots. Romance doesn’t even guarantee a happy ending—anyone who has been through a bad breakup can tell you that, myself included. It’s not chocolate or hearts, diamonds or roses, yachts or airplanes. It’s not the gesture itself that creates the romance. It’s the motivation behind the gift or action, no matter what time of year it arrives.

I have no idea why the stylesheet doesn’t load at that site when I look at it – but the words are there, so enjoy.

]]> http://sbsarah.com/2010/02/romance-novels-smarter-than-you-think/feed/ 0 http://sbsarah.com/2010/01/salons-laura-miller-on-book-trailers/ http://sbsarah.com/2010/01/salons-laura-miller-on-book-trailers/#comments Wed, 27 Jan 2010 17:52:41 +0000 Sarah http://sbsarah.com/?p=384 Salon Magazine’s Laura Miller wrote a critical article on book trailers, and included quotes from me about whether they work. Never coming to a screen near you looks at the idea that trailers, or movies about books, don’t sell books to consumers.

She and I had a lengthy email conversation about book trailers – I’m convinced that unless there’s a unique hook or angle to the trailer itself, book trailers that are only about the book itself are only interesting to other authors (who are told they Must Have One). (Note: you do not have to have a book trailer.)

From that conversation, Miller quoted me talking about live action trailers featuring actors who were singularly unattractive to me:

Mind-blowing science fiction about nanotechnology or interplanetary travel is pretty hard to reproduce on your Flip HD, and affordable actors seldom measure up to the gorgeous heroines and heroes of romance. As Sarah Wendell, a co-founder of the Web site Smart Bitches, Trashy Books and coauthor of “Beyond Heaving Bosoms: The Smart Bitches’ Guide to Romance Novels,” told me in an e-mail, “as a reader and shopper for genre fiction, I’ve never been swayed to make a book purchase based on a trailer … A few have featured actors so unattractive to me I was totally turned off.”

There have been some great book trailers in romance – many of which created by the authors themselves on a minuscule budget. But most of them leave me uninterested, and I have never purchased a book because the trailer was amazing. They may lead me to look up an author whose trailer is creative and witty, but they’ve never made me think, ‘I MUST have that book.’

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