Posted August 04, 2010 to Digital, Media Appearances
How in the name of hot reading did I forget to link this here?! What on earth was I doing, reading books?!!
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.
Tags: awesomesauce, salon
Posted May 05, 2010 to Digital, Media Appearances
Meredith Blake of the The New Yorker Book Blog wrote an article about the Mills & Boon announcement of a series of books set at National Trust locations, wondering if the same could be done in the US.
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?
Posted April 22, 2010 to Digital, Media Appearances
Kristine Rusch writes in her article about social networking about how she found me, the site, and my social network:
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!
Tags: awesomesauce, blog
