Have You Ever Read A Paperback Series Romance Novel?

[arwalden]

You know... the Harlequin Romance novels with cover artwork showing hunky scantily clad beefcake guys and the buxom women together in an wind-blown embrace?



"I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!"

[laura888]

wo! is that man naked on the cover?

times have changed!

[arwalden]

5. The Naughty Bits Are Shielded From View By Her Shoulder...

her LUCKY LUCKY shoulder.

-- Allen

[laura888]

1. wo! is that man naked on the cover?

times have changed!

[supernova]

2. Used to

in my late teens and 20s. I had a fondness for historicals, Bertrice Small in particular.

These days, I read more realistic fiction, if that makes sense.

[gator_in_Ontario]

3. Mike??? is that you?

I worked for B. Daltons years ago and Mike loved the covers of the romances....

[arwalden]

7. I Managed A Waldenbooks For Nearly 10 Years...

... and that was one of my favorite sections to organize.

Some of our regular customers really took seriously their romance novels. Many of them would have me set-aside for them an entire series every time it arrived.

Usually it was the sweetest most charming and grandmotherly "old-ladies" that fooled me the most. I couldn't help but smile when I realized how well their wrinkles and blue-rinse hairstyle managed to hide the true tigress inside.

-- Allen

[gator_in_Ontario]

12. it IS you!

how ya been mike?

[Kamika]

4. I read Pride and Prejudice

I don't know if that counts

[wryter2000]

6. I write them

That isn't a paperback series romance novel. That isn't a Harlequin. It's a historical, probably published by Avon. It would be nice if people learned something about the genre before they trash it.

I've published three of those sorts of books, one e-book, and three erotic romance novellas. I have a romantic short story coming out in June. Let me tell you a few things about romance novels.

1) The good ones are at least as good as any other type of genre fiction; westerns, horror, mystery, legal procedural, technothriller. In fact, they're a damned sight better. Read Laura Kinsale, if you don't believe me.

2) They are NOT about the subjugation of women. The women are powerful characters in the books, even in historical times when women didn't have power. The fastest way to get your romance rejected is to write a wimp heroine.

3) Ph.D.'s (like me), lawyers, doctors, professors, artists read and write romance novels. So do some men. The writers work damned hard to produce the best book they can. The editors work damned hard for not much pay.

4) Most people who put romance down have never read one. Who of you who checked "No, never" have ever read one?

5) Danielle Steele is not a romance novelist. J. D. Robb (Nora Roberts) is.

[Kamika]

8. titles??

omg tell us the titles I want to check them out :D (all of them


edit: nm found your homepage they look great :D

[wryter2000]

9. Thanks

I don't normally push my books in forums like this, but since this started out as a possible insult-the-romance-novel thread, I'll make an exception. :)

My pseudonyms are Alice Gaines and Alice Chambers. Alice Gaines is in Secrets, Volumes 1, 6, and 8 from Red Sage publishing. We won Best Book of the Year from the Venus Book Club last year. These are erotic novellas.

My stand-alone books are Waitangi Nights (Alice Gaines, out of print), Taming Angelica (Alice Chambers), Always a Princess (Alice Chambers), and Moon of the Jaguar (Alice Gaines -- an e-book also available in print-on-demand). Waitangi Nights and Moon of the Jaguar are spooky paranormals. Taming Angelica and Always a Princess are Victorian fluff. To be taken as seriously as, say, The Barber of Seville. In other words, "If you wonder how they eat and drink and other science facts, just remember it's a story, you should really just relax."

Check me out on Barnes and Noble if you want. Don't patronize Amazon -- they're unfair to authors.

[Kamika]

11. I just checked you out on amazon before I read this

What's so bad about Amazon? I've ordered from both

[wryter2000]

16. Amazon

The worst thing about Amazon is the "blue button." The very minute a book comes out, Amazon is selling used copies. There's nothing illegal about it, but what they do is stop someone in the act of buying a new book and redirect them to a used book. This hurts our sales, and -- ta da! -- turns out Amazon makes a huge profit off it.

Now, I have nothing against used book stores. Most I've encountered are very author-friendly, selling new books as well as used, and keeping their customers up-to-date on what's coming out. They also stock out-of-print books and are a tremendous resource. But if someone wants a new book, don't take that sale away from me, please!

Also, Amazon does nothing to stop people from selling stripped books. If you see a book without a cover, the cover was returned for credit to the publisher, and neither the publisher nor the author were paid for it. Selling stripped books is illegal, but Amazon turns a blind eye, because -- hey! -- they got paid for it.

[Liberal Christian]

10. Thanks, Wryter!

It's really quite amazing how much arrogant ignorance there is about a genre which has many fans from every life situation.

Oddly enough, people don't feel as free to trash westerns or science fiction or fantasy or any of the other genres of mainstream fiction. But romance is automatically trash.

As you say, the female protagonists in these novels tend to be strong and capable women (perhaps not quite so true 30 years ago, but certainly true now).

The writing is, on average, at least as good as it is in science fiction and westerns, often much better. Having actually read some of each genre, I feel at least marginally qualified to make that comparison.

[wryter2000]

18. Thank you!

Actually, people used to trash science fiction. Probably mysteries, too. Romance is getting a little respect these days.

Unfortunately, there are so many of them (over 50% of all mass market paperbacks are romances) that it's easy to find bad ones. And the bad ones can be howlingly bad. I won't defend every romance novel ever published, but there's nothing about the genre itself that's bad. In fact, it's quite good.

[arwalden]

19. I Think It's The Campy Covers That Give Them Their Reputation

The covers are often parodies of themselves at times. And isn't it fun to judge books by their covers? :hi:

-- Allen

[Lars39]

13. Jane Ann Krentz, is that you?

Historicals are wonderful for escapism. Krentz is my favorite, but I'm not well read in historicals. Really the only other author I've read is Catherine Coulter. Took me a while to figure it out, but she's a RWer. I'd swear that Krentz is liberal. :)

[wryter2000]

17. And let me add

6) Except for a very few, highly successful romance authors, we have 0 control over what goes on the cover. None.

[arwalden]

20. If True, Then The Writer's Scorn Should Be Heaped Upon The Publishers

for the success that their titillating and provocative images have on people who casually glance at them. Not on the people themselves for seeing the message INTENDED by the publisher and not for thinking the thoughts PLANTED there by the publisher.

And certainly should not be heaped on me for posting a little yuk-yuk soon forgotten Sunday afternoon thread in the LOUNGE. This is a thread not to be taken as seriously as some have done.

-- Allen

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

14. Nah, I like my porn straight up

Or with a twist. I haven't read romance novels since I was 12 and found out where my older sister hid her dirty books. (Under her schoolbooks in her desk drawer. Harder to find than my dad's, under my parents' bed. So obvious!)

[curse10]

15. I've read a few

they are fun and great way to get your mind off stuff.

My future sister-in-law is trying to get published in this genre, so she has a ton lying around so I've picked up a few in between my other reading projects :-)

[YellowRubberDuckie]

21. Yes.

One of my friends got me into Kinley McGregor. Now I'm addicted. They're a Scottish series about this family of boys and how they all met their wives. And dammit if the last one didn't have a cliffhanger! I'm so mad. But I suggest you read them. They're very good books. I love that trash!
Duckie

[populistmom]

22. No, they seem kind of cheesy

There's so many better things out there in the realm of erotic literature. And if you can't find what you like, you can always write some yourself. :7

[Piperay]

23. I used to read em

they really are pure trash. :P I quit because they are so repetitive, you read one you've read em all. :boring: