Judith McNaught's Whitney, My Love

Judith McNaught today climbed to the top of Ranker.com's Best Romance Novelists list so we'll use that as the excuse to feature one of her early novels as our first Romance feature.

Whitney, My Love broke new ground when it was published in 1986. Most romance novels set in the "regency" period (the 1820s and 1830s) followed a formula: introduce the heroine first, tell a relatively light, relatively short story with no explicit sex. McNaught turned that formula on its head with Whitney. She introduced the dark "hero", Clayton Westmoreland, first and the novel was much longer and contained and emotional and sexual intensity that was distinctly absent in regencies of the time.

While one reviewer characterized it as "a novel...rich with laughter, tears, and the power of dreams." However, like many of the classic "bodice-rippers" Whitney does have disturbing themes. Westmoreland rapes Whitney and does what is now referred to as blaming the victim for long stretches. Violence against women is romanticized. A different reviewer put a positive spin on this saying that it does show how far romance novels have come in their depiction of gender roles. Heroes now know how to take "no" for an answer and the heroines no longer "find their place" but find heroes who can keep up.

Judith McNaught's books are readily available for a few dollars online at retailers like Biblio.com.

Today's poem:

The End of the Chauvinist

In all my years, the man began,

A roll of the eyes, a look at the pan,

I've never heard such foolishness!

Their eyes lock, in her back, a rigidness,

To think I should listen, appreciate

Squares her shoulders, sets down the plate,

Your opinions, the "work" that you do

Picks up the onion, stabs it right through.

Where's the damn dinner, better not be stew!

Walks swiftly past, drops the onion by Drew,

Hey! What? and a gurgle and sputter

But she's already gone, he can only mutter.

from Moments, by Greg Schroeder available in ebook format for 99 cents on Smashwords.com

Throwback Thursday - G rated for adults

I was listening to the radio this afternoon and there was a story on about the movie rating system and how almost everything BEFORE there were ratings would have been G rated and that everything, even movies designed for children (with very few exceptions) is now rated at least PG. The reason, clearly, to both the radio host and to my children, is that G rated stuff MUST be BORING.

My brain segued that into thoughts of books, of course. There the trend is similar. The mysteries of Christie, Chandler, and Queen are very mild compared to Robert Parker, Janet Evanovich, and James Patterson. Romance novels show an even wider difference between Betty Neels and Anne Mather on the early end (or Jane Austen, even) with Thea Devine and Sylvia Day.

But are they BETTER?

They are certainly different, but I can't say they are better. That is not to paint either extreme with a wide brush. I don't mind a graphic sex scene or an expressly violent scene if it adds to the plot or characterization in the story. Lisa Scottoline weaves sex and violence into her stories very well, as does Linda Barnes and many others. It is purposeful and well done.

On the other hand just because a story does not have graphic sex or violence definitely does NOT mean it is boring. Mitch Albom's works are some of the best I've read. Larry Doyle is excellent.

And I'd like to add one more. May Nicole Abbey writes historical/time travel romance. It is pretty G rated. It is exceptional. Her first book is The Dreamer. Her second, The Scholar, is recently released.

Heavenly - Profile of Online Bookseller Mostly Romance

  Masterson Twins bundle (2 books)

Romance is THE most popular genre of fiction. Many online booksellers have romances for sale but one seller, Mostly Romance, has a unique format and presentation. We have chosen Mostly Romance and owner Sandi Morris for our inaugural profile of unique and superb online booksellers.

Sandi tells us that Mostly Romance has been online for just over ten years. As many booksellers, Sandi started as a reader and collector.

During her junior high years, she discovered traditional Romance in Gone with the Wind and the gothic stories of authors Victoria Holt and Phyllis Whitney.  Always a voracious reader, Sandi was introduced to the modern Romance genre in 1973 when a co-worker recommended The Flame and the Flower by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss.  Followed by Jude Devereaux and Johanna Lindsey which led to Jo Beverley, Mary Jo Putney, Suzanne Brockmann and J.D Robb / Nora Roberts.  Traditional became non-traditional as Romances included time travel, outer space, vampires and werewolves.

Sandi tells us that as authors started writing connected books she found that she "had" to read all the books in a series and that she "needed" to read them in order.

Casual selling online of part of her collection caused her to recognize that she wasn't alone in this need and also that she had a knowledge of the authors, publishers and series she could share with other readers.   MostlyRomance.com was born.

Mostly Romance specializes in sets, or Sandi's preferred term, bundles, of connected books. This unique method of offering books for sale sets Mostly Romance apart from most booksellers.

 

  Faery Tale Romance bundle (12 books)

The bundle may be a publisher/author defined set connected by characters, locale, occupation, etc. or it may be an author backlist bundle, or it may be a bundle of books with a similar theme.Bundles may be as small as two books about sisters or as large as the seventy-one book Montana Mavericks set that was recently sold.

Mostly Romance doesn't use stock photos but illustrates each listing with scans of the actual books being offered. This is very important in this niche market because the books Mostly Romance sells have been previously owned. Each listing includes an accurate description of the physical condition of the book(s) as well as publisher description (blurb) when available.

  36 Hours bundle (17 books)

With over 6000 listings online and a back stock of 1000s, Mostly Romance has a lot to offer.

And, since it is "Mostly" Romance, you can also find Science Fiction or Mystery sets.

Throwback Thursday - A Simpler Romance

On this day I am excited to find and participate in this hop. For six years I owned a small brick and mortar used book store whose claim to fame was the largest collection of romance novels on Long Island. I would talk to the customers about the various "harlequins" as well as the "single titles" and the authors and subgenres.

While the Romance genre as a whole has come a very long way and is clearly mainstream, it does mirror the society in which we live. Nostalgia being what it is, one remembers a different kind of romance back in the day.

It is to that "different" romance I now harken. A simpler romance where roles were simpler and "courting" was more important and it was important to be with and see someone as opposed to text or email. This time is captured in the Harlequin Romance, Silhouette Romance, and Harlequin Presents series form the 1970s and 1980s. They are clean, straightforward, and short; easily read in a couple hours and yet, often, well-written.

Robyn Donald, Sara Wood, Anne Weale, and Sue Craven were always popular in my shop among this subtype. I recommend looking up the series or the authors for a short, clean, nostalgic romance.

Romance Novels - A General Discussion

All my previous posts have been personal observations and non-commercial. This one is different, in a way. This one is targeted specifically to helping sales at my various pre-read book outlets, but it is also a(n) (interesting?) personal story.

When I owned an actual brick and mortar (funny thing is, it WAS made of brick and mortar) used book store, the majority of sales were romance novels of one subtype or another. Probably 60-70% of the inventory and in-store sales were romance. Until I bought the store I knew nothing of the genre, its writers, publishers, history, nothing.

But I would talk with my customers and learned what they liked and why. I also developed a business relationship with Harlequin, THE biggest publisher in the genre. I now consider myself the most expert straight men on the subject of the people I know.  Perhaps one day I’ll finish editing my “History of the Bodice-Ripper” and publish it.

As with most everything you learn because you choose to, I have enjoyed the process. I also have enjoyed the conversations I have had, with stronger and stronger grasp of the topics, with readers. I still prefer, personally, to read what would be dubbed more manly fiction – historical yarns like the Age of Sail in the previous blog, or thrillers/mysteries like John D. MacDonald and westerns like Louis L’Amour and Luke Short.

Surprisingly (not!) I still have a very large inventory of romance novels, all subgenres, dating from the 1960s to about 2007 with any selection (only scattered titles after that).  This includes significant selections of serial romance novels (generically known as harlequins, even though published by many labels).

Some examples:

I have 29 titles written by Robyn Donald, 32 by Anne Mather, 25 by Lisa Jackson, and 25 by Diana Palmer.  I have literally hundreds of titles in the main series: Harlequin Romance, Silhouette Romance, Special Edition, Desire, Loveswept, etc. And I have hundreds, if not thousands, of “stand-alone” titles from Daphne du Maurier through Barbara Cartland to Nora Roberts and Luanne Rice.

If this is an area of interest to you and you are missing one or more back titles, please browse along. At least on the Biblio account linked here there is free shipping and a coupon for 50 cents off your second and subsequent books on one order.

Pleasant reading!