The Novels, Romances, and Memoirs of Alphonse Daudet
Sunday, February 7th, 2010
Paperback, Writing the Great American Romance Novel
Wednesday, January 27th, 2010
The complete guide to turning romances into cash Romance novels are the top-selling genre in fiction. How can aspiring writers break into this lucrative field? With Writing the Great American Romance Novel, the most complete guide to writing that novel, getting it published, working with editors, agents, and publicists, and promoting it once it s out! Step-by-step instruction shows how to create romantic heroes and heroines, structure a story, and write love scenes, as well as how to plan outlines, use timelines and grids, conduct personal interviews, and do historical research. With extras such as a list of publishers, a sample press release, a sample synopsis, and much more, this book is must-have for any aspiring romance writer passionate about writing. – romance accounts for $1.2 billion in sales and 55 percent of the paperback market – The group Romance Writers of America has almost 10,000 members – Takes writers beyond writing to selling and promotion
What are some good realistic teen romance books?
Saturday, January 23rd, 2010Some teen romance books I’ve liked are all the books by Rachel Hawthorne, Sarah Dessen, Catherine Clark, Emma Harrison, Nicholas Sparks, Simone Elkekes & Hailey Abbott.
Any suggestions? No HP, Twilight, vampire, fantasy books please. Realistic. Teen. Romance. Not adult books. I like books revolving around relationships and high school. Thanks.
Two excellent new teen romances are:
The Secret Year by Jennifer R. Hubbard
My Boyfriends’ Dogs by Dandi Daley MacKall
What’s with all the demonic romance novels latley?
Thursday, October 22nd, 2009I am an avid romance reader and I’ve read my fair share. Recently at Hastings almost every single romance novel there has some sort of "monster" genre tied to it. Vampires, werewolves, witches…where does it stop? Why are authors shoving that stuff down societies throat? What happened to the good ol wholesome novels?
Don’t act insulted, I actually enjoy Twilight and the other books in the series.
Paranormal romance is hot stuff in the publishing idustry right now that is why you are finding it everywhere. Lots of people are buying it. An article here discusses this http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,21074436-5003424,00.html
Romance authors in particular, will write what the publishers are asking them for and paying them to write.
There are still "wholesome" romances out there, just check the back of the book to make sure you haven’t picked up a paranormal / supernatural romance imprint.
My suggestion – look for historical romance imprints.
What are some good teen novels about summer romance?
Thursday, October 22nd, 2009I love to read teen romances. Yes, I’ve read Twilight. Love it. I’ve read Summer Boys and everything by Sarah Dessen. I need more suggestions. Anything about teen romance is good, but I really like books about summer romance.
Help please?
Someone Like Summer…..M.E. Kerr
Summer Love…..Diane Schwemm
Meet Me At The Boardwalk…..Erin Haft
Laguna Cove…..Alyson Noel
Cruel Summer…..Alyson Noel
North of Beautiful….Justina Chen Headley
Two-Way Street…Lauren Barnholdt
The Book of Luke.,..Jenny O’ Connell
Lost It…..Kristen Tracy
Slept Away…Julie Kraut
The Secret Life of Prince Charming…Deb Caletti
Girlfriend Material….Melissa Kantor
The Boyfriend Game….Stephie Davis
Sleepaway Girls……Jen Calonita
The Summer I Turned Pretty….Jenny Han
Breathing….Cheryl Renee Herbsman
Twenty Boy Summer…Sarah Ockler
Hot Mess: Summer in the City…Julie Kraut
Going Too Far….Jennifer Echols
Novels by Megan McCafferty
http://www.amazon.com/megan-mccafferty/e…
Any novel by Hailey Abbot
(ie. Forbidden Boy
Boy Crazy
Flirting With Boys &&
A Summer Boy’s Novel
1.Summer Boys
2.Next Summer
3.After Summer
4.Last Summer
5.Summer Girls)
Hope I helped 
I write historical romance with interracial characters. Where and how can I better promote my work?
Tuesday, October 20th, 2009My niche is historical romance involving interracial characters, mostly, African-American/Blacks and a person of another race. Hey, how do you think my people got to be all colors? My latest release charts the romance between a free African American woman and an Oneida Indian man during the American Revolution in New York state. I like exploring where Blacks were during key events in history. Where and how can I promote this sub-genre? My publishers had faith in me and took on the story. Now I want others to enjoy it too, not just sit on a shelf.
Your stories sound intriguing and original! Here are a few ideas:
Join RWA (romance Writers of America) if you haven’t already. Utilize some of their resources – conferences, local chapters, newsletters, their monthly magazine, the RWR (which you can buy ad space in.)
Can you afford an ad in Romantic Times? Have your books been submitted to Romantic Times reviewers? There are reviewers who there who specifically read multi-cultural/African-American romances.
Have you submitted copies of your books to other reviewers? There are tons online. Realms of Love (I believe is a Yahoo group) and Joyfully Reviewed (another Yahoo group.) Don’t underestimate the power of the small online romance groups. They are a mighty bunch and word of mouth will help you immensely.
Do you have your own website? With email newsletter subscription/guest book options? What about a blog? Myspace? Write up a brief bio about you and your books and submit it to your local newspaper(s). Most love local author bits, if well-written and you’ve got a unique angle, so play it up.
Hope you’ve found something useful in my suggestions. Best of luck!
Why do a lot of women like romance novels?
Monday, October 19th, 2009I know not all women read romance novels, I sure don’t, but I want to ask those who do why they like them so much. I don’t necesarrily mean those trashy romance books, I mean romance novels in general.
I don’t read straight romance, but I do read and write books with romantic elements. I also belong to a romance group of 2000+ writers, whom all read romance.
Romance, like some have mentioned and like other genres, is pure entertainment. It has NOTHING to do with whether or not women have romance in their lives. That is falsely incorrect. Reading in general is a way to escape the everyday of one’s life and to live vicariously through others, in a world (in romance’s sake) where love triumphs, the couple overcomes all obstacles and there is always a happily-ever-after. It’s a fantasy, and not one about the hero, but one where love prevails against all odds.
I don’t believe there is such a thing as a "trashy" romance, although there are novels in general that are poorly written–although I don’t believe that is what "trashy" meant. Romances with graphic sex and kink are called erotic romances. There is nothing wrong with reading these books. It, too, is a form of entertainment and quite enjoyable.
According to all the women I’ve spoken with, romance is about the fantasy.
What is the difference between a (Shakespearean) romance and a comedy?
Sunday, October 18th, 2009I was flipping through my complete works of Shakespeare book and saw that The Tempest was labeled a romance. I read the play and although it seems to have similar characteristics to a comedy (a love story with a planned marraige in act 5) it seems somehow different. I can’t quite put my finger on it though, any information would be greatly appreciated.
You are right. Shakespeare’s plays that were classified as romance, were also classified as tragi-comedies. They contained enough tragic elements (e.g., near deaths and serious themes like betrayal ), which kept them from being considered a full comedy, yet also contained enough comic elements (e.g, a love intrigue and a happy ending) to keep them from being considered a full tragedy. Debora B. Schwartz basically summed it up with the following statement:
"While tragedy emphasizes evil, and comedy minimizes it, romance acknowledges evil — the reality of human suffering."
Dr. Debora B. Schwartz, who is in the English Department at California Polytechnic State University, also gave the following explanation:
"Romance" was not a generic classification in Shakespeare’s time. The modern term "romance" refers to a new kind of play, a hybrid of comic and tragic elements, developed and popularized by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher between 1607 and 1613 (their Philaster, 1609, is typical of the genre). At the end of his theatrical career, Shakespeare wrote four such plays which are now commonly grouped together as the Romances:
— Pericles (1607-1608); not included with SH’s works until F3 (1664)
— Cymbeline (1609-1610); published in F1 as one of the Tragedies
— The Winter’s Tale (1610-1611); published in F1 as one of the Comedies
— The Tempest (1611); published in F1 as one of the Comedies
Presumably, Condell and Heminges grouped Cymbeline with the tragedies and The Winter’s Tale and The Tempest with the comedies because they felt that tragic elements predominated in the former and comic elements in the latter.
Because romances combine both tragic and comic elements, Fletcher called them "tragi-comedies" (a term which he coined in the preface to The Faithful Shepherdess, 1608; see As You Like It background materials for the influence of this play on pastoral comedy). According to Fletcher, a tragi-comedy "wants deaths, which is enough to make it no tragedy, yet brings some near it, which is enough to make it no comedy." Like comedy, romance includes a love-intrigue and culminates in a happy ending. Like tragedy, romance has a serious plot-line (betrayals, tyrants, usurpers of thrones) and treats serious themes; it is darker in tone (more serious) than comedy.
You might want to visit the URL to Dr. Schwartz’s Document below for more details on The Tempest and its romance categorization.
What are some good books about young romance?
Saturday, October 17th, 2009I love Sarah Dessen books but I already own Keeping the moon. So don’t mention that one…but are there any other really good you people know…I’m more focusing on teen romances than really serious marriage romances. I already know that twilight is a good romance book about a vampire falling in love with a girl and I am already getting that one…so any suggestions people?
WELLL.. there is this one book i just read today and i really liked it. Its called Summer Promise and its a focus on the family publishing.. its the christy miller series by Robin Jones Gunn and its the first book… but i liked. Its about a girl named christy and she vacationing in CA over the summer and she meets this guy ,todd, and her wavers back between christy n another girl. and its also kind of a faith reader kind of book so yeah.