Romance Novel 'Snobbery'?

 

https://bookswelove.net/martin-paula/

Romance Novel 'Snobbery'? 

In the past, I’ve had comments from two different acquaintances that have made me think. Here is the gist of the conversations.

First conversation:-

Her (with a smirk on her face): Please tell me you don’t write for Mills and Boon.

Me: No, not now, but I wouldn’t mind being published by them again.

Her (with mouth dropping open): Why? Their novels are rubbish.

Me: How long is it since you read one?

Her: I haven’t read any. I wouldn’t be seen dead reading one of that bodice-ripper kind of book.

Second conversation (on the phone with someone I hadn’t seen for several years):-

Her: So what have you been doing with yourself?

Me: Actually I’ve been writing novels.

Her: Really? Have you had anything published?”

Me: Yes, over a dozen in the past ten years.

Her: Oh, well done. What are they about?”

Me: They’re romances.

Silence, then Her: Oh, sorry, I never read romances. They’re so predictable, happy ever after and all that.

I’ve paraphrased these conversations, but you get the idea.

The first conversation made me realise the stereotypical image of romance novels has persisted, at least for my generation, for 30+ years. The “bodice-rippers” were the hallmark of Mills and Boon/Harlequin in the 1970’s and 1980’s, and, in my opinion, gave romance novels a bad rap. They had archetypal characters and contrived plots, usually involving a virginal heroine who was ‘rescued’ by a alpha hero, and often contained a barely disguised rape scene. On the whole, this kind of novel has gone ‘out of fashion’ (with a few notable exceptions which have dominated the best-seller lists!). However, a kind of stigma still remains.

The second conversation made me wonder about the word ‘predictable’. Yes, romances have, if not a ‘Happy Ever After’ ending, then at least a ‘Happy’ ending where the hero and heroine overcome the obstacles in the path to reunite. Aren’t thrillers, detective stories, and mysteries equally predictable? The goodies will triumph, the baddies will receive their deserved punishment, and the crime or mystery will be solved. What’s the difference? Why are romance novels considered predictable, while other genres aren’t?

And why are romance novels considered by some to be the ‘lowest form of literature’? Why do people want to disassociate themselves from reading romance novels? I’ve had a few reviews which start, “I don’t usually read romances but …” as if that is somehow praiseworthy. It seems to be okay to say you read thrillers or mysteries, but not the ‘done thing’ to admit to reading romances, even though thousands (millions?) of women obviously do!

Have you come across this kind of ‘literary snobbishness’ and, if so, what’s your response?

Find me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/paulamartinromances

Link to my Amazon author page:  author.to/PMamazon  

The magical world of Time-Travel as seen by Tricia McGill

Find all my books on my Books We Love Author page

I am not sure where my fascination for Time-Travel evolved from. Perhaps it stems from one of Enid Blyton’s series of books that I read many years ago. The children didn’t exactly time travel in the land of “The Faraway Tree”, but they did journey to many extraordinary imaginary places when they entered the Enchanted Wood. http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/faraway-tree.php  I spent many ecstatic hours with them as I did also with Enid Blyton’s “Famous Five” on their adventures.

But I think my first foray into the likelihood of actual time-travel was brought about by the 1960 movie adaptation of H. G. Wells “The Time Machine” with Rod Tayler, Yvette Mimieux, and who can forget The Morlocks. If you never saw the movie you should wander over to this site where you can watch some of the scenes:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKP-WkcDT5s

I have to agree that some of it was so far-fetched and seems corny by today’s standards, but it was a movie ahead of its time. It was remade in 2002 with Guy Pearce in the lead role, but this adaptation was far removed from the original that inspired me. I have an extensive list of my favorite movies including, The Terminator, Back to The Future, The Time-Traveler's Wife, Kate and Leopold, and Interstellar. The fact that so many movies have been made using the TT plot proves that I am not the only one fascinated by the subject. Put Time-Travel movies into the search bar and see what it brings up. 

Whoops! Nearly left out my favorite time-traveler of all. Who doesn't love The Doctor. I've been watching Dr Who from almost the first time it appeared on our TV screens in England when the deadly Daleks used sink plungers for weapons. What a success story and what a premise. He not only travels back and forth through time but also goes inter-galactic in his police box, the TARDIS (Time and Relative Dimension in Space). And what a  brilliant idea to have him regenerate periodically when a different actor needs to take over the role instead of dying. 

I sincerely hope I live long enough to see someone make that leap into another time by using some means or other. Apart from the fascination with the theory of time-travel there is also the other factor that stirs my interest and that is how great it would be to see first-hand how people lived, loved and worked in times gone by. My time-travel stories to date have taken me back to Scotland of 1050 (Wild Heather Series—The Laird Book 1 and Travis Book 2), Jorvik (York) when it was a Viking settlement in 879AD (Maddie and The Norseman), and to the Ancient Britain of 450AD not long after the Romans left in my latest release A Call Through Time.

A large part of the intrigue attached to writing this genre stems from my love of research. It’s rewarding and satisfying to start out on the journey with an idea and to build upon that idea when you set a period in time and then go about researching time lines, costumes of the period, the food the folk eat, and how they prepare it etc. etc.  

When it boils down to it, much as I would love to take this journey back to a time and place when sanitation was non-existent, where life was basic with no washing machines, toilet paper, no cars, no planes or trains, I would always want to return to the present day of clean bed linen and sanitary products, of skilled doctors and surgeons. Imagine what it would have been like without the necessities we take for granted. But, that said, I would still love to know if life was really like it is portrayed in the movies. Apparently Cleopatra was no raving beauty like Elizabeth Taylor, but she did get some mighty influential men to fall for her: 

http://time.com/3877380/cleopatra-rare-photos-of-liz-taylor-richard-burton-on-set-in-1962/

 The Elizabethans were a pretty grubby lot with perhaps one bath a year in dirty water at that: 

http://www.elizabethanenglandlife.com/elizabethan-hygiene.html

And what about the Vikings, I doubt they ever cleaned their teeth or brushed their hair: 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/vikings/vikings_at_home/

We romanticize a lot (or I do) about these times, but I can’t really see myself falling for someone whose mouth smells like rotten food and whose body must stink after months at sea on a diet of fish. But there you go, it’s a writer’s privilege to fantasize, even if it means turning fact into fiction to suit our needs.

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Wedding Card by Cheryl Wright

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As you can probably imagine, I've made quite a few wedding cards over the years.  It's not always easy because I try to make my cards fairly unique.


I recently found a website with a lovely wedding card that was totally different to what I'd seen in the past, so I had to try it. This one uses a paper doily. It looks as though it would be quite complicated, and even time-consuming, but really it's not. (If I can do it, anyone can!)

The background was done with an embossing folder (from Stampin' Up!), and the greeting is from a very old duo set from Gina K Designs. If you are interested in learning how to do the fold, click here.

(It looks like the dress is just one piece, but it's two pieces joined together.)

Sometimes the simplest of designs are the most appealing.

I hope you've enjoyed this card. Thanks for reading, and I'll see you next time!

Links:

My website:  www.cheryl-wright.com 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/cherylwrightauthor 
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/writercheryl
BWL website: http://bookswelove.net/authors/wright-cheryl/

Stereotypical Beauty...by Jamie Hill

The main characters in my novels are physically fit because let's face it, they're made up so if I'm going make them my fantasy, I might as well do it right. My cops and US Marshals need to stay trim for their jobs, so with this in mind I start them out as perfect then mention that they like to run for exercise and eat salads and lean protein for dinner. Perfect, right?

Readers have told me they appreciate how down to earth my characters are. They smoke (people HATE that), they might drink a little too much, they like to swear and have sex (opinions are mixed on THAT but the reviews are generally positive.) For most of them, weight isn't an issue because I don't mention it. They might joke about a couple of extra pounds, but it's nothing major. The beautiful cover models that BWL Art Director Michelle Lee comes up with give us a glimpse of what our people look like before we ever crack the book. They're attractive, enviable people. As a reader, that's what I look for in a romance book and it's what I suspect the majority of readers look for, too. 

The overweight heroine (or hero) has her/his place in certain titles, God Bless 'em and thank goodness for that. But for the most part, the attribute of size is usually skipped over or assumed by the cover image. This sounds horribly prejudiced but the cold fact is, if I'm going to live vicariously through a woman in a book, I want her to be pretty and damn sexy. 

That's my author perspective. My real woman perspective is that all people can be pretty and sexy, regardless of their size or shape. True beauty comes from within as much as it comes from the outside package. A woman can be a size zero supermodel but if she's got an ugly personality, neither my husband nor myself will ever think she's attractive. Conversely, if all of us had makeup artists, hair stylists, and Photoshop at our disposal, more of us might look like supermodels!

Thankfully, beauty is subjective and I truly believe there is someone for everyone. Speaking as a plus-sized woman who's trying to make her way down into being a normal-sized woman, it's not easy. I don't expect or want to look like a model, I just want to feel good and be healthy. So I plug along, walking after my dinner of salad and lean protein. 

But in my mind...well, let's just say, it's more fun to be perfect, right?

Find all of my beautiful people at Books We Love: http://bookswelove.net/authors/hill-jamie/

or visit me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jamie-Hill/135137799867321

and for goodness sake, somebody pass me some chocolate!

Jamie Hill
www.jamiehill.biz