A Walk on the Romance Side
It's fairly well known that I have significant rage over the glut of paranormal romances that have disguised themselves as urban fantasy and taken up space in my bookstores' Sci-Fi and Fantasy shelves. But I find Smart Bitches, Trashy Books a hilarious blog to follow partly because, even if my hope is to publish in a different genre, the tips and tricks of the trade of the biggest, most lucrative book selling genre might come in handy someday, right?
Anyway, Smart Bitches pointed out last week that Harlequin, the grand-madam of romance publishers, is celebrating its 60th anniversary by giving away $60 worth of free e-books to "every woman in America." (Cue: annoyance with Harlequin's idea that all women love to read romance novels, but that's a different rant). I will admit that Smart Bitches, Trashy Books' discussions on what makes a book a romance novel vs a book with romance novel elements have intrigued me, so I downloaded one of the free e-books and had a look. I mean, what is it about this genre that makes it so popular? No better time to find out than with a free e-book, right? I don't even have to print out coupons or anything, just download.
So, I downloaded His Lady Mistress, because I figure nothing is more stereotypical romance genre than the historical romance novel, and dove right in.
Results:
1) I am less annoyed at this book than I was at Poison Study and other faux-mances I'd been suckered into reading due to pretty cover art. The annoyance was clearly mostly betrayal at the bait-and-switch tactic the books' marketing used.
2) It was... boring, for lack of a better word. The Heroine and Her Hero internally monologued a lot, had sex, had Misunderstandings, and whined about it. Then there was more sex, a half-assed murder attempt, and boom! deflowering = bebbies.
3) If nothing else, reading it reminds me a lot of fanfiction, and maybe that's just a cue that I should ease my transition from fanfic writing to original fiction by writing romance first.
4) I like plot. I like reading about plucky adventurers who have to Save the World. I like Quests and the Cursed Jewelry trope. I'm not so much a fan of the Healing Sex or OMG I'm PREGNANT tropes.
But mostly, I think I'm gonna go back to my own aisle of the bookstore. It's a little pulpy and a little silly, but I like it, mines and all.
Anyway, Smart Bitches pointed out last week that Harlequin, the grand-madam of romance publishers, is celebrating its 60th anniversary by giving away $60 worth of free e-books to "every woman in America." (Cue: annoyance with Harlequin's idea that all women love to read romance novels, but that's a different rant). I will admit that Smart Bitches, Trashy Books' discussions on what makes a book a romance novel vs a book with romance novel elements have intrigued me, so I downloaded one of the free e-books and had a look. I mean, what is it about this genre that makes it so popular? No better time to find out than with a free e-book, right? I don't even have to print out coupons or anything, just download.
So, I downloaded His Lady Mistress, because I figure nothing is more stereotypical romance genre than the historical romance novel, and dove right in.
Results:
1) I am less annoyed at this book than I was at Poison Study and other faux-mances I'd been suckered into reading due to pretty cover art. The annoyance was clearly mostly betrayal at the bait-and-switch tactic the books' marketing used.
2) It was... boring, for lack of a better word. The Heroine and Her Hero internally monologued a lot, had sex, had Misunderstandings, and whined about it. Then there was more sex, a half-assed murder attempt, and boom! deflowering = bebbies.
3) If nothing else, reading it reminds me a lot of fanfiction, and maybe that's just a cue that I should ease my transition from fanfic writing to original fiction by writing romance first.
4) I like plot. I like reading about plucky adventurers who have to Save the World. I like Quests and the Cursed Jewelry trope. I'm not so much a fan of the Healing Sex or OMG I'm PREGNANT tropes.
But mostly, I think I'm gonna go back to my own aisle of the bookstore. It's a little pulpy and a little silly, but I like it, mines and all.