Author: Author

English on my mother's side - Eastern European on my father's. I'm a lethal combination of drama and tragedy when I write fiction.
Articles, Historical Romance

Strike a Pose for Covers

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Historical romance covers can be beautiful artwork. I’ve seen some that take my breath away. When you look at the older covers from the bodice-ripping days, there are three major poses that come to mind. These are still, for the most part, on our twenty-first-century historical romance book covers. If it’s not the poses of the hero and heroine together, it’s usually the flowing dress of a single female character. Nevertheless, have a bit of a chuckle with me as we look at these rather awkward positions.

The Back Strain

This pose has the male bending the lady backward. You have to admit the older covers usually have the man grabbing one leg at the same time. I can imagine an ensuing backache and sustained neck strain if a shirtless man bent me over backward, while I lifted my naked leg up against his side. You have to chuckle at some of the faces of these ladies who appear to be in pain as they turn away from the overpowering male. To add to the commonality of the pose, the wind is always blowing through the lady’s hair. Do these covers make you go ouch at the thought of the dominant male seducing you as your spine cracks? Has the pose diminished in current historical romance covers? Not really. Backs and necks are still out of line, however, it’s hard to find the consistent leg up these days.

The Behind Approach

Moving on from the back and neck strain pose comes the opposite with the hero seductively approaching the heroine from behind.  Not quite as popular as the frontal seduction, they still make up a large number of covers in the historical romance genre.

As you can see, the windstorm continues with flying female hair in a few of the scenes.  The male domination remains as the shirtless, seductive hero clutches their female prey from behind. The ladies turn their heads backward, getting a good look at their seducer. One cover I discovered looks like a gymnastics movement, as the hero raises her in the air while clutching her hips.

The Reclining Lovers

From the back and neck strain to the grasping male from behind, comes the ultimate place most heroes are hoping to place their heroines — on their back.

After searching through the covers of past and present, this pose seems to be the least used in the variety of physical positions.  Nonetheless, it serves to take the story to a satisfying conclusion, if you get my drift.  I’ve posted a few goodies from the past on my blog page.

As much as I love the genre, you still need a little humor to brighten the read. I guess you could say that these classic covers and current covers is what defines the genre and gives it the heat. Of course, not all historical romance covers are risque, as the more pure Jane Austen-type-Regencies have their fair share of fully dressed characters in upright positions on the book cover. In addition, the heat index of covers has toned down as well, because if it’s too hot, author advertisements on Facebook and other platforms get rejected.

What is your favorite pose? The back strain? The behind embrace, or the laying in the grass with your lover? If I had to choose one, I’d probably take the embrace from behind. I don’t want my neck to crack or ants crawling in my hair, no matter how hot the guy is on top.

Articles, Historical Romance, Press This

After Achieving Her PhD at 88, Ruth Wants a Jane Austen-led Reading Revolution (Press This! The Syndey Morning Hearld)

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You are never too old to enjoy Jane Austen. This is a heartwarming article that at any age, Jane’s novels can be relevant and enjoyable.  Have you read one lately?

Mrs Wilson wants teachers to encourage their students to interpret authors such as Austen through the prism of their own experience, rather than focusing solely on the features of the text, or its cultural and political context.

Source: After achieving her PhD at 88, Ruth wants a Jane Austen-led reading revolution

Building Characters, Heroes, Heroines, Historical Romance, Reviews, Writing Historical Romance

The Perfect Heroine

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In the past seven years, I have had the opportunity to craft multiple female characters.  Each woman is unique so her personality fits the theme of the story that I pen.

However, it’s been interesting to learn that crafting a female character who pleases the vast array of preferences that exist among readers, is a unique challenge. It’s safe to say that each one of my imaginary leading ladies has been a victim of harsh criticism, but a few have been lauded as brilliant. The ratings appear to hang upon whether the reader likes or dislikes the personality and actions of the heroine. Since historical romance books are inherently written for the fantasies of the female audience, it makes perfect sense that female readers can be harsh critics. As I have said before, writing romance can sometimes be a tough gig.

What I find utterly fascinating is female readers appear to be more critical of their heroines than heroes. The damaged or flawed temperament of a handsome man is easily forgiven, rather than the shortcomings of a woman. The heartless rake who seduces a virgin in a passionate love scene is given absolution. His less than honorable motives are overlooked as well as his reputation. As long as he’s portrayed handsomely on the cover in a kilt or frock coat and gives the heroine the love and happiness she deserves.

After all, ladies want to fall in love with the hero of the book for many reasons. We wouldn’t be reading historical romance if we didn’t feel there was a void to be filled in our fantasies. Books take us back to another time we blindly believe to be much better than the society of our day. However, if the heroine doesn’t fit our preconceived idea of what we envision ourselves to be in her shoes, there could be trouble brewing in the ratings.

Why are we so critical of heroines? What is it about women who are harsh on other women – even if it’s just a make-believe character with no flesh, bones, or soul?  Is it because women relate more closely with their gender than they do with men?  I think it boils down to what I believe I’m learning about this phenomenon – the men or heroes are fantasies in the mind of a female reader, while on the other hand heroines tend to be more personal as we walk that path of romance with them page by page vicariously.

Take Daphne, in the Duke and I.  Since Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton series has hit Netflix, I’ve read quite a few scathing remarks about her behavior after people have read the book.  Her actions in the controversial scene where she proceeds to have sex without Simon’s consent stirred the pot of disgust. Of course, let’s not forget Simon’s duplicity in the relationship. Are his actions less offensive? I am just throwing out food for thought and not making any judgments myself.

Any author, who has taken a course or read a book on character building, will tell you that it takes talent to craft a hero or heroine and bring them to life.  We’ve all read complaints about cardboard characters (no depth) or characters that are run-of-the-mill remakes with no individuality.  The law of character building includes the pros and cons of that imaginary person. Can an evil person experience a pang of guilt or a saint have a sinful thought? Of course, they can, because without dimension, they are not human. It’s the things we love and despise about people that make for good characters.  By the end of the story, the fictional individual should have grown in some way or changed for the better in spite of their flaws while conquering that obstacle that looms between them and their happy ending.  Let’s be honest – not every living being is perfect – so why do readers sometimes expect characters to be as well?

An interesting exercise is to stroll through one-star reviews on best-selling historical romance books, and you’ll get a feel for how readers really view the heroine.  It’s usually a love or hate relationship based on personal preferences when it comes to romantic encounters between the pages.

Here are some of the negatives that women do not like in their heroines:
  • Prickly women who come across as bitches.
  • Weak women who can’t stand up for themselves.
  • Disabled women who don’t match the standards of beauty or perfection.
  • Gullible women who swallow men’s lies and have no good sense.
  • Arrogant women who are snobs or selfish.
  • Unforgettable and uninteresting women with bland personalities.
  • Women with poor self-esteem.

I am sure the list could be expanded, but those complaints are the most obvious.

Frankly, I think it is impossible to please every reader all of the time when it comes to historical romance. Each reader, like each character, is unique in what they are looking for in a story. They have their perfect hero and heroine already in mind, and it’s the journey that the two must traverse to find an everlasting love that is the entertainment readers seek. I would only caution that sometimes a character can possess negative characteristics early in the story, but the author has plans to mellow them out or heal their flaws. Unfortunately, tales that instantly irritate are often discarded before the best is yet to come.

So is there a perfect heroine?  I sincerely doubt it.  There are too many tastes and expectations for characters to be acceptable by all readers. 

Now as far as heroes?  Well, that’s an entirely different topic I tackled in another post.
Historical Romance, Historical Romance Authors, Historical Romance Books, Historical Romance Genre

The Historical Romance Genre

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A genre is a category of artistic composition such as writing. Historical romance is a popular genre that has been the mainstream of romance novels for many years. It’s a broad category of fiction set in various centuries, which was first popularized as early as the nineteenth century by Walter Scott who wrote such books as Ivanhoe.

The genre’s popularity started with a flame, which over the years flickered into near obscurity. Articles were being published asking if the genre was dying a slow death, when it once dominated the market. Recently, interest in the genre has been refueled because of Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton Series on Netfix. I’m happy to report its given the genre a resurgence of popularity, although not as many bodices are being ripped as in the past.

In today’s modern era of writing, historical romance can be categorized from the ancient world up to 1950 (per Romance Writers of America). A few of the favorite time periods on bookshelves are:

  • Medieval Period
  • Viking Age
  • 17th Century, including:
    • Scottish Highlands
    • England
    • Europe
  • American Eras, including:
    • Colonial America
    • Civil War
    • Westerns
  • Georgian Era
  • Regency Era
  • Victorian England
  • Early 20th Century up to WW2, including:
    • Edwardian Era
    • Roaring Twenties
    • 1930s and 1940s forties.

During the 1970s, the genre took off and was affectionately known as the “bodice ripper” years, which led to mass-market paperbacks.

Kathleen Woodwiss’s historical romance, The Flame and the Flower, published in 1972, literally set the genre on fire, followed by steamy romance covers of domineering men and women melting at their touch. Today The Flame and the Flower might raise eyebrows with readers because there are scenes of non-consensual sex and captivity. It was the time of book covers displaying scantly dressed Fabio, along with women in dresses that fell off their shoulders. The covers were an art form from mainstream publishers. Today those covers would throw you into what’s called the “erotica dungeon” on Amazon and make advertising on Facebook impossible because of guideline violations.

Since that time, the genre has remained relatively the same until recently. The onset of the me-too movement has begun to change some weak-willed, easily seduced female characters into spunky and spirited ladies. In addition, the publishing world has called for more diversity in authors and stories, which is long overdue. Readers do not seem to mind these changes even though there may be a deviation from the norm of the time period.

There are many well-known traditionally published authors in the twenty-first-century, such as Mary Jo Putney, Lisa Kleypas, Eloisa James, Elizabeth Hoyt, Sabrina Jeffries, Tessa Dare, and Julia Quinn, just to name a handful. In addition, there are quite a few independently published authors in the genre who are making a name for themselves on the Amazon best-selling charts.

Historical romance immerses readers into different centuries. They are a great way to learn and enjoy history, especially if it was not your favorite subject in school. I like to think it is a welcome change from contemporary romance and problems that we deal with day-to-day. It gives us an opportunity to live vicariously in other time periods, with different values, ways of courtship, and lifestyle.

Yes, authors do romanticize centuries that were fraught with their own challenges. Nevertheless, a knight in shining armor, a Scottish highlander, or a duke to sweep us off our feet and make ravishing love to us might be just what you need to get your mind off twenty-first-century challenges and recent woes.

Enjoy your next historical romance novel! Take your choice of a brawny Viking, kilted Highlander, English aristocrat, a handsome military man, or a cowboy on the wild west plains of America. It’s a world of romance, waiting just for you.

Historical Romance, Spotify Podcast

The Perfect Hero

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The perfect hero in historical romance. Is there one? What fantasy do readers want?

In reality, as much as we are filled with fanciful and romantic thoughts, there probably isn’t a perfect man. Of course, it depends on how you define perfection. Like the variety of readers and their various tastes over heroines, there is no absence of criticism over the perfect male. Once again, I’ve strolled through the reviews of some bestselling authors to find out what women are thinking.

There are the usual complaints of women who dislike emotionally damaged men, along with arrogant aristocrats and walking cardboard characters (boy that term gets used a lot). I think readers who look for the perfect hero want a type of man they can fall in love with during the story. Women are looking for romance and ways to live vicariously through storytelling, sometimes to soothe our lack of it in real life. If you love historical romance, then no doubt you want a swoon-worthy, good-looking chap in breaches, boots, with a ruffled shirt, and white cravat.

So what is the perfect hero? If we look at the typical male stereotypes in works of centuries past, we can categorize them in a variety of ways.

The Darcy Type – Prideful and arrogant but humbled in the presence of one woman. His good sense and social class tell him to walk away. Instead, he bemoans his tortured and bewitched existence as if he’s helpless to resist. “In vain have I struggled, it will not do. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.”

The Knightly Type – A soulful, kindhearted, and wise man who is your friend. He supports you, chides you when needed, admires you silently, and gradually falls in love. He cares deeply about your well-being and sacrifices his own happiness to ensure your own. When his outward motives reveal a deeper love, he declares the obvious. “Marry me, my wonderful darling friend.”

The Captain Wentworth Type – He suffers in silence over love lost but clings to the hope that he may regain what he desires. As he quietly watches from the sidelines the love of his life, he waits for the opportune time to once again confess his love. “You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone forever.  I have loved none but you.”  Who can deny such a plea?

The Mr. Rochester Type – The tortured soul, who is moody and cynical about life. He has a dark secret, that binds him to another, while in the meantime he lures the innocent and young Jane into marrying him. Even though the Rochester type of hero should contain a warning label, women are drawn to his brooding character. His words of love are filled with desperation. “My very soul demands you. It will be satisfied, or it will take deadly vengeance on its frame.”  It’s not until the ultimate tragedy plays out that happy ever after arrives.

The Mr. Thornton Type – A successful man of determination in his business and family life. A bit too close to his mother, annoyed by his sister, but nonetheless respected by his peers. He is drawn to a woman of strong character, like himself, and they clash repeatedly like a stormy sea. “He shrank from hearing Margaret’s very name mentioned.  He, while he blamed her — while he was jealous of her — while he renounced her — he loved her sorely, in spite of himself.”

The men above are just a small sampling, and I bet you can think of more.

The Edward Ferrars Type
The Willoughby Type
The Colonel Brandon Type
The Mr. Bingley Type

It’s an endless list of possible men who can make you swoon.

I don’t know that there is necessarily a perfect hero by any means because I believe women are drawn to types and situations when they think of falling in love between the pages of a book. Whether they be an arrogant male, steadfast friend, silent sufferer, tortured soul, or irritating sod, they possess alluring and attractive qualities. Every woman has their type. Of course, that makes it difficult for authors to consistently write the perfect hero!

Do you have a particular type of man that you like to read about in historical romance? Frankly, I like the silent suffering male who cannot live without me, like Captain Wentworth.

All our best from Historical Romance Books!

Articles, Author News, Historical Romance, Historical Romance Authors, Press This

‘Outlander’ Author Diana Gabaldon Reveals Progress on Book 9

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Gabaldon released the first Outlander book in 1991. And since then, she’s written seven more novels for the series. Her last installment, Written in My Own Heart’s Blood, was published in 2014. So for nearly seven years, fans have been waiting to see where she takes Claire and Jamie Fraser’s story next.

Source: ‘Outlander’ Author Diana Gabaldon Reveals Progress on Book 9

Articles, Author News, Historical Romance

What the 2021 Facebook Changes Mean for Authors (Press This! Author Media)

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I spend money to expand the reach for authors on the Historical Romance Facebook page. For readers, it’s important to subscribe to our newsletter to get notices of author promotions. Attempting to reach the reader’s audience for authors, continues to grow more difficult.  Most posts on our Facebook page without additional $ promotion, get very little action if any.  It’s a sad state of affairs.

Authors, read the article! It’s informative. Readers, if you have Facebook pages too and use Facebook advertising, it’s a wealth of information.

Facebook is about to change and authors need to know what’s coming and how to survive the digital upheaval. If you advertise your books on Facebook, you may have a harder time finding new readers. As Facebook collects less personal information about readers, your ads may become less effective and more expensive. If the costs of reader acquisition increase enough, it may become impossible to advertise on Facebook profitably.

 

Source: What the 2021 Facebook Changes Mean for Authors – Author Media

Articles, Book Review, Historical Romance, Press This

Bridgerton the Book: Blue Eyes, Boobs and Bigotry (Press This! The Mancunion)

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When the Duke and Daphne meet (a moment you may imagine is romantic) Simon literally cannot stop commenting on her boobs. He is unable to focus on what she is saying – even as she is standing next to an unconscious man – because her breasts really are that perky. It would be comical if it wasn’t so uncomfortable. I couldn’t help but think, ‘Are we really supposed to view him as the novel’s hero?’

Source: Bridgerton the book: blue eyes, boobs and bigotry – The Mancunion

Articles, Historical Romance, New Releases, Press This

‘Bridgerton’ Season 2: Simone Ashley Cast as Female Lead (Press This! Variety)

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“Netflix has confirmed to Variety that Ashley has been cast in the second season of the hit Shondaland series “Bridgerton.” She will star opposite Jonathan Bailey’s Anthony Bridgerton as his romantic interest, Kate Sharma.”

Source: ‘Bridgerton’ Season 2: Simone Ashley Cast as Female Lead – Variety

Articles, Historical Romance

Complete Collection of Jane Austen Free on Kindle (Press This! Book Riot)

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The Jane Austen Collection by Jane Austen – Are you ready for as many delightfully witty romances as you could possibly handle? The collected works of Jane Austen are available as a free Kindle ebook! This virtual omnibus includes Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Northanger Abbey, and some of the author’s early works as well. If you’ve never read a Jane Austen novel before, now’s your chance to dive right at no cost to you.

Source: 15 Of The Best Free Kindle Books: 2021 Reads | Book Riot

Articles, Historical Romance

Netflix’s ‘Bridgerton’ is leading a romance novel renaissance (Press This!)

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“Romance is having a moment. It’s trendy to swoon,” Tessa Dare, a bestselling author of historical romance, tells CNN. She says it’s been thrilling to watch “Bridgerton” become a worldwide phenomenon and prove what millions of romance readers already know: These kinds of stories are for everyone.

Source: Netflix’s ‘Bridgerton’ is leading a romance novel renaissance | | kctv5.com

Articles, Historical Tidbits

Guest Post from Author Alexa Aston – Duels in Regency Romance

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Duels can provide high drama in a romance novel!

By the Regency Era, Englishman switched from swords to pistols, with wealthy noblemen purchasing specially created dueling pistols. In addition, the second became common, where disgruntled parties (known as principals) would select a friend to deliver a challenge in writing, which stated the grievances and demand satisfaction. Once received, the challenged party could refuse the challenge—which would insult the challenger and stir rumors of cowardice)—or accept it.

If accepted, the seconds made the arrangements for the upcoming duel, which involved many rules. Duelers were to adhere to these rules and behave as gentlemen at all times.

Traditionally, duelers met at dawn and the field of honor would be isolated to prevent legal intervention. Seconds determined the dress code, how many shots would be fired, and the distance between duelers. A physician was on hand to attend the wounded. Seconds collected the names of witnesses to the duel—and even determined whether or not to serve refreshments!

Some of the more interesting rules from the Royal Code of Honor included:

  • Duels will not be fought on a Sunday or near a place of worship.
  • No spectacles could be worn unless a Principal usually wore them in public.
  • A Principal could not “wear light colored clothing, ruffles, or military decorations upon which the eye of his antagonist could rest,” as it could affect the outcome of the duel.

Seconds handed cocked pistols to the Principals and each fired a single shot. If no bullets struck either man and the challenger was satisfied, the duel concluded. If a challenger wished, Principals would aim and fire again. No more than three shots were permitted, however, since more than that would be deemed uncivilized behavior.

Occasionally, one (and sometimes both!) Principals would deliberately miss or fire into the air—known as deloping—and both men would retain their lives and honor.

The time leading up to a duel, the duel itself, and the aftermath can lend excitement and conflict in a Regency romance.

Alexa Aston

Where History & Romance Collide
Regency & Medieval Historical Romance
Fun, Flirty Romance
Contemporary Romance

Articles, Historical Romance

Original Romance Novel Paintings Featuring Fabio Hit the Market (Press This! PR Wire)

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Fabio, the iconic romance model, is one subject of an exciting collection of hot, steamy historical romance illustrations featured in an offering of Sharon Spiak’s paintings. They are for sale at SharonSpiakArt.com, just in time for Valentine’s Day.

Source: Original Romance Novel Paintings Featuring Fabio Hit the Market

Articles, Historical Romance

Bridgerton Book Set — Where to Find and Buy Bridgerton Series Books (Press This! Parade)

Author

Unfortunately, readers who want to get a jump on the just-announced second season by reading about Anthony’s search for a wife in The Viscount Who Loved Me (or just read all eight books for the heck of it) are being met with one dead end after another as the Bridgerton books are becoming harder and harder to come by. According to Quinn’s newsletter sent out to fans, her publisher Avon (HarperCollins’ romance imprint) “is printing them as fast as they can.”

Source: Bridgerton Book Set — Where to Find and Buy Bridgerton Series Books

Articles, Historical Romance, Reader News

AudibleGate (Press This! The Cheeky Wench)

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As readers, you should be kept aware of what authors deal with on a regular basis to bring to you our stories in eBooks, print, and audio.  Amazon owns Audible, and the latest outrage is outlined by author Suzan Tisdale for your reading enjoyment.

Audible is running its own scam under the guise of a legitimate company. For those of you who are unaware of what is happening, let me break it down for you: authors, once again, are getting screwed over. It’s really that simple.

Source: AudibleGate | The Cheeky Wench

Articles, Historical Romance

Best Jane Austen books, ranked: From ‘Sense and Sensibility’ to ‘Emma’ (Press This! The Independent)

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The acidic humour and social observation in Austen’s work is often glossed over in favour of the romance, but the two are absolutely key to her books’ ongoing popularity. Her heroines are not meek and mild (viz Daphne “milksop” Bridgerton) but flawed and fired up by their knowledge that as women, they need to marry well to secure a future for themselves and, in some cases, their wider family.

Source: Best Jane Austen books, ranked: From ‘Sense and Sensibility’ to ‘Emma’ | The Independent