Welcome back to the the Romance Writers Weekly Blog Hop! Here is this week’s discussion topic: Do you remember the first romance book you read? Tell us about it. Or, tell us about the book that made you want to write romance. When I was about sixteen, the wife of our next-door neighbour passed away, and I was given a large cardboard box filled with Harlequin Presents. As I have always been a voracious reader—I’d read the labels on cereal boxes if there was nothing else available—I whipped through that box pretty quickly. While I can’t remember the title or author (sorry!), I do remember the first romance that made me sit up and think, hmm, maybe I’d like to write something like this someday. I would have read it in the eighties, I’m sure. Romances then featured a lot of heroines who appeared (at least on the surface) to be sitting around waiting to be saved. Not this one - she worked hard to support herself and her child and not be beholden to anyone. I have no memory of the hero—that’s how impressed I was with the heroine. The story must have ended with the expected happily-ever-after, but I’ve always had the feeling that she would have been okay even without him. Before that box of Harlequins, I read mostly mysteries and classics. Anne of Green Gables and Lord of the Rings are treasured favourites – but it is Anne’s relationship with Gilbert and Arwen and Aragorn’s romance that stand out for me in both of these. Dick Francis was my main go-to mystery writer (he is still a frequent re-read) and my favourites of his have, if not a romantic subplot, a strong relationship arc of some sort (Proof involves a widower coming to terms with his wife’s death that is wonderfully done). Robert B. Parker is another favourite, but the stories where Susan is either not present or has a minor role are the ones I re-read the least. Once I put all of the above together, I realized writing romances was something I wanted to give a try. And even if I were to branch out to another genre someday, I am certain there would be a romantic subplot for sure. How about you? Do you remember the first romance you read? Then hop over to PG Forte and see what her memories of reading romance are.
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The only rule for writing romance is that the main characters must come to a happy, committed relationship at the end of the book. Other than that, there are no restrictions when it comes to characters, setting, plots, or eras. I think that’s why it is THE most widely read genre out there – because there truly is something for everyone. This week on the Romance Writers Weekly Blog Hop, I asked my fellow members to talk about something that’s been on my mind for a while now - Falling in love isn’t restricted to twenty-year-olds. Share your favourite book that celebrates the relationship between older characters. When I first realized I wanted to write a romance with mature characters – well, mature in age, at least LOL! – I started paying attention to the ages in the books I was reading. To be honest, I am surprised how many there are that feature heroes and heroines in their late thirties, and even forties. But they aren’t always advertised as seasoned romance (ageism is a whole other topic, and not limited to romance novels). One of the first I remember reading with an older heroine is BLACK ROSE from Nora Robert’s In the Garden Trilogy. Roz, a widow with a disastrous second marriage behind her, falls reluctantly in love with the man she hires to look into her family’s history. Like all of Nora’s books, it is an excellent romance with strong female characters. A recent Regency romance from Courtney Milan, MRS. MARTIN’S INCOMPARABLE ADVENTURE, has main characters in their sixties and seventies. The two women come from completely different backgrounds, and appear unloveable to the rest of the world, but their devotion to each other is lovely to see grow. If you’re interested in exploring more romances with older characters, here’s a link to a list on GoodReads with all sorts to choose from. And, of course, you might be interested in my upcoming release, AFTER WORDS. This time next week I should have a release date confirmed, and will be blasting it from the roof tops! Now, head on over to Jenna Da Sie to see what books she recommends!
My next release is a project especially close to my heart. I stumbled upon the idea for the story quite by accident, and everything fell into place after that. To be completely honest, it was the easiest book I've ever written - and early readers think it might be my best so far. Here's what AFTER WORDS is all about:
As we get closer to launch date, I'll be sharing more stories about Leeza (she loves to bake), Gavin (still waters run deep in this one) and more. To be part of all that, be sure to join my newsletter. You will immediately get a free short story, just for subscribing. I hope I'll see you around!
Hello, there! I’m back after a couple weeks away from the Blog Hop. I’m going to cheat a little this week. Today’s topic comes from Leslie Hachtel: It’s almost Valentine’s Day. Tell us your favorite Valentine story. I’m afraid Mr. C and I decided a long time ago that we wouldn’t “do” Valentine’s Day, so that’s my story about this date for lovers. 😊 But that sounds cynical, and that's not true, really. My sister-in-law and her husband were married on this day, and I love them both, so that’s my favourite Valentine story. They went on a holiday to Jamaica and were married in a very private ceremony there. Only their parents knew about it so we were all delightfully surprised when they returned! Since my contribution this week is so small, I thought I’d skip back to last week’s topic, which I missed blogging about. Last week, A.S. Fenichel set the subject: Teaser Tuesday: What are you working on? Give us a sample of your work in progress. On January 18, I finished the first draft of my eighth manuscript. It doesn’t have a title yet, as the one I originally gave it no longer suits the story. But I really like that title, so I’m saving it for another book, which means I don’t want to mention it here. Let’s just call my work in progress Book 8 for now, shall we? Book 8 tells the story of a forty-eight-year old bookstore manager with an irritating ex-husband and a failing business, who is obsessed with identifying the author of the World War Two journal she unearths, which leads to an unexpected new romance. When I was searching for my next idea, I knew I wanted to have a mature heroine. While I love writing about twenty/thirty-somethings, I haven’t been one for a while (LOL!). Also, I would love to read more books with older heroines – so why not write one? I also enjoy reading dual timeline novels, where the past and present are linked and we see scenes in both eras. As I was researching for an idea that could have this structure, I came across the Canadian Letters and Images Project. It is is an online archive of the Canadian war experience as told through the letters and images of Canadians themselves. I found myself fascinated by the voices I read here, and when I came across this diary by William Henry Smith I knew I’d found the germ of my new book. After reaching out to the Project, I discovered that no one has managed to link this diary to any currently living person. Despite the wealth of information in it, including his regiment, when he shipped from Canada, and the last date he wrote in it, no one knows if William survived the war, or if he died, where he was buried. His family has not been found, either. I couldn’t resist writing this real-life mystery. Here’s a sneak peek at the scene where the diary is discovered. It didn’t look dangerous. It looked like a grubby and slightly damp-damaged journal, with less than half of the unlined pages covered in loopy, childish handwriting. Leeza Boychuk should have known better. She knew words were weapons, knew that, whether written or spoken, they could destroy happiness, batter pride, and bring the haughtiest low. But it was only much later that she realized the power of the book she held in her hand. It was barely bigger than her palm. The spine was black leather, as were the curling corners. The rest of the cover was a thick, rough, red cardboard. How had it ended up jammed between a trade paperback of Robert Ludlum and a hardcover of Clive Cussler? She put it in the big tote she used as a purse to examine later, and continued to fill the box at her feet with the books remaining on the shelf. “Did Grampa-Great really read all of these?” Drew, a stack of novels clutched in his large hands, gazed with disbelief at the dozens of books still lining the walls. Her son had offered to help clear out the backroom, but she didn’t think he’d anticipated quite the amount of work it would be. Mind you, neither had she. “I imagine so. He loved to read.” She folded the flaps of the box and tucked them neatly under each other to hold them down. “What are you going to do with them? You don’t sell used books at Millar’s.” Drew handed her what he held so she could start filling a new box, and reached to the top shelf for more. At just over six feet, he was almost a foot taller than her, his height inherited from his father. She was not going to think of her ex-husband. Not when she was already emotionally drained from dismantling her grandfather’s life. “No, we don’t. I’m donating them to the thrift store the Hospice Society runs.” In fact, most of the contents of the house were heading that direction. Her grandfather had lived alone, amazingly independent for a man who died only weeks shy of his 100th birthday. He’d spent those last weeks at the local Hospice, and supporting that society was the best way Leeza could think to thank them for their warm and loving care. It took the rest of the afternoon, but they finally packed the last of the books away. The boxes were stacked two and three high, and filled much of the floor space. “Almost ready for the new renters,” Leeza said, stretching her back. “The thrift store truck is coming tomorrow.” Drew grunted acknowledgment as he guzzled water from a bottle. Grampa-Great might have read all the books at one time, but it had been a long while ago if the dust coating them was anything to go by. Leeza could feel the grit on her teeth and took a long swallow from her own bottle. “They’re taking everything that’s left. Are you sure there’s nothing else you might want?” Drew nodded. “I have the photo of him during World War Two, with him on the tank, and the one of the two of us at my high school graduation. That’s enough. If I was staying around, I might have taken some of the furniture, but since I’m not…” Leeza’s heart pinched, but she kept her expression open. “Yes. It will be easier to buy what you need once you get there.” “I’m hoping to find a furnished placed to rent. Or maybe share an apartment. Or flat, I supposed I should say.” He grinned, brown eyes glowing. “Well, when in England…” Leeza smiled, determined not to shadow Drew’s grand adventure with a melancholic mother. When he’d first told her he had quit his job at the bank and was heading to Europe for an indeterminate amount of time, she’d assumed he meant weeks, possibly a few months. She’d known he was restless and dissatisfied at work, even though a job in finance should have suited the Bachelor of Commerce degree he’d completed a couple of years ago. She figured he was going to take some time for himself before settling into a new career path. But that was before she knew he’d accepted a placement at the High Commission of Canada in the United Kingdom—specifically, London. He had been blazing with excitement when he announced he’d been accepted for the position. She would do nothing to dim that joy. They stepped out the front door into the chilly briskness of a darkening last-day-of-November afternoon. Drew headed off in his soon-to-be-sold sporty sedan to have dinner and spend the evening with friends. He only had a few more days in town, and she wanted to share every second she could with him. But he had his own life and she had…well, her work, at least. I hope you enjoyed this peek into my next book. I’m hoping to release it this summer, but there is still lots of work to be done. For now, why not hop over to Leslie Hachtel and read about her favourite Valentine story!
I’ve been MIA on the blogging front the last couple of weeks. I usually prep my blog on Sundays, and the last couple of weekends have been busy with Easter, and then something called QuizMe. My “pay-the-bills” job is TV production manager, and one of the programs we do is a Jeopardy-style quiz show for Grade 7 students in our area. We record 15 half-hour episodes in three days, and those three days were last week. That being said, I was a tad bit busy. If you’re interested in seeing what it looks like, the previous season is available to view online here. Anyway – enough of that! Time to move on to this week’s Blog Hop! J.J. Devine set the topic. One of my favorite sayings is, “Every love story is beautiful, but ours is my favorite.” Tell me your favorite love story. Wow – that’s a doozy of a topic! It’s like asking who is my favourite character, or choosing one book to bring to a desert island. One of the reasons I write romantic fiction is that I love to hear how people came to together. I know of so many just from my own friends and family:
There are so many wonderful love stories. Tell me yours in the comments below, and then move on to Leslie Hachtel to read more. Leslie Hatchel wants to know – what's my favourite romance genre and why. I read two main genres – contemporary and historical. If I had to choose between those, I would have to say historical is my favourite. Well, today at least. Somedays it's contemporary. I'm fickle that way... I enjoy contemporary because I can relate to the characters. I understand the world they live in, their challenges, the technology they use, the way they travel. But I love historicals for the opposite of all those reasons. I know I'm reading fiction, not a history book, but many of my favourite historical authors do intensive research, and I trust that they're getting the main facts right. I see these stories as a snippet into the way "real" people lived then. I also appreciate the slower pace of historicals. I don't mean the slower pace of the story, but the slower pace of the characters lives. When I'm writing my own contemporary stories, I often have to remind myself of the immediacy of our world. My heroine has a question for her hero – she can pick up her cell phone and text him. No need to actually see him. But where's the tension in that? With historicals, most of the action has to be face to face. What kind of romances do you enjoy? Let me know in the comments below! And then be sure to continue on to the next in our blog hop, Leslie Hatchel herself! This week's challenge comes from Victoria Barbour. She asks: If your life was a romance novel, what subgenre would it be, and why would your hero be amazing? Also, what would you call it? Can you write a blurb for it? If you joined me from Kathryn Renard, welcome! There's no getting around it – the genre of my life is strictly contemporary. No ghosts or dragons, spies or assassins, dukes or duchesses in sight. And while angst-ridden lives make for the best romance novels, I am very thankful that mine is generally happy and fulfilled (I say "generally" because I am superstitious – don't want to jinx anything!). The reasons my hero is amazing are legion. We met at our local TV and radio station broadcast centre more than 28 years ago, where I was a writer/producer of commercials and he was the production cameraman. We still work together today, although our roles of changed. In fact, he's now the General Manager, something I am very proud of! We are often asked how we can live and work so closely together. I won't speak for him, but as for myself – I can't imagine life any other way. At work, I respect his talent, skills and dedication, and at home – well, he's my best friend. Here's my shot at the blurb that would best describe our lives leading up to our engagement. Too practical – or cowardly – to try and make a living as an author, she backs into a career in broadcasting. When she's offered a job at her hometown's small television station, she takes a deep breath and dives in, despite the fact she's only been trained in radio. He's fascinated with television production, and has already worked his way up from a part-time control room job to cameraman. But his dreams don't stop at this northern town's minor market station, and a newbie producer who doesn't know a white balance from a rack focus isn't going to stop him. Neither of them are looking for an office romance. Then why does working together feel like something so much more? I guess because it was more – as evidenced by 25 years of marriage this May. That wasn't as hard as I thought it might be! But Marc Stevens, whose up next, might have a bit of a challenge – considering he's a fictional character. How does a made up man write a blurb about his real life romance? Check it out here. Jenna Da Sie is one of our newer Romance Writer Weekly members, and she’s starting off by posing a tough one this week on our blog hop. Jenna asks:
Romance. There are many different meanings. What does it mean to you? Yikes! If you didn't get here from there, why don’t you hop back to Leslie Hachtel for a minute while I think about this. Oh, good, you’re back! Here’s the way I see it. Just as there are many different types of love, there are many different types of romance. In the beginning of a relationship, romance might be staring into each other’s eyes over a candlelit dinner or enjoying a long walk while holding hands. Maybe it’s a breathtaking ride on a motorcycle along a winding road or snuggling next to a snapping fire in a remote cabin. Here’s where I’m going with this – at this stage of love, romance is just the two of you, learning about each other, spending time together, with the focus on becoming a couple. But just as love changes, becomes less intense but deeper, as your relationship grows so does the romance. Daily life will intrude, no matter how hard we try to keep that first flare of magic alive. I told my husband once that it was romantic when he took out the garbage, and he laughed. While that example might have been a bit extreme, what I meant was, in the hustle and bustle of everyday life, romance doesn’t have to mean bouquets of flowers and boxes of chocolates. It can be taking the kids for a walk so your husband can get the lawn mowed without interruption. Or buying that jug of milk on the way home without being asked, because you noticed the shelf was empty. It can be making the coffee in the morning so your special someone awakens to the smell of love and comfort. Or a foot rub while watching TV together before bed. I think in many way, romance for me comes down to paying attention, and making those little gestures that say to someone “I love you. I see you. I know what you need. Let me be the person that shares it with you.” What’s your take on romance? Leave me a note in the comments. And then be sure to keep going on the hop by visiting S. C. Mitchell! He's up next. |