Mar 14 2012
I’ve been reading genre fiction (romance, mystery, SFF) for a very long time, but I didn’t become aware of fan fiction as a category of writing, much less its role in creating community, until I found internet blogs about fiction writing. Back when I was reading mystery blogs regularly, I ran across a ranting post(…)
Oct 29 2011
When Mills & Boon celebrated its centennial a few years ago, it commissioned a series to mark the occasion in its Medical Romance line. The series was to be set in the fictional coastal Cornwall town of Penhally Bay and all the novels would focus on characters who came to work or already lived there.(…)
Sep 22 2011
I’m a volunteer for a literature project that aims to list every novel with a specific theme or trope in a reference database, and I’m involved with two databases: ‘Deaf Characters in English-Language Literature’ and ‘Non-Caucasian Characters in British Literature’. When I joined the ‘Deaf Characters in Literature’ (DCIL) project years ago, there were only(…)
May 24 2011
A while back I was tweeting about m/m novels with a couple of m/m writers. I mentioned that my least favorite explanations for why women read m/m romance was “If one man is good, two men are even better!” Both of the writers agreed, and we moved on to other topics. I went back to(…)
May 17 2011
With the RT awards handed out and the RITA awards coming up, I’m struck by the omission of romances that don’t hew to the one man-one woman formula. Two years ago, I wouldn’t have noticed, let alone felt annoyed. While I’ve read erotic and BDSM novels for at least a couple of decades, I(…)
Mar 8 2011
Did Kathleen Woodiwiss’ The Flame and The Flower really give birth to the romance genre? Until last week, I’d always assumed the answer was a resounding No. But there seem to be quite a few sources that think it did. Wikipedia asserts that the publication of TFATF marked “the birth of the modern romance novel.”(…)
Dec 14 2010
I was planning on taking a hiatus from writing opinion pieces on Tuesdays until the first of the year. I was getting tired of writing them and I figured you all might be tired of reading them. An interesting issue arose yesterday, however, that I wanted to throw out for discussion amongst the readership. Here’s(…)
Aug 24 2010
Recently Harlequin USA put out a call seeking novels for their Medical Romance line. Jessica at RRR noted this in a links roundup post and wondered who the audience for them was, because she didn’t know anyone who read them. Commenters, myself included, quickly replied that she did indeed know some readers, but her post(…)
Aug 17 2010
I visited Korea in the early 2000s. One day we were in the district of the Ewha’s Women’s University. Near the university is a shopping area situated on a long downward slope. My husband Ned and I were at the top of the hill and all you could see was a sea of shiny black(…)
May 25 2010
Oct 19 2009
I started a Why I Read/Why I Write series earlier in the year but couldn’t sustain enough submissions to keep posting them. Courtney Milan sent this to me earlier in the year and I promised to post it near her release date. **** Insert the depressing numbers of your choice into this paragraph: Of the(…)
Oct 19 2009
No first sale today. Instead we have two essays. Later by an author on why she writes but right now, a very very special Why I Read. **** I learned to read when I was 4, just as my 4-year-old best friend Danny became sick (he was dying of leukemia) and I was starting to(…)
Mar 11 2009
Last winter, I posted that I would love to hear from readers, writers, bloggers about why they read, write and blog. Gail Dayton, author of the new book, New Blood, offers up this personal account. *** I love to read. No, I looooove to read. And I read fast. I read about 300 books a(…)
Mar 2 2009
Last winter, I posted that I would love to hear from readers, writers, bloggers about why they read, write and blog. Keishon, avid book reader, is one of our favorite bloggers here at Dear Author. Three of us here are participating in her monthly TBR challenge. Keishon is the reader who introduced me to Julia(…)
Feb 24 2009
Last winter, I posted that I would love to hear from readers, writers, bloggers about why they read, write and blog. Bev Stephans was one of the first to come forth and share her story with our community about why she reads. *** I don’t have a blog and I don’t write books, but I(…)
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