May 12 2013
At the beginning of the year, rumors started at Barnes & Noble would be looking to spin off its Nook Media entirely. Len Riggio, the chairman of Barnes & Noble, express interest in buying back the retail arm. Over 95% of the retail stores are profitable and Barnes & Noble is increasing profitability by refusing(…)
May 7 2013
When I began reading romances in the 80s, they were almost all historicals. Books were set during the American Revolution, the early settlement days, the Gilded Age. They were medievals, regencies, and the old West. They featured horse racers, steel magnates, and pirates on the high seas. I read everyone from Phoebe Conn to Judith(…)
May 5 2013
When I was at Romantic Times convention, I heard the news that The Tools of Change conference, a technology and publishing conference, was being shut down. Begun in 2007, the conference was aimed at bringing technology and publishing together. The announcement indicates that the sponsor, O’Reilly, will move on to offering other things. The publishing(…)
Apr 30 2013
In the history of American Arts and Letters there have been many persons convinced of their own ability to write. Since they speak the language, they are certain that they can wield a pen and produce a story, transferring the errant imagination into a book. Writing, in this view, is considered an extension—albeit a skilled(…)
Apr 23 2013
Last week I discussed the device of forced seduction as part of the literary legacy of North American captivity narratives on genre Romance. As I’ve noted several times during this series, I think that the genre as it has developed in America, at least (and I would include a good deal of Harlequin’s offerings in(…)
Apr 21 2013
When I was looking up deals last weekend, I saw Jessica Clare’s “Stranded with the Billionaire” (review here by The Bookpushers) priced at $2.99. It had the same cover treatment as Beth Kery’s serial from last year but SWtB is a full length novel. And it wasn’t a discounted price either. $2.99 is the listed(…)
Apr 16 2013
Avon’s publication of Anna Campbell’s Claiming the Courtesan in 2007 sparked quite a conflagration online. Campbell’s unapologetic use of captivity and sexual force generated a great deal of discussion and controversy, some of which is captured nicely in Sarah Wendell’s review and its attendant comments. Many readers characterized the book like Mala Bhattacharjee does, as(…)
Apr 9 2013
I had initially planned to jump right into late 20th century Romance novels and their reliance/reflection on captivity narratives, but since it’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve posted, I realized that I needed to sit down and catch myself up. And that turned into this catching up post. I apologize in advance if this(…)
Apr 7 2013
Yesterday Books on Board posted a notice that it was “temporarily” shuttering the retail portion of its site. Consumers could still access titles that they had previously purchased but no new purchases could be made. This leaves some readers who had gift cards without recourse for now. One of the arguments made by publishers when(…)
Mar 29 2013
Once upon a time, I accidentally read every romance Georgette Heyer ever wrote. My Grandmother had a box of them in her attic – I still remember those yellow-grey dust jackets and the faint smell of damp that rose from the pages – and I was still too young to understand that these were Girl(…)
Mar 26 2013
The following is a guest post from Karina Cooper. Robin will be continuing her series next week. Karina Cooper recently released Wicked Lies an original e-novella published in Cooper’s Dark Mission world. Wicked Lies is about Jonas Stone—the brilliant, wounded computer programmer who’s helped countless members of the rebellion break free from the clutches(…)
Mar 19 2013
Last week I discussed Edith Hull’s 1919 Romance novel The Sheik, which I would offer as a potential nominee for first modern genre Romance novel. Bringing together themes and devices from captivity narratives, sentimental and sensational fiction, and other literary genres, The Sheik also created an iconic image of the romantic desert hero in the(…)
Mar 12 2013
This week I want to talk about the use of captivity in the Romance genre, but before I do, I want to clarify a couple of points that cropped up in discussion of my last post and in other discussions of the genre. In my last post, commenter Katie raised the issue of slave narratives,(…)
Mar 10 2013
In a recent Wall Street Journal article (1) it was noted that books by 60 self published authors have been acquired by traditional publishers. 2012 was definitely the year of the self published author from E.L. James to Tammara Weber to Colleen Hoover. While there are some bloggers who are resistant to reviewing self published(…)
Mar 5 2013
Note: this is the third part of a series I’m doing on the current popularity of what I’m calling Extreme Romance Novels. Part One can be found here, and Part Two here. I do think the first two installments are best read in order, but you can easily start with this post and then(…)
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